Elementary Spanish/Survival kit for parents

Indirect object pronouns
In spanish, the verb not only gives information about the action, it also gives information about the Indirect object in the sentence. These are always personal nouns. Indirect objects tell “to whom” or “for whom” something is done.


 * me
 * te
 * le
 * nos
 * les

Me (meh) versus Le (leh)
Me (MEH) refers specifically to me. Le (LEH) refers to him or her.

Dame la blusa. Give ME the blouse. Dale la blusa. Give HER/HIM the blouse.

Me (MEE) versus La(LAH)
Mi refers specifically to mine.

My favorite food is eggs. Mi comida favorita son huevos.

It would be weird to say, THE FAVORITE FOOD IS EGGS. LA COMIDA FAVORITA SON HUEVOS.

La is the.

The rose is red. La rosa es roja.

Es
“Es” is the word “is” in English. Unlike English, in Spanish the noun is implied at times and a sentence can start with “is”. Es un gato negro. (It’s a black cat.) Es una flor roja. (It’s a red flower.) El gato es negro. (The cat is black)

La flor es roja. (The flower is red.)

Location words
in front of

enfrente de

The man is standing in front of the woman. El hombre esta enfrente de la mujer. in front of

delante de

The man is standing in front of the woman. El hombre esta delante de la mujer. between

entre

Two is between one and three. Dos esta entre uno y tres.

behind

detras de

Look behind you. Mira destras de ti. underneath

debajo de

Look underneath the table. Mira debajo de la mesa.

on top of

encima de

The hat is on top of his head. La gorra esta encima de su cabeza.

inside of

dentro de/en

What is inside of the bottle? Que esta detro de la botella?

near

cerca de

The library is near here. La biblioteca esta cerca de aqui.

next to

al lado de

The bear is next to the cat. El oso esta al lado del gato.

to the right

a la derecha

My house is to the right. Mi casa esta a la derecha.

to the left

a la izquierda

My house is to the left. Mi casa esta a la izquierda.

far from

lejos de

My house is far from here. Mi casa esta lejos de aqui.