The Everything Essential Spanish Book

All You Need to Learn Spanish in No Time

Julie Gutin

• Publisher: Everything
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781440566226
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Spanish Language
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Learning Spanish can be easy and fun! Hola! If you've always wanted to learn Spanish, here's a quick and easy way to get started. Whether you're planning a vacation in Mexico or adding a valuable second language to your resume, The Everything Essential Spanish Book will help you order the right dish in a restaurant, answer customer's questions, or converse with locals when traveling.With easy-to-follow instructions and simple explanations, this portable guide covers the most important Spanish basics, including:

• The Spanish alphabet and translation
• Greetings and conversation starters
• Common questions and answers
• Verb tenses and sentence structure

Don't just learn to repeat words and key phrases--learn to understand them on your own terms and at your own speed. The simple step-by-step approach and lively examples will have you speaking--and understanding--Spanish in no time!

CHAPTER 2

Pronunciation

Now that you’re convinced that you already know a lot of Spanish words, the issue comes down to injecting that certain Spanish flavor, that secret salsa, into them. In the following sections you will learn the Spanish alphabet and then take a look at the Spanish vowels and consonants.

Learning the Alphabet

In Spanish, the alphabet is called el abecedario (ehl ah-beh-seh-DAH-ryoh). When you take a look at the alphabet, you will see how similar it is to the one we use in English. For the most part, the Spanish letters are the same graphically as those employed in English. What’s nice about them is that, unlike their American-English counterparts, their pronunciation is consistent (most of the time!), which makes learning to read in Spanish a whole lot easier.

EL ABECEDARIO (THE SPANISH ALPHABET)

Letter	Spanish Pronunciation	Letter	Spanish Pronunciation
a	ah	n	EH-neh
b	beh	ñ	EH-nyeh
c	seh	o	oh
ch	cheh	p	peh
d	deh	q	koo
e	eh	r	EH-reh
f	EH-feh	s	EH-seh
g	hheh	t	teh
h	AH-cheh	u	oo
i	ee	v	veh
j	HHOH-tah	w	DOH-bleh veh
k	kah	x	EH-kees
l	EH-leh	y	ee GRYEH-gah
ll	EHL-yeh, EH-yeh	z	SEH-tah, ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Starting with the Basics
• Pronunciation
• Subjects
• Verbs
• Introducing Ser
• Introducing Estar
• Other Verb Tenses
• The Vocabulary of Time
• Important Verbs to Know
• Present-Tense Irregular Verbs
• Direct and Indirect Objects
• Family and Friends
• Irregular Verbs: Moving Through Time
• Impersonal Assertions and the Subjunctive
• What You Like to Do
• Any Questions?
• Words for Everyday Life
• Copyright