Lección

¡Vamos! Beginner "A"

Step One

¿CÓMO SE LLAMA USTED?

When you want to learn someone’s name, you can  ask him or her:

¿Cómo se llama usted?
(What is your name?)
Me llamo María.
(My name is Mary.)
Me llamo Juan.
(My name is John.)

You can also ask someone to tell you who another person is.

Here are some possible questions you might ask:

¿Cómo se llama su profesora?
(What’s your teacher’s name?)
Mi profesora se llama señora Sánchez.
(My teacher’s name is Mrs. Sánchez.)

¿Cómo se llama su madre?
(What’s your mother’s name?)
Mi madre se llama Ana.
(My mother’s name is Ann.)

¿Cómo se llama su amigo?
(What is your friend’s name?)
Mi amigo se llama Andrés.
(My friend’s name is Andrés.)

¿Cómo se llama el presidente?
(What is name of the president?)
El presidente se llama Felipe.
(The president’s name is Felipe.)

Here are some common Spanish names:

PRÁCTICA DE PRONUNCIACIÓN

The five vowels in Spanish are so important to learn! Fortunately, these sounds don’t change from word to word. They are crisp, short sounds, unlike many English vowel sounds that seem to drag on. Oftentimes, English speakers think that Spanish speakers talk so fast. This observation is made, in part, because the sounds of the vowels are shorter.

In order to feel at ease with these new sounds, practice them frequently with the help of your teacher or the audio.

a

This letter sounds like the “a” when you sing the notes “la-la-la.”

Repita (repeat!): casa, bata, mamá, masa, papá, alma, mala, arte, taza, salsa, lata, Nacha

e

This letter sounds like the “a” in the word “chaos.”

bebé, leche, de, té, pele, bese, entender, teme, Enrique

i

This letter sounds like the “ee” in “tee.”

sí, misa, pizza, linda, cinta, amiga, chico, di

o

This letter sounds like “o” in the word “nose,” but it is actually almost half the sound. You have to try to chop off the last part of the long English “o.”