[...]... guessing the answer and referring to the dictionary entry for the correct response (the entry word is in bold) Whether you are part of a class or studying on your own, you are sure to find this quick reference a useful tool in improving your written Spanish xvii This page intentionally left blank McGraw-Hill’s SPANISH Student Dictionary This page intentionally left blank Spanish- English/Español-Inglés A •... entries in this dictionary include the definite article with each noun Adjectives Adjectives are words that describe people, places, things, or ideas (nouns) Adjectives in Spanish differ from adjectives in English in a few ways Spanish adjectives usually follow, but sometimes they precede, the noun they describe xiii Introduction Examples: un libro grande, un gran libro As you study Spanish, you will... example of an EnglishSpanish entry: fall, to [FOL] v • caerse You’re going to fall! ¡Te vas a caer! Pronunciation Pronunciation can sometimes be difficult for beginning language learners For this reason, a pronunciation guide is included in each entry These guides follow a phonetic system that imitates the way an English speaker would try to sound out Spanish words or the way a Spanish speaker would... Example: María es muy inteligente xiv Introduction Verbs A verb is an action word The basic form of a verb is called an infinitive In this dictionary, verbs are listed by their infinitives Spanish, like English, has both regular and irregular verbs The regular verbs in Spanish are divided into three groups, according to the endings of their infinitives These groups are called the -ar, -er, and, -ir verbs... simple form or in the reflexive form In those cases, the entries in the dictionary include both conjugations (see ir/irse, vestir/vestirse, etc.) xvi Introduction For More Practice A special section, “Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid,” appears at the end of the book These pages cover the most common mistakes made by students learning Spanish grammar Each mistake is illustrated by several sample sentences from... señorita, doctor) except when they are abbreviated (Sr., Sra., Srta., Dr.) So, for example, the words martes, enero, and inglés are not capitalized in Spanish, while in English, “Tuesday,” “January,” and “English” are capitalized Spanish Grammar Nouns All Spanish nouns (words for people, places, things, or ideas) have a gender They are considered either masculine or feminine Most of the time, gender has... alumno, a (el, la) [a LUM no] n • pupil, student Hay quinientos alumnos en esta escuela There are five hundred students in this school amable [a MA ble] adj • kind; generous; friendly Tu papá es muy amable Your father is very kind amar [a MAR] v Te amo, Juan I love you, Juan • to love amarillo, a [a ma REE yo] adj • yellow La bandera española es roja y amarilla The Spanish flag is red and yellow ambición... are: to (a), for (por), at (a), with (con), from (de), in (en), on (en), of (de), and until (hasta) Since there are many ways to use prepositions, this dictionary provides numerous examples to show you how to use them correctly, as well as examples of Spanish expressions in which prepositions appear Adverbs An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb Unlike adjectives,... the v in visit like the w in west like the x in extra like the y in young like the z in zoo like the s in pleasure Consonant symbols that sound the same in Spanish and in English are not listed here xi Introduction Stress You will notice that some Spanish words have a written accent This is to show you which syllable to emphasize or stress If a word does not have a written accent, you pronounce it by... example, el means “the,” but él means “he.” And the word este means “this,” but éste means “This one.” Capitalization Capital letters are not used as often in Spanish as they are in English The following types of words are not capitalized in Spanish except at the beginning of a sentence: days of the week, months of the year, nouns and adjectives of nationality, names of languages, and titles of address .