Collins Dictionaries - Easy Learning Spanish Conversation

As you’ll see in the first example above, in Spanish you say ver a alguien. For more on this use of a, see here.

In English, to talk about the future we often say I’m going to . Spanish works the same way. To say that you’re going to do something, put voy a( I’m going to ) or vamos a( we’re going to ) before the verb. voyand vamoscome from the verb ir. For more information on ir, see here.

When organizing things with people you know, you can use ¿Qué te parece si…?( Will it be all right if…? ) to ask if something suits them. parececomes from the verb parecer( to seem ).

To ask somebody if they would prefer you to do something, use prefieresor prefiere(depending on whether you speak to them as túor usted)with queand the verb in the subjunctive. For more information on the subjunctive, see here.

¿LO SABÍAS?

¡Vale!is used to accept or to agree: ¿Vamos juntos? – ¡Vale!( Shall we go together? – OK! ).

To say that you have to do something in Spanish, you can use tengo que( I have to ) followed by the infinitive.

To say that you have to do something in Spanish, you can also use debo( I must ) and then the infinitive. debocomes from the verb deber. For more information on deber, see here.

To say that you should do something, use debería( I should ) and then the infinitive.

¿LO SABÍAS?

As you’ll see in the first example above, in Spanish you say llamar a alguienfor to call somebody . For more on this use of a, see here.

These are some of the questions you are likely to be asked by people you meet, and some of the comments they might make.

Lifestyle Tips

• When you want to talk to people that you either don’t know at all, or don’t know very well, the way to say you is usted. Nowadays, younger people in Spain tend not to use ustedin this way, however it is always still used in Latin America.

• People who work together every day usually say túto each other, but it’s always safer to wait a little before taking that step, especially with older or more senior colleagues. Many people don’t like to be called usted, because they think it’s too formal. They will usually suggest you call them túby saying: puedes tutearme( you can call me tú) or nos podemos tutear( we can call each other tú). If you think that the other person will be more comfortable using the túform, you can make the first move and ask: ¿Nos tuteamos?( Shall we call each other tú ? ).