Spanish for Beginners

Spanish for Beginners

Though you dont need to know Spanish to participate in and enjoy your experience in Nicaragua, knowing some simple phrases may enrich your interactions with local Nicaraguans. You can use this basic introduction to Spanish to communicate on the job site and to have some basic get to know you conversations with people in the community. Youll be surprised how patient and kind Nicaraguans will be when you make the effort to communicate! For your convenience and safety each group will have bi-lingual leaders and translators and some Spanish-speaking members of your group may help you translate.

Table of Contents
Greetings ................................................................................................................ 2 Getting Acquainted ................................................................................................ 2 We are family!........................................................................................................ 3 How old are you? ................................................................................................... 4 Numbers................................................................................................................. 4 Days of the week.................................................................................................... 4 Telling time ............................................................................................................ 5 Exclamations! ......................................................................................................... 5 Expressions of Courtesy ......................................................................................... 5 I Dont Understand! ............................................................................................... 5 Saying Goodbye ..................................................................................................... 6 Are you hungry? ..................................................................................................... 6 Words for the workplace ....................................................................................... 7 Parts of the House ................................................................................................. 8 Expressions for the Workplace .............................................................................. 8 Im a Doctor! .......................................................................................................... 8 Parts of the Body: .................................................................................................. 8 Doctor Patient Inquiry Questions: ...................................................................... 9 Patient Complaints:................................................................................................ 9 Symptoms and Illnesses: ........................................................................................ 9 A Brief List of Medical Supplies:........................................................................... 10 A Quick Lesson on Verbs ...................................................................................... 10 Useful Irregular Verbs Conjugated in the Present Tense..................................... 11 Present Participle ................................................................................................. 12 Adjectives Adjectivos ........................................................................................ 12

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Greetings
Hello. Good Morning! Good Afternoon! Good Night! What is your name? (formal) Hola. Buenos Das! Buenas tardes! Buenas noches! How Are You? Cmo ests? Qu fu? Qu pas? Qu tal?

Cmo se llama usted? What's your name? (informal) Cmo te llamas? Me llamo Mara. Mucho gusto. El gusto es mo. Permtame presentar a Juan.

Very well thank you, and you? Muy bien! Gracias! Y Usted? Im thirsty. Im hungry. Im hot. I have pain Im tired. Tengo sed. Tengo hambre. Tengo calor. Tengo dolor Estoy cansado (a)

My name is Mary. I'm very pleased to meet you. The pleasure is mine. Allow me to introduce John.

To ask someone if they feel thirsty, hungry, etc. change the verb tengo to tiene (pronounced teeyen-ay). Example: Tiene hambre? Are you hungry?

Getting Acquainted
Where are you from? Im from the United States. Are you a student? Yes! I am studying De dnde eres? Soy de los Estados Unidos. Eres un estudiante? Si! Estoy estudiando arte biologia negocios quimica educacin ingenieria geografia desarrollo international Marketing Psychology Writing What do you do? (Occupation) I am Artist Business man/woman Dentist Doctor Engineer Government employee Lawyer marketing sicologia escritura En qu se dedica su trabajo? En qu trabaja? Soy un artista hombre/una mujer de negocios un dentista un doctor un ingeniero el empleado del gobierno un abogado

Art Biology Business Chemistry Education Engineering Geography International Development

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Nurse Office worker Programmer Salesperson

un enfermero un oficinista un programador un vendedor

Teacher Therapist

un professor / maestro un terapista

Perhaps youre a dancer or a singer or a sports fanatic. Talking about common interests is a great way to get to know someone! What do you like to do in your free time? Qu te gusta hacer in su tiempo libre?

Gustar- to like
I like I like Examples: Me gustan las manzanas. Nos gusta la pelicula. Me gusta Me gustan (one thing) (more than one thing)

I like the apples. We like the movie.

Here are a few activities you might enjoy

To sing Horseback riding To dance Sailing To play guitar To act Scuba diving To travel To read To watch TV To listen to music To go to the movies To play cards To see a play cantar montar a caballo bailar la navegacin tocar guitarra actuar buseo viajar leer mirar el televisor escuchar musica ir al cine jugar a los naipe ver un obra de teatro Hike in the mountains To play sports To play baseball To play basketball To play soccer To swim To play chess To go shopping To go out with friends To sunbathe To meet people To go to the beach escalar, caminar en las montaas jugar deportivos jugar besbol jugar baloncesto jugar ftbol nadar jugar al ajedrez ir de compras salir con mis amigos tomar sol conocer gente ir a la playa

We are family!
Wherever you travel in Central America, youll find that many people are very family oriented. Family sizes, traditions, and characteristics are all great topics of get to know you conversations. Mi or Mis preceeds a singular and plural pronoun respectfully. Mother Father Brother Madre Padre Hermano Sister Daughter Son Hermana Hija Hijo

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Grandaughter Grandson Uncle Aunt Wife Husband

Nieta Nieto Tio Tia Esposa Esposo

Grandmother Grandfather Cousin (male) Cousin (female)

Abuela Abuelo Primo Prima

How old are you?

Cuntos aos tienes? It translates directly to, How many years do you have? I am ____ years old. Tengo _____ aos. If you want to ask how old someone else (he or she) is ask: Cuantos aos tiene el/ella? How old are you?

Numbers
How much? Zero One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Cero Uno/Una Dos Tres Cuatro Cinco Seis Siete Ocho Nueve Diez Once Doce Trece Catorce Quince Dieciseis Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty-one
Twenty-two

Cunto? Diecisiete Dieciocho Diecinueve Veinte Veinte uno

Veinte y dos

Thirty Forty Fifty Sixty Seventy Eighty Ninety One hundred Five hundred One thousand Five thousand

Treinta Cuarenta Cincuenta Sesenta Setenta Ochenta Noventa Cien/Ciento Quinientos Mil Cinco Mil

Days of the week

Days of the week. When? What day is today? Today is Monday. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Das de la semana. Cundo? Qu da es hoy? Hoy es Lunes. Lunes Martes Mircoles Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Today Yesterday Tomorrow Jueves Viernes Sbado Domingo Hoy Ayer Maana

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Evening/night Morning Afternoon La maana La tarde

La noche

Telling time
What time is it? At what time? Its one oclock. It is three oclock. It is three fifteen. It is three-thirty. Its five twenty. It is a quarter to five. Qu hora es? A qu hora? Es la una. Son las tres. Son las tres y cuatro. Son las tres y media. Son las cinco y viente Son las seis menos cuarto. -or- Son las cinco y cuartenta y cinco. el minuto la hora el da la semana el mes el ao

Minute Hour Day Week Month Year

Exclamations!
Whether on the worksite, participating in activities in your free time or with the community or through simple conversation at the dinner table you may experience a moment where youll feel so full of emotion youll want to exclaim something. How Scary! I hate it! I love it! How Delicious! How funny! How Dirty! Thats it! Que susto! Lo odio! Me encanta! Que rico! Que chistoso! Que sucio! Eso es! Bless you! What a shame! Enjoy your meal! How cute/beautiful! How amusing! Of Course! Salud! Que lastima! Buen provecho! Que linda/hermosa! Que divertido! Por supuesto!

Expressions of Courtesy
Thank you very much. You're welcome. Yes, please. No, thank you. Pardon me. or Excuse me. Pardon me. or Excuse me. Muchas gracias. De nada. S, por favor. No, gracias. Perdn. (to seek someone's attention or forgiveness) Con permiso. (to ask permission to pass by someone)

I Dont Understand!
I dont speak Spanish. No hablo espaol.

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I understand. I do not understand. Do you speak English?

Comprendo. No Comprendo. Habla usted ingls?

Saying Goodbye
Goodbye. See you later. See you tomorrow. See you Thursday. Adis. Hasta luego. Hasta maana. Hasta jueves.

Are you hungry?

Are you hungry? Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Supper Cup Fork Glass Knife Napkin Plate Spoon Tiene Hambre? desayuno almuerzo cena taza tenedor vaso cuchillo servilleta plato chucharra Cucumber French fries Lettuce Mushrooms Onion Peas Potatoes Radish Salad Spinach Squash String beans Tomato pepino papas fritas lechuga hongos cebolla chicharos papas rabano ensalada espinacas calabaza ejotes tomate

Fruit
Apple Banana Grapefruit Juice Lemon/Lime Mango Orange Pineapple Strawberry

fruta
manzana platano toranja jugo limon mango naranja pia fresa

Dairy Products
Butter Cheese Cream Eggs
Fried Scrambled Soft boiled Hard boiled

mantequilla queso crema huevos

fritos revueltos pasados por aqua duros

Milk

leche

Vegetables
Avocado Beans Carrots Celery Corn

verduras
aguacate frijoles zanohorias apio elote

Starches
Bread Sweet rolls Toast Rice pan pan dulce tostada arroz

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Meat, poultry and fish

Bacon Chicken Chop Fish Ham Lamb Liver Lobster Marinated fish Meat Pork Poultry Roast Sausage Shrimp Steak Trout Turkey tocino pollo chuleta pescado jamon cordero higado langosta ceviche carne puerco pollo asado chorizo camarones fillete trucha guajalote

Turtle Veal Beverages Beer Coffee

Black With cream

tortuga ternera bebidas cerveza cafe

negro con leche

Milk Tea Water

With ice Without ice

leche te agua pura

con hielo sin hielo

Wine

vino

Dessserts
Cake Cookies/Crackers Ice cream Pastries

postres
pastel galletas helados pastel

Words for the workplace

Materials
Bucket Cement Cement block Cement tray Gloves Hammer Ladder Measuring tape Nail Pliars el balde el cemento el bloque el cajone los guantes el martillo la escalera la cinta metrica el clavo la tenaza Sand Scaffolding Shovel Tool Trowel Wheelbarrow Wire Wood el alicate la arena el andamio la pala el herramiento la cucharra la carretilla el alambre la madera

Direction
Above After Around Backward Before Behind encima despues alrededor hacia atras antes detras de Beside Far Forward Higher Lower Near al lado de lejos adelante mas arriba mas bajo cerca

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(On the) left (On the) right Opposite

(a la) izquierda (a la) derecha frente a

Toward

hacia

Parts of the House

Ceiling Door Floor Foundation Frame Furniture el cielo raso or el techo la puerta el piso la fundacion la armadura los muebles House Roof Room Wall Window la casa el techo el cuarto la pared la ventana

Expressions for the Workplace

Bring me the Watch out! Do you need help? Ill help him/her. Ill help you. Come here! Do you want? Do you need? Do you have? Im sorry! Can I have the Look for it. Pick it up. Traiga me el/la Cuidado! Necesita ayuda? Le ayudare. Te ayudo. Ven aca! Quiere? Necesita? Tiene? Lo Siento! Puedo tener la/el Busquela. Recojalo. Put it here. Take it. Lets There are / are there? There is/ is there? Its lost. Take out the... Put away the Its wet. I dont understand. Where are you going? Pongala aqui. Tomela. Vamos Hay? Esta? Esta perdido. Saque Guarde lo Esta mojado. No intiendo. Adnde vas?

Im a Doctor!
This section is for volunteers working with one of community healthcare projects or anyone who needs to see a doctor or describe an ailment. Im a Doctor! I need a doctor! Soy mdico! Necesito un mdico!

Parts of the Body:

Ankle Arm Back Blood el tobillo el brazo la espalda la sangre Body Bone Brain Cheek el cuerpo el hueso el cerebro la mejilla

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Chest Chin Ear Elbow Eye Face Finger Foot Gland Hair Hand Head Heart Hip Kidney Knee Leg Lip Liver Lung

el pecho la barbilla la oreja el codo el ojo la cara el dedo el pie la glandula el pelo la mano la cabeza el corazn la cadera el rion la ridilla la pierna el labio el hgado el pulmn

Mouth Muscle Nail Neck Nose Rib Skin Shoulder Spine Spleen Stomach Throat Tongue Tooth Urine Waist Wrist

la boca el msculo la ua el uello la nariz la costilla la piel el hombro la espina el bazo el estmago la garganta la lengua el diente el orina el talle la mueca

Doctor Patient Inquiry Questions:

Relax. What happened? When did it happen? Has it happened before? Do you have pain? Where does it hurt? Are you allergic to anything? Does it hurt if I press here? Reljese. Qu ocurri? Cundo ocurri? Le ha ocurrido antes? Tiene dolor? Dnde le duele? Es usted alrgico(a) a cualquier cosa? Le duele cuando aprieto aqu?

Patient Complaints:
I feel bad. I have pain in my Me siento malo. Tengo dolor en mi

Symptoms and Illnesses:

Allergic reaction Blister Broken bone una reaccin alrgica una ampolla un hueso roto Bruise Burn Chills una contusin una quemadura un escalofro

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Cough Cramps Cut Diarrhea Dizziness Fever

un tos un calambre un corte una diarrea el vrtigo una fiebre

Infection

una infeccin

Rash Swelling Wound

una erupcin una inflamacin un herido

A Brief List of Medical Supplies:

Antiseptic Band-aid Bandage Cast Cough syrup Condoms Cream Disinfectant Drops Gauze el antisptico la curita el vendaje la armadura de yeso el jarabe para la tos los condones la crema el desinfectante las gotas la gasa Iodine Oxygen Pills Prescription Scissors Shot Soap Stitches Thermometer el yodo el oxgeno la pastillas la receta las tijeras la inyeccin el jabn las puntadas el termmetro

A Quick Lesson on Verbs

Verbs ending in AR (to study: estudiar) I study You study He/She studies You study We study They study You study Yo Tu El/Ella Usted Nos Ellos/Ellas Ustedes estudi estudi estudi estudi estudi estudi estudi + o + as +a + a (singular formal) + amos + an + an (plural formal) Commonly used AR Verbs To borrow To dance To finish To hug To sing To speak To watch To work To listen To look for Prestar Bailar Terminar Abrazar Cantar Hablar Mirar Trabajar Escuchar Buscar

Verbs ending in ER (to learn: aprender) I learn Yo aprend + o

Commonly used ER Verbs To believe Creer

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You learn He/She leanrs You learn We learn They learn You learn

Tu El/Ella Usted Nos Ellos/Ellas Ustedes

aprend + es aprend + e aprend + e (singular formal) aprend + emos aprend + en aprend + en (plural formal) Commonly used IR Verbs viv + o viv + es viv + e viv + e (singular formal) viv + imos viv + en viv + en (plural formal)

To drink Beber To eat Comer To learn Aprender To understand Comprender To sell Vender Should, to owe Deber

Verbs ending in IR (to live: vivir) I live You live He/She lives You live We live They live You live Yo Tu El/Ella Usted Nos Ellos/Ellas Ustedes

To receive To write To assist To climb, to go up To decide To describe To open

Recibir Escribir Asistir Subir Decidir Describir Abrir

Useful Irregular Verbs Conjugated in the Present Tense

Infinitive I Yo To go Ir To be able to/can Poder To put/place Poner To want Querer To have Tener To bring Traer To come Venir To see Ver To know Saber To be *temporary state i.e feelings, location Estar voy puedo pongo quiero tengo traigo vengo veo se estoy You Tu vas puedes pones quieres tienes traes vienes ves sabes estas He/She/ You El/Ella/ Usted va puede pone quiere tiene trae viene ve sabe est We Nos vamos podemos ponemos queremos tenemos traemos venimos vemos sabemos estamos They/You Ellos/as Ustedes van pueden ponen quieren tienen traen vienen ven saben estan

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To be *permanent state Ser

soy

eres

es

somos

son

Present Participle
The present participle is the ing verb form. (i.e. speaking, running) For AR verbs: Drop the ar and add ando to the infinitive as in estidiando (studying). For ER and IR verbs: Drop the er or the ir and add iendo to the infinitive as in comiendo (eating) or viviendo (living). Examples: Mariella is eating the black beans. Mariella est comiendo los frijoles negros. The boy enters the living room singing. El nino entra cantando la sala. * note: present participle verb forms (-iendo/-ando) are preceded by a helping verb- usually a form of the verb estar (to be).

Adjectives Adjectivos
A Able Absent Abundant Active Active (hyper) Agreeable Alike Alive All Alone Angelic Apart Applicable Appropriate Athletic B Bad Barely Beautiful Better Big Blessed hbil ausente abundante activo inquieto agradable parecido vivo todo solo anglico aparte aplicable apropiado atltico malo apenas hermoso major grande bendito Blond Bloody Bold Boring Broken Burnt Busy C Careful Cheap Clean Clear Closed Cloudy Cold Comfortable Comical Confused Content Correct Crazy rubio sangriento atrevido aburrido quebrado quemado ocupado cuidadoso barato limpio claro cerrado nublado fro cmodo cmico confundido contento correcto loco D Dangerous Dark-haired Dead Dear Decent Delicious Difficult Dignified Dirty Distrustful Dry E Elderly Elegant Elementary Empty Energetic Enormous Entertaining Excellent Exciting Expensive peligroso moreno muerto querido decente delicioso difcil digno sucio receloso seco

anciano elegante elemental vaco enrgico enorme divertido excelente emocionante caro

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F Fabulous Fantastic Far away Fat Feminine Few First Flat ground Flat Fleeting Flexible Foolish Foreign Free Fried Friendly Frozen Full G Generous Genius Glorious Good Grand Grateful grave, serious H Hairy Handmade Handsome Happy Happy Hard, difficult Harmful Heavy Honest Horrible Hot Humid Hungry I Ignorant

fabuloso fantstico lejano gordo femenino pocos primero llano plano pasajero flexible tonto extranjero gratis, libre frito amable helado lleno generoso genio glorioso bueno gran agradecido grave peludo hecho a mano guapo alegre feliz duro perjudicial pesado honesto horrible caliente hmedo hambriento

Impatient Impenetrable Important Improper Incomparable Incompetent Incomplete Inconvenient Incorrect Infectious Intelligent Interesting Invisible Irritable J Just, fair K Known L Lazy Logical Long Loose Loyal

impaciente impenetrable importante indebido incomparable incompetente incompleto inconveniente incorrecto infeccioso inteligente interesante invisible irritable

Older Open Optimistic Overflowing P Paid Parallel Particular Passed, gone Patient Pensive Perfect Permanent Persuasive Picturesque Playful Polite Poor Popular Preferred Pregnant Prepared Present Pretty Previous Private Privileged Pure Q Quiet, still Quirky R Rainy Rapid Reasonable Rebellious Recent Recognized Recommended Recyclable Red-haired Rich Ridiculous

mayor abierto optimista rebosante

justo

conocido perezoso lgico largo flojo fiel

pagado paralelo particular pasado paciente pensativo perfecto permanente persuasivo pintoresco juguetn educado pobre popular preferido embarazada preparado epresente bonito anterior privado privilegiado puro quieto caprichoso

M Magnificent Manageable Many Marine Mean, not nice Melted Minimal Musical N Necessary New Nice O Old Old

magnfico manejable mucho marino antiptico fundido mnimo musical necesario nuevo simptico

ignorante

antiguo viejo

lluvioso rpido razonable rebelde reciente reconocido recomendable reciclable pelirrojo rico ridculo

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Ripe Romantic Rotten S Sad Safe Same Scarce Scary Seasick Select Selfish Serious Shameful Shocking Short (height) Short (length) Showy Sick Slow Small Small Smart, ready Smooth Soft

maduro romntico podrido

triste seguro mismo escaso espantoso mareado selecto egosta serio penoso chocante bajo corto llamativo enfermo lento chico pequeo listo liso suave

Solid Special Spent, worn out Spicy Spoken Sticky Strong Sweet T Tall, high Tasty Thick Thin Tired Together True Twisted U Ugly Unanimous Uncomfortable Uncovered Uneven, odd Unique, only

slido especial gastado picante hablado pegajoso fuerte dulce

Unjust Unknown V Valiant Variety, varied W Washable Waxed Weak Welcome Wet Wicked Wireless Wise Wonderful Worried Written Y Young Younger Youthful

injusto desconocido

valiente varios

alto sabroso espeso delgado cansado juntos verdadero torcido

lavable encerado dbil bienvenido mojado malvado inalmbrico juicioso estupendo preocupado escrito joven menor juvenil

feo unnime incmodo descubierto impar nico

***An important note about adjective usage in Spanish: In Spanish, an adjective follows the noun it is describing. Example: Tengo un gato negro. I have a black cat. **Notice negro (black) follows gato (cat).

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Mission Statement

Bridges to Community, Inc. is a non-profit, community development organization which takes groups of volunteers to developing countries to work, learn and reflect. Through the process of living and working with local communities on construction, health and environmental projects, Bridges promotes crosscultural learning, a deepening awareness of our global interdependence, and a commitment to the common good. Bridges to Community 95 Croton Avenue Ossining, NY 10562 Tel: 914-923-2200 Fax: 914-923-8396 Email: info@bridgestocommunity.org

www.bridgestocommunity.org

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