We will talk about the use and pronunciation of the letter R and the digraph rr. Also of the letter L and of the LL. And finally of the letter Y also called Greek i that is sometimes used to represent a sound or vowel phoneme and at other times it is used to represent a consonantal sound.

Spanish Route episode TEN. Your guided route to Spanish.



Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. Welcome to SpanishRoute. The program, the podcast, to learn and improve your Spanish.



My name is Sergio and I am your personal Spanish trainer. And I speak to you from Spain.This is the tenth program, your tenth stage on your way to Spanish.Today we continue with the series of programs on the pronunciation and use of the letters of the Spanish alphabet. In the previous program we talked about the letters G and J, and in this program we will learn to use and differentiate the letters C, K, Z, S, X and also the digraphs Qu and Ch.The sounds or phonemes for which we are going to use these letters are: the phoneme / θ / (zzz), the phoneme / s / (ssss), the phoneme / k / and the phoneme / tʃ / (ch).But as always, I recommend you to follow the class through the transcription and the text you will find on my website: spanishroute.com, since we are focusing on the written form of Spanish. It is advisable to read the words to differentiate when each of these letters is used.On the web you can also expose your doubts and if you wish to book private sessions by Skype, to improve your pronunciation.Remember: spanishroute.com. And now, yes, let’s start with the class.As some of the letters we are talking about today can represent several different phonemes, let’s start by differentiating these phonemes and indicating when each letter should be used. And finally we will see how to pronounce the letter X in Spanish.



pronunciation ce, z qu, k



The phoneme / K / in Spanish



The sound or phoneme / k / can be represented in Spanish written by the letters K, Q / q, and C. In words such as house (which is written with c-), kilo (which is written with k-) or cheese (which is written with q-).



The letter k of the Spanish alphabet



The letter K is always used in Spanish to represent the sound / k /. But the words with this letter are unusual in Spanish. It only appears in some words of Greek or foreign origin: It can be accompanied by any vowel: ka, ke, ki, ko, ku.kilo, Kilómetro, kamikace, vikingo  (kilo, kilometer, kamikaze, vikingo).



The letter Q/q and the digraph Qu / qu in Spanish



The letter Q/q of the Spanish alphabet is always used for this phoneme /k/, but only accompanying the vowel -e and the vowel -i. So it can only represent the sound –que- and the sound -qui-. In addition, the letter Q / q is always written accompanied by the silent vowel -u (without sound) forming the digraph Qu / qu: For example:Queso, quince, quinientos, alquilar, quemar, quieto. (Cheese, fifteen, five hundred, rent, burn, quiet).



The letter C of the Spanish alphabet. When does it represent the phoneme / k /?



The letter C of the Spanish alphabet is used to represent the sound / k / when it accompanies the vowel -a: Casa (house); to the vowel -o: Coche (car); and the vowel -u: Cuadrado (square). When the letter C is followed by the vowel -e or the vowel -i, it is read with another sound, with the sound / θ / (zzz), forming the syllables -ce, -ci. As discussed below.The letter C is also used to represent the sound / K / to end words: bloc, clic, bistec (bloc, click, steak).And when it is followed by the consonant -l and by the consonant -r:Clase, crisis, cruel, crema, cliente, cristal (Class, crisis, cruel, cream, customer, crystal).



The phoneme / θ / (zzz) and the seseo in Spanish



The sound or phoneme / θ / (zzz) can be represented in Spanish by the letters Z and C, but there are Spanish-speaking regions that do not have this phoneme and what they use instead is the phoneme / S / (sss). It is what is known as «seseo».

Spanish Route episode nine. Your guided route to Spanish



Hello! How are you, Spanish student? Welcome to SpanishRoute. The program, the podcast, to learn and improve your Spanish.My name is Sergio and I speak to you from Spain. This is the ninth program, your ninth stage on your way to Spanish.Today, we continue with the series of programs abaut the Spanish alphabet. In the previous program we focus on the letters be (b), uve (v) and uve doble (w).Today we are going to focus on the letter jota(j) and ge (g). And the digraph formed by the letters gu.The letters ge and jota can be a source of confusion for Spanish students, but with these small instructions that I present here today, it will be much easier to differentiate them.I recommend you to follow the class through the transcript that you will find on my website, SpanishRoute.com, since we are focusing on the written form of Spanish and it is advisable to read the words to differentiate when using G and when using the J. On the web you will also have access to a very easy written test to practice and memorize the concepts we are talking about today.And now. Let's start with the class.



The letter "jota" of Spanish



The letter "jota" is always pronounced the same. It is a sound that is produced by the approach of the back of the tongue and the back of the palate. Scraping the throat. jjjj (/x/)It is used with the five vowels: Ja, je, ji, jo, ju. With the vowel a: Jamón (ham)With the vowel e: Jefe (boss)With the vowel i: Jirafa (giraffe)With the vowel o: Jota (jota)With the vowel u: Jueves (Thursday)  The letter j can also appear to end words: Reloj (clock)



The letter g in Spanish



The letter g can be pronounced basicly in two ways in Spanish. And for that, we divide them according to the vowels that they accompany.



G pronunciation same as J



The g with the vowel e and the g with the vowel i are pronounced the same as the j: with a strong sound from the throat. Ge / Gi. With the vowel e: Gente (People). With the vowel i: Girar (Rotate).My name, for example. It is written with g and pronounced with the sound equal to the j. Sergio.The reason for the use of j or g for the same sound has to do with etymological reasons and the way in which Spanish evolved from Latin and also by the incorporation into Spanish of words from other languages such as Arabic.



Soft g sound



The other sound for the letter g is /g/. Also with the throat but softer: Without scraping. And it can be: ga, gue, gui, go, gu.But, I said earlier that the g with the e and the g with the i are pronounced like the j. Therefore to write the words that are pronounced gue and gui, we use a vowel u between the g and the vowels e or i.For example: Guerra (War). Guerra is written: g-u-e-r-r-a. The u is silent, it is not pronounced. Guerra.



Guitarra (guitar): Guitarra is spelled: G-u-i-t-a-r-r-a. The letter u is not pronounced, remember. Guitarra.Examples of words with the letter g and the rest of the vowels for this phoneme:With the vowel a: Gato (Cat).With the vowel o: Gota (Drop).With the vowel u: (gustar( (to Like or to love)



The umlaut (diéresis) in Spanish



But this can still be complicated a bit more.There are words in Spanish with the letter g that are pronounced güe and güi. How are these words written then? In the Spanish written to indicate that we must pronounce this letter, we use the umlaut (diéresis). Which are two horizontal points on the letter u of this syllable.For example: With the vowel e: Cigüeña (Stork), with the vowel i: Güisqui (Whisky). If we do not use the umlaut when reading these words we would say: cigueña or guisqui. and this is wrong.

Spanish Route episode EIGHT your guided tour to  Spanish.





Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. Welcome to SpanishRoute. The program, the podcast, to learn Spanish the easy and fun way.



My name is Sergio and I speak from Spain. This is the eighth program, your eighth stage on your way to Spanish.



Today we will talk about the the Spanish alphabet and focus on the letters be (B / b), UVE (V / v) and uve doble (W / w). Their different names, their pronunciation and words with different meanings and are spelled differently but pronounced the same.



But first, as always, I want to remind you that on my website, spanishroute.com you can follow the written transcription of this audio. 



And if you want to improve your speech I can help you practice your Spanish with Skype conversation sessions. Remember SpanishRoute.com



And now. Let's start with the class.



Before focusing on the pronunciation of the letters be (B / b) and EUV (V / v) I'm going to pronounce the complete Spanish alphabet. In later programs we will focus on the pronunciation of other letters that can submit questions for students of Spanish. As the C/c and Z/z, the G/g and J/j, or the I/i and Y/y.



The alphabet in Spanish



The alphabet (alfabeto y abecedario: these two words are synonymous) is currently made according to the official grammar of the Spanish language by 27 letters. 5 vowels and 22 consonants. 5 digraphs are also recognized: they are sequences of two letters representing one sound.



This is how the alphabet sounds in Spanish:



A / a, B / b, C / c, D / d, E / E, F / f, G / g, H / h, I / i, J / j, K / k, L / L, M / m, N / n n / N, O / o, P / P, Q / q, R, r, s / s, T / T, U / u, v / v, w / w, X / x, Y / y, Z / z



The five vowels appear in this alphabet are: A / A, E / e, I / i, O / o, u / u



The five digraphs are: the letters c + h, the double L (ll), double R (rr), the letter q + vowel u, and letter g + vowel u . We also discuss these digraphs on these programs.



And today we will talk about the letters be (be), vee (uve), double vee (uve doble) in Spanish.



The letters be (B/b)  and uve (V/v) in Spanish: Names and pronunciation



Letters be and vee may pose a little difficulty for those starting to study Spanish.



The letter be (B / b)  is the second letter of the Spanish alphabet and has its origin in the letter of the Greek alphabet beta. In America it is also known as be alta o be larga (high be, or be long).



Vee letter (V / V) is the twenty - third letter of the Spanish alphabet and has its origin in the letter Upsilon Greek alphabet. From which also derive the vowel u and the letter (Y/y), also known as "i griega" (Greek i). Other names for V are: uve baja, uve corta o uve chica. "Chica" in this case is synonymous with small. Not to be confused with the guy or female person young age (girl).



Although both letters can be used different names the current rules of the Spanish language recommended to always use the names "be" and "uve".



The letters B and V currently represent the same phoneme in Spanish. The bilabial sound / b /



The stocks of two different letters for the same phonemes is due to the Latin origin of language. Since, at the beginning and until the Middle Ages these two letters did represent different phonemes. But little by little these differences were lost.



Sometimes you can hear a Spanish speaker pronounce vee with labial dental / f / phoneme.

Translation to Engl​ish



Spanish Route episode SEVEN. Your guided tour to Spanish



Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. I'm Sergio and I'm your personal trainer Spanish. And as you know if you've heard earlier chapters I speak from Galicia in northern Spain.



This is the seventh program, your seventh stage on your way to Spanish. Today let's talk about the Camino de Santiago (the way of Saint James). I'll tell you a little about what is the way of Santiago and practice the basic vocabulary you need to know if you want to come to Spain to perform this pilgrimage route.



If you want to do the Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago) I recommend you look further information on the internet, also in your language, because in this program will just basic approach. We can go deeper on the "Camino de Santiago in upcoming programs. And if you have any questions you can write to sergio@spanishroute.com.



But first of all, as always, I would also like to remind you that you have the transcription and translation into English of this class on my website spanishroute.com. 



And if you want to improve your speech I can help you practice your Spanish with Skype sessions or other online video conference program.  



And now. Let's start with the class



The Way of St. James to learn Spanish



​Visiting Spain to do the "Camino de Santiago" is a good idea for many reasons.. It's also a good excuse to practice your Spanish. While on the road you will find many foreign pilgrims are mostly Spanish. You can also talk to the inhabitants of towns and cities and with hostels workers and volunteers.



I have done the "Camino de Santiago" twice. And I've met foreign pilgrims who knew nothing of Spanish and is fun to teach vocabulary for "El Camino".



Okay, if you've never heard of the Camino de Santiago I'll explain briefly.



The Camino de Santiago is a Christian pilgrimage route that from the 10th century crosses Europe to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Where, supposedly, the Apostle James is buried. 



The city of Santiago de Compostela is in Galicia. A Spanish region of northwestern Spain.



Its cathedral is Romanesque but has later additions. Its main facade (in the Plaza del Obradoiro) is baroque. Of the eighteenth century.



The Camino de Santiago has many possible routes and today are marked with "flechas amarillas" (yellow arrows) and with other signals such as the drawing of the "concha de vieira" (scallop shell) . You know what that means "flechas amarillas" and "concha de vieira"? Very good.



Mainly, the Camino de Santiago is on foot (andanddo, a pie) or by bicycle. The verb "andar" (to walk) has another synonym that is "caminar". Which it originates at the root of the word "camino" (way). In fact the first person present indicative of the verb walk is "yo camino" (I walk). Like the noun: "el camino" (the way). The rest of the conjugation of the verb "caminar" (to walk) in the present indicative is: 



Tú caminas. El, ella o usted camina. Nosotros/as caminamos. Vosotros/as camináis. Ellos/as (o ustedes) caminan. (You walk. He, she walk. , We walk. You walk. They walk).



The verb "andar" in the present indicative is: Yo ando. Tú andas, El, ella o usted anda. Nosotros/as andamos. Vosotros/as andáis. Ellos/as o ustedes andan.



To say that you travel by bicycle or that you go by bicycle it is said: "montar en bicicleta" (to ride a bicycle). Yo monto en bicicleta (I ride a bike). The sport of riding a bicycle is "el ciclismo" (cycling).

Spanish Route episode SEIS your guided tour to  Spanish.



Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. My name is Sergio and I'm your personal trainer Spanish.



Welcome to Spanish Route. The program, the podcast where every week you hear me speaking in Spanish about my language and my culture and practice your ear and your understanding of Spanish.



I remind you that on my website  SpanishRoute.com can read the transcript and English translation of this class while listening to the audio. Here you can also contact me to answer your questions.



And if you want to improve your speech I can help you practice your Spanish with Skype conversation sessions. Remember SpanishRoute.com



 Very good! Today is the sixth program, the sixth stage on your way to Spanish. I will summarize what we discussed in the first five chapters if you have not heard yet, they may be of interest.



In Chapter 1 , we have learned to introduce ourselves and say hello : ¡Hola! ¡buenos días! Me llamo Sergio y soy de España (Hi good morning, my name is Sergio and I am from Spain). We also spoke of the cardinal points in Spanish, demonym and other expressions and phrases such as "por favor" (please), "disculpa" (sorry), "gracias" (thanks you)...In Chapter 2 we talked about the gender of nouns in Spanish and the difference between "bien" (well) and "bueno" (good).In Chapter 3 we treat personal subject pronouns, especially the use of "Tú" and "usted"(you)  and the conjugation of verbs "ser" and "estar" (to be).In Chapter 4 we talk about regional differences in Spanish : phonetic differences, specific vocabulary, "voseo" and the use of "ustedes" .In Chapter 5 we try specific vocabulary often used in internet and computer , such as la arroba (at @), almohadilla (hash #) or barra inclinada (/ slash) .



Very good. You know you have the list of all the chapters of the podcast on my website spanishroute.com/the-podcast with transcription and translation into English.



Today we will talk about "el tiempo (the time and the weather) in Spanish.



The word "tiempo" has multiple uses and meanings in Spanish. Today we will focus on two of them. "Tiempo" as a way to measure the sequence of events (time) and "tiempo" as atmospheric state or climate of a region at a particular time (weather).



"El Tiempo" (The time) allows us to organize events and setting a sequence of events past, present and future. To measure it we use units of time. "El segundo" (the second), "el minuto" (the minute) or "la hora" (the hour). Also other major as "el día" (the day), "el mes" (the month) and "el año" (the year).



To measure time we use "el reloj" (the clock) and "el calendario" (the calendar).



We use the clock (el reloj) to know the moment of the day we are in. La hora y el minuto (The hour and minute). But to measure the time we can also use "el cronómetro" (the chronometer) that serves to measure how long a specific event lasts, such as a race.



There are many types of clock. There are "reloj de pulsera" (watches) , which are what we in the arm. There are "reloj de pared" (wall clocks), which are hanging on the wall inside the house and we also have a clock on the mobile.



-Yo hace mucho tiempo que no tengo reloj de pulsera porque utilizo siempre el reloj del móvil. (I have not had a wristwatch for a long time because I always use the mobile phone clock).



"Las horas" (the hours) can be written in the format of 12 or 24 hours. When we use the twelve-hour format in written language we can use the abbreviation AM or PM to indicate whether it is morning or evening.

Translation to Engl​ish



Spanish Route episode FIVE. Your guided route to Spanish



Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. Welcome to SpanishRoute.



The program, the podcast to learn Spanish the easy and fun way.



My name is Sergio and I'm your personal trainer Spanish. How are you going to study Spanish? Are you practicing every day?



Very good! Today is the fifth program, the fifth stage on your way to Spanish and will talk about the vocabulary of computer and Internet (Spanish Internet Vocabulary). 



But first, as always, I want to remind you that on my website spanishroute.com have the transcription and translation into English of this class. Also, from SpanishRoute.com/contact, you can write with doubts and questions to resolve in the program. 



And if you want to improve your speech I can help you practice your Spanish with Skype conversation sessions. Remember SpanishRoute.com. And now. Let 's start with the class.



Spanish Internet Vocabulary



Because the Internet is a very modern technology, many of the words we use come from English. Why is this language which was used for the first time. They are therefore Anglicisms.



But as we saw in the previous chapter the use of Anglicisms still uses and geographic customs.



The word Internet is often used without an article but also can be used with both male and female article. "El Internet" or "La Internet".



The word "online": how do you say in Spanish?



The word online is translated into Spanish by "en línea" when we perform any task connected to the Internet. But the English form online is also very common among those who speak Spanish.



Another word is widely used in Internet mail or email. Spanish is commonly used in the English form but the right thing is to use the Spanish translation: "correo" or "correo electrónico".



For example: I can say you:



Mi dirección de correo electrónico es: sergio@spanishroute.com



As you can hear, the email address we have a new word that is "arroba". The "arroba" is a letter or rather a symbol of ancient origin that was recovered in the Internet age for use in email addresses. It is written between the user name and the domain name, server or provider mail account. In English "arroba" is said "at". 



The "arroba" symbol @ in Spanish



The "arroba" symbol is a letter "a" locked in an open circle. In Spanish the word "arroba" also means old unit weight and volume variable value according to regional differences.



When we say an e-mail also added the word "punto", as in the domains or URLs to add the termination of domain or mail account provider.



"Punto" is the punctuation mark that ended with sentences and paragraphs in Spanish. English "dot" is said.



URLs (Uniform Resource Locator) in Spanish



On the Internet there are also the addresses of web pages or web sites. Also known URLs acronym, which stands for the English words in Spanish means Localizador Uniforme de Recursos (Uniform Resource Locator), so the acronym should be LUR, but still use the orignial English acronym URL). You can also listen to the English form website, but the right thing is to use the Spanish translation "sitio web" or "página web".



Urls usually start with three double-ues. (WWW). Followed by a dot (punto), and the domain name. After another dot and finally a extenson or termination, which can be com, net, es, etc.

Translation to Engl​ish



Spanish Route episode FOUR. Your guided tour to Spanish.



Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. Welcome to Spanish Route. The program, the podcast to learn Spanish the easy and fun way. I'm Sergio and I'm your personal trainer Spanish. And I speak from Galicia in northern Spain.



This is the fourth program, fourth stage on your way to Spanish. Today we will talk about geographical differences of Spanish spoken and you have to keep in mind if you're traveling to a Spanish speaking country.



But before and I always want to remind you that on my website SpanishRoute.com have the transcript and English translation of this class. Also, from SpanishRoute.com/contact , you can write with doubts and questions to resolve in the program. And if you want to improve your speech I can help you practice your Spanish with Skype conversation sessions at a very low price.  



Remember SpanishRoute.com . And now. Let 's start with the class.



Differences between the Spanish of Spain and Latin American Spanish



Spanish differences because of its geographical situation applies not only between Spain and Latin America but there are also differences between regions within the same country. For example, there phonetics and intonation between north and south differences here in Spain and is also very particular accent of the Canary Islands.



The fact that there are regional differences in language does not mean you need to learn them all, but it's good to have a general idea. Some words or regional expressions are admitted as correct use in Spanish and appear in the dictionary, but others are considered slang or foreign words and do not appear in the Spanish dictionary.



If you learn to speak a common neutral or Spanish, as we speak here, you can be understood by any Spanish speaker from anywhere on the planet. The hardest thing is that you understand when someone speaks to you with a very marked or using typical vocabulary your region or country accent. So if you're wanting to travel to a particular place in Spain or Latin America, you should investigate some kind of accent or specific vocabulary used there.



In general, geographical differences oral Spanish can be grouped into the following characteristics:



Accent and intonation



Each country or region has a different accent or intonation, this feature of Spanish spoken can hinder your understanding if the other person also speaks too fast.



Phonetic differences



Related stress and intonation is the different pronunciation of some letters or deletion or substitution of phonemes. This feature already difficult a little more understanding, and it may also cause more mistakes when writing in Spanish, because it tends to write like you talk committed. For example, in Spain we pronounce the letter "z" as English th (θ). It is the same phoneme that when "c" goes before the vowels "e" or "i". For example: "Zapato", "ceniza". As in Latin America and parts of Spain this phoneme sounds more like a "s" but you can not write with "s": sapato, Senisa. It is what is known as "seseo".



Concrete vocabulary



There are also different words for the same purpose: for example "coche" (car) (in Spain) "carro" or "auto" in Latin America. In Spain we say "ordenador" (computer) Latinomaérica say computador. Móvil (mobile phone) say in Spain, celular say in Latin America.



Another example: The word "dinero". The word "dinero" is common to all Spanish-speaking countries but in Argentina they say "plata" (silver), in Mexico they call "lana" (wool).

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. Welcome to Spanish Route. The program, the podcast to learn Spanish in the easiest and most fun way.



In case you still do not know me, I'm Sergio and I'm your personal Spanish trainer.



And this is already the third program, third stage on your way to Spanish. Today we are going to continue with a little more grammar. I will explain the subject's personal pronouns, especially the difference between "Tú"and "usted"; and between "vosotros" and "ustedes".



Then we will treat the conjugation of the verbs "ser" and "estar", which in other languages use a single verb for their different uses but Spanish uses two verbs. 



But first I want to remind you that on my website: SpanishRoute.com, you have the transcription and translation into English of this class and a very easy exercise to practice the concepts we are dealing with today.



Also, from spanishRoute.com/contact , you can write me with questions and questions that we will solve in the program. 



And if you want to improve your pronunciation I can help you practice your Spanish with Skype conversation sessions at a very reduced price.  



Remember SpanishRoute.com



And now Let's start with the class.



Subject's personal pronouns



They are the pronouns with which we conjugate the verbs. They replace the name or noun that forms the subject of the phrase. In Spanish, subject personal pronouns are:



Yo (I), tú (you), él (he), ella (she), usted (you), nosotros, nosotras (we), vosotros, vosotras (you), ellos, ellas (them) ustedes (you).  



For example:



Juan habla español (Juan speaks Spanish) . I can replace the subject " Juan " with the pronoun "él": Él habla español ( He speaks Spanish).



Los chicos hablan español (The boys speak Spanish). I can replace the subject "los chicos" (the boys)  with the pronoun "ellos" (them): Ellos hablan español (They speak Spanish).



As we saw the personal pronouns are the words that accompany the verb and allow us to know what or who we are talking about. They represent the grammatical person.



In Spanish there are three grammatical persons of the singular and their corresponding persons of the plural. and Some have a feminine form. But not all.



We will continue with the example of the verb "hablar" (to speak). "Hablar español" (speak Spanish).



For the first person of the singular we use "Yo"(I).   It refers to the person who speaks.  



Yo hablo español (I speak Spanish)



In the plural: Nosotros for the masculine and nosotras for the feminine( we). It refers to the group to which the person speaking belongs.



Nosotros hablamos español / Nosotras hablamos español (We speak Spanish / We speak Spanish).



The feminine form is used when the whole group belongs to the female sex. If in the group there are people of both sexes, the masculine form can be used in a general way, it is what is called "generic masculine", as we saw in the previous class, remember? The same happens for the rest of the cases in which there are masculine and feminine personal pronouns.



The second person of the singular: Tú (You). It refers to the person to whom the speaker is speaking.



Tú hablas español. (You speak Spanish)



The second person in the plural is vosotros for the masculine, vosotras for the feminine (you). It refers to the group to which the speaker is speaking.

/











Spanish Route episode TWO your guided route to  Spanish.



Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. Welcome to Spanish Route. The program, the podcast to learn Spanish in the easiest and most fun way.



My name is Sergio and I am your personal Spanish trainer.



This is the second program, second stage on your way to Spanish. And it will also be very easy.



Today I will deal with the subject of the genders of the names or nouns in Spanish, which is a characteristic of the languages ​​of Latin origin.



I will also explain, as I said in the previous class, the differences between "bueno" and "bien" and between "malo" and "mal" . That can be a bit confusing for those who start learning Spanish.



But first I want to remind you that on my web page  spanishroute.com  you have the transcription and translation into English of this class. And a very easy exercise to practice the concepts we are dealing with today.



Also, from  spanishRoute.com/contact , you can write me with questions and questions that we will solve in the program. And if you want to access Skype conversation sessions with me at a very low price.  



Remember SpanishRoute.com



And now Let's start with the class...



Genre of the nouns in Spanish



Today we are going to talk about the genre of nouns.



In Spanish, the names and nouns have a gender. These words are masculine or feminine, whether referring to people or animals (with male or female sex) or referring to objects and concepts without biological sex. This characteristic of the language is due to its Latin origin and it shares it with other languages ​​that derive from Latin like French or Italian.



El niño / la niña (The boy / The girl)



" El niño " is a masculine noun. "La niña" is a feminine noun. 



El perro / la perra (The dog / The bitch) 



"El perro" is masculine noun and  "la perra" is the feminine noun.



El león / la leona (The lion / The lioness)



"El león" is masculine. " la leona" is the feminine one.



They are names of things and concepts without sex words like:



El libro, la casa, el amor, la amistad (The book, the house, love, friendship).



The word libro ("el libro") is masculine, although it does not have sex. The same goes for "la casa" (feminine word), "el amor" (masculine noun), "la amistad"  (feminine noun).



Therefore, the names of people and animals can change according to sex, but the names of things and concepts that are not animals or people never change.



Gender concordance



When a name or noun is accompanied by an article and an adjective these have to be used in the same genre as the noun. It is what is known as "concordance ".



This is the reason for the existence of certain articles " El" and "La" and the indeterminate  "un"  and "una"  and the variations of the adjectives for the case that describe masculine or feminine nouns.



El coche rojo / Un coche rojo (The red car / a red car) 



La casa blanca / una casa blanca (The white house / a white house)



Differences between masculine and feminine gender



Generally, the names ending in -o are masculine and the names ending in -a are feminine. For example:



Masculine:  El piano,

Spanish Route, episode ONE. Your guided route to Spanish.



English translation of podcast audio



Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. Welcome to Spanish Route. The program, the podcast, to learn Spanish in the easiest and most fun way. My name is Sergio and I am your personal Spanish trainer.



This is the first program and it's going to be very easy, you'll see.



We will learn to introduce ourselves and to greet us. We will ask some questions and answer them. That way you'll know me a little better.



But first, I want to remind you that on my website: SpanishRoute.com  You can read the transcription and English translation of this program. In case there is something you have not understood well. You can download the pdf with the presentation of the class and with a very easy written exercise to help you practice the concepts we have talked about today.



Also, from spanishRoute.com/contact , you can write me with questions that we will solve in the program.



And if you want to access Skype conversation sessions with me, at a very low price.  



Remember SpanishRoute.com. And now Let's start with the program.



In this first chapter we will start at the most basic level. We will learn to introduce ourselves and to greet us.



Remember that this program can be followed from the audio player of my website, or through your favorite podcast player.



And besides, in case you find it difficult to follow me, you can also watch the class through my YouTube channel with the presentation of the sentences in writing.



Do not worry about grammar, writing or punctuation, we will see it little by little in the next classes.



For the moment, the most important thing is to practice your hearing and mentally translate the phrases and expressions of Spanish into your language.



Hola (Hello!)



¡Hola! (Hello!)



This is the word (the interjection) to greet, draw the attention of another person or introduce ourselves. ¡Hola! = Hello!



¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?)



¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?) This is the phrase we use in Spanish to ask the name of the person we are talking to. ¡Hola! ¿Cómo te llamas? (Hello! What is your name?)



Me llamo Sergio (My name is Sergio)



Me llamo Sergio (My name is Sergio). With these words I answer the previous question. It's the way to tell someone what my name is.



You could also say "Yo me llamo Sergio". But in Spanish the subject pronoun of the phrase is usually omitted when in the conjugation of the verb one already understands who the subject is.



Bienvenido (Welcome)



¡Bienvenido! (Welcome!) . This is the word we use to receive someone in our house, in our place of work, or in any event or situation. Also when someone arrives from a trip, for example.



Do you know how to say”bienvenido” in your language?



Bienvenido. This is the masculine form. That is, when the other person is male: A boy, a man or a man.



Bienvenida. This is the feminine form. When the other person is of the female gender. A girl, a woman or a lady. Welcome.



¡Encantado de conocerte! (Nice to meet you!)



This is the phrase to say that we are glad to meet someone. ¡Encantado de conocerte! (Nice to meet you!)



This is the masculine form, but it refers to the subject of the phrase.