Lessons for English speakers

Learn to read Spanish

A short, active path into reading Spanish: five vowels that never move, nine real words decoded before the alphabet, ser against estar, the verb ending that replaces the pronoun, and two short stories before your first book.

13 core sections · ≈ 34 min + 3 optional lookups · ≈ 50 min with everything

Verb lookup: endings, paradigms, and the vowel that breaks

Optional lookup · ≈ 5 min

What you'll learn

Open this when an ending blocks you; the two stories at the end need none of it.
Spanish verbs come in three families, named after their -ar, -er and -ir endings.
A set of common verbs breaks its middle vowel when the loud beat lands on it: o becomes ue, e becomes ie.
The everyday verbs here are lookups, not part of the path.

The present endings, family by family

Who	-ar (caminar)	-er (comer)	-ir (vivir)
I	caminokah-MEE-noh	comoKOH-moh	vivoBEE-boh
you	caminas	comes	vives
he, she	camina	come	vive
we	caminamos	comemos	vivimos
they, ustedes	caminan	comen	viven

Read the last letters and you know who. Reading needs recognition of these, never production.

The four verbs that refuse to follow a family

Who	ser	estar	tener	ir
I	soysoy	estoyehs-TOY	tengoTEHN-goh	voyboy
you	eres	estás	tienes	vas
he, she	es	está	tiene	va
we	somos	estamos	tenemos	vamos
they, ustedes	son	están	tienen	van

The event past, family by family

Who	-ar	-er and -ir
I	caminékah-mee-NEH	comíkoh-MEE
you	caminaste	comiste
he, she	caminókah-mee-NOH	comiókoh-MYOH
we	caminamos	comimos
they, ustedes	caminaron	comieron

The he-or-she row is the one stories are told in, and it is the one worth recognising at a glance.

The middle vowel breaking in two

dormirdohr-MEER — to sleep

duermeDWEHR-meh — sleeps

o becomes ue when the loud beat falls on it

poderpoh-DEHR — to be able

puedesPWEH-dehs — you can

encontrarehn-kohn-TRAHR — to find

encuentraehn-KWEHN-trah — finds

quererkeh-REHR — to want

quieroKYEH-roh — I want

and e becomes ie the same way

me llamo is one of a family. The plain name is llamarseyah-MAHR-seh“to call oneself”, and the little word in front changes with the person: me llamomeh YAH-moh, te llamasteh YAH-mahs, se llamaseh YAH-mah. Other verbs wear the same se: se sientaseh SYEHN-tah“sits down”, se duermeseh DWEHR-meh“falls asleep”. Read the se as part of the verb and the ending for who.

Everyday verbs, and their story past

English	The plain name	Now	Then
to eat	comerkoh-MEHR	comeKOH-meh	comiókoh-MYOH
to drink	beberbeh-BEHR	bebeBEH-beh	bebióbeh-BYOH
to sleep	dormirdohr-MEER	duermeDWEHR-meh	durmiódoor-MYOH
to run	correrkoh-RREHR	correKOH-rreh	corriókoh-RRYOH
to give	dardahr	dadah	diodyoh
to take	tomartoh-MAHR	tomaTOH-mah	tomótoh-MOH
to find	encontrarehn-kohn-TRAHR	encuentraehn-KWEHN-trah	encontróehn-kohn-TROH
to help	ayudarah-yoo-DAHR	ayudaah-YOO-dah	ayudóah-yoo-DOH
to hear	oíroh-EER	oyeOH-yeh	oyóoh-YOH
to know	sabersah-BEHR	séseh — I know	supoSOO-poh

No sé.noh seh“I do not know.” is two words, one of them a single letter with an accent, and it is the whole of “I do not know”. durmiódoor-MYOH breaks the middle vowel in the past as well as the present.

Two last habits. Liking runs backwards: Me gusta la lluvia.meh GOOS-tah lah YOO-byah“I like the rain.” is literally “to me pleases the rain” — take me gusta as a single piece meaning I like. And the word for to me, memeh, is glued onto the end of an order or a second verb: Dame el agua.DAH-meh ehl AH-gwah“Give me the water.” — ¿Puedes ayudarme?PWEH-dehs ah-yoo-DAHR-meh“Can you help me?”