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Spanish Course Lesson 1 Spanish Course Lesson 1

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In this lesson we'll be learning the sounds of Spanish and how they combine to make different words. Click the headphones icon next to each sentence to hear a recording of it. There are exercises at the end of the lesson to help you practise what you've learnt.

General Note: Stress is normally placed on the next-to-last syllable in a Spanish word.

• A 'Hay cuatro pasos' (There are four steps)
• E 'Qu� pesos pesados' (What heavy pesos)
• I 'Mi piso impresionante me importa' (My impressive apartment is important to me)
• O '�No pongo mi esposo en el pozo!' (I don't put my husband in the well!)
• U 'Hugo puso el jugo en su lugar' (Hugo put the juice in its place)
• B 'El beb� es bueno' (The baby is good)
• D '�D�nde est� Diego? (Where is Diego?)

Note: Spanish questions always start with an inverted question mark as in the sentence above.

• F 'Un faro formidable' (A fantastic lighthouse)
• G 'El gato gordo' (The fat cat)
• K (sound) '�Qu� cosa?' (What thing? /what is it?)

Note: The letter combinations 'qu' or 'ca', 'co' and 'cu' are pronounced in Spanish like the English 'k'.

• L 'Dame las latas' (Give me the cans)
• M 'Aqu� esta mi mam�' (Here is my mom)
• N 'Mi nombre es Natalia' (My name is Natalie)
• � 'El �and� come lasa�a ma�ana' (The ostrich eats lasagna tomorrow)
• P 'Una perla peque�a' (A small pearl)
• R 'Un rostro rojo' (A red face)
• RR 'R�pido corren los carros' (The cars run rapidly)
• S 'Salsa con queso' (Cheese sauce)
• T '�Si! Tres tigres!' (Yes! Three tigers!)

Note: Like question marks in Spanish, exclamation marks are also inverted at the start of an exclamation.

• W (sound) 'Cuatro su�teres' (Four sweaters)

Note: The letter combinations 'ua', 'ue' and 'ui' are pronounced like the English 'wa', 'weh' and 'wee'.

• J 'Una jota gigante' (A huge letter J)

Note: This sound is also heard in the letter combinations 'ge' and gi'.

• LL 'La llama en la hierba' (The llama in the grass)

Note: This sound is like the English 'y' and also heard in the letter combinations: 'ia' (yah), 'ie' (yeh) and 'io' (yoh).

• CH 'Hay muchos chicos' (There are many boys)
• Soft B (sound) 'Abre la boca de la vaca' (Open the cow's mouth)

Note: This sound is heard in Spain, where the letters B and V are pronounced the same (rather like the English 'v').

• TH (sound) 'Cada moda' (Every fashion/trend)

Note: This sound is heard when the letter D appears within or at the end of a word. It is like the English 'th' sound in the word 'rather'.

• H 'Hola Hernando' (Hello Hernando)

Note: The letter H is always silent (not pronounced) in Spanish.

Possible and Impossible Words in Spanish

Like other languages, words in Spanish follow certain rules so that some combinations of sounds and letters are possible but others aren't. Here are some of the general rules:

• Most Spanish words end in a vowel. Some end in the consonants: d, j, l, n, r, s, t or z.
• Consonants are never doubled except for 'cc' (for where English uses 'ct', e.g. action = acci�n).
• The letter combination 'th' doesn't exist in Spanish.
• The letters 'k' and 'w' are rarely used. K is found in words for measurements (kil�metro) and W exists only in borrowed words (s�ndwich).
• The letter 'z' is less rare in Spanish than in English, though the letters 'e' or 'i' never follow it.
• The letter combination 'qu' only appears when followed by 'e', 'y' or 'i'.

Exercise One

Using words and word combinations used in this lesson, write and practise pronouncing the following short sentences (click each sentence to reveal the answer):

1. Where is my mom?
   �D�nde est� mi mam�?
2. Give me three sweaters
   Dame tres su�teres
3. Yes! A gigantic lighthouse
   �Si! Un faro gigante
4. Open the tins
   Abre las latas
5. There are four tigers in the grass
   Hay cuatro tigres en la hierba

Exercise Two

Determine whether the following invented words are possible or impossible in Spanish (click each sentence to reveal the answer):

1. chapared    possible
2. zebra    impossible
3. strigo    possible
4. obsticante    possible
5. quando    impossible
6. atheta    impossible
7. nefarismo    possible
8. cammelito    impossible
9. klovilo    impossible
10. a�adudonio    possible

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