Describe Yourself and Others in Spanish
Vocabulary
Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!
Nouns to Talk about People
Definite Articles
In these lessons, you learn the four definite articles in Spanish. Spanish articles indicate the gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of a noun, as well as whether or not a noun is a specific noun (definite or indefinite).
There are four definite articles in Spanish, and they often all translate to the same little word in English: the. There are also cases where they don't have a direct English translation, but help to indicate the gender and number of a noun.
Definite Article Forms:
Here are the four forms that Spanish definite articles take.
Matching Gender and Number
A definite article always has to match both the gender and number of its noun.
- If the noun is masculine and singular (like hombre), then the article also has to be masculine and singular (el hombre).
- If the noun is feminine and singular (like mujer), then the article also has to be feminine and singular (la mujer).
- If that same noun is plural (like niños), the article is also plural (los niños).
Physical Attributes
In these lessons, you learn the following words for describing people physically.
It's common to omit the article (una or un) in Spanish when saying someone has a barba or bigote, or when talking about someone's eye or hair color. Take a look!
Personality Traits
In these lessons, you learn the following words for describing someone's personality.
Gender and Plurality Tip
Remember that adjectives that end in e only have two forms: one to match singular nouns, and one to match plural nouns.
Verbs
These lessons use the verbs ser(to be) and tener(to have) in the present. Let's review the conjugations of these verbs!
Ser
Seris an irregular verb that means to be.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | soy | I am | |
| tú | eres | you are | informal singular you |
| vos | sos | you are | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | es | he, she is | |
| usted | es | you are | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | somos | we are | |
| vosotros, vosotras | sois | you are | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | son | they are | |
| ustedes | son | you are | plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain) |
Nosotros or Nosotras
These lessons introduce the subject pronouns nosotros(we) and nosotras.
- Nosotros is used when a speaker talks about a group containing at least one man (including the speaker).
- Nosotras is used when a speaker talks about a group containing only women (including the speaker).
Look at the following examples!
Teneris stem-changing verb with an irregular yo form.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | tengo | I have | |
| tú | tienes | you have | informal singular you |
| vos | tenés | you have | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | tiene | he, she has | |
| usted | tiene | you have | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | tenemos | we have | |
| vosotros, vosotras | tenéis | you have | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | tienen | they have | |
| ustedes | tienen | you have | plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain) |
Conjugation Tip
- The present yo form of tener has a g in it: tengo
- The present tú, él, ella, usted, and ustedes forms of tener have an i in them: tienes, tiene, tienen
- The present vos, nosotros/nosotras, and vosotros/vosotras forms of tener do not have a g or an i in them: tenés, tenemos, tenéis
Pronunciation of the Ñ
In this lesson, you learn words containing the Spanish letter ñ.
The sound made when you pronounce the ñ is very similar to the sound of the letter group gn in words of Italian origin, such as lasagna, or nh in words of Portuguese origin, such as caipirinha.
Here are words from this lesson containing the ñ!
Is the Spanish Ñ Similar to the English Letter Group NY?
It’s close, but not the same! The English letter group ny, as in canyon, is often uttered in two separate syllables. In this case, the n is the end of one syllable and the y is the start of the next syllable, whereas the Spanish ñ is a single nasal sound. Compare canyon with its Spanish translation cañón.
Ñ is Not the End!
You will never find the letter ñ at the end of a word or syllable. It’s placed at the beginning of a word or, more commonly, at the beginning of a syllable and between vowels.
Phrases
Here are some of the phrases used in these lessons!
Quiz Yourself!
Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!
Spanish Conversation
Let's take a look at an example of a Spanish conversation using the above words and phrases!
Want to learn more about how to describe yourself and others in Spanish? Check out the following articles!
• Using "Ser" with Descriptions
