Spanish/Week 4

First sentence frames: I have, I want, I would like

You stop collecting words this week and start combining them. Almost no new vocabulary — reuse Weeks 1 to 3 inside these frames.

Colours live this week

10 of 10 in play
Noun

A thing, a person or a place.

Verb

An action or a state — what is happening.

Pronoun

Stands in for a noun — I, you, he, it.

Article

the / a / some — and possessives like mon, ma.

Preposition

Links words together — to, in, of, for.

Adjective

Describes a noun.

Adverbnew

Modifies a verb or an adjective.

Conjunctionnew

Joins two parts of a sentence.

Question word

Opens a question — where, when, how, why.

Fixed chunk

Learn it whole. Do not take it apart.

The full palette is now live. Because you met one or two colours a week, none of it should feel new.

The three core verbs

Present tense, first person. These three carry an astonishing amount of everyday Spanish.

Verbyoreviewedustednosotros
tenerto havetengotienetenemos
quererto wantquieroquierequeremos
querer (polite)would likequisieraquisieraquisiéramos

Only the yo column becomes a review card. The rest are there to be recognised, not produced — which is what keeps a day inside its fifteen minutes.

Useful phrases, learned whole

Spanish says I have hunger where English says I am hungry — the same logic as French. Take each phrase as one piece.

  • [Tengo hambre]I'm hungry

    Literally: I have hunger.

  • [Tengo sed]I'm thirsty
  • [Tengo frío]I'm cold
  • [Tengo calor]I'm hot
  • Quisiera reservarI would like to book

    A table or a room. Two verbs in a row — the second stays in its dictionary form.

Sentence frames

  1. 1

    Tengo noun.

    I have ___.

  2. 2

    Quiero noun.

    I want ___.

    Direct. Fine with family, blunt with a waiter.

  3. 3

    Quisiera noun, [por favor].

    I would like ___, please.

Substitution drill — ordering

Rotate the object through the frame and say each one aloud three times.

Quisiera un café, [por favor].

I would like ___, please.

Daily mini-tasks

Listening this week

Coffee Break Spanish, at full speed

Wherever you listened in Week 1

Play it at normal speed for the first time. Notice how much more you catch than you did four weeks ago.

Milestone

By the end of this week you should be able to:

  • 01Greet, thank, apologise, and count to twenty.
  • 02Introduce yourself — name, age, town, family, retirement — in four or five sentences.
  • 03Name thirty-plus everyday home and food objects, with their gender.
  • 04Order a drink or a meal politely with quisiera, and ask for the bill.