In Spanish, many things work just as they do in English, while others require a different approach.

In this lesson, we’ll cover the basics, focusing on what you already know, what changes, and how to start thinking in Spanish rather than translating from English.

1. The Spanish alphabet

The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters, and the good news is that most of them will look familiar. Many are pronounced similarly to their English counterparts, so you’re already halfway there.

Let’s split them into two groups: the familiar and the different.

The familiar

Here are the letters you’ll recognize straight away:

A B D E F I K L M N O P Q T X

Many of these have sounds that are reasonably intuitive for English speakers, although a few, such as Q and X, can vary depending on the word.

You’ll also recognize C, G, H, J, R, S, U, V, W, Y, and Z from English, but don’t get too comfortable just yet. Some of them behave differently in Spanish, so we’ll cover those next.

The different

Let’s look at the letters that might catch you off guard.

• H is silent in most Spanish words. So hola starts with an O sound, not an H.

Build intuition

You’re already familiar with silent letters: hour, honest, heir. It’s just that H on its own is silent all the time. But not so for when it’s combined with another letter: Chico (boy) and chorizo (type of sausage) are pronounced just like chair.

• J has a breathy sound made at the back of the mouth, similar to the sound in Scottish loch.

Build intuition

In Spanish, J is pronounced like the H in horror. However, you may hear it pronounced like the English J in names such as Jordi or Jonathan. The Costa Blanca is in the Valencian Community, where Valencian is also spoken. In Valencian, J and G are pronounced more like their English equivalents, and this pronunciation is often preserved in names.

• Ñ is a separate letter, pronounced roughly like the ny in canyon. You’ll see it in words like España and niño.
• R is generally tapped when it appears between vowels, while RR represents a stronger, trilled sound. Spanish also uses the trilled sound at the beginning of words.
• V is generally pronounced like Spanish B, rather than the English V.

Build intuition

Because they are pronounced almost identically, even native speakers sometimes mix them up when writing. Unlike English, you can’t rely on the pronunciation to tell you which letter a word uses. For now, there’s no need to memorize examples. Just remember that B and V sound alike, but spelling still matters.

• C and Z have different pronunciations depending on the following letter and the regional variety of Spanish. In much of Spain, c before e or i, and z, have the sound of the th in think. In most of Latin America, these sounds are pronounced like s.
• G changes its sound depending on the vowel that follows it. Before e or i, it generally has the same sound as Spanish J.
• Y can function as a consonant or a vowel, and its pronunciation varies somewhat by region.
• Q appears in combinations such as que and qui, where the U is normally silent.
• U is also silent in combinations such as gue and gui, unless it has a diaeresis: guerra versus pingüino.

And then there are two combinations worth knowing:

• CH, as in chico, represents a single consonant sound.
• LL, as in llama, is commonly pronounced like the y in yes, although pronunciation varies by region.

One important detail: CH and LL aren’t separate letters in the modern Spanish alphabet. They’re combinations of two letters, called digraphs. You may see them listed separately in older learning materials.

That’s the overview. You don’t need to master every pronunciation rule immediately. For now, just remember that Spanish spelling is fairly consistent, and once you learn the main patterns, reading unfamiliar words becomes much easier.

2. Basic sentence structure

Let’s start with something familiar: the basic structure of a sentence.

Yo compro un libro. — I buy a book.

Both English and Spanish generally follow the same word order:

Function	Spanish	English
Subject	yo	I
Verb	compro	buy
Object	un libro	a book

The subject is who performs the action, the verb is the action itself, and the object is what the action affects.

As you can see, the structure is identical: subject + verb + object.

What about the article?

Notice that un libro works just like a book in English. Both use an article to introduce something nonspecific.

Spanish has definite articles (el, la, los, las), which correspond to the in English, and indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas), which correspond to a/an and some.

The main difference is that Spanish articles change according to the gender and number of the noun. We’ll look at that in the next section.

3. Grammatical gender

Every Spanish noun has a grammatical gender: masculine or feminine. Yes, that includes objects, concepts, and things that obviously don’t have a biological sex.

Let’s look at two examples:

• Yo compro un libro. — I buy a book.
• Yo compro una casa. — I buy a house.

Both sentences follow the same structure: subject + verb + object. The difference is the article: libro is masculine, so we use un, while casa is feminine, so we use una.

In English, a stays the same regardless of the noun. In Spanish, articles change according to the noun’s grammatical gender. Every Spanish noun is either masculine or feminine, including objects and abstract concepts.

English has a little of this, too. People sometimes refer to a boat as she, for example, but in Spanish, gender is a regular part of the language. A ship (barco) is masculine, while a boat (barca) is feminine.

There’s no universal logic you can rely on to figure out the gender of every noun. However, some useful patterns can help.

Common patterns

• Words ending in -o are usually masculine: el libro (the book), el baño (the bathroom).
• Words ending in -a are usually feminine: la casa (the house), la mesa (the table).
• Words ending in -ción or -sión are feminine: la información (the information), la televisión (the television).
• Words ending in -dad or -tad are feminine: la ciudad (the city), la libertad (freedom).
• Words ending in -ma of Greek origin are often masculine: el problema (the problem), el sistema (the system).

These are patterns, not ironclad rules. There are exceptions, such as el día (the day) and la mano (the hand).

The most useful habit: Learn each noun together with its article, el or la, rather than memorizing the word on its own. That way, you’re learning its gender from the start.

Build intuition

Personally, I agree that grammatical gender is an unnecessary complication, and I prefer English’s approach of not having it. Unfortunately, it’s a fundamental part of Spanish that goes all the way back to Latin. Nobody knows for sure why grammatical gender originally developed this way. There must have been a reason for it to evolve like this, though, and that’s at least some consolation!

4. Agreement

In Spanish, adjectives usually agree with the nouns they describe in gender and number. For example:

• un libro rojo — a red book
• una casa roja — a red house
• dos libros rojos — two red books
• dos casas rojas — two red houses

Yo compro una casa roja

Notice that rojo changes to match the noun. This is called agreement.

There’s another difference to watch out for: adjectives usually come after the noun in Spanish, rather than before it as they do in English. So you say un libro rojo, literally “a book red,” rather than “a red book.”

However, some adjectives commonly come before the noun, including:

• Possessive adjectives: mi libro — my book
• Demonstrative adjectives: este libro — this book
• Numbers: dos libros — two books
• Certain descriptive adjectives: un buen libro — a good book

Some descriptive adjectives can appear before or after the noun, sometimes with a change in meaning. For example, un viejo amigo means an old friend in the sense of someone you’ve known for a long time, while un amigo viejo suggests a friend who is old in age.

For now, remember the general rule: adjectives usually follow nouns and agree with them in gender and number. The exceptions become easier to recognize with practice.

5. Verb Conjugation

In English, verbs usually stay the same regardless of who’s performing the action: I buy, you buy, we buy, they buy. The main exception is the third-person singular: he buys.

Spanish takes this further. Verbs change their endings depending on the subject. This is called conjugation.

Let’s use comprar (to buy) as an example:

Subject	Spanish	English
Yo	compro	I buy
Tú	compras	You buy
Él / Ella / Usted	compra	He / She buys You (formal) buy
Nosotros/as	compramos	We buy
Vosotros/as	compráis	You all (informal) buy
Ellos/as	compran	They buy

At first, this might look like a lot to memorize. Fortunately, Spanish verbs follow a system. Most verbs belong to one of three groups, identified by their infinitive endings: -ar, -er and -ir. Verbs within each group generally follow the same conjugation patterns, so learning one gives you a head start with many others.

There are irregular verbs that don’t follow the standard patterns, but you don’t need to learn every verb individually. Once you understand the main rules, you can apply them to hundreds of verbs.

There’s another useful benefit: because the verb ending often tells you who’s performing the action, Spanish frequently drops the subject pronoun. Instead of yo compro un libro, you can simply say compro un libro.

Build intuition

Another complication? Unfortunately, yes. And this is one you’ll need to put a fair amount of work into, simply because Spanish verbs convey so much information through their endings.

The good news is that the system is predictable once you learn the patterns. The bad news is that you’ll need to practice them until they become second nature.

One practical tip for beginners: don’t rush to drop the subject pronouns when speaking. Although Spanish speakers often leave them out, saying yo compro instead of just compro gives the listener an extra clue about what you mean in case you use the wrong ending. When you’re still learning the endings, that extra information can make you easier to understand.

A Note on Formality

As you may have noticed, Spanish distinguishes between formal and informal ways of addressing people. You’ll encounter tú (informal “you”) and usted (formal “you”), with different verb forms.

Traditionally, you use usted when addressing older people or in more formal situations. However, as a foreigner, you won’t generally be considered rude for using the wrong form. In many everyday public-service settings, informal tú has also become common, even among native speakers.

For now, don’t let this worry you. If you’re unsure, you can use usted to be on the safe side, but if it’s important to just get your point across, tú is perfectly fine. You’ll pick up the nuances naturally as you gain experience.

6. Making sentences negative

Here’s some good news: negation is much simpler than some of the concepts we’ve covered so far.

To make a sentence negative in Spanish, you generally just put no before the verb.

• Compro un libro. — I buy a book.
• No compro un libro. — I don’t buy a book.
• Ella habla español. — She speaks Spanish.
• Ella no habla español. — She doesn’t speak Spanish.

Notice that Spanish doesn’t need a separate word equivalent to don’t or doesn’t. The word no does the job on its own.

The same principle applies when you include the subject pronoun: Yo no compro un libro means “I don’t buy a book.”

For now, remember the basic rule: put no directly before the verb. There are other negative words and constructions to learn later, but this will get you started.

7. The Imperative: Giving Commands

The imperative is the verb form used to give commands, instructions, or direct requests. You’ll encounter it constantly in everyday Spanish.

The good news is that the affirmative tú form is usually straightforward. For regular verbs, it matches the él/ella form of the present tense:

• Él explica → Explica. — He explains → Explain!
• Él escribe → Escribe. — He writes → Write!
• Él da → Da. — He gives → Give!

Some common verbs have irregular command forms, but the general pattern gives you a useful starting point.

What about negative commands?

In English, you simply add don’t:

• Give! → Don’t give!
• Write! → Don’t write!

Spanish works differently. Compare:

• Da. — Give!
• No des. — Don’t give!
• Escribe. — Write!
• No escribas. — Don’t write!

These commands use an advanced verb form called the subjunctive. Explaining it properly at this stage would be unnecessarily confusing, so we’ll leave the details for later. It is a crucial part of Spanish, and you’ll encounter it frequently as you progress, so we’ll give it the attention it deserves in its own section.

8. The verb “To Be” – two different existences

Remember how English has one verb, to be? Spanish decided that wasn’t enough. It has two: ser and estar.

Both can translate as “to be”, but they’re used in different situations. For example:

• Soy inglés. — I am English.
• Estoy cansado. — I am tired.
• La casa es grande. — The house is big.
• La casa está aquí. — The house is here.

As a general starting point, ser is used for identity and characteristics, while estar is used for states and locations. However, the distinction is more nuanced than that, and there are plenty of exceptions to learn.

Unfortunately, there’s no single English equivalent that will tell you which verb to use every time. You’ll need to develop an intuition for the distinction as you encounter more examples.

We’ll cover the main rules and common pitfalls in a dedicated section later.

9. Object Pronouns

In English, we usually put the object after the verb or use a separate pronoun: “I buy it,” “I see him,” “She calls me.”

Spanish does things similarly, but object pronouns often go before the conjugated verb.

• Compro un libro. — I buy a book.
• Lo compro. — I buy it.

Here, lo replaces un libro. Other common object pronouns include la (her/it, feminine), los (them, masculine or mixed), and las (them, feminine).

There are also indirect object pronouns, such as me (to/for me) and le (to/for him, her, or you formal). These indicate who receives or benefits from an action.

For example:

• Doy el libro a María. — I give the book to María.
• Le doy el libro. — I give her the book.

The rules become more involved when you combine object pronouns, and their placement changes with infinitives and commands. For now, remember the basic idea: Spanish often uses short pronouns to replace objects, and these usually appear before a conjugated verb.

10. Reflexive verbs

In English, we say “I wash myself” or “she gets dressed,” but we can also simply say “I wash” or “she gets dressed” without thinking much about the grammar. Spanish makes this distinction more explicit through reflexive verbs.

These verbs describe actions that the subject performs on themselves. They usually appear with -se attached to the infinitive:

• lavar — to wash
• lavarse — to wash oneself
• vestir — to dress someone
• vestirse — to get dressed

When conjugated, the -se becomes a separate pronoun that changes with the subject:

Subject	Example	Meaning
Yo	me lavo	I wash myself
Tú	te lavas	You wash yourself
Él / Ella	se lava	He / She washes themself
Nosotros/as	nos lavamos	We wash ourselves
Vosotros/as	os laváis	You all wash yourselves
Ellos/as	se lavan	They wash themselves

The pronoun normally comes before the conjugated verb, just like object pronouns: me lavo, te lavas, se lava.

However, don’t assume that every Spanish reflexive verb translates into English with “myself” or “yourself.” Many are simply the natural way to express everyday actions. For example, me llamo literally means “I call myself,” but is used to say “my name is.”

You’ll encounter reflexive verbs frequently, particularly when talking about daily routines. Learning them as complete expressions will make them easier to use naturally.

Some verbs are inherently reflexive, meaning they normally appear with -se in the infinitive. For example, arrepentirse means “to regret” and quejarse means “to complain.” You wouldn’t normally use arrepentir or quejar on their own with those meanings.

Others have both reflexive and non-reflexive forms, sometimes with different meanings. Lavar means “to wash something,” while lavarse means “to wash oneself.”

The important thing is that -se doesn’t always mean “oneself” literally. Some verbs simply need to be learned with the reflexive pronoun as part of the expression.

Build intuition

Think of reflexive as something that reflects inward. You do something to yourself, or an action produces a reaction within you.

Lavarse is straightforward: you wash yourself.

Quejarse is a little more abstract: you turn your frustration into a complaint. Arrepentirse goes further: you reflect on what you’ve done, process the outcome, and arrive at regret.

This isn’t a literal rule governing every reflexive verb, but it’s a useful mental model. Sometimes the action is physical; sometimes the connection is more abstract. And sometimes you simply have to learn the verb as it is.

11. Talking about time

The basic idea is familiar: verbs change to tell you when something happens. The difference is how English and Spanish do it.

The past: English has regular verbs (work → worked) and irregular ones (buy → bought). Spanish also has regular and irregular verbs, but they follow conjugation patterns that change depending on the subject and tense.

The future: English commonly uses will followed by the verb in its base form: I will work. Spanish can express the future by changing the verb ending: trabajar → trabajaré (“I will work”).

The present: Both languages change verbs in the present, but Spanish does so more extensively. English has I work and he works; Spanish has trabajo, trabajas, trabaja, and so on.

The underlying principle is the same: verb forms carry information about when an action happens. Spanish simply relies more heavily on conjugation, and has more forms to learn.

We’ll explore the main tenses and their patterns in the lessons that follow.