OPEN Abierto ( ah-bee-AIR-toh) CLOSED Cerrado ( sehr-RAH-doh) ENTRANCE Entrada ( ehn-TRAH-dah) EXIT Salida ( sah-LEE-dah) PUSH Empujar ( ehm-POO-har) PULL Tirar / Jalar ( TEE-rar/HAH-lar) TOILET Servicios / Aseos ( sehr-BEE-thee-yohs / ah-SEH-aws), also S.H. or S.S.H.H. for Servicios Higiénicos MEN Hombres ( OHM-brays)/ Caballeros WOMEN Mujeres ( moo-HEH-rehs) / Señoras DON'T SMOKE No fumar/fume ( noh foo-MAHR/FOO-may) FORBIDDEN Prohibido ( pro-hee-BEE-doh) The Spanish verb tense system is fairly similar to English, but all six person/number combinations take different endings in the indicative. The formal "you" ( usted(es)) takes a third-person verb. Spanish has genders, so a man says encantado and a woman says encantada. The indirect object and the animate direct object are both marked by a. Spanish spelling has the pleasant characteristic of being very phonetic, with only a few clearly-defined exceptions. This means that if you know how to pronounce the letters of a word, it's relatively easy to sound out the word itself. Although Spanish has loan words that have been acquired from a variety of other languages, it is nothing like the hodge-podge that is English, with wildly unpredictable spelling, etymology, and grammatical rules which cannot be relied upon. Spanish also has a much stronger tendency to "localize" loanwords than English, which means spelling, pronunciation or both will be changed to better fit the logic of the Spanish language, resulting in words like "beisbol".

In Spain (Except in some parts of Andalusia, and in the Canary Islands) a English ci/ce or z sound makes a English "TH". In Latin America, it makes the "S" sound.Dr. Pablo Garcia Loaeza did a great job compiling this wonderful collection of over 700 handy everyday phrases.

Day–month constructions ( 4 de julio, for example) are not usually abbreviated. In the rare cases that an abbreviation is used, the number of the month is not used, but its initial letter is. Usual examples are: s like 's' in "son": sopa (soup); in Spain, it is often pronounced like a soft, palatised "sh" at the end of a word or syllable. t like 't' in "stop": tapa (top) v Pronounced the same way as b (see above): like 'b' in "elbow" at the beginning of a word and after 'n'; closer to the English 'v' sound elsewhere. To distinguish v from b when saying the name of the letter, one says "ve chica" or "be grande" to indicate which; native Spanish speakers may not hear the difference between "vee" and "bee". w like 'w' in "weight" in English words, whisky, (pronounced "WEESS-kee"). Like 'b' in "bed" in German words. This letter is never used in native Spanish words and you can live your entire life in a Hispanic country and never hear it outside of the word "whisky". x like 'x' in "flexible" ( flexible). Like 'ss' in "hiss" at beginning of a word ( xilófono, xylophone). Like a throaty 'h' in the words México, mexicano, Oaxaca, and oaxaqueño. Often found in words of indigenous American origin where it may not follow Spanish pronunciation logic. y like 'y' in "yes": payaso (clown). Like 'y' in "boy": hoy (now). Pronounced like a 'zh' [ʒ] as in 'Zhivago' or 'sh' [ʃ] as in 'show' only in Argentina and Uruguay: yo no sé (I don't know), pronounced "zhoh noh say". z like 's' in "supper" (Latin America, parts of Spain), like 'th' in "thin" (most of Spain) [θ]: zorro (fox). See c above.Be cautious about how you say that you're from a particular state: A Californio is a person whose family was in California while that land was still part of a Spanish colony, a true Tejano may never have set footin the modern US state of Texas, and the family of a Neomexicano was speaking Spanish in the 17th and 18th centuries. Try "Soy de California" (or Texas, or Nuevo México) instead.

Spanish students of any level can read through a book such as Pablo Garcia Loaeza’s Easy Spanish Phrase Book and see for themselves how typical sentences are constructed. While medical emergencies are something you definitely want to avoid on your next trip abroad, studying these phrases and/or carrying this phrasebook can prepare you for a worst-case scenario. 7. Learn Spanish Phrasebook Common signs STOP PARE, ALTO, STOP ( PAH-reh, AHL-toh, stohp) NO PARKING NO APARCAR / ESTACIONAR ( noh ah-pahr-KAHR/ ehs-tah-syoh-NAR) PARKING APARCAMIENTO / ESTACIONAMIENTO ( ah-pahr-kah-MYEHN-toh/ ehs-tah-syoh-nah-MYEHN-toh) NO ENTRANCE PROHIBIDO EL PASO ( pro-ee-BEE-doh el PAHS-oh) GIVE WAY/YIELD CEDA EL PASO ( SEH-dah el PAHS-oh) SLOW DESPACIO ( dehs-PAH-syoh) DIVERSION/DETOUR DESVÍO ( dehs-BEE-oh) ONE WAY SENTIDO ÚNICO ( sehn-TEE-doh OO-nee-koh) DEAD END SIN SALIDA ( seen sah-LEE-dah) DANGER PELIGRO ( peh-LEE-groh) CAUTION/ATTENION ¡PRECAUCIÓN!/¡ATENCIÓN! ( pray-caw-SYON/ ah-ten-SYON) Every section has written exercises to test your knowledge, along with interesting reading comprehension exercises to help you build vocabulary and further cement your grammar knowledge.If you’re not impressed with region-specific options, you should be! Don’t underestimate this valuable insight. For instance, you might not need to know a lot of terms to refer to monkeys in Spain, but you will in Costa Rica! Choosing the right phrasebook for the job can make the difference between clear communication and awkward pointing. If you’re planning a trip to Spain or Latin America, or if you simply want to improve your conversational Spanish, you’ll want to have this Spanish phrasebook by your side!

The content is excellently prepared and presented so that the student enjoys a comprehensive account of all the key areas of beginner-level Spanish without feeling overwhelmed.Additionally, Spanish phrasebooks are easy to use. Since phrasebooks are usually organized thematically, it’s easy to browse a phrasebook based on whatever scenario you’re in. For instance, if you’re shopping, skip to the section on shopping for some handy phrases. In addition to listing common phrases, the book also offers dialogues that show these phrases in context. Plus, there are cultural lessons staggered throughout to prepare you to make and keep friends. “Spanish Among Amigos Phrasebook” also offers activities, making this a terrific study tool. However, the lists of common phrases also make it useful as a reference book. Lonely Planet is well known for its travel guides, but it also offers a terrific line of phrasebooks. Regions with Spanish as an official language. They are mostly concentrated in Europe and the Americas. You love making a great first impression. To be fair, you’ve been perfecting your pronunciation, confidently practicing with your bathroom mirror.