Spanish Route, episode ONE. Your guided route to Spanish.



English translation of podcast audio



Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. Welcome to Spanish Route. The program, the podcast, to learn Spanish in the easiest and most fun way. My name is Sergio and I am your personal Spanish trainer.



This is the first program and it's going to be very easy, you'll see.



We will learn to introduce ourselves and to greet us. We will ask some questions and answer them. That way you'll know me a little better.



But first, I want to remind you that on my website: SpanishRoute.com  You can read the transcription and English translation of this program. In case there is something you have not understood well. You can download the pdf with the presentation of the class and with a very easy written exercise to help you practice the concepts we have talked about today.



Also, from spanishRoute.com/contact , you can write me with questions that we will solve in the program.



And if you want to access Skype conversation sessions with me, at a very low price.  



Remember SpanishRoute.com. And now Let's start with the program.



In this first chapter we will start at the most basic level. We will learn to introduce ourselves and to greet us.



Remember that this program can be followed from the audio player of my website, or through your favorite podcast player.



And besides, in case you find it difficult to follow me, you can also watch the class through my YouTube channel with the presentation of the sentences in writing.



Do not worry about grammar, writing or punctuation, we will see it little by little in the next classes.



For the moment, the most important thing is to practice your hearing and mentally translate the phrases and expressions of Spanish into your language.



Hola (Hello!)



¡Hola! (Hello!)



This is the word (the interjection) to greet, draw the attention of another person or introduce ourselves. ¡Hola! = Hello!



¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?)



¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?) This is the phrase we use in Spanish to ask the name of the person we are talking to. ¡Hola! ¿Cómo te llamas? (Hello! What is your name?)



Me llamo Sergio (My name is Sergio)



Me llamo Sergio (My name is Sergio). With these words I answer the previous question. It's the way to tell someone what my name is.



You could also say "Yo me llamo Sergio". But in Spanish the subject pronoun of the phrase is usually omitted when in the conjugation of the verb one already understands who the subject is.



Bienvenido (Welcome)



¡Bienvenido! (Welcome!) . This is the word we use to receive someone in our house, in our place of work, or in any event or situation. Also when someone arrives from a trip, for example.



Do you know how to say”bienvenido” in your language?



Bienvenido. This is the masculine form. That is, when the other person is male: A boy, a man or a man.



Bienvenida. This is the feminine form. When the other person is of the female gender. A girl, a woman or a lady. Welcome.



¡Encantado de conocerte! (Nice to meet you!)



This is the phrase to say that we are glad to meet someone. ¡Encantado de conocerte! (Nice to meet you!)



This is the masculine form, but it refers to the subject of the phrase. To the gender of the person who says the phrase.



If I am a boy I say: "¡Encantado de conocerte!"



If I am a girl I say: "¡Encantada de conocerte!".



¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)



¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?) This is the phrase to ask about the place of origin of the person with whom we are speaking.



Soy de España (I am from Spain)



As you can see, I can omit the subject. Although I could also say: Yo soy de España.



Soy español (I am Spanish). It is the way to express my nationality or demonym. It's the masculine form: Soy español, when I'm a boy.



Soy española (I am Spanish). This is the feminine form. When the subject is female. If I were a girl I would say: I'm Spanish.



¿Y tú? (And you? or What about you?) This is the way to ask the same question that you just asked us. Or to ask about the same thing that I just affirmed.



¡Hola!, me llamo Sergio, ¿Y tú? (Hello! my name is Sergio, what about you?)



Tengo hambre, ¿y tú? (I am hungry, and you?) (here it is understood that we ask the other person if he is also hungry).



Demonym (Gentilicios)



There is no rule to form the gentilicios or nationalities of different countries but there are frequent terminations.



Remember that the names and nationality are adjectives and in Spanish they can have a masculine or feminine form. I propose you these examples:



De España>>> español o española (from Spain>>> Spanish)



De Inglaterra >>> inglés o inglesa (from England>>> English)



De Francia >>> francés o francesa (from France>>> French)



De Estados Unidos >>> estadounidense ( From U.S>>> American). In this case, Estadounidense would serve for the male or female form of the subject. 



Another country with a similar termination would be Canada. De Canadá>>> canadiense (from Canada, Canadian). Both male and female.



De Italia>>> Italiano o italiana (from Italy: Italian).   



Affirmation and denial



Sí (Yes):  We use the word "sí" to answer affirmatively.



No. We use the word "no" to answer negative form



¿Sabes donde está España? (Do you know where Spain is?)



Sí, España está en el sur de Europa. (Yes, Spain is in southern Europe).



¿Sabes donde está Galicia? (Do you know where Galicia is?)



No, no lo sé (No, I do not know). In this case, after the first "no", in the following sentence we must repeat the "no" to indicate the negation of the verb.



In the case of the affirmative answer: Sí, Galicia está en el norte de España (Yes , I know . Galicia is in the north of Spain) the "sí" should no longer be repeated.



Cardinal points



The cardinal points in Spanish are:  norte, sur, este, oeste (north, south, east, west).



Suecia está en el norte de Europa (Sweden is in northern Europe)



El sol sale por el este (the sun rises from the east)



Italia está en el sur de Europa (Italy is in southern Europe)



Portugal está al oeste de España (Portugal is west of Spain)



With these example sentences, note that the cardinal points are almost always used with the masculine definite article "El (the)"



In the phrase: Portugal está al oeste de España (Portugal is to the west of Spain), the word "a" is the contraction of the preposition "a" (to) and the article "el" (the).



We will see the contractions in Spanish in upcoming programs, do not worry.



We can also observe the use of two different prepositions. In the sentence: Italia está en el sur de Europa (Italy is in the south of Europe),  before "el sur" (the south) we use the preposition "en" (in), because Italy belongs to Europe. While in: Portugal está al oeste de España (Portugal is to the west of Spain), we use the preposition "a" (to) because Portugal does not belong to Spain. It is another country. If Portugal were a region of Spain, for example, we would say: Portugal está en el oeste de España (Portugal is in the west of Spain).



Bien (well)  / Malo (wrong)



The words bien (well / right) and mal (evil / wrong) can be nouns or adverbs.As a noun, "el bien" is the abstract entity formed by what is morally good. And "el mal" means the opposite. As substantives, these words carry articles.



La lucha entre el bien y el mal. (The struggle between good and evil).



As a noun well also means asset or property.



Yo invierto en bienes inmuebles (I invest in real estate).As an adverb: "Bien" (right) means what is right or "in the best possible way". and "mal" (wrong) what is wrong.In expressions to say hallo, it is used with the verb "estar" (be):



¿Cómo estás? (¿Qué tal estás? (How are you?) / How do you do?)Estoy bien, ¡gracias! (I'm fine thanks).



It would not be correct to say "soy bien". "Bien" it is never used with the verb "ser" in spanish."Bien" when accompanying the verb "estar" means to be healthy, easy or be comfortable."Mal" means that something is wrong. When accompanying the verb "estar" can signify that he is sick, sad, uncomfortable or angry.In the next program we will talk again about these words and the differences with "bueno" (good) or "malo" (bad) adjectives. That sometimes can be confusing for Spanish students.



Por favor, (please), disculpa (excuse me), gracias (thank you)



Por favor (Please)



The expression "por favor" in two words: (por + favor) is used to request something or in educated questions



¿Por favor, puedes ayudarme? (Please, can you help me?)



Disculpa (excuseme) 



It is a word that can be used to draw attention before asking a question, or in another context ask for forgiveness or excuses, although in this last case we usually say "lo siento" (i am sorry). 



¡Disculpa!, ¿puedes venir? ( Excuseme! You can come?



¡Gracias! (Thank you!) or ¡Muchas gracias! (thank you very much!)



It serves to express gratitude. We usually say it after receiving the answer to a question we have asked previously.



¡Gracias! Eres muy amagle. (Thanks, you're very kind).



Or at the end of a speech, for example.



Gracias por vuestra atención. (Thank you for your attention).



Do you remember how you say "gracias" in your language?







More ways to say hello



¡Hola! (Hello!) 



¡Buenos días! (Good morning!)  We say it in the morning.



¡Buenas tardes! (Good afternoon!) We say it after noon or after eating.



¡Buenas noches! (Goodnight!) We say it after sunset, when it is already night.



¿Cómo estás? (How are you? / How do you do? Courtesy question to be interested in the other person.



¿Y tú (?And you?) We can use it to not repeat the question again:  ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)



¿Cómo te encuentras? (How do you feel?) It is another way of being interested in the other person.



The question marks and admiration (in spanish)



¡...!