how do you say to give a speech in spanish

• Your Guide to the 9 Parts of Speech in Spanish With Examples

When learning a new language, like Spanish, it’s good to know the basic parts of speech that help you make sense of things like word order (syntax) and verb conjugations (morphology). Some grammar concepts, like parts of speech, can easily transfer over from other languages to Spanish. So, you don’t need to become a grammar expert to learn basic Spanish. But knowing these fundamental building blocks will prepare you to start reading and listening to Spanish with confidence.

Table of Contents

What are the parts of speech in spanish.

Think of Spanish language parts of speech like the blocks that kids use to build a house. They start with a foundation and then place block after block next to one another until they make a row. This is similar to how you construct a sentence with the different parts of speech. You have the first block (or part) of speech, the second, and so forth—but some of these parts of speech in Spanish are interchangeable and don’t follow the rules that the same parts of speech in English do.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of each part of speech in the Spanish language, we’ll give you an example that serves as an overview. Look at this sentence, which uses all of the Spanish parts of speech (the English translation is below it):

• ¡Ay! El perro negro come el pollo rápidamente y lo devora en la cocina.  
• Oh! The black dog quickly eats the chicken and devours it in the kitchen.

You’ll notice that the word order is slightly different from Spanish to English. Below is the first part of the sentence in building block form, with each Spanish part of speech in its own box. 

See how the sentence is like a row of building blocks? Sometimes, these blocks can be more easily rearranged in Spanish than in English, and we’ll talk about that later.

Parts of speech in Spanish chart

Using the original example sentence above, here’s a handy chart that gives an overview of the parts of speech in Spanish.

Sustantivos (nouns)

Many of us remember the “person, place, or thing” theme from elementary school, but nouns are a lot more than that. 

They can function as the subject of a sentence—meaning the inanimate object or being doing the action:

• La niña juega todo el día . = The girl plays all day long.

They can also act as the object of a verb, which means they are the one receiving the action. Here, the post receives the impact of the car:

• El carro pegó al poste . = The car hit the post .

Similarly, they can be the object of a preposition:

• El abuelo se sentó en su silla favorita. = The grandfather sat in his favorite chair .

Nouns can also be a lot more conceptual or abstract:

• La belleza está en el ojo del observador. = Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Note: Spanish is a gendered language, which means nouns are considered masculine or feminine. These Spanish gender rules are important because noun genders also need to match their accompanying adjectives.

Verbos (verbs)

You probably already have an idea of how verbs commonly follow nouns from the examples above. However, talking about verbs being action words can be a little misleading. 

Sometimes there is a very active verb:

• El volcán explotó . = The volcano erupted .

Yet, sometimes the verb is more about existence:

• Hay un volcán en Puebla, México. = There is a volcano in Puebla, Mexico.

A verb can also have a more submissive sense:

• Paola recibió una llamada. = Paola got a phone call.

Here, Paola is not exactly doing the action. Rather, she is on the receiving end of an action initiated by someone else. Still, Paola is the subject of the verb.

Spanish is not as strict as English when it comes to where the verb goes, thus the sentence from above can also be expressed like this: 

• Recibió una llamada Paola. = Paola got a phone call.

Verbs get conjugated in unique ways in Spanish, with each verb form having a special ending depending on who is speaking or doing the action. A good place to start is by learning the most common Spanish verbs and their conjugations.

Preposiciones (prepositions)

Prepositions help us know where a noun is located, usually in a physical way, but they can also help us talk about the duration of things like historical periods. In other words, Spanish prepositions help us talk about space and time in reference to a noun. Here’s an example:

• El conejo está dentro de la caja. = The rabbit is inside the box.

Prepositions can also be used metaphorically:

• Su mente está en las nubes. = His head is in the clouds.

As we mentioned, prepositions can be used to talk about time:

• Durante la guerra, muchas personas quedaron sin casa. = During the war, many people were left homeless.

Adjetivos (adjectives)

Adjectives describe or modify nouns by making their nature clearer. Most adjectives in Spanish are placed after the noun they describe, and they should match that noun in gender and number. 

• un libro aburrido = a boring book
• unos libros aburridos = some boring books

See how the plural form of a masculine noun (usually ending in “o”) has the “s” added to the noun and the adjective?

With a few exceptions, such as colors, it’s possible to place adjectives before the noun for emphasis:

• la bella casa = the beautiful house
• las bellas casas = the beautiful houses

Our list of 100+ adjectives and how to use them gives you more details about adjectives.

Adverbios (adverbs)

Just as adjectives modify nouns, adverbs modify verbs. They tell the reader or listener more details about the action of the sentence. 

• La tortuga cruza la calle lentamente . = The turtle crosses the street slowly .

The most common adjectives in Spanish often end in “-mente,” the equivalent of “-ly” in English, but not all of them do! An example is adverbs of frequency like siempre (always) and nunca (never). 

Pronombres (pronouns)

We use pronouns all the time in English as a substitute for names or nouns. In Spanish, they’re optional when they serve as the subject of a sentence, but there are nine types of pronouns , most of which aren’t optional. It’s important to learn the subject pronouns in Spanish because they serve as the basis for learning the verb conjugations. 

• ( Tú ) lees muy bien. = You read very well.

The subject pronoun is optional, but because each verb gets conjugated distinctly for what is called “point of view” ( first person, second person, third person ), we can understand the sentence even without the subject pronoun in Spanish. In this way, we can sometimes remove one of the building blocks of our sentence in Spanish, but this is not recommended if you’re building a house!

Many of the other types of pronouns are used to indicate objects in a sentence. Don’t be fooled: In grammar, objects are not necessarily things. Rather, they are the objects receiving the action.

• Renata besó a Alfonso . = Renata kissed Alfonso .

In this example, Alfonso is on the receiving end of the verb, and he functions as the object of the sentence.

Conjunciones (conjunctions)

Conjunctions join two phrases or items in a sentence. There are three basic types of Spanish conjunctions : coordinating, correlative, and subordinating. 

Coordinating conjunctions generally unite small items or phrases of a sentence:

• Me gustan las peras y las manzanas. = I like pears and apples.

Correlative conjunctions work in pairs:

• No comen trigo ni carne. = They eat neither wheat nor meat.

Subordinating conjunctions are used for dependent clauses, meaning full phrases that depend on the other part of the sentence to make sense:

• Cuando te pica un zancudo, te da comezón. = When a mosquito bites you, it makes you itch.

Artículos (articles)

As in English, there are definite articles like el (the) that describe a known thing or person such as el monumento de la ciudad (the city monument). There are also articles like un (a) that describe an unknown thing or person such as un huracán (a hurricane). When an indefinite article is plural in Spanish— unos jitomates —it’s translated as “some tomatoes.”

When it comes to definite and indefinite Spanish articles , they need to match the nouns they accompany in number and gender. Here is a useful chart to help remember them:

Interjecciones (interjections)

Interjections and exclamations are just that: They quickly and briefly interject or exclaim something in a sentence. As in English, we often use Spanish interjections to express surprise with words like vaya (well, wow), but they can also be used to show a sudden noise. For example, pum , which might be translated as “boom.”

As you can see, some of these words don’t translate directly or they have dual meanings, another reason why studying with a program and not just a dictionary is important. The subtleties of language are not always obvious from a simple internet search. In business and public situations, it’s necessary to understand that some interjections are casual and others are more acceptable in formal situations. One way to understand these differences is with Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method , which helps you learn a language in context.

Key takeaways for parts of speech in Spanish

There’s a lot of crossover between how the parts of speech work in English and Spanish. Here are a few things to remember about the parts of speech in Spanish:

• Parts of speech are the building blocks of sentence-making and communication in Spanish.
• Spanish has nine basic parts of speech: sustantivos , verbos , preposiciones , adjetivos , pronombres , adverbios , conjunciones , artículos , and interjecciones .
• Each part of speech in Spanish serves a specific purpose and may be used in different places within a sentence. 
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Rowena Galavitz

Rowena Galavitz is a Spanish translator, bilingual copy editor, and language and literature instructor with three master’s degrees. She loves Spanish and all things Mexico.

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Spanish Oral Presentation Guide for Beginners

by TruFluency | Featured Spanish Blog , Learn Spanish , Spanish Presentation

The moment to show off your Spanish skills is here, and we’ll teach you how to wow your audience, coworkers, boss, or clients. The way you introduce and close your presentation can have a positive or negative effect on your audience. So, it’s normal that you get nervous about speaking in front of a crowd and communicating your ideas effectively.

Practicing oral presentations in Spanish helps you focus on pronunciation and clarity while broadening your academic, job, and business opportunities . However, what may be even more valuable is that it gives you the chance to take risks, gain confidence, and exercise persuasion in a foreign language.

If you have a presentation soon, and want to blow everyone’s mind, here is your guide to giving oral presentations in Spanish for beginners.

5 Engaging Presentation Openings

The first part of our Spanish oral presentation guide is to help you find the most engaging ways to open your speech.

1. Start with a Reflexive or Engaging Question

For example:

¿Sabían ustedes que la entonación de nuestra voz no es sonido sino emoción? (Did you know that the intonation of our voice is not sound but emotion?)

Starting with a question allows you to keep your audience attentive throughout your message.

2. Tell an Anecdote

55% of our communication stems from non-verbal language ; everything our audience reads through our expressions, mannerisms, tone, etc., while 38% of our communication is vocal and 7% is words.

Hence, the importance of telling a story at the beginning of your presentation, so your audience connects with what you are going to deliver. We are all natural communicators.

At first, you may feel shy about opening yourself to the world, but believe it or not: your story counts, your story inspires, and even more than you think.

3. Utilize Objects

Generate interest with an object that’s relevant to your message. For instance, you can follow a similar script to this one:

Esta cartera que hoy acompaña mi atuendo tiene un significado muy especial. Esta cartera ha sido elaborada, tejida y pensada por gente que cree en sus sueños. ¡Qué gusto estar el día de hoy aquí hablando con emprendedores que creen en construir!

(This purse that matches my outfit today has a very special meaning to me. This purse has been sewn, knitted, and created by people that believe in their dreams. What a pleasure to be here today talking with entrepreneurs that believe in building things!)

Utilizing resources as elements of your speech will help your public to relate and feel part of your speech. Everything has a meaning and a representation. Remember that your public will forget what you said but will always remember how you made them feel. So, make them feel welcome!

4. Statistics

Using statistical data will help give your statement a significant rational weight. Remember that statistics aren’t read, they’re interpreted. This forces you to describe exhaustive research about a topic.

This isn’t about boring your audience with numbers, it’s about using statistics as a tool to make people reflect on your message. An example of an introduction in Spanish with statistics is:

¿Sabían ustedes que el 80% de los consumidores que adquieren sus productos en línea confían más en las recomendaciones de sus amigos o familiares que de las propias empresas?

(Did you know that 80% of consumers that buy your products online trust more in the recommendations of their friends and family than on the ones of companies?)

5. Who are you?

Greet your audience. This is fundamental to bond with them. Say your name, who you are, what your topic is and why it is important to pay attention to you. Let’s put it into practice with this example:

Hoy me encuentro feliz de estar con ustedes compartiendo lo que sé. Mi nombre es Liam Jones, soy periodista y locutor de radio, y hoy quiero que aprendas a utilizar tu voz para hacerte escuchar.

(Today I am very happy to be with you sharing what I know. My name is Liam Jones. I am a journalist and radio host, and I want you to learn to use your voice to make yourself heard.)

Respect your essence, know yourself and regularly practice the above types of introduction.

Verbal and Non-Verbal Presentation Tips

The next part of our Spanish oral presentation guide is divided into verbal and non-verbal language.

Non-Verbal Language Tips

Your gestures can emphasize, substitute or contradict what you express with words.

Use open gestures, like moving your hands, stretching your arms and legs, and opening your shoulders. Additionally, avoid having objects in your way between your body and the audience, such as folders, books, and tables. Your face should be visible all the time.

Choose gestures that ease people’s understanding of your speech. For example, pointing in a direction.

Avoid fidgeting out of nervousness. For instance, touching your hair or glasses.

Distribute your gaze amongst your audience, so everybody feels included. You can divide your audience into different quadrants. Let’s say, four, and choose a person of each quadrant to “talk to”.

Volume and Intonation

Mentally “take measurements” of the room, so the volume you choose to use is enough for both people in the front row and in the back to hear you. Also, avoid monotonous intonation. Highlight with your voice the keywords of your speech.

Rhythm and Pronunciation

Slow down when you need to separate ideas, this reflects confidence and helps you recover people’s attention. Pronunciation should be clear , so be careful with mumbling sounds.

Nobody has the right to tell you how to dress, but it’s recommendable that your attire matches both your personality and the context of your presentation.

Verbal Language Tips

Order and structure.

A presentation that has order and structure is easy to follow, understand, and remember.

Organize your speech in parts. For example: importance, data, chronology, interesting bullet points, zoom in, and zoom out.

Use discourse markers; words that organize and connect ideas. Some examples are:

To Start Interventions El objetivo de esta exposición es… / Hablaré en primer lugar de… / Para comenzar… (The objective of this presentation is… / Firstly, I’ll speak about… / For starters…)

To Introduce Comments or Examples Por ejemplo… / Como es el caso de… / Recordemos, en ese sentido, que… (For example… / As is the case with… / Let’s remember, in this sense, that…)

To Structure the Discourse En primer lugar… / En segundo lugar… / Por un lado,…por otro lado… / Finalmente… (In first place… /In second place… /On the one hand…on the other hand… /Finally…)

To Resume the Subject Volviendo a lo que hemos visto al principio… / Como decía… / Señalaba que… (Going back to what we’ve seen at the beginning… /Like I was saying… / I was pointing out that…)

To Establish Logical Relationships Consecuentemente… / Eso nos demuestra que… / Deducimos, entonces… (Consequently… / That shows us that… / We deduce, then…)

To Conclude Tratemos, finalmente, el último aspecto… / En resumen,… / Para terminar… / En conclusión… (Let’s address, finally, the last aspect… / In summary… / Lastly… / In conclusion…)

You should adapt it to your audience’s knowledge, formality level, and the purpose of your presentation.

Sentences should be short and simple. Avoid the overuse of muletillas (catch phrases).

Oral Presentation Conclusions in Spanish

When you’re giving a presentation in Spanish, do not miss the chance to leave a good impression. The final part of a speech is what we remember the most. So, use it to deliver a message or briefly summarize what you want to convey. You can create a compelling conclusion with a phrase, rhetorical question, quote, or call-to-action.

En conclusión, cualquiera puede padecer de un problema de salud mental. (In conclusion, anyone can have a mental health problem.)

Si las personas más brillantes pueden padecer problemas de salud mental, ¿por qué nosotros no? (If the most brilliant people can have mental health issues, why can’t we?)

La mente es como un paracaídas, si no se abre, no sirve para nada. Muchas gracias, público oyente, por haber abierto su mente a escucharme en esta exposición. (The mind is like a parachute, if it isn’t opened, it doesn’t work. Thank you very much, listening public, for having opened your minds to listen to me in this presentation.)

Ready to be confident in your next Spanish oral presentation?

The key to giving a memorable oral presentation in Spanish is to be original, creative, and do something that’s unusual but true to your essence. Thus, you’ll make the difference.

If after reading our Spanish oral presentation guide, you think you still need help to prepare yourself for your Spanish presentation, count on our top-notch team of Spanish fluency coaches . So, don’t let fear of success hold you back, and book with one of our coaches.

Save 20% off your first month of lessons with code TF20 today!

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How to Make Basic Sentences in Spanish

Hello! Welcome to a new lesson. In this lesson, we will focus on the basic concepts to form or make basic sentences in Spanish. We will study different parts of speech, provide interesting examples and also give you the chance to practice with an interactive grammar quiz on this very important topic. Let’s start…

What are sentences in Spanish? What are the parts of a simple sentence?

The word “ORACIÓN” is used to refer to “a sentence” in Spanish. Interestingly, this word can also be used as both “Prayer” and “Sentence”. Grammatically speaking, “una oración” is a syntactic structure formed by a subject and a predicate. It may sound strange, but the definition applies to both English and Spanish. In general terms, sentences in Spanish are formed by placing a subject first, then adding a verb and finally adding a complement. Also, do not forget to add a period at the end of your sentences and begin with a capital letter.

“El sujeto” is the subject of the sentence. As you can see, grammar terms in both languages usually sound alike. Just like in English, the subject will be the name of a person, a place, an object and very commonly a subject pronoun like “Yo”, “Tú”, “Él” and so on.

“El verbo” refers to an action, a process or a state. For instance, verbs are things we do every day like “Dormir” (sleep), “Correr” (to run) or words we use to describe people or states like “Ser” (to be) . Next, we show you a list of really common verbs in Spanish through this nice collection of images. In order to use them in sentences, they will often be conjugated to fit the subject and tense that you choose.

El complemento:

“El complemento” is what we place after the verb. In basic Spanish sentences, we will often add an object, that is food, places, etc., or an adjective like “bonito” and “interesante”.

How to make sentences in Spanish: Examples and Practice

The following group of basic sentences in Spanish will use verbs related to actions. The first two will use the names of people as the subject of the sentence, which you could replace with personal pronouns like the ones in the picture above. Know that sometimes you will need to add prepositions and/or a definite/indefinite article after the verb, depending on what verb you are using.

It is really important that the subject agrees with the verb in the sentence. Otherwise, the sentence will sound odd. Remember that we have regular verbs and irregular verbs in Spanish , and it is extremely necessary to know the rules to conjugate regular verbs, as well which verbs are considered irregular in the language.

The second sentence above uses the adverb “bien” (well) and the adjective “inteligente” as the complement. As you probably know, ES is one of the forms of the irregular verb SER and this kind of simple sentences in Spanish are really common in everyday conversations. Before moving on to practice, keep in mind that you can make basic sentences in different tenses including the present tense, the past tense and future tense as shown in the three examples below.

That’s all for now. We hope you learned a couple of things from this lesson. In future lessons, we will cover other types of sentences in Spanish and more essential grammar topics in more detail. See you soon!

Related Spanish Worksheets:

• Basic Sentence Structure in Spanish
• Subject Pronouns in Spanish
• Conjugating -AR Regular Verbs in Spanish (Present)
• Conjugating -ER Regular Verbs in Spanish (Present)
• Conjugating -IR Regular Verbs in Spanish (Present)

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150+ Phrases for Beginner Spanish Conversation

When you’re just starting out in Spanish, it’s easy to run out of things to say, even if you have a lot of things that you want to say. 

To get you on the right track to speaking your mind, this post has more than 150 expressions for basic Spanish conversation .

These will prepare you for a variety of situations and ensure your interactions flow more smoothly.

Greetings and Farewells

Basic questions, conversational questions and answers, special occasions, hobbies and free time, how to practice conversational spanish, what is conversational spanish, tips for practicing conversational spanish.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

This is an obvious place to start, but it is also very necessary. The very first thing we do when we meet someone is greet them, and any successful conversation ends with a goodbye.

Let’s start by saying hello:

¡Hola! (Hi!/Hello! — informal, with friends and family)

Saludos. (Greetings.)

Buenos días. (Good morning.)

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Buenas tardes. (Good afternoon.)

Buenas noches. (Good evening/Goodnight.)

As in English, the natural next step after saying hello is asking, “How are you?” There are a number of ways to do that in Spanish:

¿Cómo está s ? (How are you? — informal)

¿Cómo está (usted)? (How are you? — formal)

¿Qué tal? (What’s up?)

¿Cómo te va? (How is it going? — informal)

¿Cómo le va? (How is it going? — formal)

¿Cómo anda s ? (How are you doing? [lit. How do you walk?] — informal)

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¿Cómo anda (usted)? (How are you doing? — formal)

Now, let’s say it’s time to part ways but you want to be polite and express your pleasure in making their acquaintance.

Pay particular attention to your gender, the gender of the person you’re speaking to and the level of formality when choosing the correct way to say “nice to meet you.”

Encantado de conocerte. (Nice to meet you. — male speaker, informal)

Encantada de conocerte. (Nice to meet you. — female speaker, informal)

Encantado de conocerlo. (Nice to meet you. — speaker and listener are male, formal)

Encantada de conocerla. (Nice to meet you – speaker and listener are female, formal)

Encantado de conocerla. (Nice to meet you. — male speaker, female listener, formal)

Encantada de conocerlo. (Nice to meet you. — female speaker, male listener, formal)

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Es un placer. (It’s a pleasure.)

And, finally, here is how to say goodbye :

Adiós. (Goodbye.)

Hasta luego. (See you later.)

Hasta pronto. (See you soon.)

Hasta mañana. / Hasta la semana que viene. (See you tomorrow/next week.)

Hasta la próxima. (Until next time.)

Hasta ahora. (See you in a minute.)

Chao. / Chau. (Bye. — very informal.)

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Nos vemos. (See you later. [lit. We see each other.])

Que tenga s un buen día. (Have a nice day. — informal)

Que tenga un buen día. (Have a nice day. — formal)

Remember, all question words in Spanish have an accent mark! Here they are:

• Qué (what, which)
• Quién /es  (who)
• Cuál /es  (which one/s)
• Cuándo (when)
• Dónde (where)
• Por qué  (why)
• Para qué (what for)
• Cuánto /a (how much)
• Cuántos /as (how many)
• Adónde (where to)
• Desde cuándo (how long)
• De quién /es (whose)
• De dónde (where from)

Human beings are curious by nature, and we love asking questions and getting to know the people we’re talking to. Here are some possible questions you can ask:

¿Qué haces? (What are you doing?)

¿ Quién es aquella chica? (Who is that girl over there?)

¿ Quiénes son tus padres? (Who are your parents?)

¿ Cuál prefieres? (Which one do you prefer?)

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¿ Cuáles son los tuyos? (Which ones are yours?)

¿ Cómo se dice “tomate” en inglés? (How do you say “tomato” in English?)

¿ Cuándo vuelves? (When are you coming back?)

¿ Dónde estás? (Where are you?)

¿ Por qué no me dices la verdad? (Why won’t you tell me the truth?)

¿ Para qué es eso? (What is that for?)

¿ Cuánta harina necesitas? (How much flour do you need?)

¿ Cuántos quieres? (How many do you want?)

¿ Adónde va María? (Where is María going to?)

¿ De dónde viene María? (Where is María coming from?)

¿ Desde cuándo lo conoces? (How long have you known him?)

¿ De quién son estas gafas? (Whose glasses are these? — one possessor)

¿ De quiénes son estos libros? (Whose books are these? — two or more possessors)

A conversation is a two-way street, so you need to know how to ask the other person about their life as well as tell them about your own. 

Depending on who you’re talking to, you’ll have to choose between the informal tú (you) and the more formal usted (you). I’ve included both versions of each question to help you out.

Here are some basic questions you might ask in a casual conversation in the informal form :

Q: ¿Cómo te llamas? Q: (What’s your name?) A: Me llamo Pablo. A: (My name is Pablo.)

Q: ¿Cuántos años tienes? Q: (How old are you? — in Spanish, we ask “how many years do you have?”) A: Tengo (…) años. A: (I am … years old.)

Q: ¿Cuántos hijos / hermanos tienes? Q: (How many children/siblings do you have?) A: Tengo (…) hijos / hermanos. A: (I have … children/siblings.)

Q: ¿De dónde eres? Q: (Where are you from?) A: Soy de España. A: (I am from Spain.)

Q: ¿Cuál es tu dirección? Q: (What’s your address?) A: Vivo en la calle Pablo Picasso, número 17. A: (I live in 17, Pablo Picasso Street.)

Q: ¿Dónde vives? Q: (Where do you live?) A: Vivo en Polonia. A: (I live in Poland.)

Q: ¿Dónde naciste? Q: (Where were you born?) A: Nací en Puerto Rico. A: (I was born in Puerto Rico.)

Q: ¿A qué te dedicas? Q: (What’s your job?) A: Soy profesor de idiomas. A: (I am a [male] language teacher.)

Q: ¿Por qué estás estudiando…? Q: (Why are you learning…?) A: Porque me gustan mucho los idiomas. A: (Because I like languages a lot.)

Q: ¿Tienes hijos / perro / coche? Q: (Do you have any children / a dog /a car?) A: Sí, tengo dos hijos. A: (Yes, I have two children.)

Q: ¿Desde cuándo vives en…? Q: (How long have you been living in..?) A: Vivo en Barcelona desde 1998. A: (I have been living in Barcelona since 1998.)

Now, here are the exact same questions but with the more formal usted/ustedes. This is the construction you’ll want to use when talking to colleagues, higher-ups, professors, anyone much older than you or anyone you encounter in a very formal setting:

Q: ¿Cómo se llama? Q: (What is your name?) A: Mi nombre es Pablo García. A: (My name is Pablo García.)

Q: ¿Cuántos años tiene? Q: (How old are you?) A: Tengo (…) años. A: (I am … years old.)

Q: ¿Cuántos hijos / hermanos tiene? Q: (How many children/siblings do you have?) A: Tengo … hijos / hermanos. A: (I have … children/siblings.)

Q: ¿De dónde es (usted)? Q: (Where are you from?) A: Soy de Monterrey. A: (I am from Monterrey.)

Q: ¿Cuál es su dirección? Q: (What is your address?) A: Mi dirección es calle Pablo Picasso, número 17. A: (My address is 17, Pablo Picasso Street.)

Q: ¿Dónde vive? Q: (Where do you live?) A: Vivo en Barcelona. A: (I live in Barcelona.)

Q: ¿Dónde nació (usted)? Q: (Where were you born?) A: Nací en Buenos Aires. A: (I was born in Buenos Aires.)

Q: ¿A qué se dedica? Q: (What is your job?) A: Soy profesora de idiomas. A: (I’m a [female] language teacher.)

Q: ¿Por qué está estudiando…? Q: (Why are you learning…?) A: Porque me gustan mucho los idiomas. A: (Because I like languages a lot.)

Q: ¿Tiene hijos / perro / coche? Q: (Do you have children / a dog / a car?) A: No, no tengo perro. A: (No, I don’t have a dog.)

Q: ¿Desde cuándo vive en…? Q: (How long have you been living in…?) A: Llevo tres años viviendo en Barcelona. A: (I have been living in Barcelona for three years.)

Here are some basic questions you can ask if you need information:

Q: ¿Qué es esto / eso? Q: (What is this/that?) A: Esto es un / una… A: (This is a…)

Q: ¿Qué hor a es? Q: (What time is it?) A: Son las tres y cuarto.   A: (It’s a quarter past three.)

Q: ¿Cómo voy a…? Q: (How do I go/get to…?) A: Gira a la derecha y luego sigue todo recto. A: (Turn right and then go straight ahead.)

Q: ¿Cuánto cuesta? Q: (How much does it cost?) A: Cuesta cinco euros. A: (It costs five euros.)

Q: ¿Cuándo empieza la clase / la película? Q: (When does the class/the movie start?) A: La clase / película empieza a las once y media. A: (The class/movie starts at 11:30.)

Q: ¿Dónde está la parada de autobús / el banco? Q: (Where is the bus stop/the bank?) A: La parada de autobús / El banco está en la calle Mendoza. A: (The bus stop/bank is on Mendoza Street.)

Q: ¿Para qué es esto / eso?   Q: (What is this/that for?) A: Esto / Eso es para abrir botellas. A: (This/That is for opening bottles.)

Finally, at some point, you may need to  ask someone for help.

There are varying levels of formality you can use, depending on who you’re talking to. As shown in the last example on this list, you can be extra formal by conjugating verbs in the  conditional tense  as well as using the  usted  form.

Q: ¿Puedes ayudarme? Q: (Can you help me? — informal) A: ¡Claro! ¿En qué puedo ayudarte? A: (Sure! How can I help you? — informal)

Q: ¿Puede ayudarme? Q: (Can you help me? — formal) A: ¡Por supuesto! ¿En qué puedo ayudarle? A: (Of course! How can I help you? — formal)

Q: ¿Podría ayudarme, por favor? Q: (Could you help me, please? — very formal) A: ¡Por supuesto! ¿En qué puedo ayudarle? A: (Of course! How can I help you? — formal)

From birthdays to holidays, here are some phrases you would use for special occasions:

¡Feliz cumpleaños! (Happy birthday!)

¡Felicidades! (Congratulations! [lit. Happiness!])

¡Felicitaciones! (Congratulations!)

¡Enhorabuena! (Congratulations!)

¡Bien hecho! (Well done!)

Estoy orgullos o de ti . (I am proud of you. — male speaker, informal)

Estoy orgullosa de ti. (I am proud of you. — female speaker, informal)

Estoy orgulloso de usted. (I am proud of you. — male speaker, formal)

Estoy orgullosa de usted. (I am proud of you — female speaker, formal)

¡Buena suerte! (Good luck!)

¡Mucha suerte! (Lots of luck!)

Te deseo todo lo mejor. (I wish you all the best. — informal)

Le deseo todo lo mejor. (I wish you all the best. — formal)

Que seas muy feliz. (May you be very happy. — informal)

Que sea muy feliz. (May you be very happy. — formal)

Que todos tus deseos se hagan realidad. (May all your dreams come true. — informal)

Que todos sus deseos se hagan realidad. (May all your dreams come true. — formal)

¡Feliz aniversario! (Happy anniversary!)

¡Feliz día de los enamorados! (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

¡Feliz día de San Valentín! (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

¡Feliz Navidad! (Merry Christmas!)

¡Felices fiestas! (Happy holidays!)

¡Feliz Jánuca! (Happy Hanukkah!)

¡Feliz Ramadán! (Happy Ramadan!)

¡Feliz Pascua! / ¡Felices Pascuas! (Happy Easter!)

¡ Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!   (Happy Thanksgiving!)

¡Feliz Día de la Independencia! (Happy Independence Day!)

¡Feliz Día de los Muertos! (Happy Day of the Dead!)

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! (Happy New Year!)

¡Próspero Año Nuevo! (Happy New Year!)

Que te mejore s pronto. (Get well soon. — informal)

Que se mejore pronto. (Get well soon. — formal)

Lo siento mucho/muchísimo. (I’m very/deeply sorry .)

Te acompaño en el sentimiento. (My condolences. — informal)

Le acompaño en el sentimiento. (My condolences. — formal)

Being able to talk about your hobbies and passions is a great way to hold a conversation in Spanish. Here are some of the best phrases that will let you do that:

¿Cuál es tu pasatiempo favorito? (What’s your favorite hobby? — informal)

¿Cuál es su pasatiempo favorito? (What is your favorite hobby? — formal)

¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre? (What do you like to do in your free time? — informal)

¿Qué le gusta hacer en su tiempo libre? (What do you like to do in your free time? — formal)

¿ Te gusta…? (Do you like…? — informal)

¿ Le gusta…? (Do you like…? — formal)

Mi hobby/pasatiempo favorito es… (My favorite hobby is…)

Me gusta… (I like…)

No me gusta… (I don’t like…)

Me encanta… (I love…)

Me interesa (mucho)… (I am [very] interested in…)

…la cocina. (…cooking.)

… la lectura. (…reading.)

…el alpinismo/montañismo. (…mountain climbing.)

. ..ir al cine.   (…going to the cinema.)

…ir al gimnasio. (…going to the gym.)

…jugar a juegos de mesa. (…playing board games.)

…escuchar música. (…listening to music.)

…aprender idiomas. (…learning languages.)

Before getting into practice tips , you need to know what exactly “conversational Spanish” is.

In short, being able to speak “conversational Spanish” means you can express yourself fairly easily and similarly to native speakers. It’s the opposite of formal Spanish, which is used for work and with authority figures.

Conversational Spanish is how native speakers communicate with others naturally in casual settings, like making small talk at work or catching up with friends.

Things that make conversational Spanish different from formal include using slang, casual language (i.e. tú instead of usted ), colloquialisms, filler words and more.

• Take every opportunity you have to speak.  Even if it’s not to a person, you can read out loud, talk to yourself, repeat what you hear on your course audio CDs, etc. 
• Use authentic Spanish videos for shadowing. Shadowing is a good first step for learners who want to start having actual conversations, and FluentU has a diverse collection of Spanish videos with expert-vetted subtitles suitable for this practice. The immersion program shows you phrases in real context through the use of native videos, like movie clips and inspirational talks. You can shadow along with the dual-language interactive subtitles, then take after-video quizzes where you can speak your answers.
• Seek out language exchange partners.  There are plenty of apps out there that will connect you with a Spanish conversational partner , but you can even search for Spanish meet-ups in your area to get some in-person practice!
• Take advantage of any situation that puts you in touch with Spanish.  Whether it’s helping someone at your job, speaking with a coworker or ordering at a restaurant, take any chance you have to use your Spanish.
• Take a conversational Spanish course. There are tons of courses that focus specifically on helping you boost your conversational Spanish skills. They focus on natural speech, avoid spending too much time on formal topics, teach you colloquialisms and filler words and more. For a full list of our favorite conversational Spanish courses, click here .
• Learn common Spanish phrases . I’m not just talking about “ hola, ¿cómo estás?” here. Focus on learning frequently used Spanish phrases. This won’t just help you use the same phrases native speakers use. It’ll also help you understand better when they’re talking to you!
• Learn Spanish filler words. Filler words are helpful when you need a second to think about what you will say next. Plus, they make you sound more like a native speaker. Click here for our ultimate list of Spanish filler words . And until then, here are a few of the most common ones: 
• Pues… (Well…)
• A ver… (Let’s see…)
• O sea… (I mean…)
• Entonces… (So…)
• Así que… (So…)

Thanks to this extensive list of Spanish expressions and conversation starters, you’ll be able to start speaking Spanish from the very beginning.

So study this list and get ready to talk!

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Writing Dialogues in Spanish - Punctuation

Spanish grammar.

Dialogues in Spanish start with a long dash – (raya) not a short dash - (guión).

In this article, we will simply call the long dash, a dash.

–Estoy listo. (= "I am ready")

Notice how there is no space between the dash and the first letter.

Dialogues do not end in a dash (–) , only the normal punctuation sign (normally a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark).

Punctuation with Attributives

A dash is also used to introduce an attributive. An attributive in a dialogue credits the speech to the person who said it. It refers to a verb or action associated with speaking and who said it.

–dijo él. (= he said) –respondió ella. (= she responded) –preguntó. (= he/she asked)

Again, the dash is joined to first letter of the first word. Also notice how that first word, normally a “speaking” verb starts with a lowercase letter.

More examples of “speaking” verbs in Spanish are:

aceptó (accepted), aconsejó (advised), admitió (admitted), afirmó (affirmed/asserted), amenazó (threatened), bromeó (joked), comentó (commented), concluyó (concluded), dijo (said), gritó (shouted), mintió (lied), preguntó (asked), prometió (promised), repitió (repeated), respondió (responded), rogó (begged), sugirió (suggested), susurró (whispered).

Now let’s look at both parts joined together: The speech and the attributive.

–Estoy lista –dijo ella.

There is no period (full stop) at the end of the first part since it is continued by an attributive. We can only put a question mark, an explanation mark or ellipsis (three dots) in the speech part when it is followed by an attributive. See how there is a space between what is being said and the dash that is joined to the attributive. Remember, the speaker’s attributive begins with a lowercase letter.

–¿Estás bien? –preguntó Diego. –Sí, estoy bien –le contestó Angélica con una sonrisa.

The speech of each person is written a separate line. The first speech has the question marks directly after the words. The second speech does NOT have the period (full stop) directly after what is said. Here it appears at the end of the attributive.

What happens if there is more dialogue after the attributive?

–Estoy lista –dijo ella–. Me voy a la fiesta.

First we add a dash to the end of the attributive. This is followed by the final punctuation mark of the first part of speech. In the example above, Estoy lista should end in a period (full stop) but instead, it goes after the dash at the end of the attributive. Since it is a new sentence, the second part begins with a capital letter.

If it helps, you can think of the dashes in –dijo ella– as parentheses.

But look at the following:

–Estoy lista –dijo ella–, y nadie me va a parar.

Here the dialogue is a longer sentence that is interrupted by the attributive. Since the punctuation mark is a comma, the second part continues with a lowercase letter.

However, if the first part ends in a question mark, exclamation mark or an ellipsis (three dots), then this goes at the end of the first part.

–¡Estás loco! –gritó Daniel–. Tienes que parar inmediatamente.

If the narrator’s comment has nothing to do with a speaking or thinking verb (including related actions like shouting, whispering etc.) then the narrator’s sentence begins with a capital letter.

–Me voy. –Cerró la puerta y salió.

Using the Colon in dialogue

Until now, we have only seen the attributive (speaking verb) after what is being said. However, sometimes you have what the narrator says before the speech. In this case we use a colon after the "speaking verb".

Mi madre dijo: –Vamos en diez minutos.

Le preguntó al doctor: –¿Estaré bien?

The dialogue goes on the next line.

Punctuation when thinking

When a person is directly THINKING instead of speaking, then the punctuation « » (comillas) are used instead of the dash. These are known as comillas angulares , comillas latinas , and also comillas españolas .

«¡Qué aburrido!», pensé. Pero no me atreví a decirlo. «Hay algo raro aquí», pensó el detective. –Puedes llegar a ser un buen jugador –le expliqué y pensé, «aunque nunca tan bueno como yo».

Notice the position of the period (full stop) and comma go after the final closing comilla.

Punctuation when quoting

Quotes, or repeating what someone else has said, are enclosed in comillas.

Fue Descartes quien dijo: «Pienso, luego existo» . Sus últimas palabras fueron: «No pasará nada» .

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• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Translation of give – English-Spanish dictionary

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• Can you give any evidence to support your claim ?
• I'm never going to guess the answer if you don't give me a clue .
• The letters that people wrote after his death gave me a lot of comfort .
• A loving family environment gives children that sense of stability and permanence which they need.
• I'm a bit wary of/about giving people my address when I don't know them very well.
• The photocopier is giving me all sorts of problems .
• The noise and heat of the office was giving him a headache .
• The success of the team gave the manager great satisfaction .
• The teacher's comments gave her confidence .
• The red carpet gave the ceremony a real sense of occasion .
• To celebrate his birthday , Tony gave a party .
• The producer gave a party to thank all the people who had helped in the making of the film .
• She gave a sigh of relief as the car came to a stop .
• Just give the ends a trim , please .
• If you don't give it a go, you'll never know what you could have achieved .

Phrasal verbs

(Translation of give from the Cambridge English-Spanish Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translation of give | GLOBAL English–Spanish Dictionary

(Translation of give from the GLOBAL English-Spanish Dictionary © 2020 K Dictionaries Ltd)

Examples of give

Translations of give

Get a quick, free translation!

Word of the Day

thirsty work

hard physical work that makes you thirsty

Fakes and forgeries (Things that are not what they seem to be)

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• give (PROVIDE)
• give of your money, time, etc.
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How to Write Dialogues in Spanish for Maximum Clarity

Have you ever seen a Spanish dialogue and thought it looks a bit different from an English one? 

If you haven’t seen one yet, let me show you!

On my bookshelf, I have two editions of One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad) by Gabriel García Márquez: one is in English and the other is a 2007 commemorative edition from the Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española). 

Here are two lines of a dialogue between José Aureliano Buendía and the gypsy:

Desconcertado, sabiendo que los niños esperaban una explicación inmediata, José Arcadio Buendía se atrevió a murmurar:  —Es el diamante más grande del mundo.  —No —corrigió el gitano—. Es hielo.

Disconcerted, knowing that the children were waiting for an immediate explanation, José Arcadio Buendía ventured a murmur:  “It’s the largest diamond in the world.”  “No,” the gypsy countered. “It’s ice.”

Notice the glaring differences in punctuation? 

Keep reading to learn why Spanish dialogues look different and how to write them in Spanish!

Angular Quotation Marks, Double Quotation Marks, or Long Dashes?

As you can see in the dialogue above, Spanish uses long dashes called rayas (—) as dialogue punctuation. Conversely, English uses double quotation marks. 

Some Spanish writers use double quotation marks or angular quotation marks (« and »), but the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) says it should be rayas .  

In this article, I follow the official RAE recommendations by using rayas . However, I also tell you what to watch for when using double or angular quotation marks. 

• Spanish Alt Codes
• The Spanish Keyboard: How to Type Anything in Spanish

How to Punctuate Dialogues in Spanish

To write dialogue in Spanish, you need to do a bit more than change the quotation marks into long dashes. 

Here are a few more factors to take into account!

1. Punctuation Goes Outside Quotation Marks

Whereas in American English, commas and periods go inside the quotation marks, in Spanish, they always go outside. 

No matter whether you use quotation marks (double or angular) instead of long dashes, you must apply this rule.

“No me gusta su gato”, dijo Pedro. «No me gusta su gato», dijo Pedro.

“I don’t like his cat,” Peter said.

Fun fact! It’s also the rule in British English for punctuation to go outside single quotation marks.

2. Long Dashes Precede New Speakers

In Spanish dialogue, the long dash precedes the intervention of each of the speakers, without having to mention their names.

—¿Cuándo te escribirás a un curso de español?  —No tengo ni idea.  —Apúrate, tienen una promoción en la escuela de la esquina.  —Gracias, voy a verlo esta tarde.

“When will you enroll in a Spanish course?” “I have no idea.” “Hurry up, they have a promotion at the school around the corner.” “Thanks, I’m going to check it this afternoon.”

Normally, in Spanish novels, what each character says appears on a new line, just like in English.

No space goes between the long dash and the character’s words and the closing of what the character says ends with punctuation, not with another long dash.

3. Long Dashes Introduce the Narrator’s Comments

Narrative texts also use long dashes to introduce or frame the narrator’s comments. 

—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro. —Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro—. Voy a prepararme algo.

“I’m hungry,” Peter said. “I’m hungry,” said Pedro. “I’m going to prepare something.”

You use the long dash to introduce the character’s words at the beginning of the line. Later, you use it only to introduce or frame what the narrator says, such as: 

—dijo Pedro—

It’s not necessary to add the long dash again to introduce additional character dialogue. 

Now, we need to consider two situations when alluding to the narrator’s comments. They may use “speaking verbs” to credit the speech to the character who said it or it may refer to something completely different (as you’ll see).

Punctuation With Speaking Verbs

When the narrator indicates that a character is speaking, they use so-called “speaking verbs,” such as: dijo (said) , respondió (answered) , and preguntó (asked) . 

Some formatting standards to keep in mind include:

• Leaving a space between what the character says and the long dash that introduces the narrator’s comment.
• Not leaving a space between the long dash and the narrator’s comment

—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro.  “I’m hungry,” said Pedro.

• The narrator’s comment begins in lowercase:

 —dijo Pedro.

• The punctuation mark corresponding to the character’s phrase is closed after the narrator’s clarification, whether it’s a comma, period or semicolon.

—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro. —Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro—. Voy a prepararme algo. —Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro—, y tengo sed. —Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro—; y tengo sed.

• If the punctuation mark that you want to put after the narrator’s entry is a colon, write it after the closing long dash:

—Ayer salí a correr —y añadió: Ahí conocí a alguien. “I went out for a run yesterday,” and added, “I met someone there.”

• If the punctuation mark that corresponds to the character’s phrase is a question mark, exclamation mark, or ellipsis (…), they should always close before the narrator’s intervention

—¿Tienes hambre? —preguntó María. —¡No comas esto! —gritó Juan—. ¡Es veneno!

Notice how the narrator’s intervention starts in lowercase even though there is a punctuation mark before that would require an uppercase letter. 

Make sure you don’t make the mistake of capitalizing the speaking verb:

—¿Tienes hambre? —Preguntó María. (incorrect)

• If the dialogue continues, it closes with a long dash after the narrator’s intervention.

—Tengo hambre —dijo Pedro—. Voy a prepararme algo.

Common Speaking Verbs in Spanish Dialogue

Here is a list of the most common speaking verbs in the third-person past tense:

You can use these verbs to vary your narrator’s comments in a Spanish dialogue, but remember that the narrator’s comments should be transparent. Using overly sophisticated speaking verbs may trip up the reader. 

Punctuation Without Speaking Verbs

When you introduce the narrator’s comment that includes “non-speaking verbs,” there are a few more rules to remember:

• The character’s words must be closed with a period and the narrator’s phrase must begin with a capital letter.

—No te preocupes. —Cerró la puerta y salió corriendo. “Don’t worry.” He closed the door and ran out.

• If the character’s speech continues after the narrator’s comment, write the period that marks the end of the narrator’s comment after the closing long dash.

—No te preocupes. —Cerró la puerta y salió corriendo—. Volveré pronto. “Don’t worry.” He closed the door and ran out. “I’ll come back soon.”

Punctuation for Thoughts

What do you do when your character thinks rather than says the words aloud? Use angular quotation marks instead of long dashes.

«Tengo hambre», pensó Pedro. “I’m hungry,” Pedro thought.

—Puedes hacerlo —le dije y pensé «pero te costará mucho trabajo». “You can do it,” I told him and thought, “but it will cost you lots of work.”

Practice Your Spanish before Writing a Spanish Dialogue

Now you know how to write dialogue in Spanish between two friends or characters. Congratulate yourself on taking yet another step towards fluency in Spanish! 

While traveling to a Spanish-speaking country is enough motivation for most Spanish learners, if writing is your thing, other possibilities await you.

Just imagine, one day you could become a bilingual writer! 

Yes, there are some bilingual writers who write books in their second or even third language. Sometimes they are able to publish books in all the languages they know. Isn’t it amazing?

Our 1-on-1 classes at Homeschool Spanish Academy will help you improve your language skills faster than if you were studying alone. To see if it works for you, sign up for a free class with one of our amazing, Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala. Show them your Spanish dialogues and scripts to practice them with a professional! 

Ready to learn more Spanish grammar? Check these out!

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• 23 Common Spanish Prepositions You Can Use Today
• 25 Common Subjunctive Phrases in Spanish Conversation
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• How to Talk About the Temperature in Spanish: Fahrenheit, Celcius, and Descriptions
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Spanish for dummies [greetings, questions, small talk, and more], 3 types of spanish pronouns to perfect your fluency, how to say ‘you’ in formal and informal spanish, the ultimate guide to filler words in spanish for more natural conversations, leave a comment cancel reply.

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Spanish Basics: Vocabulary for Directions in Spanish

Whether you’re a tourist or live in a Spanish-speaking country, giving and asking directions in Spanish is a basic skill that can come in handy. So, in this guide, you’ll find the top words, verbs, questions, and expressions you need to know to get on with ease in this context. 

Here is an overview of what we’ll cover: 

How to Ask for Directions in Spanish

• Useful words
• Nouns for the city 
• Downloadable PDF

Let’s do this! 

The most common questions to ask for directions in Spanish are: 

• ¿Dónde está…? – Where is the…?
• ¿Donde se encuentra… ? – Where is the…located?
• ¿Hay algún…?* – Is there a…?
• ¿Hay alguna…? – Is there a…?
• ¿Cómo puedo llegar a … ? – How can I get to…?
• ¿Cómo llego a…? – How do I get to the…?
• ¿Por dónde está… ? Which way is the…?
• Estoy buscando… – I’m looking for…

Like in English, you must complete these Spanish expressions by adding the name of the place to which you want to go. 

[Direction expression] + [article] + [place]

¿ Dónde está el museo? Where is the museum?

¿ Por dónde está el parque? Which way is the park?

¿ Cómo llego a la estación de tren? How do I get to the train station?

¿ Hay alguna farmacia por aquí? Is there a pharmacy around here?

The Spanish word hay is used to inquire about the existence of a place in a particular area, such as a town, neighborhood, or city. 

Note that the previous questions are too straightforward. To soften these phrases and be more polite , you can combine them with the following expressions:

• Buenos días : Good morning
• Buenas noches : Good night 
• Buenas tardes : Good afternoon / Good evening
• Disculpe / Disculpa : Excuse me
• Perdón : Sorry / Excuse me
• ¿Podría decirme…? : Could you tell me…?

Disculpe , ¿dónde hay un cajero? Excuse me , where is an ATM? 

Buenos días, ¿podría decirme dónde se encuentra la parada? Good morning , can you tell me where the bus stop is? 

Take Note : In Spanish, a + el is contracted (al) to ease the pronunciation. So, instead of saying ‘a el parque’, you must say ‘al parque’. 

Vocabulary for Giving Directions in Spanish

Now that you know the most common ways to ask for directions in Spanish, here are some basic verbs and words you or someone else can use to give directions: 

Basic verbs to give directions in Spanish

• Caminar : To walk
• Cruzar: To cross
• Dar vuelta / Doblar / Girar: To turn
• Estar : To be
• Hay: There is / There are
• Llegar : To arrive / To reach
• Pasar : To pass
• Seguir / Continuar: To continue / To go on
• Tomar : To take
• Topar con : To reach

Phrases, prepositions and adverbs of place : 

• A una cuadra : One block away
• A la derecha : Right
• A la izquierda : Left
• A mano derecha : On the right
• A mano derecha : On the left
• Al lado : Next to
• Cerca de : Nearby / Close to
• Derecho : Straight
• Detrás de : Behind of 
• En : In / On
• En dirección a : Toward / Towards 
• Enfrente de : Across from / In front of
• Entre : Between 
• Hasta : Until / Down to
• La siguiente : Next
• Por aquí : Around here
• Primera : First

Parts of the city in Spanish

• La avenida : Avenue
• El aeropuerto : Airport 
• El banco : Bank
• La biblioteca : Library
• La calle : Street
• El cajero : ATM
• La cuadra : Block
• La escuela : School
• La estación de tren : Train station 
• El hotel : Hotel
• La glorieta / La rotonda : Roundabout 
• La manzana : Block
• El museo: Museum 
• La iglesia : Church
• La oficina : Office
• La parada : Stop
• La plaza : Square
• El parque : Park
• El restaurante : Restaurant
• La salida : Exit
• La tienda : Store / Shop

Here are some examples combining this vocabulary:

El cajero está al lado de la farmacia.  The ATM is next to the pharmacy. 

Camine dos cuadras y dé vuelta a la derecha. Walk two blocks and turn right. 

Siga derecho hasta llegar al parque.  Go straight until you reach the park. 

La biblioteca está cruzando la calle, en medio del banco y la iglesia.  The library is across the street, between the bank and the avenue. 

Asking and giving directions in Spanish is an essential skill that you may need when visiting a Spanish-speaking country. Here are some key points you should remember: 

• The verb estar in Spanish is used to express location . 
• Use the impersonal word ‘hay’ to ask or indicate the existence of something in a particular location. 
• ¿Dónde está? is the most common way to ask for something’s location. 
• ‘Caminar’, ‘seguir’, ‘cruzar’, and ‘dar vuelta’ are some of the most common verbs to give directions. 
• Spanish prepositions of place and adverbs allow you to express more precisely where something is. 
• Use greetings in Spanish to pose questions more politely . 
• Contract ‘a + el’ into ‘al’ to smooth the pronunciation which means ‘to the’ or ‘at the’. 

Next Steps: Additional Resources for Spanish Directions

Now that you have a basic understanding of how to ask and give directions, learning some prepositions of place in Spanish and adverbs can help you describe more precisely where places and things are located. 

Additionally, check how to form regular imperatives since these are the conjugations we use when giving directions in Spanish. Since it allows you to express where things are, you should check how to use estar and how to conjugate this verb . 

If you’re a tourist, there are different Spanish for travelers resources that can help you learn the vocabulary you need to communicate in common situations. I recommend checking out my list of the top 91 Spanish travel phrases and words for tourists. 

Daniela Sanchez

¡Hola! Soy Daniela Sanchez, I've been studying Spanish professionally as well as teaching it in Mexico and online for over 10 years. I’ve taught Spanish to a wide array of foreigners from many backgrounds. Over the years, I've made it my mission to work hard on refining many challenging to understand grammar topics to make my students' learning experiences easier, faster and more enjoyable. Read More About Me

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From performers to protesters: Silver Spring clamps down on noise, enforces limits

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SILVER SPRING, Md. (7News) — It appears downtown Silver Spring is getting way too noisy. Amplified noise at a very aggressive level appears to be a growing problem, from street performers to protesters using microphones.

Montgomery County is now cracking down and aggressively enforcing its noise ordinance law.

Following several complaints, new signs have popped up in Veterans Plaza.

The signs say that 65 decibels are the limit during the day and 55 after 9 p.m. So, 7News measured decibels this morning to give you an idea of how loud things can get -- Just someone talking loudly is about 45 to 50 dB. A car radio at medium volume measures about 70 to 80 dB. The car alarm reaches about 105 dB.

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Some noises are going over 100 dB which can be harmful and is creating an oppressive environment for residents and businesses.

7News has learned the biggest offenders are not those who are playing loud music or the street performers downtown, it’s protesters. County officials said street corner demonstrations have increased with amplified speakers against the LGBTQ community.

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“What we receive the most complaints about are people who are proselytizing anti-LGBTQ commentary. That’s why people are upset about it but our role in government is not to regulate what is said but what our role in government is to do, is address when it is said at a volume that is harmful to the human ear if it sustained,” said Earl Stoddard, Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer.

Some of the other offenders include crowds, businesses and cars playing loud music, and street performers.

They are going after the egregious ones that are reaching over 90 and 100 decibels, which, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, could be very hazardous and could cause hearing damage or even hearing loss. For now, the county is handing out warnings and flyers in English and Spanish.

Crews are using sound measuring devices to monitor the noise levels. Next month, violators could face a $750 fine.

There are other areas the county is looking at such as Veirs Mill Road in Wheaton. Stoddard told 7News that an undisclosed device has been installed in the downtown area to constantly monitor levels.

“We have an aggressive responsibility as a government to protect that right to free speech," Stoddard said. "But what you don’t have the right to do is to drown out everyone else’s free speech. We’ve been very reticent to enforce because the courts are very favorable to First Amendment protective speech but it’s gotten to the point now where people in the outdoor dining experience just say we can’t dine outdoors because I can’t even hear the person across the table from me speaking."

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