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Spanish (Spain)

### Opening: formal or friendly

| writing to | opening |
|---|---|
| a company, a hotel, a school | **Estimado señor:** / **Estimada señora:** / **Estimados señores:** |
| a friend or family | **Querido Pablo:** / **Querida Ana:** |

**Estimado** agrees like any adjective. After the greeting Spanish uses a **colon**, not a comma, and the text starts with a capital letter, usually on a new line.

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### Polite and formal

A formal email uses **usted** (**le escribo**, **su respuesta**) and softens requests with **quisiera**. **Tener en cuenta** is *to bear in mind*: **tenga en cuenta que…**

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### Insurance and websites

**El seguro** is insurance: **el seguro del coche**, **el seguro de viaje**. Don't mix it up with the adjective **seguro**, *safe* or *sure*. **A través de** means *through*: a window, or a website, an app or a person.

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### Closing

**Atentamente** (*Sincerely*) closes a formal email, before your name. **Un saludo** is the neutral middle; to a friend, write **Un abrazo**. **Recuerdos a…** sends your regards to someone else.

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Writing a formal email (estimado, atentamente)

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
Dear (opening a formal letter or email)	estimado
Dear Sir: I would like to reserve a double room.	Estimado señor: Quisiera reservar una habitación doble.
Dear Sirs: I would like to change the date of my reservation.	Estimados señores: Quisiera cambiar la fecha de mi reserva.
Dear Principal: My son won't go to school tomorrow.	Estimada directora: Mi hijo no irá al colegio mañana.
Sincerely (closing a formal letter or email)	atentamente
Thank you very much for your help. Sincerely, Ana García.	Muchas gracias por su ayuda. Atentamente, Ana García.
I await your reply. Sincerely, Luis.	Espero su respuesta. Atentamente, Luis.
Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, Carmen.	Gracias por su atención. Atentamente, Carmen.
through, by means of	a través de
You can make the reservation through our website.	Puede hacer la reserva a través de nuestra web.
I met my husband through a friend.	Conocí a mi marido a través de una amiga.
The light comes in through the window.	La luz entra a través de la ventana.
the insurance (policy)	el seguro
Dear Madam: I'm writing to you because I have a problem with the insurance.	Estimada señora: Le escribo porque tengo un problema con el seguro.
You can pay for the insurance through the app.	Puede pagar el seguro a través de la aplicación.
The car insurance is very expensive.	El seguro del coche es muy caro.
Does the travel insurance cover the luggage?	¿El seguro de viaje cubre el equipaje?
to bear in mind, to take into account	tener en cuenta
Bear in mind that the hotel doesn't have a car park.	Tenga en cuenta que el hotel no tiene aparcamiento.
I would like you to take my case into account.	Quisiera que tuvieran en cuenta mi caso.
Bear in mind that in Spain people have dinner late.	Ten en cuenta que en España se cena tarde.
regards (give my regards to…)	el recuerdo
Regards to your parents.	Recuerdos a tus padres.
Give your sister my regards.	Dale recuerdos a tu hermana.
My mother sends you her regards.	Mi madre te manda recuerdos.
attentively, carefully	atentamente
I have read your email carefully.	He leído atentamente su correo.
Read the contract carefully before signing it.	Lea atentamente el contrato antes de firmarlo.
to contact	contactar
You can contact us through the website. (formal)	Puede contactar con nosotros a través de la web.
I still haven't been able to contact the hotel.	Todavía no he podido contactar con el hotel.
formal	formal
This letter is very formal.	Esta carta es muy formal.
Are you guys going to wear formal clothes to the wedding?	¿Vais a llevar ropa formal a la boda?
informal, casual	informal
At the office we wear casual clothes on Fridays.	En la oficina llevamos ropa informal los viernes.
It's an informal dinner: you can come in jeans.	Es una cena informal: puedes venir en vaqueros.

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