Spanish Essentials for Dummies - Stein, Gail

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Résumé :

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 2

Where to Go from Here 3

Chapter 1: Brushing Up on the Basics 5

Pronouncing Properly 5

Voicing vowels 6

Practicing diphthongs and vowel combinations 6

Verbalizing consonants 7

Understanding stress and diacritical marks 8

Counting Down 9

Using cardinal numbers 10

Using ordinal numbers 13

Dealing with Dates 14

Expressing the days of the week 14

Naming the months of the year 15

Making a date 16

Telling Time 17

Identifying Parts of Speech 20

Using nouns 20

Substituting pronouns 21

Acting with verbs 21

Describing with adjectives 22

Clarifying with adverbs 22

Joining with prepositions 23

Chapter 2: Embracing the Gender Gap 25

Being Specific with Definite Articles 25

Identifying the definite articles 26

Using definite articles 26

Omitting the definite articles 28

Contracting with definite articles 28

Table of Contents iii

Being General with Indefinite Articles 28

Identifying the indefinite articles 29

Omitting indefinite articles 29

Being Demonstrative with Adjectives 30

Explaining Gender 31

Determining the gender of nouns 31

Doing an about face with gender 32

Using the same noun for both genders 33

Changing the meaning of nouns 33

Understanding special nouns 34

Forming Plural Nouns 35

Showing Possession 36

Using de 37

Employing possessive adjectives 37

Substituting with Object Pronouns 39

Dealing with direct object pronouns 39

Understanding the personal a 40

Coping with indirect object pronouns 41

Choosing the proper pronoun 42

Constructing sentences with gustar 44

Positioning object pronouns 46

Doing double duty 47

Chapter 3: Living in the Present 49

Identifying Types of Verbs 49

Selecting Subject Pronouns 50

Being inclusive 50

Using subject pronouns 52

Omitting subject pronouns 54

Communicating in the Present Tense 55

Recognizing regular verbs 56

Changing verb stems 57

Changing the spelling of verbs 62

Modifying verbs with two changes 63

Using irregular verbs 63

Communicating with irregular verbs 65

Spotting reflexive verbs 67

Making Progress with the Present Progressive 71

Using estar to form the present progressive 71

Understanding present participles 72

Chapter 4: Being Descriptive 75

Adding Color with Adjectives 75

Making adjectives agree 75

Positioning adjectives 81

Shortening certain adjectives 82

Describing Actions with Adverbs 82

Forming adverbs 82

Positioning adverbs 85

Making Comparisons 85

Conveying equality 85

Stating inequality 85

Articulating the superlative 86

Communicating irregular comparisons 86

Expressing the absolute superlative 87

Linking with Prepositions 88

Selecting the correct one 89

Using prepositions with verbs 92

Using the right pronoun after a preposition 95

Chapter 5: Making Inquiries 97

Posing a Yes/No Question 97

Using intonation 98

Employing the tags ?No? and ?verdad? 98

Using inversion 99

Responding to a Yes/No Question 99

Staying positive 100

Being negative 100

Getting the Facts 103

Using interrogative adjectives 103

Getting information with interrogative adverbs 104

Employing interrogative ...

Biographie:

Gail Stein, MA has more than 30 years' experience teaching languages in New York City public junior and senior high schools. She is also the author of Spanish Workbook For Dummies.

Cecie Kraynak, MA has taught and tutored Spanish for more than 30 years. She is the author of Spanish For Dummies, Spanish Verbs For Dummies, and Spanish All-In-One For Dummies....

Sommaire:

The perfect guide for new Spanish learners and anyone looking for an expert refresher

Interested in a fast and effective guide to learning Spanish that avoids fluff and focuses on key concepts that you need to know to improve your ability to speak, write, and understand the language? Spanish Essentials For Dummies, 2nd Edition walks you through Spanish fundamentals you can use for at-home, solo learning, to supplement your progress in a Spanish class, or as a companion to language instruction.

Inside:

• Get practical tips on Spanish grammar, pronunciation, and sentence structure
• See conversational Spanish examples to amplify your learning
• Understand all the core concepts taught and tested in a typical introductory Spanish course

Perfect for Spanish students looking for a quick reference to supplement classroom or app-assisted Spanish learning, Spanish Essentials For Dummies, 2nd Edition is a great resource for everyone looking to brush up on their conversational Spanish....