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Part I
Spanish-English
Grammatical Introduction
I. Sounds and Spelling
Both the sounds and the spelling of Spanish are simple, and will be described together, with the Spanish letters as a starting point.
0.1Vowels are five in number:
| Spelling | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| i | like English i in machine or ee in beet | fino "fine"; mí "me" |
| u | like English oo in boot | puro "pure"; tú "you" |
These two vowels may occur unstressed before or after a stressed vowel, in which case they are pronounced like English y and w respectively: bien "well"; bueno "good"; automóvil "automobile".
| e | like the e of English they, if no consonant follows in the same syllable; like e in bed, if a consonant follows in the same syllable | pero "but"; puesto "put" |
| o | like the o of English know, if no consonant follows in the same syllable; like au in taut, if a consonant follows in the same syllable | todo "all"; corte "court" |
| a | l ike the a of English father | mano "hand"; parte "part" |
0.2Consonants are:
| p | like English p | Pepe "Joe" |
| t | like English t, but with tongue against upper teeth instead of gum ridge | tanto "so much" |
| qu (before e, i), c (elsewhere) | like English k or "hard c" | que "that"; carro "cart" |
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