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The fun and easy way to speak Spanish
With Mexico the #1 international destination for Americans, over 14 million secondary school students enrolled in Spanish classes, and Spanish the primary language in many neighborhoods from L.A. to Miami, this should easily be the most popular title in our new phrase book series, following in the footsteps of Spanish For Dummies (0-7645-5194-9), which has sold more than 300,000 copies.
Susana Wald is a writer, teacher, and translator.
Introduction.
About This Book.
Conventions Used in This Book.
Foolish Assumptions.
Icons Used in This Book.
Where to Go from Here.
Chapter 1: I Say It How? Speaking Spanish.
You Already Know Some Spanish.
Beware of false friends.
Some crossover influence.
Reciting Your ABC’s.
Consonants.
Vowels.
The diphthongs.
Pronunciation and Stress.
Looking for stress, normally.
Looking for accented vowels.
Understanding accents on diphthongs.
¡Punctuation Plus!
Some Basic Phrases to Know.
Chapter 2: Grammar on a Diet: Just the Basics.
Sentence Construction.
Verbs.
Regular verbs.
Irregular verbs.
Extra verbs charts.
Forming Questions.
Pronouns in Hiding.
That Whole Gender Thing.
Make It Two (or More): Plurals.
Telling Tales with Adjectives.
It’s You, You Know: The Tú/Usted Issue.
Chapter 3: Numerical Gumbo: Counting of All Kinds.
1, 2, 3: Cardinal Numbers.
Discovering Ordinal Numbers.
Telling Time.
You can tell time.
But are you on time?
Days, Months, Seasons.
What day is it?
Living month to month.
Counting Your Money.
Carrying cash.
ATMs.
Credit cards.
Exchanging your dollars.
Chapter 4: Making New Friends and Enjoying Small Talk.
Hello! Greetings and Introductions.
Formal introductions.
Informal introductions.
Small-Talk Verbs.
Llamarse: Calling.
Ser: Being.
Estar: The second being.
Hablar: Speaking.
Trabajar: Working.
Entender: Understanding.
Vivir: Living.
Small-talk apologies.
Grand Inquisitor: Questions.
A Rainy Day: Talking Weather.
How Is Your Family?
Chapter 5: Enjoying a Drink and a Snack (or Meal!).
Getting the Table and Meal Basics.
Three Verbs Used at the Table.
To take and to drink: The verb tomar.
For drinking only: The verb beber.
For eating: The verb comer.
At the Restaurant.
What’s on the Menu?
The Bill, Please.
Chapter 6: Shop ’Til You Drop.
Heading Out on the Town.
Browsing around.
Getting around the store.
Requesting color and size.
Getting the right fit.
Using the shopping verb: Comprar.
Wearing and taking: The verb llevar.
Shopping the Traditional Market.
Shopping for food.
Scoping out special items.
Visiting the Supermarket.
Bartering for Your Goods.
Getting the Right Quantity.
Comparing Better or Best.
Chapter 7: Making Leisure a Top Priority.
Having a Good Time.
Using the inviting verb invitar.
Using the dancing verb bailar.
Having a Good Time at Shows and Events.
Screening the cinema.
Enjoying a concert.
Enjoying the Outdoors.
Taking a walk.
Watching the animals.
Sports, Sports, Sports.
The most popular ball game: Fútbol.
Béisbol: #2.
The playing verb: Jugar.
Chapter 8: When You Gotta Work.
Picking Up the Phone.
Opening lines.
Leaving messages.
Making a collect call.
Outside the Office.
Inside the Office.
Getting a job.
Scheduling and conducting a meeting.
Using emplear: The hiring verb.
Hacer: The doing, making verb.
Packing a PC.
Chapter 9: I Get Around: Transportation.
On the Go: Transportation.
Boarding the train.
Hailing a taxi.
Hopping a bus.
Renting a car.
Passing Passport Control.
Transportation Verbs.
The outgoing verb: Salir.
Using the waiting verb: Esperar.
Asking for Directions.
¿Adónde vamos? Where do we go?
Mapping the place.
Getting directions from locals.
Understanding spatial directions.
Here, there, and everywhere.
Chapter 10: Laying Down Your Weary Head: House or Hotel?
Speaking of Houses . . . .
Some rental wisdom.
Furnishing your house.
Scoping Out the Hotel.
Registering for a Room.
Dormir: The Sleeping Verb.
Despertar: The Waking Up Verb.
Chapter 11: Dealing with Emergencies.
Shouting for Help.
Handling Health Problems.
Helping out.
Painful phrases for when it hurts.
Telling where it hurts.
Describing symptoms.
Talking to the doctor.
Visiting the dentist.
Ensuring that you get your money back.
Getting Help with Legal Problems.
Being under arrest.
Stick ’em up: Words to know when you’re robbed.
Reporting to the police.
Dealing with Car Emergencies.
Chapter 12: Favorite Spanish Expressions.
¿Qué tal?
¿Quiubo?
¿Qué pasó?
¿Cómo van las cosas?
¡Del uno!
¿Cuánto cuesta?
¿A cuánto?
¡Un asalto!
¡Una ganga!
¡Buen provecho!
¡Salud!
¡Buen viaje!
Chapter 13: Phrases That Make You Sound Like a Local.
¡Esta es la mía!
¿Y eso con qué se come?
Voy a ir de farra.
Caer fatal.
Nos divertimos en grande.
Ver negro para.
Pasó sin pena ni gloria.
¡Así a secas!
¡La cosa va viento en popa!
Index.
Anonymous
Posted Tue Mar 11 00:00:00 EDT 2008
I picked up this little gem the day before my vacation to Honduras. Before reading it, I only knew a handful of Spanish words from some long-forgotten high school Spanish class. I¿m glad I brought it with me because it really helped me communicate my needs, making my little get-away all the more enjoyable. That was 3 years ago. After returning, I decided that I wanted to study Spanish more for future trips. I bought the Learning Spanish Like Crazy course, and my aptitude really took off. I¿m almost to the point where I¿d call myself fluent. Spanish Phrases for Dummies currently costs about 10 dollars new. I¿d say it¿s a good value at this price.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Wed Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2006
This book is wonderful. It's not all-inclusive, of course, but if you read through it (out loud is my recommendation), within only a couple of days you'll come away with some ingrained Spanish. The best thing about this book is the PHOENETIC SPELLING! Or, for all you dummies out there - 'thuh foe-NEH-tik SPEH-ling.' I wish all foreign language books did that. If you could pronounce it yourself, you probably wouldn't need the book now, would you? I have several books on several different languages, and thus far the 'for dummies' series of language arts books are the best investment verses their cost. If you want to learn a bit of Spanish without too much effort, then this is the book for you. I heartily recommend it!
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Fri Apr 11 00:00:00 EDT 2014
This book is very helpful. My friend had a trip to Mexico and it helped her a lot.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Sat Feb 09 00:00:00 EST 2013
Como te llamas?
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Thu Jan 24 00:00:00 EST 2013
Its 2 expensive.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Thu Nov 29 00:00:00 EST 2012
If anyone really read this book answer my question and give me a question por favor
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Wed Nov 28 00:00:00 EST 2012
I am trying to learn spanish and this is great!
Lunitari
Posted Thu Apr 09 00:00:00 EDT 2009
This book is not what I expected at all. It doesn't break it down enough for me.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Sun Dec 20 00:00:00 EST 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
The fun and easy way to speak Spanish
With Mexico the #1 international destination for Americans, over 14 million secondary school students enrolled in Spanish classes, and Spanish the primary language in many neighborhoods from L.A. to Miami, this should easily be the most popular title in our new phrase book series, following in the footsteps of Spanish For Dummies (0-7645-5194-9), which has sold more than ...