Learning Spanish — frequently asked questions
33 questions people really ask when learning Spanish, with answers that stand on their own. Where there is more to say, the link comes underneath — not instead of the answer.
Getting started
Where to begin, what is easy and what is not, and what the levels mean.
How do I start learning Spanish?
With four things side by side rather than one after another: the choice between ser and estar, the present-tense endings of the three verb groups (-ar, -er, -ir), a first stock of everyday words, and saying whole sentences aloud. That last one is easier to start early than it is in English: Spanish spelling tells you reliably how a word sounds, so reading aloud from the first day does not build habits you later have to undo. And the choice of ser or estar comes up in almost the first sentence you say, which is why it belongs at the start and not in a later chapter.
Is Spanish easy for English speakers?
Easier in some places, harder in others. Easier: the spelling, which matches the sound far more closely than English does, and a large shared vocabulary that both languages took from Latin — la información, la universidad, importante, posible are recognisable on sight. Harder: the verb, which has a separate ending for each person in each tense, where English gets by with two or three forms; the gender of every noun, which the adjectives have to match; and the subjunctive, a whole set of verb forms that English keeps only in traces such as «if I were you».
What do A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2 mean?
They are the six levels of a European scale, from a first few sentences (A1) to effortless command of the language (C2). The labels are free to use; the official wording that describes each level is protected by copyright, and this site deliberately does not reproduce it. What you find here instead is its own grading of the material, with the yardstick stated openly: the question is not how difficult a word is, but from what point you cannot get by without it. el desayuno is a long word and sits at A1, because everyone has breakfast.
How long does it take to learn Spanish?
There is no honest figure in hours, and any site that gives one as a fact has made it up: it depends on what you already know, how often you practise and what you need the language for. What can be said is where the time goes. Reading comes quickly to an English speaker, because so much of the educated vocabulary is shared. Listening lags behind for longer — spoken Spanish runs words together across their boundaries, so a sentence you could read without trouble can sound like one long word. That gap is normal and closes with listening, not with more grammar.
Grammar
The distinctions where Spanish most often catches out an English speaker.
What is the difference between ser and estar?
Both translate «to be». ser says what something is — identity, origin, profession, a lasting quality, the time, what it is made of. estar says where something is or how it is at the moment — place, mood, condition. English sometimes makes the same distinction with an ending instead of a verb: es aburrido is «he is boring», está aburrido is «he is bored». One exception worth knowing early: where an event takes place goes with ser, not estar — la fiesta es en mi casa.
Preterite or imperfect — which past tense do I use?
The preterite (called indefinido on this site) tells what happened: a completed event, even a long one, seen as a whole. The imperfect (imperfecto) describes how things were: a state, a habit, the background. English often shows the imperfect with «was …-ing» or «used to»: leía cuando sonó el teléfono is «I was reading when the phone rang», de niño jugaba al fútbol is «as a child I used to play football». But length alone does not decide it: viví dos años en Sevilla takes the preterite, because the two years are over and counted as one block.
Why do people in Spain say «he comido» about something that happened this morning?
Because in Spain the perfect (he comido, he ido) covers everything that happened within a period that is not yet over — today, this week, this year — even when the action itself is finished and English would use the simple past. Esta mañana he ido al médico is what a Spaniard says for «I went to the doctor this morning». From yesterday back, the preterite takes over: ayer fui al médico. In much of Latin America the preterite is used for both, so you will hear esta mañana fui al médico there too.
What is the subjunctive, and when do I need it?
A separate set of verb forms, used when the main clause wants, doubts, judges or denies something rather than stating it. English keeps only traces of it («if I were you», «it is vital that she be there»); Spanish uses it constantly. The commonest trap for an English speaker is wanting someone else to do something: English says «I want you to come», with an infinitive, and Spanish cannot — it says quiero que vengas. The second trap is the future after cuando: «when you arrive» has a present tense in English, and Spanish needs the subjunctive, cuando llegues.
Do I have to say yo, tú and él in front of the verb?
No, and usually you should not. The ending already says who is meant: hablo is «I speak» on its own, hablamos is «we speak». The pronoun is added for contrast or emphasis — yo pago hoy y tú la próxima vez — and using it in every sentence sounds insistent. There is also no word for the «it» of «it is raining» or «it is important»: Spanish says llueve and es importante, with nothing in front.
Why does «me gusta» seem to be back to front?
Because the thing you like is the subject of the sentence, and you are the one it pleases — closer to the English «it appeals to me» than to «I like it». That is why the verb agrees with the thing: me gusta el libro, but me gustan los libros. A whole group of everyday verbs works the same way: me duele la cabeza (my head hurts), me encanta, me interesa, me falta tiempo (I am short of time).
When is it por and when para?
Both often come out as «for» in English, so English is no help here; the direction of the thought decides. para looks ahead: the purpose, the recipient, the destination, the deadline — un regalo para ti, salgo para Madrid, para el lunes. por looks back or along: the cause, the route, the exchange, the means — gracias por la ayuda, paseo por el parque, lo compré por diez euros. A rough test: if «in order to» or «intended for» fits, it is para; if «because of», «through» or «in exchange for» fits, it is por.
Should I say tú or usted?
English lost this distinction when «thou» went out of use; Spanish keeps it. tú is for friends, family, children and, in Spain, most people of your own age, colleagues included — Spain uses it more readily than much of Latin America. usted is for strangers who are older than you and for formal settings. usted takes the verb forms of «he» and «she» because it began as a courtesy title, vuestra merced (your grace): ¿usted habla inglés?. In the plural, Spain says vosotros to friends and ustedes formally.
Why is «no he visto nada» correct? Isn’t that a double negative?
It is, and in Spanish it is required. Where English switches to «anything», «anybody» or «ever» after «not», Spanish keeps the negative words and puts no in front of the verb as well: no conozco a nadie is «I don’t know anybody», no voy nunca is «I never go». Nothing cancels out; the whole sentence is simply marked as negative. If the negative word comes first, the no drops: nadie lo sabe, nunca voy.
Why is there an «a» in «veo a María»?
It is the personal a, and English has nothing like it. When the direct object of a verb is a particular person, Spanish puts a in front of it: veo la casa, but veo a María; busco un taxi, but busco a mi hermano. It is not translated and adds no meaning of its own — it marks the person as the one the action is done to.
Where do lo, la and le go?
In front of the conjugated verb, not after it as in English: lo veo is «I see him» or «I see it», le escribo is «I write to her». After an infinitive, a gerund or a positive command they are attached to the end instead: quiero verlo, estoy leyéndolo, dímelo. With an infinitive both positions are correct — lo quiero ver means the same as quiero verlo.
How do I know whether a noun is masculine or feminine?
Mostly from the ending: -o is masculine, -a feminine, and that covers the great majority. The exceptions are few and frequent — el día, el idioma, la mano, la foto — and are learnt one by one. Nouns in -ción and -dad are feminine. Gender here has nothing to do with meaning: la mesa is not female in any sense, it simply takes la. So learn every noun with its article; without it you know only half the word.
Can I say «estoy saliendo mañana» for «I’m leaving tomorrow»?
No. English uses the -ing form for plans and arrangements; Spanish does not. For a plan, Spanish uses the plain present or ir a: me voy mañana, voy a salir mañana. estar with a gerund is kept for what is in progress right now — estoy comiendo, «I am eating (at this moment)» — and Spanish reaches for it less often than English reaches for «-ing»: ¿qué haces? is the usual way to ask «what are you doing?».
Why do Spanish questions start with an upside-down question mark?
Because the words often do not show that a question is coming. English turns a statement into a question with «do» or by swapping the verb round; Spanish frequently changes only the intonation: tienes hambre is «you are hungry», ¿tienes hambre? is «are you hungry?». The opening mark tells the reader from the first word to read the sentence as a question. Exclamations work the same way: ¡qué bien!.
Words and sounds
Which words come first, which ones mislead, how to keep them and how to say them.
How many Spanish words do I need?
Fewer than you might fear for everyday conversation, and far more for newspapers and films. The more useful question is not how many, but which ones first: a handful of verbs — ser, estar, tener, ir, hacer, poder — turns up in almost every sentence, while a noun like el trastero (a box room) may come up once a year. A word list sorted by how soon you will need each word gets you speaking long before a list sorted by topic does.
Can I guess Spanish words from English?
Often, because both languages took much of their educated vocabulary from Latin. A few patterns do most of the work: «-tion» becomes -ción (la nación, la estación), «-ty» becomes -dad (la posibilidad, la universidad), «-ly» becomes -mente (normalmente), «-ous» becomes -oso (famoso, nervioso). And Spanish puts an e in front of s plus a consonant: la escuela, especial, el estudiante. The guessing stops at the everyday words English inherited from Old English — «dog», «house», «eat» are el perro, la casa, comer — and at the false friends.
Which Spanish words are false friends for English speakers?
Words that look like English and mean something else. The best known is embarazada, which means «pregnant», not «embarrassed» (that is avergonzado). actual means «current», not «actual» (for «actually», say en realidad). realizar means «to carry out»; «to realise» is darse cuenta. constipado means «having a cold», el éxito is «success» (an exit is la salida), la librería is a bookshop (a library is la biblioteca), and asistir means «to attend». They are few, but every one of them is common.
Which verb goes with which noun?
This is where a sentence can be grammatically correct and still wrong. Much of what English says with «to be» Spanish says with tener, «to have»: tengo hambre (I am hungry), tengo frío, tengo razón (I am right), tengo veinte años (I am twenty). The weather takes hacer: hace frío. A decision is taken, not made — tomar una decisión — while in Spain a photo is made: hacer una foto. There are no rules behind these, only pairs, so learn the verb and the noun together.
How do I remember vocabulary for good?
By meeting each word again at growing intervals rather than in one long session. A word you got right today comes back in a few days, then after a week, then after a month; a word you got wrong comes back tomorrow. This site works that out with five boxes on the Leitner principle and keeps the record in your browser. More important than any method is learning a word in a sentence rather than as a pair in a table — a noun with its article, a verb with the preposition it takes: pensar en (think about), soñar con (dream of), depender de (depend on).
What is hard about Spanish pronunciation for an English speaker?
Less the famous rolled r than the vowels. Spanish has five, and each keeps its sound in every syllable: English says «Canada» with one full vowel and two weak ones, Spanish says Canadá with three clear a’s. The e and the o do not glide either — no stops dead where the English «no» slides on. Of the consonants: h is silent, b and v are the same sound, j sounds like the ch of Scottish «loch», a single r is one quick tap of the tongue and rr is a trill. In most of Spain z, and c before e and i, sound like the th of «think».
What does the accent mark on a Spanish word do?
It shows which syllable is stressed, where the normal rule would not predict it. The rule: a word ending in a vowel, n or s is stressed on the second-to-last syllable (casa, hablan), any other word on the last (hablar, ciudad). The accent marks the exceptions — café, teléfono, árbol — and the stress can change the meaning: hablo is «I speak», habló «she spoke». It also tells apart short pairs such as tú and tu, sí and si, and marks question words: ¿qué?, ¿cómo?.
Spain or Latin America
Which Spanish to learn — and whether that is really a choice.
Should I learn Spanish from Spain or from Latin America?
It is one language, and whichever you learn, you will understand the other — much as British and American English understand each other. The differences can be listed: only Spain uses vosotros; Latin America says ustedes to everyone, which saves a column in every verb table. The th sound for z and c exists only in Spain. And some everyday words differ: el zumo and el jugo, el coche and el carro or el auto, el ordenador and la computadora. This site writes the Spanish of Spain and gives the Latin American form where it differs.
Do people in Spain speak with a lisp?
No. Most of Spain distinguishes two sounds that Latin America does not: s, as in English «see», and z (or c before e and i), as the th in «think». So casa (house) and caza (hunting) sound different in Madrid and the same in Mexico City. A lisp would change the s as well, and Spanish speakers keep it clear; the story of a king whose lisp the country copied is a legend. Pronouncing both as s is standard across Latin America and in parts of southern Spain and the Canary Islands.
Why do Argentinians say vos instead of tú?
Because an older form of address survived there. vos has endings of its own — vos hablás, vos tenés, vos vivís — with the stress on the ending and no change in the stem: vos podés where Spain says tú puedes. It is neither slang nor careless speech but the normal familiar form in Argentina, Uruguay and parts of Central America. If you use tú, you will be understood everywhere.
Is coger really a rude word?
In Spain, no; in much of Latin America, yes. There it has a vulgar sexual meaning, and people say tomar or agarrar instead. In Spain coger el autobús is the ordinary way to say «take the bus», and nobody thinks twice about it. tomar works everywhere — if you are not sure where you will be, use that.
This site
What it costs, what it stores, and what it is not.
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Does this site store my data?
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It was written for this site. No text, word list, example sentence or exercise has been taken, translated or paraphrased from anyone else’s collection — a compiled list is protected even when the individual words in it belong to nobody. The Spanish examples are shared with the site’s German edition; the explanations on these pages are written for English speakers, not translated from the German.
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