Spanish for Dummies

436 Pages·2011·3.93 MB·English

by  Susana Wald

Foreign Language/Spanish
diaPlroagcutiecse o n Making Everything Easier!™ 2nd Edition
The fast and painless audio CD
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Are you a student studying Spanish; a traveler gearing up for Open the book and find: n i s h
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a trip to a Spanish-speaking country; or someone who simply S
(cid:129) Basic grammar and common
wants to communicate with Spanish-speaking friends,
expressions
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hands-on guide for quickly and painlessly grasping the (cid:129) Sentence structure and verb
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essential vocabulary, verb conjugations, and pronunciations (cid:129) Formal and informal greetings
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(cid:129) Information on numbers, time,
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(cid:129) Spanish 101 — learn to recite the alphabet; pronounce words n
and phrases; and meet, greet, and exchange pleasantries with
(cid:129) Pointers for describing everyday
other Spanish speakers activities in Spanish i
s
(cid:129) It’s as easy as uno, dos, tres — discover how to ask key questions,
(cid:129) Tips for making small talk, asking
chat about the weather, describe family members, order food, for directions, and more h
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(cid:129) Happy trails — take your Spanish on the road and discover how to
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(cid:129) Spanish-English and English-
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Audio CD Includes • Master basic grammar, verb conjugations,
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$24.99 US / $29.99 CN / £16.99 UK
Berlitz® has taught languages to millions of people for more than 130
ISBN 978-0-470-87855-2 The international leader in language instruction
years. Susana Wald is a writer and literary translator in Hungarian,
Susana Wald
Spanish, English, and French, and she has taught abroad in Chile and
Translator and language instructor
Canada. Cecie Kraynak, MA, has taught and tutored Spanish at the
junior high school and college levels for more than 25 years. She is the Cecie Kraynak, MA
author of Spanish Verbs For Dummies.
Berlitz® Author of Spanish Verbs For Dummies
Get More and Do More at Dummies.com
®
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Spanish
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
2
ND EDITION
by Berlitz®, Susana Wald, and Cecie Kraynak, MA
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Disclaimer: This eBook does not include ancillary media that was packaged with the
printed version of the book.
Spanish For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2010941216
ISBN: 978-0-470-87855-2
Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Authors
Susana Wald is a writer and a simultaneous and literary translator in
Hungarian, Spanish, English, and French. As a publisher, she has been
working with books and authors for many years. She has been a teacher in
Chile and Canada and has known the joy of learning from her students and
their untiring enthusiasm and tolerance. She is also an artist and has had her
work shown in many countries in North, Central, and South America and in
Europe.
Cecie Kraynak, MA, has taught and tutored Spanish at the junior-high,
high-school, and college levels for more than 25 years. She is a frequent
traveler to Spanish-speaking countries and has studied abroad at the
University of the Americas in Cholula, Mexico, and the Universidad
Complutense in Madrid, Spain. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish
and secondary education in 1980 and her master’s degree in Spanish
literature in 1983 from Purdue University. Cecie authored Spanish Verbs For
Dummies (Wiley) and has edited numerous books on learning Spanish. She
is currently the ESL coordinator for the South Montgomery Schools in New
Market, Indiana.
Berlitz® has meant excellence in language services for more than 130 years.
At more than 400 locations and in 50 countries worldwide, Berlitz® offers a full
range of language and language-related services, including instruction, cross-
cultural training, document translation, software localization, and interpreta-
tion services. Berlitz® also offers a wide array of publishing products, such as
self-study language courses, phrase books, travel guides, and dictionaries.
The world-famous Berlitz Method® is the core of all Berlitz® language
instruction. From the time of its introduction in 1878, millions have used this
method to learn new languages. For more information about Berlitz® classes
and products, please consult your local telephone directory for the Language
Center nearest you or visit the Berlitz® Web site at www.berlitz.com,
where you can enroll in classes or shop directly for products online.
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Dedication
Cecie: In memory of my father, Frank Howard, who never lost his sense of
adventure.
Author’s Acknowledgments
Cecie: Thanks to acquisitions editor Michael Lewis for choosing me to work
on this second edition of Spanish For Dummies and working closely with me
during the initial stages to formulate the vision for this book. Thanks also
go to project editor Georgette Beatty for carefully shaping the manuscript
and shepherding the text through production; to copy editor Megan Knoll
for purging the manuscript of any typos and ugly grammatical errors; and to
both of them for using their knowledge of Spanish to make this book all that
much better. Thanks also to the technical reviewers, Alicia Añino and Greg
Harris, for their expertise and careful attention to detail. Last but not least,
thanks to my husband, Joe, who assisted in preparing the numerous
manuscript submissions.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For
other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, out-
side the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Composition Services
Development
Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery
Senior Project Editor: Georgette Beatty
Layout and Graphics: Claudia Bell,
(Previous Edition: Kathleen M. Cox) Carl Byers, Christin Swinford
Acquisitions Editor: Michael Lewis Proofreaders: Jessica Kramer,
Tricia Liebig
Copy Editor: Megan Knoll
Indexer: Valerie Haynes Perry
(Previous Edition: Kathleen Dobie,
Patricia Pan, Billie Williams) Illustrator: Elizabeth Kurtzman
Assistant Editor: David Lutton
Technical Editors: Alicia Añino, Greg Harris
Assistant Project Manager: Jenny Swisher
Associate Producer: Josh Frank
Quality Assurance: Doug Kuhn
CD Producer: Her Voice Unlimited, LLC
Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker
Editorial Assistant: Jennette ElNaggar
Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South
Cover Photo: ©iStockphoto.com/Yang Yin
Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction ................................................................ 1
Part I: Getting Started ................................................. 7
Chapter 1: Spanish in a Nutshell ......................................................................................9
Chapter 2: Warming Up with Spanish Grammar Basics ..............................................21
Chapter 3: Getting Started with Basic Expressions .....................................................41
Chapter 4: Getting Your Numbers, Times, and Measurements Straight ..................65
Chapter 5: Speaking Spanish at Home...........................................................................85
Part II: Spanish in Action ......................................... 111
Chapter 6: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk .................................................113
Chapter 7: Asking for Directions ..................................................................................127
Chapter 8: Dining Out and Going to the Market.........................................................141
Chapter 9: Shopping Made Easy ..................................................................................163
Chapter 10: Going Out on the Town ............................................................................185
Chapter 11: Taking Care of Business and Telecommunications..............................199
Chapter 12: Recreation and the Great Outdoors .......................................................219
Part III: Spanish on the Go ....................................... 237
Chapter 13: Planning a Trip ..........................................................................................239
Chapter 14: Dealing with Money in a Foreign Land ...................................................249
Chapter 15: Getting Around: Planes, Trains, Taxis, and More .................................261
Chapter 16: Finding a Place to Stay .............................................................................283
Chapter 17: Handling Emergencies ..............................................................................295
Part IV: The Part of Tens .......................................... 315
Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Pick Up Spanish Quickly ...................................................317
Chapter 19: Ten Things Never to Say in Spanish .......................................................321
Chapter 20: Ten or So Favorite Spanish Expressions ...............................................325
Chapter 21: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Fluent in Spanish ........................329
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Part V: Appendixes .................................................. 335
Appendix A: Mini-Dictionary ........................................................................................337
Appendix B: Verb Tables ..............................................................................................365
Appendix C: On the CD..................................................................................................383
Appendix D: Answer Keys .............................................................................................385
Index ...................................................................... 391
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