Chapter 10 of 16 · Explore the Spanish path
Optional reference · Chapter 10 of 16
Look up a number, a colour or an animal
Numbers, colours, family words and twelve animals, ready for when a book hands you one. The stories at the end need none of it, so take the row you came for and go back.
≈ 6 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- Open this when a book hands you a word from one of these families; the two stories at the end need none of it.
- Ten numbers, and uno is the only one that changes shape.
- Eight colours; only the ones ending in -o have a separate feminine form, and all eight still take -s in the plural.
- Twelve animals, chosen because the books after this path are full of them.
The numbers one to ten
Ten numbers, said with the sound rules you already have. Read down each column and say them aloud.
| Number | Spanish | Number | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uno | 6 | seis |
| 2 | dos | 7 | siete |
| 3 | tres | 8 | ocho |
| 4 | cuatro | 9 | nueve |
| 5 | cinco | 10 | diez |
Say them once with the sound rules: cinco
What happens to uno before a noun
The word for one changes shape when a noun follows it. Compare the form that stands alone with the two that sit in front of a thing.
Eight colours, and which ones change
A colour describes a thing, so it copies the ending of the thing it describes. The last column tells you which colours change and which stay put.
| English | Spanish | Separate feminine form? |
|---|---|---|
| red | rojo | yes: roja |
| yellow | amarillo | yes |
| black | negro | yes |
| white | blanco | yes |
| green | verde | no — ends in -e |
| blue | azul | no — ends in a consonant |
| grey | gris | no |
| brown | marrón | no |
Only the colours ending in -o have a separate feminine form, which is four fewer things to think about. All eight still go plural with their noun: dos pájaros verdes
Family and other people
Words for the people in a family, in pairs. The male form sits on the left and the female form on the right.
| English | Spanish | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| brother | el hermano | sister | la hermana |
| boy | el niño | girl | la niña |
| friend, male | el amigo | friend, female | la amiga |
| father | el padre | mother | la madre |
| man | el hombre | woman | la mujer |
Three of these are -o and -a pairs, so ten words cost you seven. madre and padre both end in -e, so the ending is no help there: the ending is a good guess, never a law. And a mixed group takes the male form — los niños
Twelve animals from the books ahead
These are the animals the books after this path are full of. Meeting their names now saves you a lookup later.
| English | Spanish | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| dog | el perro | mouse | el ratón |
| cat | el gato | fox | el zorro |
| bird | el pájaro | bear | el oso |
| fish | el pez | rabbit | el conejo |
| horse | el caballo | pig | el cerdo |
| owl | el búho | wolf | el lobo |
A fox and a wolf and a mouse for the Green Hill fables, a bear and a rabbit and an owl and a pig for Winnie-the-Pooh, a dog and a pig for Doctor Dolittle. All twelve take el; for a female animal the -o words switch to -a — la gata
Two plurals that change the spelling
Both of these change more than the ending when they go plural. Read the single form, then the plural beside it.
Which greeting the time of day wants
Which greeting you use depends on the time of day. The last column shows what each one says literally.
| When | Spanish | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| Morning, until lunch | Buenos días. | good days |
| After lunch, until dark | Buenas tardes. | good afternoons |
| After dark, and on leaving | Buenas noches. | good nights |
Greetings are plural in Spanish, and Buenas noches