Appendix A

Basic Vocabulary

We cannot teach you the entirety of the Spanish language in this report. It’s not that
simple. It takes time to get started in the process, and to allow the language to become a part of
your subconscious. However, it is easier to work up the motivation to give learning to speak any
new language a try if you have already had a taste of it. Underneath are a few phrases that will
come in handy when you are interacting with native Spanish speakers and will help to launch
you on your path to success.

Greetings

Hola-Hello

Adios-Goodbye

Hasta Luego-See you later

Bienvenidos-Welcome

Buenos Diaz-Good morning/Good day

Buenos Tardes-Good Afternoon

Buenos Noches-Good night

Bueno Suerte-Good luck

Mucho Gusto-Nice to meet you

Quantos anos tiene?-How old are you/how old is he/she? (this is especially important when
admiring other people’s children!)

Yo tengo…anos-I am…years old

Manners

Gracias-Thank you

De Nada-You’re welcome

At the Table…

Tengo Hambre-I’m hungry

Tengo Sed-I’m thirsty

Who/What/When/Where/Why/How

Cuando-When

Cuánto-How much

Quién-Who

Qué-What

Dónde-Where

Dónde Está…-Where is…?

Porqué -Why/Because

One major difference between Spanish and English is the way that verbs are conjugated.
English speakers conjugate their verbs, although they are often unaware of it at the time. For
example, while we say, “I run”, English grammar would dictate that we say, “She runs” and
“They run”. If you were to say that “She run” and “They runs” you would immediately find the
wrath of many who choose to take exception to this butchering of the grammatical structure of
their language coming down upon your head.

This same policy applies when you are talking about speaking in Spanish; however, due
to the fact that the Spanish language often allows for the informality of the subject to be dropped
when you are discussing a specific topic it is absolutely vital that you use the correct form of the
verb. If you were to say, “We runs” in English, your listeners would be able to hear the subject
we and understand that you were simply using the improper form of the verb to run. Had you
simply said, “Runs” (for example, “runs in the grass”) people would have assumed that you were
talking about a he, a she or an it. They would have had no idea that you were in fact referring to
yourself and another party, and the entire point that your sentence was attempting to make would
be lost.

So it is with Spanish. Within the Spanish language are six primary subjects which dictate
the form of the verb to be used. These subjects are:

Yo-I

Tu-You (familiar, informal-for use with a friend or a child)

El/Ella/Usted-He/She/You (formal)

Nosotros-We

Vosotros-You, plural (formal, used primarily in Spain)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes-They. Ellos refers to a multiple number of males or a group of mixed
company, Ellas to a multiple number of females. Ustedes is the plural form of You used by the
people of Latin America or as an informal address when speaking in Castilian Spanish.

As you will have noticed from the subjects above not all Spanish is the same. The people
of the country of Spain speak what is known as Castilian Spanish, the more formal form of the
language. The people of Latin America have their own distinct language, and within this
language are multiple dialects. It is important that you be aware of this because as you are
learning to speak Spanish you will often find vocabulary labeled as specific to Spain, to Latin
America or pertaining specifically to a country. This can become very confusing if you do not
know what it is that you are looking at.

Now that you are familiar with the subjects used in the Spanish language you can begin
to understand the conjugation of Spanish verbs. There are many, so for illustration’s sake we will
use the most basic from the three main groups of regular verbs. Regular verbs refer to verbs
which are conjugated the same way regardless of which verb they are, and they are divided into
-er, -ir and –ar verbs.

Since the paragraph you just read probably made absolutely no sense to you, let use take
a specific example. The verb hablar means “to speak”, and it is conjugated thusly:

Yo hablo

Tu hablas

El/Ella/Ud. habla

Nosotros hablamos

Vosotros hablais (there is an accent over the second (a) in hablais when viewed properly)

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. hablan

As you can see, the verb used changes according to the subject. Therefore, if you were
trying to say “I speak Spanish” or “I can speak Spanish” (the two are said in the same fashion)
you would say, “Yo hablo espanol”. However, since it is customary when speaking Spanish to
drop the subject you would say, “Hablo espanol”. Your listeners will know that you are talking
about yourself because you would use the verb form hablo.

If, on the other hand, you were to use the incorrect form of the verb by mistake and said,
“Hablas espanol” your listener would believe that you were talking about them. You will have
said “You speak Spanish” rather than “I speak Spanish”.

As you can see, using the correct form of the verb is much more important when
speaking Spanish than when speaking English. Fortunately, when dealing with regular verbs all
verbs of the same form will be conjugated in the same manner. Therefore, any other –ar verb will
be conjugated in the same fashion as hablar. The same is true using verbs that end in –er and
verbs that end in –ir. Underneath are the conjugations for the verbs comer, meaning “to eat”, and
vivir, meaning “to live”. You will find yourself using these verbs often in conversation.

Comer

Yo como

Tu comes

El/Ella/Ud. come

Nosotros comemos

Vosotros comeis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. comen

Ellos comen las bananas en la manana (they eat bananas in the morning).

Vivir

Yo vivo

Tu vives

El/Ella/Ud. vive

Nosotros vivimos

Vosotros vivis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. viven

Yo vivo con mi hermana (I live with my sister).

As you can see, the conjugations of the –ir and –er verbs are very similar. There are a number
of resources on the internet that will give you a listing of other commonly used –ar, -ir and –er
verbs. Take the time to look these over and memorize them to the best of your ability, taking
advantage of audio resources to help you with their pronunciation. Unfortunately, until you are
using your Spanish on a daily basis in conversation these conjugations are not going to come
easily for you. Practice makes perfect.

Unfortunately, not all verbs are regular. There are some that have their very own conjugation
that is in no way, shape or form related to their regular counterparts, and these can be extremely
confusing if you do not take the time to memorize them. There is no other way to learn these
than through rote memorization, although many of these you will use so often that their
conjugation will become second nature to you. Underneath are a few of the most commonly used
irregular verbs and their proper conjugation.

Querer (to want)

Yo quiero

Tu quieres

El/Ella/Ud. quiere

Nosotros queremos

Vosotros queries

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. quieren

Tener (to have)

Yo tengo

Tu tienes

El/Ella/Ud. tiene

Nosotros tenemos

Vosotros teneis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. tienen

Estar (to be, temporarily, as in to be in a place)

Yo estoy

Tu estas

El/Ella/Ud. esta

Nosotros estamos

Vosotros estais

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. estan

Ser (to be, permanently)

Yo soy
Tu eres

El/Ella/Ud. es

Nostros somos

Vosotros sois

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. son

Poder (to be able)

Yo puedo

Tu puedes

El/Ella/Ud. puede

Nostros podemos

Vosotros podeis

Ellos/Ellas/Uds. pueden

Visit [Link] for further assistance with Spanish vocabulary, verbs or

irregular verbs. This reference will also help you to learn the difference between present, past
and future forms of the verb, a topic that is far too difficult to go into in any great detail here!