How To Talk In Spanish

By Last updated: August 31, 2022

9 Easy Shortcuts for Speaking More than Castilian with Less Vocabulary

When you lot commencement commencement learning Spanish, the gap between putting a few broken sentences together and mastery of the language seems huge.

Just, there is a signal somewhere between only starting out and mastery where your abilities allow you lot to start having fun, when yous can communicate without needing to look up every other word.

At that place are a number of easy language hacks for Spanish which allow you to express more ideas with fewer words, while you continue building your cognition of the language!

In this post, you will learn nine Spanish hacks that will aid you get to the point where you tin can first enjoying the language without needing to use any English.

9 Easy Hacks for Speaking Castilian with Less Vocabulary
- How to limited more ideas with fewer nouns
- - 1. It — lo/la, ello
  - 2. This — este | that — ese
  - iii. Thing — cosa | something — algo
- How to express more ideas with fewer verb conjugations
- - four. To be able to — poder
  - 5. I like it — me gusta
  - 6. To want — querer
  - vii. To accept to — tener que
- How to express more ideas without the subjunctive
- - viii. Maybe — a lo mejor
  - 9. I don't think that… — no pienso que… | I don't believe that… — no creo que…

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nine Easy Hacks for Speaking Spanish with Less Vocabulary

How to limited more ideas with fewer nouns

This first category of Spanish hacks is about replacing complicated nouns, nouns that you don't know or nouns you can retrieve with a few simple substitutes.

1. It — lo/la,ello

Let's say y'all are speaking with a native Spanish speaker and they ask you if you have seen, done or heard of something. Yous want to respond to the question, but the give-and-take is difficult to pronounce. In this situation, you can replace the noun with lo/la or ello (it).

For example, if someone asks yous, "¿Has visto 'El Laberinto del fauno'?" (Have you seen "Pan's Labyrinth"?) and you want to say "yes" merely aren't sure how to pronounce the name of the movie properly, you tin say:

Sí, la he visto.
(Yeah, I accept seen it.)

Here you would say "la" because you are referring to a motion picture,la película,which is feminine.

Alternatively, someone might enquire yous "¿Has pensado en mi sugerencia?" (Have you thought about my suggestion?) Perchance they have proposed to go on a trip or work on a project together. You lot could respond:

No, no he pensado en ello.
(No, I haven't thought about it.)

You need to use ello here in this example because information technology comes afterward a preposition:en. In Spanish, lo is the translation of "it" when information technology is next to a verb, and ello is the translation of "it" when used in prepositional phrases.

ii. This — este | that —ese

These 2 words are extremely useful.

There are male, female, neutral and plural forms for both words:

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This — Este (k), esta (f), esto (n), estos (one thousand pl), estas (f pl)
That — Ese (grand), esa (f), eso (due north), esos (m pl), esas (f pl)

If you come across something—for example in a shop or marketplace—and you have no idea of what it is or how to say it in Spanish, you can say:

¿Qué es esto?
(What is this?)

Imagine y'all walk into a Spanish market and y'all run across a few things you want to lodge. You could say while pointing:

Quiero este, esa y esos.
(I desire this, that and those.)

three. Thing — cosa | something —algo

On height of replacing nouns with "it," "this" or "that," you can also substitute "thing" or "something" for a Spanish noun you don't all the same know.

For example, imagine someone asks you "¿Cuál es tu parte favorita de tu país?"(What is your favorite part of your country?), and immediately you think of a long list of features which are hard to describe in Spanish. Yous could say:

Hay muchas cosas. Hay demasiadas cosas.
(At that place are many things. There are too many things.)

Yous also could walk into a shop and ask for something that goes well with a dish you are cooking. For case:

Busco algo que vaya bien con marisco.
(I'm looking for something that goes well with seafood.)

When y'all are searching for a noun in Spanish, both algo and cosa will be invaluable to become you speaking more. When you lot need "something," or can't remember "something," you can always ask with ane of these two words.

At that place are other little tricks you tin can use to go away with non knowing the right word for what you're trying to say, which yous'll pick up through exposure to the language.

For example, you tin use a program like FluentU to hear what turns of phrases are used by native Spanish speakers in authentic videos. Use these videos and their accompanying transcripts and interactive subtitles to find unlike ways to get your meaning across. FluentU can also help you broaden your vocabulary through personalized quizzes and flashcards so that yous won't notice yourself in a position where you don't know the words equally frequently.

How to express more ideas with fewer verb conjugations

Learning and memorizing verb conjugations is one of the biggest challenges of the Spanish language.

The conjugation for each person is distinct (i.e. I, yous, he, we, etc.). Moreover, you too have the formal and informal versions of "you,"tú and usted.

To add insult to injury, well-nigh 40% of all Castilian verbs are irregular.

So to avoid getting overwhelmed when you are showtime starting out, you can simplify the massive job of learning conjugations of hundreds of verbs by focusing on learning just four verbs, which you'll detect in this section.

With a little paraphrasing, you lot can combine the words sí and no with the verbs for "to able to," "to like," "to desire" and the phrase "to have to" to express virtually any activity.

4. To be able to —poder

Imagine it is nighttime and you lot can't see anything. You could say "No veo nada" (I don't see annihilation) but if you lot tin can't remember the first person conjugation of ver y'all can say:

No puedo ver nothing.
(I can't meet anything.)

If you are running late to meet a friend you lot might want to say "Voy a llegar tarde" or "Llegaré tarde," both of which mean "I'thousand going to get in late"). However, to say this phrase, you either need the first person conjugation of ir or the first person future conjugation of llegar. If you tin can't recall either of these, you tin can merely rephrase slightly and say:

No puedo llegar a tiempo.
(I tin can't arrive on time.)

5. I like it — me gusta

You lot can utilize the verb gustar in the positive or negative to rephrase many verb deportment.

For example, imagine you want to say "Odio volar" (I detest flying). If y'all tin't remember the verb for "to detest," or how to conjugate it in first person, yous can say:

No me gusta volar.
(I don't like to fly.)

Another way you can use gustar is for rephrasing preferences. If you wanted to say "Yo prefiero estudiar solo" (I prefer to written report alone), but you lot tin't remember that preferir is irregular, you can say:

Me gusta estudiar solo.
(I like to study alone.)

6. To desire — querer

Similar to how we usedgustar, you tin can utilise querer to state preferences. You can as well apply information technology to talk well-nigh things you do regularly, and to talk about the nearly time to come.

Imagine you want to express something complicated, like "Cada vez que digo algo en español, se me olvidan las palabras" (Every time I say something in Spanish, I forget the words). Here you need to know the get-go person conjugation of decir and the complicated construction of forgetting things with olvidar. Instead you can simplify past rephrasing with:

Cada vez que quiero decir algo en Español, no puedo recordar las palabras.
(Every time I want to say something in Spanish, I can't think the words.)

Hither we have used the Spanish hack with poder to rephrase the complicated construction ofolvidar for "non existence able to remember," and avoided the starting time person of decir past combining information technology with querer.

Here's another instance. Say you and your friends are going to go out in the afternoon: Salgo esta tarde (I'1000 going out this afternoon). If you can't remember the first person singular conjugation of salir, y'all can say information technology in another way:

Quiero salir esta tarde.
(I want to get out this afternoon).

It is true that the meaning of this phrase is slightly dissimilar from the original, but you lot are expressing an idea that is nevertheless very close, but fugitive the beginning person conjugation of a less common irregular verb.

seven. To have to — tener que

In addition toquerer, you lot tin also utilise the phrase tener que as a substitute to talk most the future.

For case, imagine you are planning to go to the depository financial institution, "Voy a ir al banco" or "Iré al banco" (I'one thousand going to become to the bank). Hither, you need the first person conjugation of ir in combination with a to say "I'chiliad going to" or you demand the future conjugation of ir. Simply if y'all tin't call back either of those you lot can rephrase the activity and say:

Tengo que ir al banco.
(I have to go to the banking company).

Besides as the nowadays tenses, the four verbs in this section are also a proficient starting point for when y'all want to get-go building your cognition of verb conjugations in other time tenses—such equally the past or future.

For case, if yous wanted to tell someone about the time you left a party yesterday, "Nos fuimos de la fiesta ayer a las diez" (We left the party yesterday at x p.grand.), you tin can limited a like idea without the past conjugation of irse:

Tuvimos que irnos de la fiesta ayer a las diez.
(Nosotros had to leave the party yesterday at x p.m.)

How to limited more than ideas without the subjunctive

The subjunctive mood can be scary, particularly if your offset language is English language.

Technically the subjunctive mood exists in English, but we don't need to know about it since verb conjugations don't change when we are using information technology.

In case this is the first y'all are hearing of the subjunctive mood, here is a quick explanation.

Whenever you are expressing certain ideas in Castilian that take an element of incertitude, they are often expressed in the subjunctive mood. Moreover, when you are making predictions about the future, you volition generally need the subjunctive mood.

At that place are a lot of rules for using the Spanish subjunctive; this is why information technology is so scary. But, if you are withal working on the fundamentals of Spanish, yous don't really demand to worry well-nigh it.

In fact, you can use the following ii hacks to avoid the subjunctive without making any technical errors.

8. Mayhap —a lo mejor

There are a number of phrases in Castilian that call for the subjunctive mood. Some of these include phrases that convey probability:

e south posible que (it is possible that)
es probable que (it is probable that)
puede que (mayhap/perhaps)

In the context of making a prediction most something that will happen in the future, the three phrases to a higher place all require the subjunctive mood.

Nevertheless, all of these phrases can be replaced with a lo mejor , which means "possibly" or "perhaps." And the best part of using a lo mejor is that it e'er has to exist used with the indicative (normal) mood.

For example, if y'all want to make a prediction about whether it is going to rain, you could say "Es posible que vaya a llover hoy"(Information technology is possible that it is going to rain today). Here, because y'all have said es posible que, you have to utilise vaya which is the subjunctive of ir. However, you lot tin can avoid the subjunctive past saying:

A lo mejor va a llover hoy.
(Perhaps information technology is going to rain today.)

You may want to brand a predication to a friend most a football match that Real Madrid is about to play. Yous tin can, again, avoid the subjunctive mood with the phrase a lo mejor:

A lo mejor el Real Madrid va a ganar el partido de fútbol esta noche.
(Maybe Real Madrid will win the football game game this night.)

ix. I don't recollect that… —no pienso que… | I don't believe that… — no creo que…

In addition to making predictions, you too need the subjunctive mood when you are talking nigh doubts.

If you lot say "I don't think that…," which implies doubt, you will need to use the subjunctive mood. But you can avoid the subjunctive past rephrasing nearly whatsoever expression of doubtfulness in the following way:

"I don't remember that my parents are going to come up."

This tin be changed to:

"I call back that my parents aren't going to come."

These two sentences are just separated past the slightest of subtleties, but the start requires the subjunctive in Castilian and the second doesn't.

Simply to exist articulate, the key play a joke on here is that the negative function of the sentence moves from before the "that" to after it.

The 2d sentence in Spanish is:

Creo que mis padres no van a venir.
(I think that my parents aren't going to come.)

If you lot tin rephrase all expressions of dubiousness from "I don't recollect that…" to "I think that…," then yous can be safety using the normal indicative mood.

Here are a few more than examples:

Creo que la semana que viene no va a ser divertida.
(I believe that side by side calendar week isn't going to be fun.)

Creo que no hay una cafetería por aquí.
(I think that at that place isn't a java shop effectually here.)

If either of these final 2 examples started with no creo que, you would demand the subjunctive but with the elementary rephrase hack, you can express virtually exactly the same idea with the present indicative mood.

Although the gap to mastery of the Spanish language can feel far-reaching, in that location are shortcuts you tin use to quickly communicate much more freely as a beginner. Focus on the nine hacks in this post until they become a second language. The cardinal to mastering whatsoever linguistic communication learning technique is to use it every bit frequently as y'all can.

Once y'all are comfortable communicating using these shortcuts you lot can then start to really savor the best role of language learning—speaking! This is all while you lot continue to build your knowledge and amend your power to express ideas in greater and more intricate detail.

And as you fill in the basics, though, recall to movement away from these hacks in order to advance to the next level. Good luck!

Download: This weblog post is available every bit a user-friendly and portable PDF that y'all can have anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)