Start Learning Spanish
By Gerald Erichsen, About.com Guide
- Introduction to the Spanish Language
- Unit 1: The Basics
- Unit 2: Verbs, Adjectives and More
- Unit 3: Adverbs, Quantities and More
Introduction to the Spanish Language
These articles provide an overview of the language.
Unit 1: The Basics
These lessons introduce you to the building blocks of Spanish.
- The Spanish Alphabet
- Pronunciation: The Easy Consonants
- Pronunciation: Vowels
- Pronunciation: Difficult Consonants
- Greetings
- Plurals
- Gender
- Noun-Adjective Agreement
- Introduction to the Definite Article
- Introduction to Pronouns
- Subject Pronouns
- Formal and Informal You ('Usted' and 'Tú')
- Capitalization
- Stress and Accent Marks
- Introduction to Conjugation
Unit 2: Verbs, Adjectives and More
In this group of lessons, we expand on the basics, focusing on verb conjugation and use of adjectives. We also start learning how to use prepositions.
- Introduction to the Present Tense
- Conjugating Regular Verbs in the Present Tense
- Negation: 'No' and Related Words
- Adjectives and Word Order
- Inroduction to Prepositions
- Colors
- Adjectives of Quantity
- Using the Preposition "De"
- Introduction to "Ser" and "Estar"
- Possessive Adjectives (Short Form)
- Demonstrative Adjectives
- Interrogative Pronouns
- Counting: Cardinal Numbers
- Interrogative Adjectives
Unit 3: Adverbs, Quantities and More
Topics covered include learning how to count and use numbers, using adverbs and adjectives, and making comparisons.
- Introduction to Adverbs
- Counting: Cardinal Numbers
- Interrogative Adjectives
- Plural Indefinite Articles ('Unos' and 'Unas')
- Indefinite Adjectives
- Comparisons of Inequality
- Making Adverbs from Adjectives
- Adverbs Not Ending in '-Mente'
- Telling Time
- Months of the Year
- Demonstrative Pronouns
- Possessive Adjectives (Long Form)
- Asking for Directions
- Vocabulary of the Family
- The Four Seasons
Unit 4: Prepositions and More
As you learn how to use some of the common prepositions, you will be able to speak and write more complex sentences.
- Preposition 'A'
- Preposition 'En'
- Preposition 'Para'
- Preposition 'Por'
- Preposition 'Con'
- Speaking of the Future
- Introduction to the Future Tense
- Prepositional Object Pronouns
- Direct Object Pronouns
- Indirect Object Pronouns
- Body Parts
- Possessive Pronouns
Unit 5: Past Tenses and More
Several of the lessons in this deal with issues that can be confusing for beginning students, such as the differences between ser and estar, the verbs for "to be"; and the distinctions of the past tenses.
- Using "Estar" for "To Be"
- Using "Ser" for "To Be"
- Using "Gustar" for "To Like"
- Two Simple Past Tenses
- Conjugating Regular Verbs in the Preterite
- Using "Haber"
- Conjugating Verbs in the Imperfect
- Present Participles
- Past Participles
- Using "Tener"
- Reflexive Pronouns
- Introduction to Reflexive Verbs
- Introduction to "Se"
- Indefinite Pronouns
- "Que" and other Relative Pronouns
- Introduction to the Subjunctive Mood
Types of Sentences
Once you get beyond simple statements, you'll find that Spanish uses certain words and sentence structures as clues to the type of sentence you're dealing with.
Other Resources
This site has plenty of reference materials and other resources you can use.
