Al comunicarse sin problemas en español. Communicating smoothly or without problems in Spanish. First of all, we need to know how to ask questions in Spanish. And you do this either by changing the tone of your voice or reversing the order of the subject and verb.
Actually, even if you reverse the order, you still need to use a change in intonation. So here's what that means. Instead of ¿Usted habla español? To make that a question, you can simply raise your voice at the end. ¿Usted habla español? Do you speak Spanish? It's more likely that a Spanish speaker would put the verb first. So, ¿Habla usted español?
Answering questions in Spanish. If you have a Yes or No question you can simply answer with a Sí or a No. So, ¿Habla usted español? Sí or Sí, hablo español. Or Sí, hablo un poco español, a little, or un poquito español, a very little, or No, no hablo español. Of course, you won't need to say that one.
You can either say, No hablo español. Or No comma, no hablo español. In Spanish, no means no, don't, won't, couldn't, shouldn't didn't. It implies anything that is not, so oftentimes you'll see it used twice, because it has two different meanings in the two different places.
To make anything negative, put the word no before the verb. Hablo español. No hablo español. I don't speak Spanish. Again, because no translates also to not. Yo tomo la medicina. I take the medicine. Yo no tomo la medicina. I don't take the medicine.
Now you try. El paciente paga con cheque. El paciente no paga con cheque. ¡Muy bien! Remember, the no must go right before the verb.
¡Práctiquemos! Let's practice! You're going to put together everything that you've learned so far and translate some English phrases.
I'll give you the phrase in English. You may take time in order to think through how to say it in Spanish. If you need more time, simply press pause. Or if you would like, you can jot down each of these on a scratch sheet of paper, or take them into a notes app. Here's the first one.
You should take the medicine with water. And it would be, Debe tomar la medicina con agua. You should, debe is conjugated. Tomar, the second verb is not conjugated. La medicina con, for with, agua. ¡Muy bien!
Here's the second one, numero dos. Can you return tomorrow? How would you say that one? ¿Puede volver mañana? Or ¿Puede regresar mañana?
Remember that both volver and regresar mean to return. Also if you'd like to use usted, you certainly can. ¿Puede usted volver mañana? or ¿Puede volver mañana usted? It can go in either place.
Numero trés. It's important to take all of the medicine. Es importante tomar toda la medicina.
Numero quatro. I'm going to call the doctor. And that one would be, Voy a llamar al doctor. Or if you know that it's a female doctor, Voy a llamar a la doctora.
Learning expressions to use in the following contexts will be extremely helpful when having conversations in Spanish:
Asking a question in Spanish is accomplished by intonation and/or simply reversing the order of the subject and verb.
Example Sentence | English Translation |
---|---|
Usted habla español. | You speak Spanish. |
¿Habla usted español? | Do you speak Spanish? |
1b. Answering Questions
You can answer a question with a simple sí or no. You could also begin the sentence with "sí" or "no" and follow it with the answer.
Example Sentence | English Translation |
---|---|
Sí, hablo español. | Yes, I speak Spanish. |
No, no hablo español. | No, I do not speak Spanish. |
1c. Making a Statement Negative
To make a statement negative, simply put the word no before the verb.
Example Sentence | English Translation |
---|---|
Hablo español. | I speak Spanish |
No hablo español. | I do not speak Spanish. |
Yo tomo la medicina. | I take the medicine |
Yo no tomo la medicina. | I do not take the medicine. |
If you are struggling with a concept or terminology in the course, you may contact SpanishforNursesSupport@capella.edu for assistance.
If you are having technical issues, please contact learningcoach@sophia.org.
Source: This content has been adapted from "Spanish for Nurses" by Stephanie Langston.