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Spanish (Spain)

Spanish has a fun, literal way of naming tools and kitchen gadgets: it combines a third-person verb with a plural noun. For example, a nutcracker is a **cascanueces** (literally "cracks nuts") and a potato peeler is a **pelapatatas** (literally "peels potatoes").

These verb-noun compound words are almost always masculine, so they take the singular article **el**.

Because the noun half of the compound word is *already* plural and ends in **-s**, the word itself doesn't change when you want to talk about more than one. To make these nouns plural, you simply change the article (from **el** to **los**) or use plural adjectives and numbers. 

Notice how the compound noun remains exactly the same in both singular and plural contexts:

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Plural compound nouns (los cascanueces)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
the nutcracker	el cascanueces
the dish rack	el escurreplatos
The nutcracker is to the right of the dish rack.	El cascanueces está a la derecha del escurreplatos.
We have two new nutcrackers for the party.	Tenemos dos cascanueces nuevos para la fiesta.
The dish racks are over there, near the fridge.	Los escurreplatos están allí, cerca de la nevera.
the potato peeler	el pelapatatas
Which one is the potato peeler that the boss prefers?	¿Cuál es el pelapatatas que prefiere el jefe?
My grandmother has bought several potato peelers.	Mi abuela ha comprado varios pelapatatas.
the pizza cutter	el cortapizzas
That pizza cutter does not work, and on top of that it is broken.	Ese cortapizzas no funciona, y encima está roto.
The waiter needs three pizza cutters for the restaurant.	El camarero necesita tres cortapizzas para el restaurante.
the coaster	el posavasos
The coaster is to the left of the glass.	El posavasos está a la izquierda del vaso.
I always use coasters in the living room.	Siempre uso posavasos en el salón.
the trivet	el salvamanteles
The trivet protects the wood from the heat.	El salvamanteles protege la madera del calor.
My brother likes these useful trivets.	A mi hermano le gustan estos salvamanteles útiles.
the toothpick	el mondadientes
Do you have a toothpick there?	¿Tienes un mondadientes ahí?
These toothpicks are dirty, and on top of that they are expensive.	Estos mondadientes están sucios, y encima son caros.
the food mill	el pasapurés
Which one is the best food mill on the market?	¿Cuál es el mejor pasapurés del mercado?
The chefs use those food mills every day.	Las cocineras usan esos pasapurés todos los días.
the degreaser	el quitagrasas
The degreaser is here, in the kitchen.	El quitagrasas está aquí, en la cocina.
The degreasers smell bad, and on top of that they stain.	Los quitagrasas huelen mal, y encima manchan.
the glass cleaner	el limpiacristales
The employee needs the glass cleaner to clean the window.	La empleada necesita el limpiacristales para limpiar la ventana.
All the glass cleaners are in the closet.	Todos los limpiacristales están en el armario.