Susana Wald is a translator, teacher, writer, and publisher.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Where to Go from Here 4

Chapter 1: I Say It How? Speaking Spanish 5

You Already Know Some Spanish 6

Beware of false friends 6

Some crossover influence 7

Reciting Your ABC's 8

Consonants 9

Vowels 16

The diphthongs 18

Pronunciation and Stress 19

Looking for stress, normally 20

Looking for accented vowels 20

Understanding accents on diphthongs 21

¡Punctuation Plus! 21

Some Basic Phrases to Know 21

Chapter 2: Grammar on a Diet: Just the Basics. 23

Sentence Construction 23

Verbs 24

Regular verbs 24

Irregular verbs 26

Extra verbs charts 27

Forming Questions 31

Pronouns in Hiding 32

That Whole Gender Thing 33

Make It Two (or More): Plurals 35

Telling Tales with Adjectives 36

It's You, You Know: The Tú/Usted Issue 36

Chapter 3: Numerical Gumbo: Counting of All Kinds 39

1, 2, 3: Cardinal Numbers 39

Discovering Ordinal Numbers 41

Telling Time 42

You can tell time 42

But are you on time? 44

Days, Months, Seasons 45

What day is it? 45

Living month to month 47

Counting Your Money 48

Carrying cash 48

ATMs 49

Credit cards 51

Exchanging your dollars 52

Chapter 4: Making New Friends and Enjoying Small Talk 55

Hello! Greetings and Introductions 55

Formal introductions 55

Informal introductions 57

Small-Talk Verbs 58

Llamarse: Calling 58

Ser: Being 59

Estar: The second being 62

Hablar: Speaking 64

Trabajar: Working 67

Entender: Understanding 67

Vivir: Living 68

Small-talk apologies 69

Grand Inquisitor: Questions 70

A Rainy Day: Talking Weather 72

How Is Your Family? 73

Chapter 5: Enjoying a Drink and a Snack (or Meal!) 75

Getting the Table and Meal Basics 75

Three Verbs Used at the Table 76

To take and to drink: The verb tomar 77

For drinking only: The verb beber 77

For eating: The verb comer 78

At the Restaurant 79

What's on the Menu? 81

The Bill, Please 85

Chapter 6: Shop 'Til You Drop 87

Heading Out on the Town 87

Browsing around 87

Getting around the store 88

Requesting color and size 89

Getting the right fit 91

Using the shopping verb: Comprar 92

Wearing and taking: The verb llevar 93

Shopping the Traditional Market 94

Shopping for food 94

Scoping out special items 98

Visiting the Supermarket 100

Bartering for Your Goods 100

Getting the Right Quantity 102

Comparing Better or Best 102

Chapter 7: Making Leisure a Top Priority. 105

Having a Good Time 105

Using the inviting verb invitar 106

Using the dancing verb bailar 107

Having a Good Time at Shows and Events 108

Screening the cinema 109

Enjoying a concert 109

Enjoying the Outdoors 111

Taking a walk 111

Watching the animals 112

Sports, Sports, Sports 114

The most popular ball game: Fútbol 114

Béisbol: #2 116

The playing verb: Jugar 117

Chapter 8: When You Gotta Work 119

Picking Up the Phone 119

Opening lines 119

Leaving messages 121

Making a collect call 123

Outside the Office 123

Inside the Office 125

Getting a job 126

Scheduling and conducting a meeting 128

Using emplear: The hiring verb 131

Hacer: The doing, making verb 131

Packing a PC 133

Chapter 9: I Get Around: Transportation 135

On the Go: Transportation 135

Boarding the train 135

Hailing a taxi 137

Hopping a bus 137

Renting a car 138

Passing Passport Control 141

Transportation Verbs 146

The outgoing verb: Salir 146

Using the waiting verb: Esperar 147

Asking for Directions 148

¿Adónde vamos? Where do we go? 148

Mapping the place 149

Getting directions from locals 150

Understanding spatial directions 152

Here, there, and everywhere 153

Chapter 10: Laying Down Your Weary Head: House or Hotel? 155

Speaking of Houses 155

Some rental wisdom 156

Furnishing your house 159

Scoping Out the Hotel 160

Registering for a Room 164

Dormir: The Sleeping Verb 167

Despertar: The Waking Up Verb 169

Chapter 11: Dealing with Emergencies 171

Shouting for Help 171

Handling Health Problems 172

Helping out 173

Painful phrases for when it hurts 174

Telling where it hurts 176

Describing symptoms 177

Talking to the doctor 179

Visiting the dentist 180

Ensuring that you get your money back 182

Getting Help with Legal Problems 182

Being under arrest 183

Stick 'em up: Words to know when you're robbed 183

Reporting to the police 184

Dealing with Car Emergencies 185

Chapter 12: Favorite Spanish Expressions. 189

¿Qué tal? 189

¿Quiubo? 189

¿Qué pasó? 190

¿Cómo van las cosas? 190

¡Del uno! 190

¿Cuánto cuesta? 191

¿A cuánto? 191

¡Un asalto! 191

¡Una ganga! 191

¡Buen provecho! 192

¡Salud! 192

¡Buen viaje! 192

Chapter 13: Phrases That Make You Sound Like a Local 193

¡Esta es la mía! 193

¿Y eso con qué se come? 194

Voy a ir de farra 194

Caer fatal 194

Nos divertimos en grande 195

Ver negro para 195

Pasó sin pena ni gloria 195

¡Así a secas! 196

¡La cosa va viento en popa! 196

Index 197