Self Teaching

Question

Hola!

I am learning Spanish by myself. I am glad that I found this site. My question/confusion:

I am = Yo is that right? How about? the article un,una,unos,unas? When should I use it?

So is this right? Do you speak Spanish? Habla Español? Si. Habla Español un pocco.

Welcome to the forum! The lessons are very helpful. Hope you have great success. - katydew, Apr 5, 2012

Answer 1

I am = Yo is that right?

No, not quite. The tense, I, is equal to "yo" in Spanish.

The verb am is a conjugation of either "ser" or "estar".

How about? the article un,una,unos,unas? When should I use it?

In a sentence such as, "I have an apple.". "Tengo una manzana". "Una" is used rather than "un" because "manzana" is feminine.

I have some apples. Is equal to "Tengo unas manzanas", because now your are referring to several apples.

I have a book. "Tengo un libro."

I have some books. "Tengo unos libros."

So is this right? Do you speak Spanish? Habla Español?

Yes, except in Spanish español, is not capitalized.

Also, in Spanish there are two ways to say you. The way you wrote is called the formal tense, ¨¿Habla español¨?

The familiar form, is for friends that you know well and family, it is written, ¨¿Hablas español¨?

Also note the upside down question mark begins a Spanish question and the regular question mark ends the question.

Si. Habla Español un pocco.

Now when you answer the question, the conjugation changes to the ¨yo¨ form, so you would say, ¨Sí, hablo español, un poco¨.

You´ve done a great job! Welcome to our forum!

Answer 2

Gracias, todos los demás for the answers. I study everyday by myself and with the help of this site. I will keep practicing.

hasta pronto,

IslaBonita

It's nice to see your participation here! With your positive attitude to learn Spanish you will continue to make progress! - bandit51jd, Apr 6, 2012

Answer 3

I am = yo soy or yo estoy For example I am a doctor (yo soy un doctor) I am at home (yo estoy en casa) To be could mean in Spanish "ser or estar"

a= un, una (s) is plural example a car = un carro a house = una casa cars= you could say carros or unos carros Habla Español? Si. Hablo un pocco

Answer 4

A few things: "Yo" is the subject pronoun, equivalent to "I" in English. "I am" would be a form of "estar" or "ser", estoy or soy. "Un" would be used before a masculine noun, like "un libro" - a book or "one book". "Una" has the same function before a feminine noun. "Unos" would usually be interpreted as "a few" ferring to a masculine subject, "unas" for feminine nouns.

In your phrase, remember languages are not capitalized in Spanish. And also that the conjugation changes for "you speak" and "I speak". So the phrase would be stated as "¿Habla usted español? Sí, hablo español un poco."

Keep it up, the basics will come together very quickly!

Answer 5

Hi

I have been learning most of my spanish on my own. After a while I decided to attend a course 2 hours a week as well. Albeit this has been useful, I would say I have learned mostly on my own. I have a lot of different tips on activities suitable for self-studies.

You can check them out here on my blog:

enter link description here

Good luck!