20,000 words in Spanish in 20 minutes

Spanish, in Mexico, is rich in words from ancient native tongues, to the delight of those who have grown up in that Country and to the consternation of those who would wish to "speak like a native". Words like "Guajolote" (derived from the Náhuatl word "Guajolóte", meaning "turkey"), or "Paranganacutirimícuaro", the name of a small village in the State of Michoacán (Mexico), will drive most word-root seekers up a wall!

The enrichment of Mexican Spanish by its natives is possibly unique in the world, in that so many different cultures have had an influence in the official language of the Country.

Many words in Mexican Spanish derive from Náhuatl, Chichimecan, Mayan, Zapotec, Tarahumaran and other ancient languages, most of which are still spoken today in their pure form by the native inhabitants. With the exception of the word "zopilote" (derived from the Náhuatl word "zopilotl") we won't be touching on this interesting part of the language.

20,000 WORDS IN 20 MINUTES

PRONUNCIATION

If you had recently arrived in an English-speaking country and were faced with having to learn to read and write...

Read more

The "TION" Rule

This Rule applies to those words in English with two or more syllables that end with the letters.

Read more

The "ATE" Rule

This Rule applies to those words in English with two or more syllables that end with the letters.

Read more



The "IZE" Rule

This Rule applies to those words in English with two or more syllables that end with the letters.

Read more



The "AL" Rule

This Rule applies to those words in English with two or more syllables that end with the letters.

Read more



The "IC" Rule

This Rule applies to those words in English with two or more syllables that end with the letters.

Read more



The "ITY" Rule

This Rule applies to those words in English with more than two syllables that end with the letters.

Read more



The "ISM" Rule

The English word TOURISM is pronounced TOO-RISM, with the "U" being silent (that is, not ) participating in the pronunciation of the word).

Read more



The "SION" Rule

It is! We write them exactly as they are in English! Well, not exactly: remember the Quirks! Also, no double letters (GG, MM, NN, PP, SS or TT) and F instead of PH.

Read more



The "OUS" Rule

As an example, the English word gaseous is the Spanish word gaseoso.(Remember to pronounce all the Spanish vowels!)

Read more



The "ENT" Rule

This Rule applies to those words in English with two or more syllables that end in. Thus, the English word accident is the Spanish word accidente.

Read more



The "ALLY" Rule

However (here's the kicker), if the English word ends in ...cally (as in automatically) we keep the "c" and substitute ...ally with "amente" and the Spanish translation becomes automaticamente.

Read more



The "ARY" / "ORY" Rule

This Rule applies to those words in English with two or more syllables that end in. To translate them into Spanish, we will substitute the ending ...ary with

Read more



The "BLE" Rule

There are exceptions, come of which we will list further on, but you will find that the very large majority of words in English ending in ...

Read more



The "IVE" Rule

This Rule applies to those words in English with two or more syllables that end with the letters. To translate those words into Spanish we will substitute the English ending.

Read more



The Minor Rules

Now that we have covered the Major Rules and you have learned many thousands of words in Spanish, we will celebrate the occasion by looking at the Minor Rules.

Read more



The Gender & Articles

At last! You have probably been waiting for this with baited breath! Yes, in Spanish, as in most other languages, there are masculine and feminine-gendered words.

Read more



Conjugating a Verb

The verb in Spanish changes when it is conjugated. In English, the verb remains substantially the same. Because of this, English is a relatively simple language to learn to speak, albeit in a primitive sort of way.

Read more



Ser & Estar

The verb "to be" in Spanish must have been thought up by a brilliantly tangled mind, both fool and genius, and is one of the stumbling blocks in Spanish.

Read more



Roundup

Of course there is a lot more to Spanish than we have covered in this book. But just think for a moment: when you began reading this book, you probably didn't know any Spanish at all!

Read more



Appendix 1

Matching Words

Read more



Appendix 2

Colors, Textures, Shapes & Parts of the body

Read more



Appendix 3

Useful Phrases

Read more



Appendix 4

Useful Words

Read more



Appendix 5

Numbers

Read more



Appendix 6

Useful Verbs

Read more