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Spanish 1 Unit 5: Everyday vocabulary
These everyday words and phrases cover most beginner conversations.
Covers: Family, school, food, days, months and time, weather, gustar
Study guide
Family vocabulary includes la madre and el padre (los padres means parents), el hermano and la hermana, el hijo and la hija, los abuelos, el tío and la tía, and el primo and la prima. Possessive adjectives go before the noun and agree with it: mi/mis (my), tu/tus (your), su/sus (his, her, their, your formal), and nuestro/nuestra (our).
School words include la escuela, la clase, el profesor and la profesora, el libro, el cuaderno, el lápiz and la mochila, plus subjects like las matemáticas, la historia, las ciencias and el inglés. Food words include el desayuno, el almuerzo and la cena (breakfast, lunch, dinner), el agua, la leche, el pan, la manzana, el arroz, el pollo and las verduras.
Days of the week aren't capitalized: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado and domingo. "On Monday" is el lunes, and "on Mondays" is los lunes. Months include enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre and diciembre. To tell time, ask ¿Qué hora es? and answer Es la una (one o'clock) or Son las tres y media (3:30), using y for minutes after and menos for minutes before.
Weather often uses hacer: hace calor (it's hot), hace frío (cold), hace sol (sunny), hace viento (windy) and hace buen tiempo (nice weather), plus llueve (it's raining) and nieva (it's snowing).
Gustar expresses likes, but it works like "to please." The thing liked is the subject: Me gusta el chocolate (chocolate pleases me) uses gusta for one thing, and Me gustan los libros uses gustan for plural things. The person goes in the pronoun: me, te, le, nos, les. Add a + person for clarity or emphasis: A Ana le gusta bailar.
Several verbs work like gustar, with the thing as the subject and the person in the pronoun: interesar (Me interesa la historia), encantar (Nos encantan los perros) and importar (No le importa). Use the singular verb for one thing or an infinitive, and the plural for plural things. The seasons are la primavera, el verano, el otoño and el invierno. In the Southern Hemisphere, in countries such as Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, they are reversed, so July is winter and December is summer.
Spanish has no 's. Use de: el libro de Ana (Ana's book), la casa de mis abuelos. With clock times, add de la mañana, de la tarde or de la noche for a.m. and p.m., and use mediodía and medianoche for noon and midnight. Schedules often use the 24-hour clock (las 15:00 = 3 p.m.). In many Spanish-speaking countries, students wear uniforms and often stay with the same group in one classroom while teachers rotate. Grades are usually numbers (often on a 1–10 scale, and 1–20 in some countries). Many private schools are Catholic, and some are single-sex rather than coeducational.
Spanish speakers usually have two surnames: the father's first surname, then the mother's first surname (Gabriel García Márquez). People are generally addressed by the first of the two.
Key ideas
- Family: la madre, el padre, el hermano, la hermana, los abuelos.
- School: el libro, el lápiz, la clase, el maestro/la maestra.
- Days and months aren't capitalized: lunes, enero.
- Time: ¿Qué hora es? Es la una. Son las tres.
- gustar: Me gusta el chocolate. Me gustan los perros. (Verb agrees with the thing liked.)
Formulas and rules
Common mistakes
- Saying 'Yo gusto…' instead of 'Me gusta…'.
- Capitalizing days and months.
Words to know
- la madre
- the mother
- el padre
- the father
- los padres
- the parents
- el hermano
- the brother
- la hermana
- the sister
- el abuelo
- the grandfather
- la abuela
- the grandmother
- el hijo / la hija
- the son / the daughter
- el tío / la tía
- the uncle / the aunt
- el primo / la prima
- the cousin
- el perro
- the dog
- el gato
- the cat
- la casa
- the house
- la escuela
- the school
- el maestro / la maestra
- the teacher
- el cuaderno
- the notebook
- la mochila
- the backpack
- la silla
- the chair
- la ventana
- the window
- la puerta
- the door
- el coche
- the car
- la tienda
- the store
- el trabajo
- the job / the work
- el dinero
- the money
- la playa
- the beach
- la noche
- the night
- la comida
- the food
- el desayuno
- the breakfast
- el almuerzo
- the lunch
- la cena
- the dinner
- el agua
- the water
- la leche
- the milk
- el jugo de naranja
- the orange juice
- el pan
- the bread
- la manzana
- the apple
- el pollo
- the chicken
- el arroz
- the rice
- las verduras
- the vegetables
- la fruta
- the fruit
- lunes
- Monday
Sample practice questions
35 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.
What does "el abuelo" mean?
- the grandfather
- the cousin
- the uncle
- the father
Show the answer and steps
Answer: A) the grandfather
- abuelo = grandfather; abuela = grandmother.
What does "la silla" mean?
- the milk
- the chair
- fast
- the food
Show the answer and steps
Answer: B) the chair
- "la silla" = the chair.
"Me ___ las manzanas."
- gusta
- gusto
- gustan
- gustas
Show the answer and steps
Answer: C) gustan
- The thing liked (manzanas) is plural.
- gustan.