Lesson 2: Practice

Practice 

Language only exists out of necessity to communicate about the world. So there is no need for the learning of language to be broken down by topics. There is a place for any topic while practicing even the most basic aspects of language. So my first key recommendation on your language learning journey is to EXPLORE favorite topics in order to PRACTICE every day. Exploring favorite topics will incentivize the amount of practice that is necessary to learn the language. Because practice is the most important part of learning the language, you have the control over whether you learn it or not.

Practice Tips

If you add Spanish to the keyboard of your phone, you can practice voice to text with the Spanish keyboard to check your pronunciation of any of the words or phrases that you want to practice. (Note: The keyboard functions a little bit differently with multiple languages available than with only one.)

Step 2: Consonant Differences

Know the Spanish pronunciation of consonant differences in order to correctly pronounce all single-vowel syllables, using proper nouns and cognates (words that are spelled similarly and mean the same in both languages).

There are roughly 8 consonant differences between English and Spanish. Although you are probably familiar with each one already, let’s take a closer look…

When “L” is double (“LL”) it equals the sound of “Y”  as in “yo-yo”

eLLe

TORTILLA brillante collar

ELLE

MEDELLÍN

AMARILLO

LLUVIA

In Spanish, “RR” (the double “r”) requires you to flutter your tongue. Usually context avoids confusion of words for example: “perro” (noun, “dog”) versus “pero” (conjunction, “but”). *Note that a word beginning with “r” also makes the “rr” sound.

LETTER	A	E	I	O	U
rr(erre)	AN-DO-RRAerráticorápido	*RE-GU-LARcorrecto, corresponde, remedio	BURRITO,horrible, terrible	E-RRORromántico, arrogante	CHA-RRÚ–Arumor

“Ñ” doesn’t exist in English, but some words containing “ñ” have crossed over from Spanish into English with “ny”.

Ñ	A	E	I	O	U
eÑe	MONTAÑA	EÑE	COMPAÑÍA	CAÑÓN	ÑU

You may be familiar with the greeting:

¡HOLA! (Hello!)

“H” equals the vowel sound that follows it, in other words is silent in Spanish.

LETTER	A	E	I	O	U
H(acHe)	BA-HA-MAS, hábitat, habilidad,	HEC-TOR adhesivo, coherente	HIS-TO-RIA hiperactivo	HON-DU-RAS, honor, honesto, hospital, alcohol, horror, honorable, horizontal, horrible, hostil	HU-MOR humano, humanidad

“CH” is considered a single letter in Spanish and equals the English “ch” sound.

CH (che/ce, ache)

CHÁVEZ,chance

CHEF

CHÍA

CHOCOLATE

CHURRO

You may also be familiar with the name:

JORGE (George)

The Spanish G, J, X = English “H” (but with stronger hacking) ¡Jajaja! (Hahaha!)

Jota	ALEJANDRO	JESUS	GUAJIRA	JOSE	JULIO ajustable, juvenil
Xequis	OAXACA	——	MÉXICO	——	——
Ge	GAUCHO	ARGENTINA	ORIGINAL	GOL	GUZMÁN
		objetivo, agenda, tragedia, inteligente, urgente, general, generoso, genérica, convergente, divergente	gigante, lógica, energía, legislador, tecnología, arqueología, biología, digital, eligible, alérgico, ágil, frágil, imaginativo

Besides the hacking “h” sound, “X” can also be pronounced like in English words: 

Xequis	EXACTO	XENOFOBIA	TAXI	REFLEXOLOGÍA	EXULTACIÓN
		excelente, excéntrica	flexible, tóxico, existe	exótico

…or “sh” (or “s”) like in indigenous words…

Xequis

——

——

MEXICA

XOLOITZCUINTLEaxolotl, Xochitl

——

Although a bit different from English pronunciation, there are already some words and names we are familiar with in English that contain the following combinations:

“KE” = “QUE” (kay) & (kee) “KI” = “QUI”

QcU

QUESADILLA arqueología

MOSQUITO líquido, tranquilidad, equivalente, tranquilo

“GUE” (gay) & (gee) “GUI” or “GÜE” (gway) &  “GÜI” (gwee)

(GU)		RODRIGUEZ	GUÍA
(GÜ)		BILINGÜE	PINGÜINO

Menus

Practice pronouncing traditional foods on local menus (menus locales) of Denver.

Listening Practice

Practice LISTENING in order to identify the correct word in Spanish pop songs with LyricsTraining.com where you can start at beginner and work your way up with your favorite songs in Spanish. If you create an account you can also keep your scores and even compete against other players! (Hint: you might want to have the lyrics at hand when you first get started.)

Progress Check

Complete Progress check 2 and check your answers using the answer key.

Lesson 2 Summary

Pronunciation Organizer Example

The lyrics from “De America, yo soy” (From America, I am), a song by Los Tigres del Norte from Mexico, are organized into the following pronunciation charts which summarize the steps in the process of correct Spanish pronunciation. 

2. WORDS WITH SIGNIFICANT CONSONANT DIFFERENCES FROM ENGLISH:

consonants	A	E	I	O	U
CH	charrúa, chapín, charro		Chile
G	Gaucho, galope	imágenes, Argentina			Guajiro
Gu		gue	gui
Gü		güe	güi
H	Haber, Bahamas	he, herencia, hermanos	hijos
J		mujeres	Jíbaro, Guajiro	hijos
LL	bellas, castellano
Ñ
Qu		Que, qué	quieren, Esquimal, aquí
RR	Tierra		Rica	Charro	Charrúa
X			Mexicano

What is it?

Pronounce correctly in order to ask or answer what about something, including the conversational courtesy of “hola”.

POR EJEMPLO, begin the conversation with the common courtesies:

“¡Hola!” (Hi!) “Perdón…” (Pardon…)

Now you can ask what something is by saying:

¿Qué es?

Usually something can be cleared up in any situation just by pointing at the item being referenced (like the clock), but if you want to clarify whether it’s one thing or another, say:

¿Es… o…?

Express interest by simply exclaiming, “Interesting!”:

¡Interesante!

Asking the time

In Spanish, when asking the time, we just say, 

“¿Qué hora es?” = “What hour is it?”

To which we answer:

Es la una. = It is 1:00

Where in the world is it 1:00? Let’s practice telling the time with 1:00 first. Find a city where it is 1:00 and practice…

“¿Qué hora es en ____?” = “What time is it in _______?”

To which we answer:

Es la una en _______.

Meaning

Negotiating meaning, just like negotiating a price, is when people need to negotiate what each one is intending to say. A very helpful phrase to know for this is:

“¿Qué significa?” = What (does it) mean?

As you can see, “significa” is very similar to “significance”, which is a synonym for “meaning”.

If you need to specify what you are asking the meaning for, just do your best to repeat what you hear. This may require you to ask generally at first, but then you pay careful attention to what you don’t understand and try to repeat it. Negotiating meaning is an essential skill for language learning!

A great conversational phrase to add to your repertoire: 

“Un momento, por favor.” (One moment, please.)

Practice correctly pronouncing the bold phrases below. You can also practice different variations of them by using the negative “no” in front of “es” and exchanging the adjectives. Notice that there is a trend that the nouns that use “un” often end with “-o” while the nouns that use “una” often end with “-a”. However, as you will see with the third column, there is not always a recognizable pattern.

un _____o	una ______a	no pattern
Es un caso interesante. (It’s an interesting case.) Es un momento informal. (It’s an informal moment.) Es un modo ideal. (It’s an ideal mode/ way.)	Es una persona única*. (It’s a unique/ special person.) Es una idea personal. (It’s a personal idea.) Es una forma natural. (It’s a natural form/ shape/ way.) Es una manera similar. (It’s a similar manner/ way.)	Es un problema grande. (It’s a grand/ big problem.) Es una parte importante. (It’s an important part.)

*Watch out for the adjective “única”. It changes to “único” with “un” in front of the noun.

Gramática Parte 3

What exists

Organize simple noun phrases in order to communicate what “there is” or “there is not” using “existe” or “no existe”.

The Spanish word “existe” (ex-ee-stay) expresses that something or someone “exists”. It is among the most common words in Spanish. “Existe” is good for speaking Spanish since it is easy to remember and therefore you would be more likely to get your point across. 

Note: the question mark goes upside down before, and right side up after, any question.

English	QUESTION	—	ANSWER	English
Does it exist?	¿Existe?	→	Sí, existe.	Yes, it exists.
Does Mexico exist?	¿Existe México?	→	Sí, existe México.	Yes, Mexico exists.

Also, remember that “No” negates (N) the verb in Spanish when placed in front of it.

English	N	VERB	NAME
(It does) not exist.	No	existe.
El Dorado (does) not exist.	No	existe	El Dorado.

Add “existe” to verbs and each index card using the chart on the next page. Practice the correct pronunciation of each Spanish word as you make correct sentence combinations. Then add the conversational terms to the sentences where it makes sense.

En una crisis global… Existe propaganda? Existe una confusión? Existe una idea normal? Existe una nostalgia sentimental? Existe una conclusión final? Existe una decisión unilateral? Existe una religión secular? Existe una unión civil?

Turismo En una capital popular… Existe un área superficial? Existe un club social? Existe un taxi regional? Existe un hospital general?

Labor En un área agricultural… Existe una región rural? Existe un tractor industrial? Existe un panel solar?

Ask or answer questions using vocabulary limited to that which has been discussed up to this point. It is important to practice what is being covered at each point because that is the only way you will be able to use it when you need it. So be creative and imagine scenarios or think of personal connections you have to each scenario. The more you practice and make personal connections, the easier it will be further on. Here are lists of very common phrases in Spanish using the vocabulary from this lesson to help you get started:

• ¿Qué existe? (What exists?)
• Nada existe. (Nothing exists.)
• Sólo uno existe. (Only one exists.)
• No existe mucho. (Not much exists.)
• Existe mucho. (A lot exists.)
• Existe de todo. (A bit of everything exists.)
• No existe un problema. (There doesn’t exist a problem.)
• No existe una forma. (There doesn’t exist a way.)
• ¿Qué es? (What is it?)
• No es nada. (It’s nothing.)
• No es mucho. (It’s not much.)
• Es mucho. (It’s a lot .)
• No es todo. (That’s not all.)
• Es todo. (That’s all.)
• Es un ejemplo de un… (Its an example of a…)
• Es un tipo de… (Its a kind of…)
• En todo caso… (Either way…)
• ¿Qué lugar es? (What place is it?)
• Es el lugar de mi padre. (It’s my father’s place.)
• Es el lugar al lado del parque. (It’s a place next to the park.)
• Es el lugar en el punto. (It’s the place at the point/ dot.)
• En todas partes. (Everywhere.)
• ¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?)
• Es la una. (It’s one o’clock.)
• Es la una en punto. (It’s one o’clock on the dot.)
• Es la hora de clase. (It’s class time.)
• Es la hora de estudiar. (It’s time to study.)
• ¿Qué día es? (What day is it?)
• Es el día de la independencia.
• Es lunes / martes… /sábado/ domingo.
• ¿Qué parte del día es? (What part of the day is it?)
• Es de día. (It’s daytime.)
• Es de noche. (It’s nighttime.)
• En todo momento. (At all times.)

Next 15 Most Frequent Words by Function

VERB PHRASES				NOUN PHRASES
SPA	ENG	NOTES		SPA	ENG	NOTES
8. EXISTE	he/she/it (you) exists	EXISTIR =to existexiste(n) = hay		Connectors (articles go before and the preposition goes between)
				9. por	FOR, by, around	por←→for
				21. o	OR	o←→or
				22. sí	yes	si = if

NOUN PHRASES
SPA	ENG	NOTES		SPA	ENG	NOTES
10. PERSONA	person	-a feminine noun (f.)		14. MOMENTO	moment	-o masculine noun (m.)
11. FORMA	form, shape, way			15. CASO	case
12. MANERA	manner, way			16. MODO	mode, way
13. PARTE	part	feminine noun (f.)		17. PUNTO	point, dot
				18. PROBLEMA	problem	masculine noun (m.)
Adjectives
19. grande	big, large	grande – grand		20. únic@	only, unique	único – unique

“Manera”, almost equal to “manner”, more commonly means “way”. Check out these two Spanish versions of a song that may very well recognize: “A Mi Manera” by Gipsy Kings (España) or Vicente Fernandez (México).

Not Similar, Essential

There are some words that are absolutely essential and have no connection to English.

“The” is an article like “a” that goes in front of a specific noun. In Spanish there are four versions of “the”, but here we’ll focus on the first two versions: masculine and feminine…

Es el momento. Es la persona.

Quiz on Similar, Frequent Vocabulary (Practice 2C)

Asking

Noun phrases

Begin to collect nouns and adjectives here. Practice questions and answers with the help of the verbs. First, use the verb “Hay” to begin talking about what “There is”.

¿Qué hay?	Hay…			No hay…nada.
una		un
PERSONA	COSA	LUGAR

Then, use the verb “Es” to specify what “It is” or what “It is (like)”.

¿Qué es?	Es…
	un	una	(adj./descripción)
¿Qué PERSONA es? ¿Quién es?	padre	persona	única, único  solo, sola
¿Qué COSA es? ¿Cuál es?	caso, modo, problema, momento, objeto	idea, parte, forma, manera, hora	grande, natural, total solo, sola
¿Qué LUGAR es? ¿Dónde?	área, sitio, lado	región, parte, ciudad	local, natural, solo, sola
¿En qué lugar está?	Está en…
	un	una	(adj./descripción)
¿Qué LUGAR es? ¿En qué lugar está? ¿Dónde está?	área, sitio	región, ciudad	local, natural, solo, sola

Existir

Below are common, present forms of the verb EXISTIR (to exist)

EXISTE. (He/ She/ Usted/ It – exists./ There exists…)

EXISTEN. (They exist.)

EXISTO. (I exist.)

EXISTIMOS. (We exist.)