# 02. Spanish Fundamentals

> Source: [video link](https://youtube.com/watch?v=YHDZSHCt1DE&t=64s)

A foundational vocabulary and orthography overview: alphabet, accents, question words, prepositions/adverbs, pronouns, days, months, seasons, time words, and numbers. Most of this chapter is pure memorization — the building blocks before grammar.

## Key Rules
- The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters (adds **ñ** to the English 26). Some traditions also count **ch** and **ll** as letters (29).
- **H** is silent — *hablo* is pronounced "ablo".
- **ll** is pronounced like English "y" (e.g., *llave* = key).
- Accents (´) over vowels mark which syllable is stressed; they can also distinguish two otherwise-identical words (e.g., *él* "he" vs. *el* "the"; *tú* "you" vs. *tu* "your"; *sí* "yes" vs. *si* "if"; *qué* "what?" vs. *que* "that"; *dónde* "where?" vs. *donde* "where" relative).
- Questions need an inverted ¿ at the start and ? at the end. Same for ¡ … !
- **¿Por qué?** = "Why?"  ·  **porque** = "because" (one word, no accent).
- Question words pluralize/gender: ¿Quién? → ¿Quiénes?  ·  ¿Cuánto/Cuánta/Cuántos/Cuántas?
- Days, months, and seasons are **not** capitalized in Spanish.
- Watch out for **año** (year) vs. **ano** (anus) — the ñ matters.
- *Mañana* means both "tomorrow" and "morning" (context-dependent).
- *Pero* (but) vs. *perro* (dog) — the double **rr** matters.
- *Como* can mean "like / as" or "I eat" (1st-person of *comer*) depending on context.

## Pronouns

| Singular | Plural |
|----------|--------|
| yo (I) | nosotros / nosotras (we) |
| tú (you, informal) | vosotros / vosotras (y'all, Spain informal) |
| él / ella / usted (he / she / you formal) | ellos / ellas / ustedes (they / y'all formal) |

Focus on **yo, tú, él, ellos** in early practice — *vosotros* and *nosotros* show up much less often in conversation outside Spain.

## Question Words

| Spanish | English |
|---------|---------|
| ¿Dónde? | Where? |
| ¿Cuándo? | When? |
| ¿Qué? | What? |
| ¿Por qué? | Why? |
| ¿Quién? / ¿Quiénes? | Who? / Who (pl.)? |
| ¿Cuál? | Which? |
| ¿Cómo? | How? |
| ¿Cuánto/a/os/as? | How much / how many? |

## Prepositions & Adverbs

FANBOYS:

| English | Spanish |
|---------|---------|
| For | para |
| And | y |
| Nor | ni |
| But | pero |
| Or | o |
| Yet (still) | pero / sin embargo |
| So | así que |
| By | por |

Other adverbs/prepositions:

| English | Spanish |
|---------|---------|
| If | si |
| Then | entonces |
| Also | también |
| From, of | de |
| With | con |
| To | a |
| In, on | en |
| Each | cada |

## Days, Months, Seasons

| Days | Months | Seasons |
|------|--------|---------|
| lunes | enero, julio | verano (summer) |
| martes | febrero, agosto | otoño (autumn) |
| miércoles | marzo, septiembre | invierno (winter) |
| jueves | abril, octubre | primavera (spring) |
| viernes | mayo, noviembre | |
| sábado | junio, diciembre | |
| domingo | | |

## Time Words

| English | Spanish |
|---------|---------|
| second | segundo/a |
| minute | minuto/a |
| hour | hora |
| week | semana |
| month | mes |
| year | año |
| yesterday | ayer |
| today | hoy |
| tomorrow / morning | mañana |

## Numbers

| # | Spanish | # | Spanish |
|---|---------|---|---------|
| 1 | uno | 11 | once |
| 2 | dos | 12 | doce |
| 3 | tres | 13 | trece |
| 4 | cuatro | 14 | catorce |
| 5 | cinco | 15 | quince |
| 6 | seis | 16 | dieciséis |
| 7 | siete | 17 | diecisiete |
| 8 | ocho | 18 | dieciocho |
| 9 | nueve | 19 | diecinueve |
| 10 | diez | 20 | veinte |

Past 20: *veintiuno, veintidós, veintitrés…* (one word). 30 = *treinta*, then *treinta y dos*, *treinta y tres*, etc. 40 *cuarenta*, 50 *cincuenta*, 60 *sesenta*, 70 *setenta*, 80 *ochenta*, 90 *noventa*, 100 *cien*, 1.000 *mil*, 1.000.000 *millón*.

Ordinal positions (gendered):

| English | Spanish |
|---------|---------|
| 1st | primero/a |
| 2nd | segundo/a |
| 3rd | tercero/a |
| 4th | cuarto/a |
| 5th | quinto/a |
| 6th | sexto/a |
| 7th | séptimo/a |
| 8th | octavo/a |
| 9th | noveno/a |
| 10th | décimo/a |

## Notes & Gotchas
- *Cuarto* can also mean "a quarter (1/4)" in expressions of time.
- *Segundo* can also mean "in second place" (position) — context decides.
- *Unos / unas* in front of a number means "some / a few" (e.g., *unos minutos* = a few minutes).