LC Spanish cheat sheet

Spanish is syllable-timed: every syllable gets roughly equal duration, so unstressed vowels are not reduced to schwa as in English; train the ear to hear full vowels in endings like -ado, -ido, -es.

Word boundaries blur through sinalefa: a final vowel and an initial vowel merge (mi amigo → [mjaˈmiɣo]), and a final consonant may resyllabify onto the next word's initial vowel (los amigos → [lo.saˈmi.ɣos]).

Distinguish /r/ (single tap, e.g. pero) from /rr/ (trill, e.g. perro); also /n/ vs /ɲ/ (pena vs peña) and /ʝ/ vs /ʎ/ in regions where they differ.

The letters b and v represent the same phoneme /b/ (with [β] intervocalically); spelling must be inferred from context, not sound.

Question intonation: yes/no questions typically rise at the end; wh-questions start high and fall. A final rise on a statement can signal a follow-up or politeness.

Numbers, dates, and times are frequent distractors: listen for veintiuno vs veinte y uno, dos mil vs doscientos, and the 24-hour clock (las 15:00 = las tres de la tarde).

Common connected-speech reductions: para → pa', nada → na', está → ta', todo → to'; formal registers avoid these, so register cues help identify the speaker.

Infer unknown words from morphological cues: -ción/-sión = noun, -mente = adverb, -oso/-osa = adjective, -ir/-ar/-er endings signal infinitive; stress placement follows the written accent or the default rules.

Skim for the topic sentence, usually first in a paragraph in expository Spanish prose; the conclusion often appears in the final paragraph with markers like en conclusión, por lo tanto, en resumen.

Discourse connectors signal logical relations: sin embargo/no obstante (contrast), por consiguiente (consequence), además (addition), es decir (reformulation), ya que/puesto que (cause).

Cognate traps: actual = current (not actual), realizar = to carry out (not realize), asistir = to attend (not assist), largo = long (not large), éxito = success (not exit).

Pronoun reference: lo/la/le/los/las and ello often refer to a preceding noun phrase or clause; track gender and number to resolve the antecedent.

The passive se (se dice, se venden) and impersonal se (se habla español) remove the agent; do not invent one when summarizing.

Register cues: usted/ustedes, lexical choice (coche vs automóvil), and formal connectors indicate formal text; tú/vosotros and diminutives indicate informal or affective tone.

Text-type conventions: a carta formal opens with Estimado/a Sr./Sra. and closes with Atentamente; a noticia leads with the who/what/when in the first sentence; an anuncio uses imperatives and exclamations.

Time and tense shifts in narrative: pretérito indefinido advances the plot, imperfecto sets the scene; noticing the shift helps order events in a chronology question.

Ser vs estar: ser for inherent/defining traits, origin, time, and profession; estar for location, temporary states, and progressive (estar + gerundio). Some adjectives change meaning (ser listo = clever; estar listo = ready).

Preterite vs imperfect: preterite for completed, bounded events; imperfect for background, habitual actions, and ongoing states. Time markers help: ayer/el año pasado → preterite; siempre/cuando era niño → imperfect.

Subjunctive triggers: Wishes (querer que), emotion (me alegra que), impersonal expressions (es importante que), doubt/negation (no creo que), and conjunctions of time/future (cuando, hasta que) when the main clause is future.

Por vs para: por = cause, exchange, duration, movement through; para = purpose, destination, recipient, deadline, opinion (para mí).

Object pronouns: indirect (me/te/le/nos/os/les) precede direct in the sequence se + indirect + direct + verb; le/les → se before lo/la/los/las.

Gender and number agreement: adjectives agree with the noun; articles and demonstratives agree; watch -a nouns of Greek origin (el problema, el mapa, el día) and -ista nouns that are common gender.

Verb+preposition collocations: pensar en, depender de, insistir en, contar con, acordarse de, olvidarse de, empezar a, terminar de.

Reflexive vs non-reflexive meaning shifts: irse (to leave) vs ir (to go); ponerse (to become) vs poner (to put); quedarse (to stay) vs quedar (to remain/agree).

Accent rules: words ending in vowel, -n, or -s are stressed on the penultimate syllable unless written accent marks otherwise; words ending in other consonants are stressed on the last syllable unless marked.

Spain's autonomous communities include Andalucía, Cataluña, Galicia, and País Vasco; co-official languages are catalán, gallego, and euskera, respectively.

Mexico's Día de los Muertos (Nov 1–2) blends indigenous and Catholic traditions; ofrendas include cempasúchil flowers, pan de muerto, and calaveras.

Argentina's gaucho culture centers on the pampa; mate is a shared infusion drunk through a bombilla, and asado is a social ritual.

Flamenco (cante, baile, guitarra) originated in Andalucía; the palo seco rhythm and compás are structural features, not just style.

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage route ending in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia; the botafumeiro is a large censer swung in the cathedral.

Latin American independence leaders include Simón Bolívar (Gran Colombia), José de San Martín (Argentina/Chile/Peru), and Miguel Hidalgo (Mexico).

The Spanish royal family: Felipe VI is king (since 2014); the official residence is the Palacio de la Zarzuela, while the Palacio Real is used for state ceremonies.

UNESCO sites illustrate regional diversity: Machu Picchu (Peru), Chichén Itzá (Mexico), Tikal (Guatemala), and the historic center of Cartagena de Indias (Colombia).

Tú/vosotros is informal, usted/ustedes formal; in Spain vosotros is the informal plural, while Latin America generally uses ustedes for both, with voseo in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and parts of Central America.

Requests soften with conditional (¿Podrías…?), imperfect (Quería pedirte…), or negative question (¿No tendrás…?); direct imperatives can sound brusque in formal contexts.

Greetings: buenos días until roughly noon, buenas tardes until dark, buenas noches thereafter; in informal settings buenas alone works.

Diminutives (-ito/-ita) can signal politeness or affection (un momentito, cafecito) rather than literal smallness; augmentatives (-azo) can signal intensity or disapproval.

Address terms: señor/señora + surname is formal; don/doña + first name signals respect in many communities; cariño/amor are restricted to close relationships.

Turn-taking norms: overlap is common in Spanish conversation; a short pause may not mean the turn is over, so wait for a falling intonation before responding.

Taboo and politeness: euphemisms for death (fallecer), bodily functions, and money; avoid direct refusals-no + explanation or a counter-offer is more polite.

Written register: emails may open with Estimado/a or Hola depending on relationship; closing formulas vary (Un saludo, Atentamente, Cordialmente) and should match the opening's formality.