Make Small Talk in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to make small talk in Spanish! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• ask someone their name

• talk about people you know

• ask where someone is

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Adjectives

Spanish	English
ambos	both
mayor	older
nuestro	our
su	his, her

examples
¿Conoces a mi hermano mayor? Do you know my older brother?
¿Conocen a nuestros hermanos? Do they know our brothers?
Conozco a sus padres. I know her parents.

Note that ambos can be both an adjective and a pronoun.

examples
Conozco ambos países. I've visited both countries.
Quiero ir a ambos. I want to go to both.

Gender and Plurality Tip

Remember that adjectives vary depending on the gender and number of the noun that they modify.

examples
¿Conoces a nuestra madre? Do you know our mother?
¿Conocen a nuestras sobrinas? Do you know our nieces?

Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns

Gender & Number	Demonstrative
masculine singular	aquel
feminine singular	aquella
masculine plural	aquellos
feminine plural	aquellas

examples
Conozco a aquella mujer. I know that woman over there.
Conocen a aquellos hombres. They know those men over there.

Adverbs

Spanish	English
ahí	there
allí	over there
aquí	here

examples
Mi hermana está aquí. My sister is here.
Mi padre está ahí. My father is there.
Mi sobrino está allí. My nephew is over there.

Ahí vs. Allí

Allí refers to a place that is farther away from the speaker and listener. Ahí refers to a place that is still fairly far from the speaker, but a bit closer.

Conjunction

Spanish	English
ni	nor, neither, or

examples
No conozco ni a tu hermano ni a tu hermana. I don't know your brother or your sister. OR I know neither your brother nor your sister.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verb!

Conoceris an -er verb with an irregular yo form that means to know.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	conozco	I know
tú	conoces	you know	informal singular you
vos	conocés	you know	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	conoce	he, she knows
usted	conoce	you know	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	conocemos	we know
vosotros, vosotras	conocéis	you know	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	conocen	they know
ustedes	conocen	you know	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Phrases

Here are some of the phrases used in these lessons!

Spanish	English
¿Cuál es tu apellido?	What’s your last name?
¿Cuál es tu nombre?	What’s your name?
¿Dónde está?	Where is he/she?
¿Qué tal?	How’s it going?

Quiz Yourself!

Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!

Spanish Conversation

Fantastic! Let's put the grammar and vocab from above to the test in the following example of a conversation in Spanish.

Luna:

¿Qué tal?

How’s it going?

Iker:

Bien. ¿Y tú?

Good. And you?

Luna:

Bien también, gracias. Conozco a tu madre. ¿Cuál es tu nombre?

Good too, thanks. I know your mother. What’s your name?

Iker:

Soy Iker. ¿Conoces a mi hermano mayor también?

I’m Iker. Do you know my older brother too?

Luna:

Sí. Se llama Rodolfo, ¿no? ¿Dónde está tu hermano?

Yes. His name’s Rodolfo, isn’t it? Where is your brother?

Iker:

Sí. Mi hermano está allí.

Yes. My brother is over there.

Want to learn more about how to make small talk in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• Talk about Your Family in Spanish

• Talk about the Weather in Spanish

• Talk about Travel in Spanish