Spanish articles
Clear explanations of grammar, words and common mistakes. With examples and a mini-practice after each article.
The se pronoun in Spanish: every main use explained
Se is not one word with one meaning. It is a single spelling that does several different jobs, and the trick is to recognize which job it is doing in the sentence in front of you. The main uses are ...
Spanish rr pronunciation: how to roll your R's
Spanish has two different r sounds, and position decides which one you use. A single r between vowels is a quick tap — close to the fast tt or dd in American English butter and ladder ( pero, cara ) ...
Spanish restaurant phrases: how to order and pay
Eating out in Spanish needs only a handful of phrases. The key words are pedir (to order), la carta or el menú (the menu), and la cuenta (the bill). The single most useful opener is ¿Me trae la carta ...
Le vs lo in Spanish: direct and indirect object pronouns
The split is about the job the pronoun does in the sentence. Use lo and la (plural los / las ) for the direct object — the thing or person that directly receives the action: him, her, it, them. Use le ...
Spanish imperative commands: telling someone what to do
A Spanish command changes shape for two reasons: who you are talking to and whether you are telling them to do something or not to do it. Address one friend with the informal tú, one stranger or ...
Spanish house vocabulary: rooms, furniture and home words
The core words to start with are la casa (house), el hogar (home), la habitación (room), la cocina (kitchen) and el baño (bathroom). With these you can already talk about where you live and which part ...
Spanish hotel vocabulary: booking, check-in and your room
A hotel stay in Spanish runs through a short, predictable set of words. You make la reserva (the reservation), arrive at el hotel, speak to someone at la recepción (the front desk), and pick up la ...
Spanish airport vocabulary: check-in, security and boarding
At a Spanish-speaking airport you can get a long way with a handful of core words: el aeropuerto (the airport), el vuelo (the flight), el billete or el boleto (the ticket), el pasaporte (the passport) ...
Spanish adjective placement: before or after the noun?
The default is the opposite of English: most Spanish adjectives go after the noun, so you say un coche rojo, not un rojo coche. Descriptive adjectives that distinguish one thing from another (color ...
Asking for directions in Spanish: phrases that work
The two questions that get you almost anywhere are ¿Dónde está…? (Where is…?) and ¿Cómo llego a…? (How do I get to…?). The first asks where a place is; the second asks for the route to it. Notice that ...
Un vs una in Spanish: which 'a' to use
Spanish has two words for “a” or “an”. Use un with masculine nouns and una with feminine nouns. The choice follows the gender of the noun, exactly like the definite article el and la, so the best ...
Tan vs tanto in Spanish: 'so' and 'so much'
Both words intensify, but they attach to different things. Use tan before an adjective or adverb (“so tall”, “so quickly”). Use tanto with a noun or after a verb (“so much money”, “works so much”) ...
También vs tampoco in Spanish: 'too' and 'neither'
These two words let you agree with what someone just said. Use también to agree with a positive sentence (“me too”, “also”). Use tampoco to agree with a negative sentence (“me neither”, “not either”) ...
Spanish stress rules: where to put the emphasis
Spanish stress is predictable. Two default rules cover most words, and a written accent marks every exception. The defaults: if a word ends in a vowel, -n or -s, stress the second-to-last syllable; if ...
Spanish plural rules: how to make nouns plural
Spanish plurals follow three reliable patterns. Add -s when the word ends in a vowel, add -es when it ends in a consonant, and change a final -z to -ces. The article and any adjective then change to ...
Qué vs cuál in Spanish: which question word
Both can translate as “what” or “which”, but they ask different things. Use qué to ask for a definition or an explanation, and directly before a noun. Use cuál (plural cuáles ) to pick one or more ...
Mi, tu, su in Spanish: possessive adjectives
Mi means “my”, tu means “your” and su means “his”, “her”, “your” (formal) or “their”. The key rule is that these words agree with the thing owned, not the owner, and they change for number only ...
El vs la in Spanish: which 'the' to use
Spanish has two words for “the” in the singular. Use el with masculine nouns and la with feminine nouns. The noun’s gender decides, not the thing itself, so the safest habit is to learn each noun ...
De vs del in Spanish: when 'de' becomes 'del'
There is no difference in meaning: del is simply de + el joined into one word. The contraction is required whenever de is immediately followed by the masculine singular article el. With la, los, las ...
A vs en in Spanish: 'to', 'at' and 'in'
The short rule: use a for movement toward a place and for clock time, and use en for a fixed location and for “in”, “on” or “at” when nothing moves. Think of a as an arrow pointing to a destination ...
Bueno vs bien in Spanish: good or well?
Use bueno when you need an adjective meaning “good”. It describes a noun and changes form: bueno, buena, buenos, buenas, and buen before a masculine singular noun. Use bien when you need an adverb ...
Ir vs venir in Spanish: go, come, and direction
Use ir for movement away from the current reference point: “go.” Use venir for movement toward the speaker, listener or place the conversation is focused on: “come.” English sometimes says “come” ...
Pedir vs preguntar in Spanish: two ways to ask
English uses “ask” for two different actions. Spanish separates them. Use preguntar when you ask a question or ask for information. Use pedir when you ask for a thing, request help, order food or ask ...
Llevar vs traer in Spanish: bring, take, or carry?
Use traer when something moves toward the speaker, listener or reference place: “bring it here.” Use llevar when something moves away from here or to another destination: “take it there.” Llevar also ...