My name is
Me llamo Daniel Norrington.My name is Daniel Norrington.Me llamo Liz Owen.My name is Liz Owen.Me llamo Jack.My name is Jack.Se llama Kevin.His name is Kevin.Se llama Helen.Her name is Helen.Im
Soy amigo de Paul.Im a friend of Pauls.Soy el hermano de Rodrigo.Im Rodrigos brother.Soy soltero.Im single.Soy maestro.Im a teacher.Soy representante.Im a rep.Trabajo de programador para Compumax.I work as a programmer for Compumax.¿LO SABÍAS?
When you say what you do in Spanish, dont include a word for a or an before your job: soy maestro (Im a teacher), soy enfermera (Im a nurse).
To say how old you are, use tengo followed by your age and then años (literally I have years). tengo comes from the verb tener. For more information on tener, see here.
Imyears old
Tengo veintidós años.Im twenty-two years old.Tengo treinta y siete años.Im thirty-seven.Mi hijo tiene siete años.My sons seven.¿Cuántos años tienes?How old are you?I have
Tengo dos hermanas.I have two sisters.Tengo un hijo y una hija.I have a son and a daughter.Tenemos familia en el sur de España.We have relatives in the south of Spain.¿Tienes hijos?Have you got any children?I live
Vivo en Gales.I live in Wales.Vivo solo.I live on my own.Vivimos en un apartamento.We live in a flat.¿LO SABÍAS?
Remember to say vivo sola rather than vivo solo if youre female.
Im staying
Estoy en el Excelsior Palace.Im staying at the Excelsior Palace.Estoy en casa de unos amigos.Im staying with friends.Me quedo una semana en Madrid.Im staying in Madrid for a week.Me voy a quedar unos cuantos días más.Im going to stay for a few more days.To talk about yourself, youll need to be able to say how long youve been doing something, such as learning Spanish! One way to do this is to use hace followed by the length of time and then que and the verb in the present. For more information on the present tense, see here. You can also use llevo to mean Ive been in examples like these.
Ive beenfor
Hace cinco años que soy enfermera.Ive been a nurse for five years.Hace diez años que vivo en España.Ive been living in Spain for ten years.Hace sólo dos días que estoy aquí.Ive only been here for two days.Llevo dos semanas en Madrid.Ive been in Madrid for two weeks.Llevo dos años estudiando español.Ive been studying Spanish for two years.Llevo seis meses de camarera.Ive been a waitress for six months.APOLOGIZING
There may be times when you wish to make an apology to somebody. The simplest way to do this is to say perdona (to someone you speak to as tú) and perdone (to someone you speak to as usted).
Im sorry
Perdona.Im sorry.Perdona por no pasar a verte, pero no tuve tiempo.Im sorry I didnt call in, but I didnt have time.Perdone que llegue tarde.Im sorry Im late.Siento no haberte llamado para decírtelo.Im sorry I didnt phone to let you know.¿LO SABÍAS?
If you need to get past someone, or if you bump into them, just say perdón (excuse me or sorry).
Im afraid that
Lo siento, pero no puedo ir.Im afraid that I cant come.Lo siento, pero no entendí tu nombre.Im afraid I didnt catch your name.Me temo que no tengo tu número.Im afraid that I dont have your number.ASKING FOR INFORMATION
In social situations you will often want to find out more about someone or their family, job and so on. To do this use háblame (tell me).
In social situations you will often want to find out more about someone or their family, job and so on. To do this use háblame (tell me).
Tell me
Háblame un poco de ti.Tell me a bit about yourself.Háblame de tu familia.Tell me about your family.¿En qué consiste tu trabajo?Tell me what your job involves.You can use the next questions when chatting socially.
Whats?
¿Cuál es tu dirección?Whats your address?¿Cuál es el número de teléfono de Francisco?Whats Franciscos phone number?¿En qué trabajas?What do you do for a living?Perdona, ¿qué has dicho?Sorry, what did you say?¿Qué significa azafata?What does azafata mean?¿Cómo te llamas?Whats your name?Youll often want to find out where things are. Remember that when you use ¿Dónde?, está is how you generally translate the word is.
Where?
¿Dónde quieres que quedemos?Where do you want to meet?¿Dónde trabajas?Where do you work?¿Dónde vives?Where do you live?¿Dónde está tu piso?Wheres your flat?¿Dónde te quedas?Where are you staying?¿De dónde vienes?Where do you come from?When?
¿Cuándo estarás aquí?When will you get here?¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?Whens your birthday?¿Sábes cuándo dará a luz Marta?Do you know when Martas babys due?¿A qué hora quieres quedar?When do you want to meet?How long have?
¿Cuánto tiempo hace que estás en España?How long have you been in Spain?¿Cuánto tiempo hace que trabajas aquí?How long have you been working here?¿Cuánto tiempo hace que esperas?How long have you been waiting?One very versatile way of asking someone socially how something is going or has gone is to use the phrase ¿Qué tal? and then the noun in question. You dont need to use any verb at all.
How?
¿Qué tal las vacaciones?How was your holiday?¿Qué tal el vuelo?How was your flight?¿Qué tal el hotel?Hows the hotel?Sometimes youll want to ask why a friend or acquaintance did or didnt do something. You can use ¿Por qué? and a past tense to ask the question (Why?).
Why?
¿Por qué te fuiste de Barcelona?Why did you move from Barcelona?¿Por qué decidiste dedicarte a la enseñanza?Why did you choose a career in teaching?¿Por qué no fuiste ayer?Why didnt you go yesterday?¿Por qué no me llamaste anoche por teléfono?Why didnt you ring me last night?SAYING WHAT YOU WANT TO DO
When talking to friends and colleagues therell be plenty of things youll want to do together. To say what you would like to do, you can use me gustaría (Id like). This comes from the verb gustar.
Id like to
Me gustaría darte las gracias por tu ayuda.Id like to thank you for helping me.Me gustaría hablar luego contigo.Id like to speak to you later.Nos gustaría presentarte a un amigo.Wed like you to meet a friend.Nos gustaría invitarte a tomar una copa.Wed like to invite you out for a drink.Alternatively, you can use quiero followed by the infinitive. If you want someone else to do something for you, use quiero que followed by a verb in the subjunctive. For more information on the subjunctive, see here.
I want to
Quiero organizar una fiesta sorpresa.I want to organize a surprise party.Quiero invitar a algunos amigos para mi cumpleaños.I want to have a few friends over for my birthday.Quiero que vengas conmigo.I want you to come with me.Quiero que esta noche todo salga bien.I want this evening to be a success.You may want to ask people you know what you should do. One way to do this is to use ¿Crees que debo? (Should I?) followed by a verb in the infinitive. debo comes from the verb deber. For more on deber, see here.