1.

PRONUNCIACIÓN / PRONUNCIATION

1.1. Los fonemas / Phonemes

1.1.1. Las vocales / Vowels
In Spanish, there are five vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/ and /u/. Examples can be seen in these words: mar, es, ir, sol, tu.

☞☞Note: The sound system in Spanish is somewhat simpler than the English system. Spanish has only five
vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/. These are short and clearly pronounced. This contrasts with English where there
are twelve individual vowel sounds, some of which are long and some of which are short.

1.1.2. L
 os diptongos, triptongos e hiatos / Diphthongs,
triphthongs and hiatuses
A diphthong is the combination of two vowels which are pronounced in the same syllable. Spanish has fourteen
diphthongs. In the following words, an example of each diphthong can be seen: I-ta-lia, sie-te, ra-dio, ciu-da-des,
gua-pa, pue-do, Luis, an-ti-guo, trai-go, a-cei-te, oi-go, au-la, eu-ro, es-ta-dou-ni-den-se.
When three vowels are pronounced in the same syllable, a triphthong is formed: cam-biáis.
A hiatus occurs when a pair of vowels are pronounced as two separate syllables: co-rre-o, po-e-ma, a-é-re-o.

☞☞Note: Many Spanish diphthongs are similar to those used in English. However, one that is not is: /eu/ deuda.
1.1.3. Las consonantes / Consonants
In Spanish, consonants are classified according to where and how they are articulated and according to whether or
not they are voiced. If the vocal chords are used they are voiced, if no vocal chords are used they are unvoiced.
Mode of
articulation Multiple
Place of  Plosive Nasal Simple trill Fricative Lateral Affricate
trill
articulation

unvoiced /p/ lápiz

bilabial
voiced /b/ noviembre /m/ mar

unvoiced /f/ alfabeto

labiodental
voiced

unvoiced /T/ hacer

interdental
voiced

unvoiced /t/ portugués

dental
voiced /d/ ducha

unvoiced /s/ sal

alveolar
voiced /n/ menú /r/ nevera /rr/ rojo /l/ Julia

unvoiced // chino

palatal
voiced /|/ español // mayo /ʎ/ calle

unvoiced /k/ Canadá /x/ viajar

velar
voiced /g/ gafas

Cinco 5
☞☞Note:
 The sound indicated by the letters ll in llamar is pronounced something like the English lli in million.
●

● The initial r or double rr is pronounced with a trill, as in the Spanish carro.

● In Spanish, the letter v is pronounced as a /b/. The word vale, for example, is pronounced: /bale/.
● The letter h is silent.
● Ñ is a letter that is only found in Spanish and sounds something like ny: niña, español.
● The letter j, and the letter g (before e or i) sounds something like the h in horse, as in the following
names: Juan, José, Germán, Gil.

1.2. La sílaba / Syllables

A syllable consists of a sound or a group of sounds which are pronounced at one short time. They can be
considered as the phonetic building blocks of words. In Spanish, each syllable has at least one vowel, which is the
nucleus, and there may also be consonant sounds before or after the nucleus.
The most frequent combinations are:
●  consonant 1 vowel: ca-sa.
●  consonant 1 vowel 1 consonant: can-tar.
●  consonant (p, b, f, g, c, d, t ) 1 consonant (l, r ) 1 vowel: nom-bre.
●  vowel 1 consonant: al-to.
Words which only contain one syllable are called monosílabas, e.g., yo. Those which have two syllables are known
as bisílabas, e.g., Cu-ba. Those which have three syllables are called trisílabas, e.g., Es-pa-ña. Finally, those
which have more than three syllables are called polisílabas, e.g., Gua-te-ma-la, do-mi-ni-ca-na.
In Spanish, words with two or three syllables are the most common.

1.3. La acentuación / Word stress

In most words, one syllable is pronounced with greater intensity than the others so that it stands out. This is known
as word stress. In Spanish, the stressed syllable is called sílaba tónica or acentuada; the others are known as
sílabas átonas.
In Spanish, the stress can fall on any syllable:
●  If it falls on the final syllable, the word is aguda: ha-blar, es-tán.
●  If it falls on the penultimate syllable, the word is llana: ca-lle, lá-piz.
●  If it falls on the antepenultimate syllable, the word is esdrújula: Bél-gi-ca.
●  If it falls before the antepenultimate syllable, the word is sobresdrújula: cuén-ta-se-lo.
In most Spanish words, the stress falls on the penultimate syllable (palabras llanas).

1.4. La entonación / Intonation

In Spanish, the most important aspect of intonation occurs at the end of the sentence. There are four basic
intonation patterns:
●  declarative intonation
●  interrogative intonation
●  suspended intonation
●  emphatic intonation

6 Seis
 PRONUNCIACIÓN / PRONUNCIATION

1.4.1. La entonación enunciativa / Declarative intonation

Sentences which are affirmative or negative have a final falling intonation.

Me gusta estudiar español.

1.4.2. La entonación interrogativa / Interrogative intonation

If the utterance does not begin with an interrogative pronoun (question word) the final intonation rises.

¿Te gusta aprender español?

1.4.3. La entonación suspendida / Suspended intonation

This type of intonation indicates an interruption and incompleteness. It is usually represented in writing
by a series of dots (ellipsis).

Si tengo tiempo este fin de semana...

1.4.4. La entonación enfática / Emphatic intonation

This type of intonation is associated with emphatic utterances. It is characterized by a high rising
and a high falling tone.

¡Me ha tocado la lotería!

Siete 7
2. ORTOGRAFÍA / SPELLING

2.1. El alfabeto / The alphabet

Spanish uses the latin alphabet. In general, each letter represents a single phoneme, but there are exceptions (see
table).
A a. La a: Alemania J j. La jota: Japón R r. La ere, la erre: Perú, Rumanía
B b. La be: Bélgica K k. La ka: Kenia S s. La ese: Siria
C c. La ce: Canadá, Suecia L l. La ele: Líbano T t. La te: Turquía
Ch ch. La che: China Ll ll. La elle: Seychelles U u. La u: Uganda
D d. La de: Irlanda M m. La eme: Marruecos V v. La uve: Vietnam
E e. La e: Estados Unidos N n. La ene: Nepal W w. La uve doble: Taiwán
F f. La efe: Francia Ñ ñ. La eñe: España X x. La equis: Luxemburgo
G g. La ge: Guatemala, Níger O o. La o: Omán Y y. La i griega: Yemen, Uruguay
H h. La hache: Hungría P p. La pe: Polonia Z z. La zeta: Suiza
I i. La i: Italia Q q. La cu: Eslovaquia

In Latin America, certain letters have other names:

● B: be alta or be larga.

● V: ve baja, ve corta or ve chiquita.

● W: ve doble, doble ve or doble u.

Letter Sound Examples

b, v Pronounced as /b/. bolígrafos, noviembre
Pronounced as /k/ before a, o, u. gramática, comunicación, cultura
c
Pronounced as /T/ before e, i*. hacer, pronunciación
ch Pronounced as //. chalé, archivo
Pronounced as /g/ before a, o, u and when spelt gu 1 e, i gafas, goma, guantes
(u is not pronounced). guerra, guineano
g When spelt gü 1 e, i the u is pronounced. antigüedades, lingüística
Pronounced as /x/ before e, i. gente, Bélgica
h Not pronounced. hola, Hungría, ahora
j Pronounced as /x/. viajar, jerséis, dibujo, jugar
k Pronounced as /k/. kilo
ll Pronounced as /ʎ/**. silla, llave, amarillo
Pronounced as /k/. Only two combinations are possible: que and qui chaqueta, quiero
q
(u is not pronounced).

8 Ocho
 ORTOGRAFÍA / SPELLING

Letter Sound Examples

Pronounced weakly as /r/ between vowels, after b, c, d, f, papelera, nombre, profesor

g, c, p and t and at the end of a syllable.
r
Pronounced strongly as /rr/ in the initial position and after the relaciona, alrededor, Enrique, Israel,
consonants l, n and s. Between vowels rr is written. pizarra
Pronounced as /b/ in foreign words which have been incorporated
Kuwait
into Spanish.
w
Pronounced as /u/ or as /gu/ in foreign words which have not yet been
web
adapted to Spanish.
Pronounced as /ks/ or /gs/ between vowels or at the end of a syllable. taxi, excursión
x Pronounced as /s/ in the initial position of a word. xilófono
Pronounced as /x/ in certain words. México, Oaxaca, Texas
Pronounced as // in the initial position of a syllable. yo, mayo
y
Pronounced as /i/ in the final position of a syllable. soy, hay
z Pronounced as /θ/*. pizarra, lápiz, Venezuela

*In the south of Spain, the Canaries and in Latin America c, followed by e or i, and z, followed by any vowel, are
pronounced /s/. For example: cerilla /serilla/, cimiento /simiento/, caza /casa/.
**In many parts of Spain and Latin America, ll and y, when in the initial position, are pronounced in a similar way.
For example: llave /jabe/, mayo /majo/.

☞☞Note: The double consonants ch and ll do not exist as separate letters in the English alphabet (see 1.1.3.
for pronunciation). Ñ or ñ is a letter that is only found in Spanish.

2.2. Las letras mayúsculas / Capital letters

Two types of letters exist in Spanish:
● capitals (A, B, C, D…),
● lower-case (a, b, c, d…).
In any given text, the vast majority of words are written in lower-case, but certain types of words must always begin
with a capital. In some cases, whole words or sentences may be written in capitals for aesthetic reasons or simply
to make the text stand out. For example: REBAJAS EN TODOS LOS JUGUETES.
Capital letters are used at the beginning of words in the following cases:
● For the first letter of a text or the first letter to follow a full stop.
● After exclamation marks or question marks, when these marks are not followed by a comma or semi-colon:
¡Hola! Me llamo Carmen.
● With proper nouns (names of people, places, institutions and festivals…): Marta Pérez, Madrid, La Paz, Instituto
Cervantes, Navidad.
● For titles of books, newspapers, magazines and song titles, etc.: Cien años de soledad, El País, Revista de
Occidente, «Habaneras de Cádiz».
● For certain abbreviations: Sra.
● For certain important figures: el Rey, el Papa, el Presidente.
● For academic subjects: Matemáticas.

Nueve 9
● After a colon which comes after a greeting in a letter or which introduces a quotation.
Letters in abbreviations formed using the initial components of a phrase or name are written with capital letters:
DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad).
When letters consisting of two elements occur at the beginning of a word, only the first of these is written as a
capital: Chile, Llobregat.

☞☞Note: Capital letters broadly have the same uses in Spanish as they do in English. However, there are some
differences. In Spanish, the following groups of nouns all begin with lower-case letters: months, days of the
week, nationalities, languages. Another difference is that in titles of books, films and songs, only the initial
letter of the first word is capitalised: Cien años de soledad.

2.3. La tilde [´]/ The written accent [´]

The written accent indicates where the stress falls in certain words.
Some words carry a written accent to distinguish them from other words which are written in the same way.

el article: Trae el libro. él personal pronoun: Él tiene la culpa.

tu possessive adjective: Dame tu libro. tú personal pronoun: Tú no dices la verdad.
imperative form of the verb dar:
de preposition: Soy de Madrid. dé
Dé la luz, por favor.
possessive adjective: Mi hermano es
mi mí personal pronoun: ¿Este regalo es para mí?
muy guapo.
personal pronoun: Te he llamado esta
te té beverage or plant: ¿Te apetece un té?
mañana.
conditional conjunction: Si vamos adverb of affirmation: Sí, este es mi libro.
si en coche, podemos visitar los pueblos sí
de la zona. personal pronoun: Hablaba mucho de sí mismo.

personal pronoun: Juan se puso unos present indicative form of the verb saber: No sé.
se sé
pantalones verdes. imperative form of the verb ser: Sé bueno.
conjunction: La chaqueta que me
que qué interrogative or exclamation: ¿Qué lenguas hablas?
gusta es azul.

2.4. La diéresis [¨] / The diaeresis [¨]

The diaeresis is two dots written above the letter u. When there is no diaeresis, the u is not pronounced: guerra,
guisar. However, when the two dots are placed above the u, as in the syllables güe and güi, the u is pronounced:
antigüedades, güisqui.

2.5. Los signos de puntuación / Punctuation marks

2.5.1. El punto [.] / The full stop [.]
The full stop is used to indicate the end of a section of text. Depending on its use, it has various names:
● When it is used to separate one sentence from another, it is known as punto (y) seguido.
● When it is used to separate one paragraph from the next, it is known as punto (y) aparte.
● When it is used to indicate the end of a piece of text, it is called punto final.
The full stop is also used after nearly all abbreviations: etc. (etcétera), p. (página), Sr. (señor).

10 Diez
 ORTOGRAFÍA / SPELLING

2.5.2. La coma [,] / The comma [,]

The comma is used:
● To
separate elements in a list: En esta unidad vas a aprender a dar información personal: tu profesión, fecha de
nacimiento, número de teléfono…
● To separate the name of the person we are addressing: Mariano, este es Luis, un compañero de clase.
● Toindicate a pause within a sentence, often indicating the insertion of additional information:
En Paraguay la mitad de la población es bilingüe y el guaraní es, junto con el castellano, la lengua oficial
de la república.

☞☞Note: In contrast to English, which uses a full stop, in Spanish the comma is used as the decimal
separator: 2,5.

2.5.3. Los dos puntos [:] / The colon [:]

The colon is used:
● At
the start of a list that has been introduced to the reader: Está casado con Julia y tiene dos hijos: mi primo
Carlos, el pequeño, y mi prima Beatriz, la mayor.
● After the greeting at the beginning of letters: Querida Marta: (Dear Marta,).
● To introduce examples: Me gusta mucho la comida española: la tortilla de patatas, las tapas…

2.5.4. Los puntos suspensivos […] / Ellipsis […]

An ellipsis, consisting of three dots, may be used:
● To
indicate that a list is incomplete: En casa se suelen hacer cenas ligeras: un poco de queso y jamón, una
ensalada, unas verduras, una sopa…
● To indicate a pause expressing doubt, surprise, fear, etc.: ¿Tú crees…?

2.5.5. Los paréntesis [( )] / Brackets [( )]

Brackets may be used to indicate clarifications, explanations, interruptions, qualifications and additional facts
which are inserted into the text: Los centros y aulas del Instituto Cervantes están situados en cuatro continentes
(África, América, Asia y Europa).

2.5.6. El guión [-] / The hyphen [-]

Hyphens have the following uses:
● To indicate a broken word, for example, at the end of a line of text.
● To join certain compound names: María Pérez-Andújar.
● To replace a preposition or conjunction: Quería un billete Madrid-Barcelona, por favor.

2.5.7. Los signos de interrogación [¿ ?] / The question mark [¿ ?]

☞☞InmarkSpanish, an opening question mark (¿) is placed at the beginning of a question, and a closing question
(?) is placed at the end. It is not correct to use only one question mark, as is the case in many other
languages: ¿Cómo te llamas?, ¿A qué te dedicas?

2.5.8. Los signos de exclamación [¡ !] / The exclamation mark [¡ !]

☞☞Inexclamation
Spanish, an opening exclamation mark (¡) is placed at the beginning of an exclamation, and a closing
mark (!) is placed at the end. It is not correct to use only one exclamation mark, as is the case
in many other languages: ¡Hola!

Once 11
2.6. A
 breviaturas y siglas de uso frecuente /
Common abbreviations, symbols and acronyms
AA. VV. autores varios (también VV. AA.) núm., n.º número
a. C., a. de C. antes de Cristo O Oeste
apdo. apartado Organización Nacional de Ciegos
ONCE
c/ calle de España

°C grados Celsius ONG organización no gubernamental

cap. capítulo ONU Organización de las Naciones Unidas
cént. céntimo (en plural, cts., céntimos) Organización del Tratado del Atlántico
OTAN
Norte
cm centímetro
página (en plural, pp. o págs.,
p., pg., pág.
CC. OO. Comisiones Obreras páginas)
d. C., d. de C. después de Cristo P. D. posdata
D., D.ª don, doña pl., plza. plaza
dcho., dcha. derecho, derecha p.º paseo
DNI Documento Nacional de Identidad PP Partido Popular
Dr., Dra. doctor, doctora PSOE Partido Socialista Obrero Español
E Este P. V. P. precio de venta al público
ej. ejemplo (también, p. ej., por ejemplo) RAE Real Academia Española
ESO Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles
RENFE
Españoles
etc. etcétera
RR. HH. Recursos Humanos
EE. UU. Estados Unidos
Rte. remite o remitente
FM frecuencia modulada
s segundo
g gramo
S Sur
IVA Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido
s. siglo (en plural, ss., siglos)
izdo., izda.,
izquierdo, izquierda S. A. sociedad anónima
izq.
k kilo S. L. sociedad limitada
kg kilogramo S. P. servicio público
km kilómetro Sr., Sra. señor, señora
l litro t tonelada
m metro tel., teléf., tfno. teléfono
min minuto TV televisión
mm milímetro U., Ud., V., Vd. usted (en plural, Uds., ustedes)
N Norte UE Unión Europea
NIE Número de Identidad de Extranjero UGT Unión General de Trabajadores

When an abbreviation consists of just one letter, the plural is formed by adding the same letter: pp. (páginas).
With longer abbreviations, -s or -es is added: págs. (páginas). An article which accompanies a plural acronym
is also plural: las ONG. Unlike abbreviations, symbols and acronyms are written without full stop.

12 Doce
3. GRAMÁTICA / GRAMMAR

3.1. Los sustantivos / Nouns

3.1.1. Definición / Definition
Nouns are words which are used to refer to persons, animals, things, ideas and feelings.
Common nouns refer to any person, animal, thing, idea or feeling: amigo, perro, escuela, alimentación, amor.
Proper nouns are those which are used as names of people, rivers, cities, etc. The first letter of these nouns is a
capital and they are not normally accompanied by an article: María, España, Barcelona.

Names of certain cities are accompanied by the article: La Paz, El Cairo… and the article is used
with certain countries: la India, la China, la Argentina…

3.1.2. El género y el número / Gender and number

In Spanish, the same noun may have four different endings: -o, -a, -os, -as: niño, niña, niños, niñas. These variations
indicate the gender and number of the noun.
The gender and the number of the noun affect the gender and number of the words which accompany them: casas
(feminine plural noun) → las (feminine plural article) casas blancas (feminine plural adjective).
3.1.2.1. El género / Gender
Nouns may have a masculine or feminine gender. Male humans and male animals have a masculine gender: niño,
gato, toro…; females and female animals have a feminine gender: chica, gata, vaca…; all other nouns (things,
places concepts, etc.), even though they do not have a sex, also have either a masculine or feminine gender: libro
(masculine), libreta (feminine).
Masculine nouns usually end in:
● -o: el alumno, el libro, el corcho.
● -aje: el paisaje, el mensaje, el equipaje.
● -or: el ascensor, el ordenador, el director.
● -ema: el problema, el tema, el teorema.

Exceptions: la foto, la moto, la radio, la mano, la flor, la labor…

Feminine nouns usually end in:

● -a: la alumna, la mochila, la goma.

● -ción, -sión and -zón: la canción, la televisión, la razón.

● -dad and -tad: la ciudad, la unidad, la amistad.
● -triz: la actriz, la cicatriz, la matriz.
● -ez: la fluidez, la madurez, la niñez.
● -tud: la actitud, la longitud, la virtud.
● -umbre: la costumbre, la muchedumbre.

Exceptions: el corazón, el buzón, el (color) naranja, el (color) rosa, el día…

Trece 13
Nouns which refer to people or animals generally have both a masculine and feminine form: el alumno/la alumna,
el profesor/la profesora, el jefe/la jefa, el actor/la actriz, el alcalde/la alcaldesa, el rey/la reina, el león/la leona, el
gato/la gata.
Some nouns have the same ending whether they are masculine or feminine. Certain nouns always have a
masculine article: el bebé (niño o niña), el lince macho, el lince hembra, whilst others always have a feminine
article: la víctima (varón o mujer), la jirafa macho, la jirafa hembra.
For some nouns referring to people, the gender is not expressed by the noun’s ending, but rather by the gender of
the word which accompanies the noun (articles and adjectives): un estudiante estupendo/una estudiante magnífica,
el paciente nuevo/la paciente nueva, un taxista rápido/una taxista experta.
In other cases, gender is expressed by the use of a different word: la mujer/el hombre, el padre/la madre, el yerno/
la nuera.

3.1.2.2. El número / Number

Number is the grammatical aspect related to quantity. In Spanish, there are two categories for number: singular and
plural. The singular form is used when referring to a single being, object or concept: niño, mesa, idea. The plural
form is used when referring to more than one being, object or concept: dos niños, muchas mesas.
For each noun, the base word is singular. Generally, to form the plural, -s or -es is added to the base:
●  -S is added to a noun ending in a vowel: un niño → cinco niños, el bolígrafo → los bolígrafos.
●  Either -s or -es is added to a noun ending in -í  or in -ú: un tabú → unos tabús/tabúes.
● A general rule is that -es is added to words ending in a consonant: mi profesor → mis profesores,
el camión → los camiones, el país → los países.
● In nouns which end in -z, the -z changes to a -c and -es is added: un lápiz → tres lápices, el pez → los peces,
esta actriz → estas actrices.
● A general rule is that -s is added to nouns which don’t end in the following consonants: -l, -r, -n, -d, -j, -s, -x,
-ch: este cómic → estos cómics, el entrecot → los entrecots.
Words which are llanas or esdrújulas and which end in -s or -x are special; these do not follow the general rules,
rather the plural form is the same as the singular form: un sacapuntas → dos sacapuntas, el lunes → los lunes,
el cumpleaños → los cumpleaños.
Certain words usually take in the plural: los pantalones, las gafas, las tijeras.

☞☞Other words, like familia and gente, are always used in the singular, even though they refer to a plural entity.
When these words are the subject of a sentence, the verb is singular: Toda mi familia vive en Madrid (My
whole family live/lives in Madrid), En España, la gente es muy simpática (In Spain, people are very friendly).

3.2. Los artículos / Articles

3.2.1. Definición / Definition
In Spanish, two kinds of article exist: indefinite and definite. Articles do not have any meaning by themselves, but
they have a grammatical function when they are used with nouns. As a general rule, articles share the gender and
the number of the nouns they accompany: un árbol (masculine singular), unos árboles (masculine plural), la playa
(feminine singular), las playas (feminine plural).

3.2.2. El artículo indefinido / The indefinite article

3.2.2.1. Formas / Forms
Masculine Feminine
Singular un una
Plural unos unas

14 Catorce