Lesson 3

Basic Words and Phrases

One useful verb is “to want”, especially when used with another verb:

I want ____. Yo quiero _____.
We want ___. Nosotros queremos _____.
I don’t want _____. Yo no quiero _______.
                     to eat. comer
                     to drink. beber
                     to sleep. dormir
                     to rest. descansar
                     to go. ir
                     to stop. parar

Other useful verbs:

I wish to have ______.  (I would like ______.) Yo quisiera _________.
We wish to have ____.  (We would like ____.) Nosotros quisieramos __________.
I need to ________. Yo necesito ______.
I have a _____. Yo tengo ________.
I do not have a _____. Yo no tengo _________.

 Note: Speakers of Spanish typically drop the pronoun (I, we, you, they) when it is the subject of a sentence. Thus, in all of the examples above, the ‘yo’ and the ‘nosotros’ typically are not spoken, but rather are understood from the conjugation of the verb. For example, one would say ‘Quiero comer’ (for ‘I want to eat’). In this booklet the pronouns have been retained to help those with no Spanish background to associate each word with its meaning.

Generally Useful Words

more mas
big grande
bigger mas grande
less menos
small pequeno
smaller mas pequeno
it el or ella ese, esa, este, esta, or esto (depending on gender of the noun)
here aqui
there alli
this esto or este or este               (depending on gender of the noun)
that eso, ese, or esa                      (depending on gender of the noun)
yes si
no no