Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

Spanish (Spain)

### Reacting to what you hear

Spanish conversation is full of short words that show how you feel about what someone just said. **¡Vaya!** shows surprise or disappointment: *wow!* or *oh dear!*, depending on your tone. Before a noun it means *what a…!*

{{item:1185187}}

{{item:1185189}}

**¿De verdad?** asks *really?*, and **¡qué va!** answers a question with a strong *no way!* or *not at all!*. It has nothing to do with going anywhere.

{{item:1185194}}

{{item:1185198}}

### Saying yes: **por supuesto**

**Por supuesto** is a firm *of course*, a little stronger than **claro**.

{{item:1185202}}

### Buying time: **pues**, **bueno**, **a ver**

**Pues** opens a reply while you think: *well…*. **Bueno** at the start of a sentence does not mean *good*: it means *well, OK*, when you accept something or move on. **A ver** means *let's see*.

{{item:1185206}}

{{item:1185211}}

{{item:1185214}}

### Commands that became fixed words

Some command forms are used so often that they work as little signals. **Oye** and **oiga** come from *oír* (to hear) and mean *hey, listen*. **Mira** and **mire** come from **mirar** and start an explanation, like English *look,…*. Use the first form with someone you call **tú** and the second with someone you call **usted**. **Venga** urges someone on (*come on!*), and in Spain it also means *OK then*; it is the same with everyone.

| verb | with **tú** | with **usted** | use |
|---|---|---|---|
| oír | **oye** | **oiga** | to get someone's attention |
| mirar | **mira** | **mire** | to start an explanation |
| venir | **venga** (fixed; the tú command is *ven*) | **venga** | *come on!* / *OK then* |

{{item:1185218}}

{{item:1185222}}

{{item:1185190}}

{{item:1185228}}

### Common mistakes

Don't say **oye** to a stranger in the street: **oiga** is the polite form. And keep the two adjectives apart: **agradable** (pleasant) is calm approval of a place, a day or a person, while **fantástico** is pure enthusiasm.

{{item:1185235}}

{{item:1185231}}

Reacting (¡vaya!, ¡qué va!, por supuesto)

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
wow! / oh dear! (surprise or disappointment)	vaya
Oh dear, what a pity!	¡Vaya, qué pena!
Wow! Your flat is very pretty.	¡Vaya! Tu piso es muy bonito.
What a mess! I can't find the keys.	¡Vaya lío! No encuentro las llaves.
Look, I don't have time now.	Mira, no tengo tiempo ahora.
Look, that is my car.	Mira, ese es mi coche.
Look, the station is over there.	Mire, la estación está allí.
really?	¿de verdad?
Really? What luck!	¿De verdad? ¡Qué suerte!
I have a flat at the beach. Really?	Tengo un piso en la playa. ¿De verdad?
Really? How strange!	¿De verdad? ¡Qué raro!
no way! / not at all!	¡qué va!
Are you tired? Not at all!	¿Estás cansado? ¡Qué va!
Is it expensive? Not at all! It is very cheap.	¿Es caro? ¡Qué va! Es muy barato.
Are you afraid? No way!	¿Tienes miedo? ¡Qué va!
of course, certainly	por supuesto
Can I open the window? Of course.	¿Puedo abrir la ventana? Por supuesto.
Are you coming with me? Of course!	¿Vienes conmigo? ¡Por supuesto!
Of course, I'll help you.	Por supuesto, te ayudo.
well… (to begin a reply)	pues
Are you coming to the party? Well, I don't know.	¿Vienes a la fiesta? Pues no lo sé.
Well, I prefer tea.	Pues yo prefiero el té.
What shall we do today? Well, let's go to the beach.	¿Qué hacemos hoy? Pues vamos a la playa.
well, OK (accepting or moving on)	bueno
Well, OK, let's go.	Bueno, vale, vamos.
Well, what do we do now?	Bueno, ¿qué hacemos ahora?
Well, it is not a disaster.	Bueno, no es un desastre.
let's see	a ver
Let's see, what is there in the box?	A ver, ¿qué hay en la caja?
Let's see, where are my glasses?	A ver, ¿dónde están mis gafas?
Let's see that photo. How pretty!	A ver esa foto. ¡Qué bonita!
hey, listen (informal)	oye
Hey, do you have time?	Oye, ¿tienes tiempo?
Hey, where is the bathroom?	Oye, ¿dónde está el baño?
Hey, how pretty your shirt is!	Oye, ¡qué bonita es tu camisa!
excuse me, listen (formal, to get attention)	oiga
Excuse me, sorry, where is the station?	Oiga, perdone, ¿dónde está la estación?
Excuse me, your bag!	¡Oiga, su bolso!
Excuse me, does this bus go to the center?	Oiga, ¿este autobús va al centro?
come on! / OK then	venga
Come on, let's go to the park!	¡Venga, vamos al parque!
Come on, you have to eat something.	Venga, tienes que comer algo.
Shall we go to the cinema? OK then!	¿Vamos al cine? ¡Venga!
fantastic	fantástico
The movie is fantastic!	¡La película es fantástica!
We have a fantastic teacher.	Tenemos un profesor fantástico.
Wow! The hotel is fantastic.	¡Vaya! El hotel es fantástico.
pleasant	agradable
She is a very pleasant girl.	Es una chica muy agradable.
It is a very pleasant day.	Hace un día muy agradable.
The hotel is small, but pleasant.	El hotel es pequeño, pero agradable.

Contributors