Lesson 2

¡Hola! The letters of the alphabet are pronounced differently in Spanish.

H – O – L - A

H Hache = In general, this sound is silent.

O oh = Close to “oh” as in so, but shorter.

L ele = Close to the English L, but with the tongue raised closer to the roof of the mouth rather than dipped down.

A ah = This sound does not exist exactly in English, but a close approximation can be found by saying “my” omitting the last “ee” sound.

Everyday classroom language in plural.

listen

look

sit down

stand up

repeat

Silence

come here

touch Tocad

todas las chicasall the girls todos los chicos

all the boys

When the teachers are taking register the students individually must reply :

Buenos días (when it is morning) or

Buenas tardes (when it is afternoon) or

¡Aquí! (here)

• Grammar

UN / UNA Gender (masculine or feminine) in Spanish.

UN / UNA means ‘a’ in English.

In Spanish everything has its own gender (masculine or feminine). We will learn it slowly as it doesn’t have a general rule.

una gallina

a monkey a cow a mouse a chicken

una chicaa girl

un chicoa boy

Formal and Informal Spanish has a formal and informal way of expressing itself.

In Spanish there are two ways of expressing ourselves. These are the formal way and the informal way. There are exceptions when people who are in higher level than you ask to address them in an informal way.

Use formal: Adults you don't know well People in some position of respect, i.e. the President, a teacher or boss, a police officer, etc.

Use informal: family friends people your age or younger