for English speakers · 5 grammar rules · 15 words · 10 example sentences
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Spanish nouns have gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). The definite article must agree:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | el | los |
| Feminine | la | las |
Examples: el libro (the book), la mesa (the table), los libros (the books), las mesas (the tables).
Spanish has two verbs meaning to be:
A simple rule of thumb: if the condition can easily change, use estar.
Regular -ar verbs (e.g. hablar — to speak) follow this pattern in the present tense:
| Pronoun | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | hablo |
| tú | -as | hablas |
| él/ella/usted | -a | habla |
| nosotros/as | -amos | hablamos |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | -an | hablan |
Subject pronouns are often dropped because the verb ending shows who the subject is.
Use indefinite articles when referring to a non-specific noun (a / an / some):
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | un | unos |
| Feminine | una | unas |
Examples: un café (a coffee), una naranja (an orange), unos amigos (some friends).
Questions: Invert nothing — just add inverted question marks and use rising intonation (in speech). In writing, start with ¿ and end with ?.
Negation: Place no directly before the verb.
No auxiliary verb like do/does is needed in Spanish.
| Spanish | English | Part of speech |
|---|---|---|
| la casaf | the house | noun |
| el aguam | the water | noun |
| el amigom | the friend (male) | noun |
| la ciudadf | the city | noun |
| el librom | the book | noun |
| hablar | to speak / to talk | verb |
| tener | to have | verb |
| querer | to want / to love | verb |
| grande | big / large | adjective |
| pequeño | small / little | adjective |
| hoy | today | adverb |
| mucho | a lot / much / many | adverb |
| por favor | please | phrase |
| gracias | thank you | phrase |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta? | How much does it cost? | phrase |
Yo soy estudiante y hablo un poco de español.
I am a student and I speak a little Spanish.
La casa es grande y tiene muchas habitaciones.
The house is big and has many rooms.
¿Hablas inglés o español?
Do you speak English or Spanish?
No tengo un libro hoy.
I don't have a book today.
Ella está bien, gracias.
She is fine, thank you.
Quiero un café, por favor.
I want a coffee, please.
El amigo de María es muy simpático.
Maria's friend is very nice.
¿Cuánto cuesta el libro pequeño?
How much does the small book cost?
Nosotros hablamos español en la ciudad.
We speak Spanish in the city.
El agua está fría hoy.
The water is cold today.
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