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Spanish Tutorial Lesson 2 Spanish Tutorial Lesson 2
In this lesson we'll be looking at several ideas for learning and remembering new 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.
Words Similar to English Ones
The first idea is to connect certain Spanish words to ones in English that are similar and have the same or similar meaning.
- 'Siempre el cielo por la tarde en oto�o es negro' (Always the sky in the evening in autumn is black)
Connect the word 'cielo' (sky) with the English 'celestial'.
- 'Hay muchos �rboles en mi jard�n' (There are many trees in my garden)
Connect the word '�rbol' (tree) with the English 'arboreal' or 'arboretum'.
- '�Por qu� te gusta el queso?' (Why do you like cheese?)
Connect the word 'queso' (cheese) with the English 'casein' (an amino acid in cheese).
- '�Vienes con la mujer?' (Are you coming with the woman?)
Connect 'mujer' with the English 'mother'.
- '�Cuanta leche hay en este queso?' (How much milk is there in this cheese?)
Connect 'cuanta' (how much) with the English 'quantity'.
- 'Aqu� est� tu habitaci�n' (Here is your room)
Connect 'habitaci�n' (room) with the English 'habitation'.
- 'Quiero un poco de la carne para el desayuno' (I want a bit of meat for my breakfast)
Connect 'carne' (meat) with the English 'carnivore'.
- 'El lunes por la noche voy por tren a Madrid' (On Monday in the evening I go by train to Madrid)
Connect 'noche' (night) with the English 'nocturnal'.
- 'Nuestra iglesia est� abierta todos los d�as' (Our church is open every day)
Connect 'iglesia' (church) and 'abierta' (open) with English 'ecclesiastical' and 'overt'.
- 'Este a�o, el profesor no habla mucho' (This year the teacher doesn't speak much)
Connect 'a�o' (year) with English 'annual'.
- 'La habitaci�n de mi padre es peque�a' (The room of my father is small)
Connect 'padre' (father) with English 'paternal'.
- 'Todos los a�os van por coche a Espa�a' (Every year they go by car to Spain)
Connect 'coche' (car) with English 'coach'.
- 'Tengo un pez y un gato' (I have a fish and a cat)
Connect 'pez' (fish) with English 'pisces'.
- 'El edificio tiene muchas habitaciones grandes' (The building has many big rooms)
Connect 'edificio' (building) with English 'edifice'.
- 'Mi padre vive en un edificio alto' (My father lives in a high building)
Connect 'alto' (high) with English 'altitude'.
- 'La mujer hermosa es mi esposa' (The beautiful woman is my wife)
Connect 'esposa' (wife) with English 'spouse'.
- '�Quieres salir conmigo?' (Do you want to leave with me?)
Connect 'salir' (to leave) with English 'to sally (forth)'.
- '�Su coche es blanco, verdad?' (Your car is white, correct?)
Connect 'verdad' (right, correct) with English 'verified'.
- 'Es un d�a fr�o en oto�o' (It's a cold day in autumn)
Connect 'fr�o' (cold) with English 'fridge'.
- 'Una noche de calor en julio' (A hot night in July)
Connect 'calor' (heat) with English 'calorie' (a unit of energy).
- 'Vale ser diferente' (It's OK to be different)
Connect 'vale' (OK) with English 'valid'.
- 'Puedo ayudar. Mi esposa tiene un coche' (I can help. My wife has a car)
Connect 'ayudar' (to help) with English 'to aid'.
- 'Lavamos nuestro coche frecuentemente' (We wash our car frequently)
Connect 'lavar' (to wash) with English 'lather'..
- 'El pron�stico no es bueno' (The forecast isn't good)
Connect 'pron�stico' (forecast) with English 'prognosticate' or 'prognosis'.
- 'El pron�stico del tiempo' (The weather forecast)
Connect 'tiempo' (weather) with English 'temperature'.
- 'La puerta de mi casa est� siempre abierta' (The door of my house is always open)
Connect 'puerta' (door) with English 'portal'.
- '�Bebes caf� con o sin leche?' (Do you drink coffee with or without milk?)
Connect 'beber' (to drink) with English 'to imbibe'.
Words Related to Other Spanish Words
Another idea is to learn words in 'families' of related words, such as in these examples:
- 'La mano' (hand) - 'manojo' (handful), 'manosear' (to tamper) and 'manija' (handle).
- 'El sol' (sun) - 'soleado' (sunny), 'girasol' (sunflower) and 'solana' (sunshine).
- 'El mundo' (world) - 'mundanal' (worldly) and 'mundial' (worldwide).
- 'Amar' (to love) - 'amor' (love), 'amado' (loved), 'amante' (lover), 'amoroso' (loving) and 'enamorado' (in love).
- 'La cuchara' (spoon) - 'cuchar�n' (handle), 'cucharada' (spoonful), 'cucharita' (teaspoon) and 'cucharadita' (teaspoonful).
- 'Pensar' (to think) - 'pensador' (thinker), 'pensamiento' (thought) and 'pensativo' (thoughtful).
Same Initial Sounds
A third idea is to learn words with the same initial sounds together in a sentence:
- 'Me gusta el jam�n con jalea o jalape�os pero no con el jab�n!' (I like ham with jelly or jalapenos but not with soap!)
- 'Blanca blanquea su blusa blanda' (Blanca whitens her soft blouse)
- 'El clarinetista cl�sico clama contra la clarinada' (The classic clarinettist cries out against the insult)
- 'El glaciar es glorioso y glaseado' (The glacier is glorious and glossy)
- 'La princesa prodigiosa es prima del profesor prospectivo' (The prodigious princess is a cousin of the prospective teacher)
Word 'shapes'
It's possible to give words their own 'shape' by writing their letters in different sizes, according to the frequency of each letter. For example, vowels and the most common consonants (d, l, n, p, r, s, t) would be written large, medium-frequency letters such as b, c, f, k and m would be written normally and low-frequency letters such as q, v, w, x and z would appear smallest. Here are a few examples:
- exento (exempt)
- quebradizo (brittle)
- xil�fono (xylophone)
- manzana (apple)
Exercise
Write the following sentences using words and word combinations from lessons one and two (click each sentence to reveal the answer):
- I always like to drink coffee without milk
Siempre me gusta beber caf� sin leche - I have a black cat and a red fish
Tengo un gato negro y un pez rojo - Where is our car?
�D�nde est� nuestro coche? - It's a hot day. Open the door
Es un d�a de calor. Abre la puerta - The baby has a fat face
El beb� tiene un rostro gordo
