2.1 Basic Sentences — More Useful Phrases

Unit 2 continues building essential vocabulary for everyday interactions: classroom commands, asking about objects, giving directions, and counting. These phrases should be memorized thoroughly.

Classroom Commands

English	Spanish
Come on in.	¡Adelante!
Sit down.	Siéntese.
Do you have a pencil?	¿Tiene un lápiz?
No, I don’t.	No, no tengo.
Yes, I do.	Sí, sí tengo.
Say it again. / Repeat.	Repita.
Translate.	Traduzca.
Again, please.	Otra vez, por favor.
Excuse me, what did you say?	Perdón. ¿Cómo dice usted?

Requesting Objects

English	Spanish
Give me the pen.	Déme la pluma.
Pass me the book.	Páseme el libro.

Identifying Objects

English	Spanish
What’s that?	¿Qué es eso?
What’s this?	¿Qué es esto?
This is an ashtray.	Esto es un cenicero.
What does cenicero mean?	¿Qué quiere decir cenicero?
It means ashtray.	Quiere decir ashtray.
How do you say table in Spanish?	¿Cómo se dice table en español?
You say mesa.	Se dice mesa.
How do you say silla in English?	¿Cómo se dice silla en inglés?
You say chair.	Se dice chair.

Directions

English	Spanish
Where’s the American Embassy?	¿Dónde está la Embajada Americana?
Where’s the bathroom?	¿Dónde está el baño?
There, to the left.	Ahí, a la izquierda.
There, to the right.	Ahí, a la derecha.
There, straight ahead.	Ahí, adelante.
Take us downtown.	Llévenos al centro.
Where are the books?	¿Dónde están los libros?
Take me to the hotel.	Lléveme al hotel.
Going up or down?	¿Sube o baja?
How much is it?	¿Cuánto es?

Numbers 1–21

Number	Spanish	Number	Spanish
1	uno	11	once
2	dos	12	doce
3	tres	13	trece
4	cuatro	14	catorce
5	cinco	15	quince
6	seis	16	dieciséis
7	siete	17	diecisiete
8	ocho	18	dieciocho
9	nueve	19	diecinueve
10	diez	20	veinte
		21	veintiuno

2.10 Notes on the Basic Sentences

(1) Instead of using the entire phrase ¿Cómo dice usted? (“What did you say?”), Spanish speakers frequently use only the first word — ¿Cómo? — just as English speakers may say only “What?”

(2) Note that in se dice, the idea of “someone” actually saying the word is not given. Rather, “the word says itself,” making this an impersonal construction translated as “is said” or “you say.” This is the reflexive construction, examined in detail in Unit 24.

(3) ¿Sube o baja? — More literally, “Does it (the elevator) go up or does it go down?“

2.2 Drills on Pronunciation

Unit 2’s pronunciation drills shift from vowels and stress (covered in Unit 1) to consonants and vowels under strong stress. This is a substantial section covering the sounds that most distinguish a foreign accent from native speech.

2.21 Typical Errors from English Vowel Influence

The problem: Many Spanish words look deceptively similar to English words (doctor, hospital, congress, tropical), but their vowels are pronounced quite differently. English speakers tend to substitute their native vowel sounds.

Key examples of English-looking words with different Spanish vowel quality:

English Spelling	Correct Spanish	Typical English Error
office	/ofiséna/	English schwa vowels
doctor	/doktór/	English “dahk-ter”
opportunity	/oportunidád/	English reduced vowels
congress	/kongréso/	English “kahn-gress”
hospital	/ospitál/	English “hah-spit-ul”
tropical	/tropikál/	English “trah-pih-kul”
Honduras	/ondurás/	English initial “h”

The takeaway: words that look familiar are often the most misleading. Stay alert to this trap.

2.22 Voiced Stop Consonants: /d/, /b/, /g/

Each of these consonants has two varieties in Spanish that Spanish speakers consider one sound, but English speakers hear as different sounds.

/d/ in Spanish

[d] (like English “d” in den, do) — but with the tongue touching the back of the upper teeth, not the gum ridge as in English
[ð] (like English “th” in then, the, mother) — a softer, fricative version

Distribution rule:

[d] (stop) appears after:	[ð] (fricative) appears after:
Pause (beginning of utterance)	Vowels
/n/	/y/
/l/	/w/
	Other consonants (most)

Why it matters: Using [d] where [ð] belongs can cause a word to be confused with a different word. The drill contrasts /d/ and /r/ between vowels, since the fricative [ð] sounds similar to the Spanish /r/ (tap):

/d/ word	/r/ word	/d/ word	/r/ word
oda	ora	pida	pira
todo	toro	lodo	loro
cada	cara	codo	coro
seda	sera	mudo	muro
modo	moro	ada	ara

/b/ in Spanish

[b] (like English “b” in bee, ball) — a full stop
[β] (no English equivalent) — produced by bringing the lips close together without touching, creating a sound like a cross between b, v, and w

Distribution follows the same pattern as /d/. The important point: there is no “v” sound in Spanish, even though the letter exists in the writing system. The sound Americans hear as “v” in a word like Havana is actually [β].

/g/ in Spanish

[g] (like English “g” in go, get)
[ɣ] (rare in English, heard in sugar) — produced by raising the back of the tongue toward the roof of the mouth without touching

Distribution follows the same pattern as /d/ and /b/. Errors with /g/ are less likely to cause misunderstanding, but mastering [ɣ] is important for comprehension when listening to native speakers.

2.23 Vibrants /r/ and /rr/

Critical point: Spanish /r/ sounds do not resemble English “r” in any way. Attempting to transfer your English /r/ into Spanish will fail entirely.

Single /r/ between vowels

The Spanish single /r/ is a quick tap of the tongue tip — very similar to the English “tt” or “dd” in words like Betty, butter, shutter, ladder.

Double /rr/ between vowels

The /rr/ is a rapid trill of the tongue tip, learned best by careful imitation. The drill contrasts minimal pairs:

Single /r/	Double /rr/
pero (but)	perro (dog)
caro (expensive)	carro (cart)
para (for)	parra (grapevine)
coro (chorus)	corro (I run)
foro (forum)	forro (lining)

/r/ before and after consonants

Spanish /r/ is also quite different from English “r” in consonant clusters. For example, the word tarde should sound more like “totter-they” spoken rapidly than the English “tar-day.”

/r/ at end of utterance

When /r/ occurs at the very end of an utterance, especially in a stressed syllable, it becomes more like /rr/ but without vocal cord vibration — almost like combining /r/ with /s/ while keeping the tongue tip raised.

2.24 Vowel Nuclei

The problem: English vowels are diphthongs — they glide from one quality to another. Spanish vowels maintain a pure, steady quality throughout.

English (gliding)	Spanish (pure)
“day” (ey) → /e/	de
”no” (ow) → /o/	no
”me” (iy) → /i/	mi
”too” (uw) → /u/	tu

The key: say Spanish vowels without letting the quality change from start to finish. For /u/ and /o/, round your lips during the preceding consonant in anticipation.

2.25 Lateral /l/ in Spanish

Spanish /l/ is a laterally-released [d] — very different from English /l/. To produce it: make a [d] as in did, but instead of releasing the whole tongue, keep the tip locked in place and release the air through one side.

2.26 Voiceless Stops: /p/, /t/, /k/

The key difference: In English, these sounds are aspirated (produced with a puff of air) at the beginning of words — pin, tin, kin. In Spanish, they are never aspirated.

Trick for /p/: Think of putting an “s” before Spanish words starting with /p/ to trigger the English pattern of unaspirated “p” (as in spin vs. pin).

Additional difference for /t/: Spanish /t/ is produced with the tongue touching the back of the upper teeth, further forward than in English.

2.27 Voiceless Spirants: /s/ and /h/

/s/ in Spanish

Spanish has both [s] and [z], but unlike English, they are variants of a single sound — never used to distinguish words (unlike English seal vs. zeal).

Distribution: [z] appears only before voiced consonants (b, d, g, m, n, l, r). Everywhere else, [s] appears. English speakers must resist the urge to voice the /s/ in words that look familiar (president, visit, reason, Kansas).

Castilian note: In Castilian Spanish, /s/ and /θ/ (like English “th” in thin) are distinguished. This can be ignored by anyone using American Spanish dialects.

/h/ in Spanish

Spanish /h/ (written as “j” or “g” before e/i) is stronger than English “h.” The tongue must be tenser and higher in the mouth, creating more friction noise. It is especially hard for English speakers to produce between vowels.

2.28 Nasals and Palatals

Spanish /n/ is produced against the back of the upper teeth (like /t/ and /d/), not on the gum ridge as in English
The /nt/ cluster: In Spanish, the /n/ is clearly resonated through the nose before /t/ begins — unlike English where “nt” blurs together (as in “wanta”)
/ñ/ and /ny/: The distinction between these can be made but is of limited importance at normal speed
/y/ in Spanish: Has two variants — [y] (as in English yes) and [ʒ/dʒ] (ranging from English “zh” to “j” as in judge). Both may be used by the same speaker; the distinction significant in English is irrelevant in Spanish

2.29 Conclusion

The pronunciation features covered in Units 1 and 2 represent the gross differences most critical for communication. Mastering these contrasts will make learning the rest of the language considerably easier. Other details — like juncture (how words run together) and unfamiliar consonant clusters — are best learned through repetition of complete phrases.

Note: The full pronunciation drills — including all phonetic transcriptions, comparison tables, and practice exercises — are designed to be done with the audio recordings. Open the Student Text PDF at page 44 alongside the audio tapes for the complete exercises.

2.3 Drills and Grammar

2.31 Pattern Drill: Some Demonstratives

This is the first pattern drill in the course. Pattern drills consist of three parts: illustrations (example sentences), extrapolation (a chart showing the pattern), and notes (brief explanation).

The Pattern

Spanish	English	Use
esto	this	Object near the speaker
eso	that	Object near the listener

Illustrations

#	Spanish	English
1	¿Qué es eso?	What’s that?
2	Esto es un cenicero.	This is an ashtray.
3	¿Qué es esto?	What’s this?
4	Eso es una silla.	That’s a chair.
5	Eso es bueno.	That’s good.
6	Traduzca esto.	Translate this.
7	Repita eso.	Repeat that.

Response Drill

The response drill has four groups of questions designed to practice esto and eso naturally:

Choice questions (full sentence replies): ¿Es esto español o inglés? → ¿Eso? Es español.
Information questions (answer given sotto voce first): (el centro) ¿Qué es eso? → ¿Eso? Es el centro.
Yes-no questions answered “no” (with correction): (un lápiz) ¿Es eso una pluma? → ¿Esto? No, es un lápiz.
Yes-no questions answered “yes”: ¿Es eso un hotel? → ¿Eso? Sí, es un hotel.

Translation Drill

Translate these sentences to Spanish:

English	Spanish
That’s good.	Eso es bueno.
This isn’t Spanish.	Esto no es español.
How’s that going?	¿Qué tal va eso?
What’s that?	¿Qué es eso?
What’s this?	¿Qué es esto?
That’s too much.	Eso es mucho.
I don’t want that until tomorrow.	No quiero eso hasta mañana.
I want that later.	Quiero eso luego.
I regret this very much.	Siento mucho esto.
This is going very well.	Esto va muy bien.
The young lady wants this.	La señorita quiere esto.

Discussion of the Pattern

Eso refers to an object nearer to the person being addressed; esto refers to an object nearer to the speaker. The -o ending on both forms indicates that the speaker either doesn’t know the Spanish word for the object, is answering a question that used esto/eso, or is referring to a situation rather than a specific object (as in Eso es bueno).

When referring to a known, specific object, different forms with other endings are used — these are presented in Unit 7.

Note: Grammar discussions are designed for home study, not classroom time. Class time should be reserved for drilling the language itself.

Useful Phrases & Pronunciation II

Grammar Focus

Course Material