Course Catalog / BMU 110 / Lesson 1 of 8

Why this matters

This lesson is for anyone who needs a little Spanish at the store, the doctor's office, or work, starting from zero. You will learn the greetings, polite words, and survival phrases that help you start a conversation and keep it going.

Start with what you already do

You already change how you talk depending on who is in front of you. You talk one way to a boss and another way to a cousin. Spanish builds that into the word for you.

Common belief: You have to speak Spanish well before you try it with real people.

What is actually true: A greeting, please and thank you, and a way to ask someone to slow down are enough to start. Mistakes are normal, and the survival phrases in this lesson are built to rescue you when you get lost.

Key words

usted

The polite way to say you to one person. Start here with strangers and at work.

tú

The casual way to say you to one person, for friends and family.

ustedes

You, for more than one person. Works for polite and casual speech across Latin America.

vosotros

The casual plural you used in Spain.

Start polite, and you are already halfway there

You do not need perfect grammar to be understood. You need a greeting, a few polite words, and a way to ask someone to slow down. That is this whole lesson. By the end you can start a conversation, keep it going for a minute, and recover when you get lost.

Greetings for any time of day

A friendly hola plus the right time of day, as in Hola, buenos días, is polite in almost any store, office, or job site.

Usted or tú?

Spanish has two ways to say "you." Usted is polite and tú is casual. Use usted with strangers, customers, older people, a doctor, and anyone at work you do not know well. It is never rude to start with usted. If someone wants you to be casual, they will often switch to tú first, and you can follow. When you talk to more than one person, use ustedes, which works for both polite and casual speech across Latin America. In Spain, people also use vosotros for a casual group. You will hear it there, but ustedes is understood everywhere.

Polite words that open doors

The five survival phrases

These are the most useful words in this course. When you get lost, and everyone does, these keep the conversation alive instead of ending it.

Two more that help a lot: ¿Qué significa ___? (What does ___ mean?) and ¿Me lo puede escribir? (Can you write it down for me?).

Five vowels, five sounds

Here is the good news: Spanish vowels almost never change their sound. Learn these five and you can read most words out loud.

• a sounds like the a in "father"
• e sounds like the e in "they," but shorter
• i sounds like the i in "machine"
• o sounds like the o in "go," but shorter
• u sounds like the u in "rule"

A few consonants to know: h is silent, j sounds like a strong English h, ñ sounds like the "ny" in "canyon," and in most of Latin America ll and y sound like the English y in "yes." In Argentina and Uruguay they often sound like "sh" or the "s" in "measure." Most of Latin America also says z, ce, and ci with an s sound, while much of Spain uses a th sound. A written accent, like the one in está, tells you which part of the word to stress.

Why the upside down marks?

Spanish questions start with ¿ and exclamations start with ¡. They warn the reader that a question or exclamation is coming. You will see them on signs and forms, and you can use them when you text.

Put it together

Here is a short exchange you could have at a store counter today:

• Usted: Hola, buenas tardes.
• Empleada: Buenas tardes. ¿En qué le puedo ayudar?
• Usted: Perdón, hablo un poco de español. Más despacio, por favor.
• Empleada: Claro. ¿En qué le puedo ayudar?
• Usted: Gracias.

¿En qué le puedo ayudar? means "How can I help you?" and claro means "of course." You just handled a real moment in Spanish.

Check your understanding

Take it as many times as you like. Pick an answer, then open the feedback.

1. You walk up to a pharmacy counter at 3 in the afternoon. Which greeting fits best?

1. Buenos días
2. Hola, buenas tardes
3. Buenas noches

See the answer and feedback

B is correct. Buenas tardes is for the afternoon until dark, and hola makes it friendly.

A: Buenos días is for the morning. Review Greetings for any time of day.

C: Buenas noches is for the evening and night. Review Greetings for any time of day.

2. The clerk says something you do not understand. Which phrase keeps the conversation going?

1. Adiós
2. ¿Puede repetir, por favor?
3. De nada

See the answer and feedback

B is correct. It asks the person to repeat, so you get another chance to understand.

A: Adiós means goodbye, so it ends the conversation. Review The five survival phrases.

C: De nada means you are welcome. Review Polite words that open doors.

3. You are talking with an older person you just met. Which you should you start with?

1. tú
2. usted
3. vosotros

See the answer and feedback

B is correct. Usted is polite and is never rude to start with.

A: Tú is casual. Wait for the other person to switch first. Review Usted or tú.

C: Vosotros is a casual plural you used in Spain, for a group. Review Usted or tú.

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