Studying Spanish for school, business, or travel? Learn the fun and easy way with this portable guide that teaches everyday expressions in Spanish.

Spanish Phrasebook For Dummies covers basic language information, focusing on common phrases to help you in ordinary situations, such as chatting about family, finding your way around, and generally making small talk. From job-related expressions to translations of directions, numbers, and time, it teaches real-world language skills that you can use immediately.

If you've never studied Spanish before - or did a long time ago but need a refresher - Spanish Phrasebook For Dummies is for you. With guidance on pronunciation and stress, this handy book is jam-packed with plenty of grammatical examples to help you with verbs, adjectives, gender, plurals, pronouns, sentence construction, how to ask questions properly, and more.

You'll have ample opportunity to test your Spanish language skills in these scenarios:

• Counting your money
• Measuring time and keeping track of days, months, and seasons
• Introducing yourself
• Talking about the weather
• Ordering drinks, snacks, or a full meal
• Shopping in traditional markets or the grocery store
• Engaging in tourist or other fun activities
• Tending to work or other business matters
• Finding transportation and lodging

• Taking care of emergencies
  With a chapter on phrases native Spanish speakers use every day and another covering phrases fluent speakers would say, you can have fun and impress your friends with this concise phrasebook.

  Autorentext

  Susana Wald is a translator, teacher, writer, and publisher.

  Inhalt

  Introduction 1

  About This Book 1

  Conventions Used in This Book 2

  Foolish Assumptions 2

  Icons Used in This Book 3

  Where to Go from Here 4

  Chapter 1: I Say It How? Speaking Spanish 5

  You Already Know Some Spanish 6

  Beware of false friends 6

  Some crossover influence 7

  Reciting Your ABC's 8

  Consonants 9

  Vowels 16

  The diphthongs 18

  Pronunciation and Stress 19

  Looking for stress, normally 20

  Looking for accented vowels 20

  Understanding accents on diphthongs 21

  ¡Punctuation Plus! 21

  Some Basic Phrases to Know 21

  Chapter 2: Grammar on a Diet: Just the Basics. 23

  Sentence Construction 23

  Verbs 24

  Regular verbs 24

  Irregular verbs 26

  Extra verbs charts 27

  Forming Questions 31

  Pronouns in Hiding 32

  That Whole Gender Thing 33

  Make It Two (or More): Plurals 35

  Telling Tales with Adjectives 36

  It's You, You Know: The Tú/Usted Issue 36

  Chapter 3: Numerical Gumbo: Counting of All Kinds 39

  1, 2, 3: Cardinal Numbers 39

  Discovering Ordinal Numbers 41

  Telling Time 42

  You can tell time 42

  But are you on time? 44

  Days, Months, Seasons 45

  What day is it? 45

  Living month to month 47

  Counting Your Money 48

  Carrying cash 48

  ATMs 49

  Credit cards 51

  Exchanging your dollars 52

  Chapter 4: Making New Friends and Enjoying Small Talk 55

  Hello! Greetings and Introductions 55

  Formal introductions 55

  Informal introductions 57

  Small-Talk Verbs 58

  Llamarse: Calling 58

  Ser: Being 59

  Estar: The second being 62

  Hablar: Speaking 64

  Trabajar: Working 67

  Entender: Understanding 67

  Vivir: Living 68

  Small-talk apologies 69

  Grand Inquisitor: Questions 70

  A Rainy Day: Talking Weather 72

  How Is Your Family? 73

  Chapter 5: Enjoying a Drink and a Snack (or Meal!) 75

  Getting the Table and Meal Basics 75

  Three Verbs Used at the Table 76

  To take and to drink: The verb tomar 77

  For drinking only: The verb beber 77

  For eating: The verb comer 78

  At the Restaurant 79

  What's on the Menu? 81

  The Bill, Please 85

  Chapter 6: Shop 'Til You Drop 87

  Heading Out on the Town 87

  Browsing around 87

  Getting around the store 88

  Requesting color and size 89

  Getting the right fit 91

  Using the shopping verb: Comprar 92

  Wearing and taking: The verb llevar 93

  Shopping the Traditional Market 94

  Shopping for food 94

  Scoping out special items 98

  Visiting the Supermarket 100

  Bartering for Your Goods 100

  Getting the Right Quantity 102

  Comparing Better or Best 102

  Chapter 7: Making Leisure a Top Priority. 105

  Having a Good Time 105

  Using the inviting verb invitar 106

  Using the dancing verb bailar 107

  Having a Good Time at Shows and Events 108

  Screening the cinema 109

  Enjoying a concert 109

  Enjoying the Outdoors 111

  Taking a walk 111

  Watching the animals 112

  Sports, Sports, Sports 114

  The most popular ball game: Fútbol 114

  Béisbol: #2 116

  The playing verb: Jugar 117

  Chapter 8: When You Gotta Work 119

  Picking Up the Phone 119

  Opening lines 119

  Leaving messages 121

  Making a collect call 123

  Outside the Office 123

  Inside the Office 125

  Getting a job 126

  Scheduling and conducting a meeting 128

  Using emplear: The hiring verb 131

  Hacer: The doing, making verb 131

  Packing a PC 133

  Chapter 9: I Get Around: Transportation 135

  On the Go: Transportation 135

  Boarding the train 135

  Hailing a taxi 137

  Hopping a bus 137

  Renting a car 138

  Passing Passport Control 141

  Transportation Verbs 146

  The outgoing verb: Salir 146

  Using the waiting verb: Esperar 147

  Asking for Directions 148

  Adónde vamos? Where do we go? 148

  Mapping the place 149

  Getting directions from locals 150

  Understanding spatial directions 152

  Here, there, and everywhere 153

  Chapter 10: Laying Down Your Weary Head: House or Hotel? 155

  Speaking of Houses 155

  Some rental wisdom 156

  Furnishing your house 159

  Scoping Out the Hotel 160

  Registering for a Room 164

  Dormir: The Sleeping Verb 167

  Despertar: The Waking Up Verb 169

  Chapter 11: Dealing with Emergencies 171

  Shouting for Help 171

  Handling Health Problems 172

  Helping out 173

  Painful phrases for when it hurts 174

  Telling where it hurts 176

  Describing symptoms 177

  Talking to the doctor 179

  Visiting the dentist 180

  Ensuring that you get your money back 182

  Getting Help with Legal Problems 182

  Being under arrest 183

  Stick 'em up: Words to know when you're robbed 183

  Reporting to the police 184

  Dealing with Car Emergencies 185

  Chapter 12: Favorite Spanish Expressions. 189

  Qué tal? 189

  Quiubo? 189

  Qué pasó? 190

  Cómo van las cosas? 190

  ¡Del uno! 190

  Cuánto cuesta? 191

  A cuánto? 191

  ¡Un asalto! 191

  ¡Una ganga! 191

  ¡Buen provecho! 192

  ¡Salud! 192

  ¡Buen viaje! 192

  Chapter 13: Phrases That Make You Sound Like a Local 193

  ¡Esta es la mía! 193

  Y eso con qué se come? 194

  Voy a ir de farra 194

  Caer fatal 194

  Nos divertimos en grande 195

  Ver negro para 195

  Pasó sin pena ni gloria 195

  ¡Así a secas! 196

  ¡La cosa va viento en popa! 196

  Index 197