Easy Learning Spanish Conversation

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Easy Learning Spanish Conversation
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Published by Collins

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Westerhill Road

Bishopbriggs

Glasgow G64 2QT

Second Edition 2015

© HarperCollins Publishers 2006, 2015

eBook Edition © May 2015 ISBN 978-0-00-811881-5

Version: 2015-04-02

Collins® is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank those authors and publishers who kindly gave permission for copyright material to be used in the Collins Corpus. We would also like to thank Times Newspapers Ltd for providing valuable data.

MANAGING EDITOR

Janice McNeillie

CONTRIBUTOR

Eduardo Vallejo

FOR THE PUBLISHER

Gerry Breslin

Hannah Dove

Contents

Cover

Title page

Copyright

Introduction

What is it?

Why do you need it?

How is it structured?

How does it work?

Why choose Collins Easy Learning Spanish Conversation?

The Collins Easy Learning range

Spanish pronunciation

Spanish vowels

Spanish consonants

Which syllable to emphasize

Units

Small talk

¿Qué tal? – How are things?

Greetings

Introducing people

Talking about yourself

Apologizing

Asking for information

Saying what you want to do

Expressing opinions

Making suggestions

Talking about your plans

Making arrangements

Saying what you have to do

Listen out for

Lifestyle Tips

Getting there

¡Buen viaje! – Have a good trip!

Talking about your plans

Saying what you want to do

Making suggestions

Asking for information

Asking for things

Asking for permission

Saying what you have to do

Listen out for

Lifestyle Tips

Home from home

¡Que descanses! – Sleep well!

Saying what you want

Asking for information

Talking about yourself

Asking for things

Saying what you have to do

Asking for permission

Saying what you like, dislike, prefer

Making suggestions

Talking about your plans

Complaining

Listen out for

Lifestyle Tips

Wining and dining

¡Buen provecho! – Enjoy your meal!

Making arrangements

Asking for information

Asking for things

Saying what you like, dislike, prefer

Making suggestions

Complaining

Listen out for

Lifestyle Tips

Hitting the town

¡Que te diviertas! – Enjoy yourself!

 

Making suggestions

Saying what you want to do

Talking about your plans

Asking for information

Asking for things

Saying what you like, dislike, prefer

Expressing opinions

Listen out for

Lifestyle Tips

Museums, monuments and much more

¡Que lo pases bien! – Have a good time!

Talking about your plans

Making suggestions

Saying what you want to do

Asking for information

Asking for things

Asking for permission

Saying what you like, dislike, prefer

Complaining

Listen out for

Lifestyle Tips

Retail therapy

¿Necesita alguna cosa? – Can I help you?

Asking for things

Saying what you have to do

Talking about your plans

Expressing opinions

Asking for information

Saying what you like, dislike, prefer

Making suggestions

Asking for permission

Listen out for

Lifestyle Tips

Service with a smile

¡Un servicio excelente! – Excellent service!

Asking for information

Saying what you want to do

Asking for things

Talking about yourself

Saying what you prefer

Asking for advice

Making arrangements

Talking about your plans

Listen out for

Lifestyle Tips

Ouch!

¡Que te mejores! – Get well soon!

Explaining the problem

Saying what happened

Asking for information

Asking for things

Saying what you want to do

Making suggestions

Listen out for

Lifestyle Tips

Help!

¡No pasa nada! – Don’t worry about it!

Explaining the problem

Saying what’s happened

Describing people and things

Asking for information

Asking for things

Saying what you want to do

Saying what you have to do

Making suggestions

Talking about your plans

Listen out for

Lifestyle Tips

Getting in touch

¡Dígame! – Hello!

Making a telephone call

When the number you’re calling answers

Saying why you’re calling

Giving information

Answering the telephone

Ending a telephone call

Listen out for

Writing emails and letters

Addressing an envelope

Texting

Social media

Lifestyle Tips

Time, numbers, date

¡Uno, dos, tres, ya! – One, two, three, go!

Los números – Numbers

La hora – The time

Listen out for

Saying how long

Las estaciones – The seasons

Los meses del año – The months of the year

Las fechas – Dates

Los días de la semana – The days of the week

El alfabeto – The alphabet

Listen out for

Interesting days and dates

In summary…

Bueno, resumiendo… – So, to sum up…

Apologizing

Asking for and giving explanations

Asking for information

Asking for permission

Asking for things

Complaining

Describing people and things

Explaining a problem

Expressing opinions

Making suggestions

Saying what’s happened

Saying what you have to do

Saying what you like, dislike, prefer

Saying what you want to do

Talking about your plans

One-stop phrase shop

¡Mucho gusto! – Pleased to meet you!

Hellos and goodbyes

Please and thank you

Attracting someone’s attention

Making sure you’ve understood

Checking facts

Wishing someone something

Apologizing

Reassuring someone

Opinions

Agreeing, disagreeing and declining

Congratulating someone

Reacting to good and bad news

Exclamations

Surprise

Encouraging someone

Handing someone something

Dangers and emergencies

 

Speaking your mind

Conversational words

Grammar

Nouns

Articles

Pronouns

Adjectives

Questions

Negatives

Some common translation difficulties

Verbs

Verb tenses

Verb tables

Hablar: to speak, to talk

Deber: to have to, to owe

Vivir: to live

Lavarse: to wash (oneself)

Dar: to give

Decir: to say, to tell

Entender: to understand

Estar: to be

Haber: to have

Hacer: to do, to make

Ir: to go

Oír: to hear

Pensar: to think

Poder: to be able (to)

Poner: to put

Querer: to want, to love

Saber: to know

Sentir: to feel, to be sorry about

Ser: to be

Tener: to have

Traer: to bring

Ver: to see

Vocabulary builder

About the publisher

Introduction
What is it?

Collins Easy Learning Spanish Conversation is a book for learners of Spanish of all ages. It will increase your confidence in holding a conversation in Spanish, whether you are just starting to learn Spanish, studying at school or at an evening class, or brushing up your language skills. You may be going on holiday or planning to go travelling in a Spanish-speaking country, go there on business, or live there. Whatever your situation, you’ll want to be able to communicate effectively and naturally in Spanish.

Why do you need it?

Becoming proficient in a foreign language means being able to use and understand a number of different aspects – vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and so on. However, it takes a while to be able to put all these elements together and be sure that what you are saying sounds like natural Spanish. The Easy Learning Spanish Conversation has been carefully designed to bring these aspects together and give you language structures which you can use in conversation with confidence, knowing that you will be speaking Spanish as spoken by Spanish speakers.

How is it structured?

Collins Easy Learning Spanish Conversation is made up of 12 units, each illustrating the language used in a particular situation, followed by a summary which brings together the key phrases covered throughout the units. You’ll also find the One-stop phrase shop – a unit which contains all the important expressions and turns of phrase that help you to sound more natural in Spanish.

A short grammar and verbs supplement gives you additional language support, ensuring that you have everything at your fingertips. Finally, the English-Spanish glossary covers the most important vocabulary you may need to personalize your conversation.

How does it work?

Language allows us to express ourselves and interact with others. In any given situation, we perform different language tasks, such as asking for information, agreeing and disagreeing, complaining, making suggestions and so forth. To do this, we use linguistic structures (How…?, When…?, Could I…?, I’d like… and so on) which can be used in a variety of contexts. Each unit in Collins Easy Learning Spanish Conversation gives you all the phrases you might need in a given situation, grouped by structure. English headings help you navigate through the structures to enable you to find what you want quickly and easily. Throughout the units, there are also tips headed ¿Lo sabías? which highlight important differences in the way English and Spanish work.

A conversation, by definition, is a two-way process. It is as important to understand what is being said to you as it is to be able to respond. At the end of each unit, there is a section headed Listen out for. Each of these sections gives you a variety of the most typical phrases which you might hear in a given situation. Becoming familiar with these will allow you to have a successful conversation with a Spanish speaker. For further help with pronunciation, a free download with all the important structures recorded is available on www.collins.co.uk/easylearningresources.

Communicating effectively in Spanish isn’t just about linguistic competence – it’s also about cultural knowledge. For you to feel confident in a Spanish-speaking country, it is also useful to know more about Spanish culture and lifestyle. At the end of each unit, the Lifestyle Tips will give you the information you need to gain a deeper insight into the language, the country and its people.

Why choose Collins Easy Learning Spanish Conversation?

easy to use all the key language structures you need to give you the confidence to hold a conversation in natural Spanish

easy to read a clear, modern layout which allows you to find what you need quickly and easily

easy to understand the language you may hear from Spanish speakers in a given situation

easy to speak free audio download available on www.collins.co.uk/easylearningresources

The Collins Easy Learning range

The Collins Easy Learning Spanish Conversation is part of the best-selling Collins Easy Learning range, which includes the highly acclaimed Collins Easy Learning Spanish Dictionary. Collins Easy Learning Spanish Grammar and Collins Easy Learning Spanish Verbs support you with all your grammatical needs, and the Collins Easy Learning Spanish Words allows you to learn and practise your Spanish vocabulary. The Collins Easy Learning series is the ideal language reference range to help you learn Spanish.

Spanish pronunciation

Spanish pronunciation is easier than you might think. First, words are written pretty much as they sound. So, when you see a new word written you’ll know how to pronounce it and when you hear a new word you’ll know immediately how to spell it. Second, there are no sounds which are radically different from English ones. Below we give some tips to help you pronounce Spanish naturally.

Spanish vowels

In English, vowels we don’t emphasize tend to sound like the –er in mother, for example central, January. In Spanish this never happens. Spanish vowels are always clearly pronounced.

This is how Spanish vowels are generally pronounced:


a– between the a in hat and the u in Southern English hut
e– similar to e in pet
i– similar to ee in been, but shorter
o– similar to o in hot
u– similar to oo in too, but shorter

Spanish consonants

This is how Spanish consonants are generally pronounced:


b, v– these are pronounced exactly the same as one another
at the start of a word, say them like boy (barato, valija)
otherwise, say them like very, but without letting your lips touch (labio, lavar)


c– like English karate (casa, comprar) EXCEPT before e and i (cita, cielo) when they’re pronounced:
like English thin in most of Spain
like English same in other parts of Spain and all Latin America


cu– like English queen (cuatro)


ch– like English church (chicle)


d– at the beginning of a word, say it like deep (deporte) between vowels and after consonants, it’s similar to though (querido, andén)
at the end of words it’s often not pronounced (verdad)


g– like English goat (gamba, grifo) EXCEPT before e and i (gente, gimnasio) when they’re pronounced:
like loch in some parts of Spain
like h in other parts of Spain and all Latin America


gu– before a like gw (guardar)
– before e and i like get (guerra, guitarra)


h– this is never pronounced


j– (jefe, junio) is pronounced:
like loch in some parts of Spain
like h in other parts of Spain and all Latin America


ll– like English yet (ampolla)


ñ– like English onion (español)


qu– like keep (quince)


z– (zanahoria, zumo) is pronounced:
like English thin in most of Spain
like English same in other parts of Spain and all Latin America

Which syllable to emphasize

To make your Spanish sound more fluent, it’s important to emphasize the right syllable. The rules for this are very simple.

• If a word ends in a vowel, in –s or in –n, and has no written accent, you emphasize the last syllable but one:


la playa (beach)amueblado (furnished)
el equipaje (luggage)compramos (we buy)
el parachoques (car bumper)joven (young)

• If a word ends in any consonant other than –s or –n, and has no written accent, you emphasize the last syllable:


el despertador (alarm clock)aparcar (to park)
el animal (animal)andaluz (Andalusian)
la verdad (truth)el español (the Spanish language)

• Any words which are exceptions to these rules have a written accent to show which syllable you need to emphasize:


último (last)próximo (next)
el alisis (analysis)venes (plural form of ‘young’)
cil (easy)la excursión (excursion)

¿LO SABÍAS?

There may be an accent on the singular form of a word but not on the plural and vice versa: ración, raciones; joven, jóvenes.