Speak Spanish with Maria Fernandez

🎧 Listen to my free Spanish audiobooks on YouTube, Spotify & more

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Planning a trip to Spain or Latin America? In this episode you’ll learn how to buy metro tickets, ask for directions, and understand train times in Spanish – essential skills for navigating public transport with confidence.

Through a short, practical dialogue between a metro passenger and a ticket office clerk, you’ll learn real-life Spanish phrases that locals use every day. Whether you're heading to Madrid, Barcelona, or any other Spanish-speaking city, these Spanish travel phrases will help you speak naturally and be understood.

In this lesson, you’ll:

• Listen to a full Spanish conversation with English translations
• Practise Spanish pronunciation with sentence-by-sentence repetition
• Learn key travel vocabulary like “billete” (ticket), “plano del metro” (metro map), “hacer transbordo” (to change trains), and more
• Do speaking drills and role plays to reinforce your fluency
• Try shadowing exercises to master natural Spanish rhythm and intonation
• Take a mini quiz to test your Spanish vocabulary
• Challenge yourself to translate and say the entire conversation in Spanish

This episode is perfect for beginners and intermediate learners who want to build confidence speaking Spanish in real travel situations. You'll hear clear, slow Spanish and get plenty of chances to repeat out loud and practise speaking.

The vocabulary and grammar you’ll learn in this episode include:

• Asking for metro tickets and maps
• Understanding prices and train times
• Using travel-related verbs like “coger” and “salir”
• Forming polite questions and requests in Spanish

No need to take notes or use a transcript – I’ll guide you every step of the way.

🎧 Want to go further? My full Spanish course at kerapido.com/online includes many more practical dialogues, speaking drills, vocabulary boosters, and audio flashcards to help you speak Spanish fluently and confidently. You’ll find a link in the episode description.

🎙 If you enjoy learning everyday Spanish through dialogue, speaking drills, and pronunciation practice, be sure to subscribe to Speak Spanish with Maria Fernandez. New episodes are released regularly with real-life situations, travel Spanish, and step-by-step guidance for learners.

Whether you’re travelling, studying, or simply love the Spanish language, this podcast will help you sound natural, speak clearly, and enjoy every conversation in Spanish.

Let me know if you’d like a variant tailored more for Latin American Spanish or focused more heavily on beginner search terms.

See the full transcript.

💌 Sign up to get my free weekly Spanish lessons.

WHO AM I?💃🏻 I’m Maria Fernandez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid (Spain). I’ve taught Spanish for over 5000 hours, and counting. My mission is to make you fluent in Spanish super fast. Creating step-by-step lessons for you is one of the things I love most. 😀  Over the last few years I've published a bunch of courses, books and audiobooks. I’ve also studied an insane amount of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.  To find out more about me, visit my website: kerapido.com

Support the show

🎧 Listen to my free Spanish audiobooks on YouTube, Spotify & more

Learn Spanish fast with my step-by-step courses.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to this episode dedicated to mastering Spanish pronoun pairs - a key step towards speaking Spanish fluently and naturally. Pronoun pairs like “te lo”, “se lo”, and others are used every day by native speakers, but they can be tricky for learners because they combine two pronouns into one phrase. In this episode, you’ll get clear explanations, practical examples, and plenty of speaking and listening practice to help you feel confident using these essential structures in real conversations.

Why Pronoun Pairs Matter

If you want to sound natural in Spanish, you need to understand how pronouns work together. Unlike English, where we say “You give it to me,” Spanish combines the pronouns for “who” and “what” into a neat phrase: “Me lo das” (literally “to me it you give”). This word order and combination are unique and can be confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, your Spanish will sound much more fluent and native-like.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• A review of the basic indirect object pronouns: me, te, le, nos, os, les.
• How to combine these with direct object pronouns like lo, la, los, las to form pronoun pairs.
• Why the pronouns le and les change to se when combined with direct object pronouns.
• Step-by-step examples using common verbs like decir (to say) and dar (to give).
• A challenge section where you’ll practice forming sentences quickly with different pronoun pairs.
• A question and answer drill to test your understanding and improve your quick recall.
• A translation quiz to check if you can identify correct and incorrect uses of pronoun pairs.
• Tips on pronunciation and rhythm to help you sound natural.

How This Episode Helps Your Speaking and Listening

This episode is designed not just to teach you grammar but to get you actively speaking and listening. You’ll hear sentences slowly and clearly, then you’ll be invited to repeat them aloud. This kind of active practice helps your brain and mouth get used to the patterns of Spanish pronoun pairs. 

How to Get the Most from This Episode

• Listen actively and repeat every sentence out loud.
• Pause the episode if you need more time to say the sentences.
• Try the question and answer challenges without looking at the answers first.
• Use the translation quiz to test your understanding.
• Practice regularly to build muscle memory and automatic recall.

Don’t forget to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode!

See the full transcript.

💌 Sign up to get my free weekly Spanish lessons.

WHO AM I?💃🏻 I’m Maria Fernandez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid (Spain). I’ve taught Spanish for over 5000 hours, and counting. My mission is to make you fluent in Spanish super fast. Creating step-by-step lessons for you is one of the things I love most. 😀  Over the last few years I've published a bunch of courses, books and audiobooks. I’ve also studied an insane amount of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.  To find out more about me, visit my website: kerapido.com

Support the show

🎧 Listen to my free Spanish audiobooks on YouTube, Spotify & more

Learn Spanish fast with my step-by-step courses.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

¡Hola! Welcome to Speak Spanish with Maria Fernandez. I’m Maria Fernandez, your Spanish teacher. In this episode, we’re going to practise the Spanish numbers 0 to 100 and you’re going to speak out loud, repeat after me, guess the next number, and listen for numbers in everyday Spanish sentences. By the end of this lesson you’ll feel much more confident using numbers in real conversations—whether you're telling your age, catching a bus, or paying at the supermarket.

If you’re enjoying these episodes, you’ll love my Spanish course at kerapido.com/online. It’s packed with video lessons, pronunciation drills, and exercises to help you speak Spanish with ease. You’ll find the link in the episode description.

Let’s get started!

Drill 1: What’s the next number?
 Here’s how this drill works: I’ll say a number in Spanish. Your job is to say the very next number in Spanish.

For example, if I say: Cinco
 You say: Seis

Don’t worry if you need a moment to think. This is all about practice!

Let’s begin:

Treinta y dos – Did you say treinta y tres? Thirty-three.
 Cuarenta y nueve – The next number is cincuenta! That’s fifty.
 Sesenta y uno – That’s right, sesenta y dos! That’s sixty-two.
 Diecisiete – The next number is dieciocho! Number eighteen.
 Ochenta y cuatro – The number after that is ochenta y cinco! That’s eighty-five.
 Noventa y ocho – You got it: noventa y nueve! That’s ninety-nine.
 Veintiséis – The next one is veintisiete! Number twenty-seven.
 Cincuenta y cinco – The next number is cincuenta y seis! That’s fifty-six.
 Setenta y tres – Did you say setenta y cuatro? That’s seventy-four.
 And the last one is: Uno – The next number is dos. Number two.

Well done! Now, let’s try the opposite.

Drill 2: What’s the previous number?
 This time, I’ll say a number in Spanish. Your job is to say the number that comes just before.

For example, if I say: Diez
 You say: Nueve

Let’s begin:

Cincuenta y ocho – Did you say cincuenta y siete? That’s fifty-seven.
 Cuarenta – The previous number is treinta y nueve! That’s thirty-nine.
 Setenta y cinco – That’s right, setenta y cuatro. That’s seventy-four.
 Veinte – The previous number is diecinueve. Number nineteen.

See the full transcript.

💌 Sign up to get my free weekly Spanish lessons.

🇪🇸 Visit my Spanish learning website.

WHO AM I?💃🏻 I’m Maria Fernandez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid (Spain). I’ve taught Spanish for over 5000 hours, and counting. My mission is to make you fluent in Spanish super fast. Creating step-by-step lessons for you is one of the things I love most. 😀  Over the last few years I've published a bunch of courses, books and audiobooks. I’ve also studied an insane amount of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.  To find out more about me, visit my website: kerapido.com

Support the show

🎧 Listen to my free Spanish audiobooks on YouTube, Spotify & more

Learn Spanish fast with my step-by-step courses.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

¡Hola! Welcome to my podcast, Speak Spanish with Maria Fernandez. I’m Maria Fernandez, your Spanish teacher. Today, you’ll learn how to check into a holiday apartment in Spanish—perfect for your next trip!

We’ll listen to a short dialogue, learn all the key vocabulary, and then we’ll practise listening and speaking together. You won’t need a transcript—I’ll guide you every step of the way.

Before we jump in—if you want to take your Spanish further, my online course at kerapido.com/online is packed with dialogues like this one, plus speaking drills, vocabulary boosters, and interactive flashcards that help you master the pronunciation. You’ll find the link in the episode description.

Let’s get started!

Dialogue

Let’s hear a conversation between Marta, a holiday maker, and the apartment receptionist. First, I’ll read one sentence in Spanish, then its English translation.

Marta: Buenas tardes. Tenemos un apartamento reservado a nombre de Gómez.
 Translation: Good afternoon. We have an apartment reserved in the name of Gómez.

Recepcionista: Por aquí, por favor. Como pueden ver, tiene dos baños, dos habitaciones con dos camas, un salón con terraza y ésta es la cocina.
 Translation: This way, please. As you can see, it has two bathrooms, two bedrooms with two beds, a sitting room with a balcony, and this is the kitchen.

Marta: ¿Tiene lavadora y microondas?
 Translation: Does it have a washing machine and a microwave?

Recepcionista: Sí. También tiene lavaplatos, cocina de gas, nevera y congelador.
 Translation: Yes. It also has a dishwasher, gas cooker, fridge and freezer.

Recepcionista: Las mantas y las toallas están en los armarios de las habitaciones.
 Translation: The blankets and towels are in the bedroom wardrobes.

Marta: ¿Qué día vienen a limpiar?
 Translation: What day do they come to clean?

Recepcionista: Los lunes y los jueves.
 Translation: On Mondays and Thursdays.

Marta: ¿Dónde se deja la basura?
 Translation: Where should we leave the rubbish?

Recepcionista: En los cubos grises de la entrada.
 Translation: In the grey bins at the entrance.

Now, you’re going to practise saying each sentence or phrase in Spanish. Repeat after me:

See the full transcript.

💌 Sign up to get my free weekly Spanish lessons.

🇪🇸 Visit my Spanish learning website.

WHO AM I?💃🏻 I’m Maria Fernandez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid (Spain). I’ve taught Spanish for over 5000 hours, and counting. My mission is to make you fluent in Spanish super fast. Creating step-by-step lessons for you is one of the things I love most. 😀  Over the last few years I've published a bunch of courses, books and audiobooks. I’ve also studied an insane amount of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.  To find out more about me, visit my website: kerapido.com

Support the show

🎧 Listen to my free Spanish audiobooks on YouTube, Spotify & more

Learn Spanish fast with my step-by-step courses.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

What if one verse from the Bible could help you practise Spanish grammar, pronunciation, and fluency—all in just a few minutes? In today’s episode, I’ll show you how the Bible can become one of your most powerful language-learning tools.

We're going to dive into John 5:24, using my Spanish KJV translation. We'll break down this verse the same way we do in my course, 'Learn Spanish with the Bible.' Get ready to transform your Spanish!

First, let's hear the verse in both English and Spanish. Listen closely for the sounds and the rhythm.

Here's the English:

{5:24} Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

And now, in Spanish:

{5:24} En verdad, en verdad os digo, el que oye mi palabra y cree en el que me ha enviado, tiene vida imperecedera; y no entrará en condenación, sino que pasa de muerte a vida.

Let’s go through the verse, a few words at a time:

Verily, verily, I say unto you,

En verdad, en verdad os digo,

Notice the verb form ‘digo’. Which verb is it? It’s decir (to say, to tell). And which tense is it?: digo. It’s the present tense. These are the six forms of the verb ‘decir’ in the present tense. Say them after me: digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen. That’s the verb ‘decir’ (to say, to tell) in the present tense.

In this line, ‘en verdad, en verdad os digo’, notice also the pronoun ‘os’. Which person does it refer to? In English this line is ‘verily, verily, I say unto you’ -  ‘en verdad, en verdad os digo’. The pronoun ‘os’ refers to ‘vosotros’. ‘Os digo’ ( I say unto you).

Now let’s zoom in on the next line—you’ll hear a beautiful example of how vowels work in Spanish.

The next line in our verse is: He that heareth my word, - el que oye mi palabra

Notice how I say the word ‘palabra’. This word has three A, and the three of them have the same sound: A. The Spanish A always has that sound, whether it comes at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a word: A. Palabra.

And what about the word ‘oye’? I’ll say the line again: el que oye mi palabra (He that heareth my word).

‘Oye’ is a verb form. Do you know which verb it is? It’s the irregular verb ‘oír’ (to hear). ‘Oye’ means ‘he hears’, so it’s the present tense. These are the six forms of the verb ‘oír’ (to hear) in the present tense. Say them after me, out loud. Always say the Spanish words out loud, not just quietly or in your head: oigo, oyes, oye, oímos, oís, oyen.

See the full transcript.

💌 Sign up to get my free weekly Spanish lessons.

🇪🇸 Visit my Spanish learning website.

WHO AM I?
💃🏻 I’m Maria Fernandez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid (Spain). I’ve taught Spanish for over 5000 hours, and counting. My mission is to make you fluent in Spanish super fast. Creating step-by-step lessons for you is one of the things I love most. 😀
 
 Over the last few years I've published a bunch of courses, books and audiobooks. I’ve also studied an insane amount of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.
 
 To find out more about me, visit my website: kerapido.com

Support the show

🎧 Listen to my free Spanish audiobooks on YouTube, Spotify & more

Learn Spanish fast with my step-by-step courses.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

In today’s episode we’re going to practise asking for directions in Spanish.

You’re in a small town, and you’re a bit lost. A friendly local sees you looking around and comes to help. I’ll be that friendly local.

¿Puedo ayudarle en algo? Can I help you with anything?¿Puedo ayudarle en algo?

And this is your line: Yes, I’m looking for the train station.

Can you say that in Spanish?: Yes, I’m looking for the train station.

Yes is: sí, sí,

I’m looking for is: busco, busco

Train station is: estación de tren, estación de tren

So “Yes, I’m looking for the train station” is: Sí, busco la estación de tren. – Sí, busco la estación de tren. [slow]

Did you get that right?: Sí, busco la estación de tren.

Now it’s my turn: It’s near the supermarket.

Está cerca del supermercado.Está cerca del supermercado.

Your line is: Is it far from here?

How would you say: Is it far from here?

Far is: lejos, lejos

From here is: de aquí, de aquí

So “Is it far from here?” is: ¿Está lejos de aquí? – ¿Está lejos de aquí? [slow]

Now listen to my answer:

No, está muy cerca. Siga todo recto y luego gire a la izquierda. [No, está muy cerca. Siga todo recto y luego gire a la izquierda.] No, it’s very close. Go straight on and then turn left.

No, está muy cerca. Siga todo recto y luego gire a la izquierda.

Let’s break that down.

Siga means: go or continue (It’s a formal command)

Todo recto means: straight on

Luego is: then

Gire a la izquierda: turn to the left

So all together: Siga todo recto y luego gire a la izquierda – Go straight on and then turn left. [slowly] Siga todo recto y luego gire a la izquierda

Your next line is: Thank you very much.

How do you say that in Spanish?: Thank you very much

Muchas gracias – Muchas gracias

Let’s say the full conversation together. Say all the lines out loud just a split second behind me. Imitate my pronunciation and intonation as much as you can.

Here’s the conversation:

¿Puedo ayudarle en algo?

Sí, busco la estación de tren.

Está cerca del supermercado.

¿Está lejos de aquí?

No, está muy cerca. Siga todo recto y luego gire a la izquierda.

Muchas gracias.

Let’s do more speaking practice.

See the full transcript.

💌 Sign up to get my free weekly Spanish lessons.

🇪🇸 Visit my Spanish learning website.

WHO AM I?
💃🏻 I’m Maria Fernandez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid (Spain). I’ve taught Spanish for over 5000 hours, and counting. My mission is to make you fluent in Spanish super fast. Creating step-by-step lessons for you is one of the things I love most. 😀
 
 Over the last few years I've published a bunch of courses, books and audiobooks. I’ve also studied an insane amount of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.
 
 To find out more about me, visit my website: kerapido.com

Support the show

🎧 Listen to my free Spanish audiobooks on YouTube, Spotify & more

Learn Spanish fast with my step-by-step courses.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

In today’s episode we’re going to practise ordering drinks in Spanish in a bar. You’re with a group of friends and you want to order drinks for all of you. I’ll be your bartender.
¿Qué vais a tomar? What are you going to have?¿Qué vais a tomar?
And this is your line: A large beer, a jug of sangria and a small bottle of water.
Can you say that in Spanish? Let’s start with: A large beer.
A beer is: una cerveza, una cerveza. Large is: grande, grande.
So ‘a large beer’ is: Una cerveza grande – una cerveza grande.  Did you get that right?: una cerveza grande.
Now: A jug of sangria.
A jug is: una jarra, una jarra. And sangria is the same in Spanish: sangría, sangría.
So ‘a jug of sangria’ is: Una jarra de sangría – una jarra de sangría.  Did you get that right?: una jarra de sangría.
Now: A small bottle of water.
A bottle is: una botella, una botella. And small is: pequeña, pequeña. And water is: agua, agua.
So ‘a small bottle of water’ is: Una botella pequeña de agua – una botella pequeña de agua. 
Now say the whole line: A large beer, a jug of sangria and a small bottle of water.
Una cerveza grande, una jarra de sangría y una botella pequeña de agua.  Una cerveza grande, una jarra de sangría y una botella pequeña de agua.
Now it’s my turn:
¿Queréis un vaso para el agua? Do you want a glass for the water?¿Queréis un vaso para el agua?
Your line is: Yes, a glass with lots of ice.
How do you say: yes?
Yes is: sí, sí.
And how do you say: a glass?
A glass is: un vaso, un vaso.
With is: con, con.
And what about lots of ice?
Ice is: hielo, hielo. And lots of is: mucho, mucho. - mucho hielo, mucho hielo
So ‘a glass with lots of ice’ is: Un vaso con mucho hielo – un vaso con mucho hielo.
So your full line is: Yes, a glass with lots of ice.
Sí, un vaso con mucho hielo. – Sí, un vaso con mucho hielo.
Now I ask:
¿Cuántos vasos queréis para la sangría? How many glasses do you want for the sangria? ¿Cuántos vasos queréis para la sangría?
Your line is: Only three.
Only is: solo, solo. And number three is: tres, tres.
So ‘only three’ is: Solo tres – solo tres.
Now I bring you the drinks and say:
Aquí tenéis la cerveza, la sangría y el agua. Here you are: the beer, the sangria and the water. Aquí tenéis la cerveza, la sangría y el agua.
And you ask: How much is it all?
How much is: ¿Cuánto es?, cuánto es. It all is: todo, todo.
So: ¿Cuánto es todo? – ¿Cuánto es todo?  Did you get that right?: ¿Cuánto es todo?
I reply: Dieciséis euros. Sixteen euros.
Sixteen is: dieciséis, dieciséis.

See the full transcript.

💌 Sign up to get my free weekly Spanish lessons.

🇪🇸 Visit my Spanish learning website.

WHO AM I?
💃🏻 I’m Maria Fernandez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid (Spain). I’ve taught Spanish for over 5000 hours, and counting. My mission is to make you fluent in Spanish super fast. Creating step-by-step lessons for you is one of the things I love most. 😀
 
 Over the last few years I've published a bunch of courses, books and audiobooks. I’ve also studied an insane amount of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.
 
 To find out more about me, visit my website: kerapido.com

Support the show

🎧 Listen to my free Spanish audiobooks on YouTube, Spotify & more

Learn Spanish fast with my step-by-step courses.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

In today’s episode we’re going to practise ordering food in Spanish in a restaurant. You’re in a lovely restaurant and you want to order food for two of you. I’ll be your waitress. 

¿Qué van a tomar?

What are you going to have?

¿Qué van a tomar?

And this is your line: As a starter, two salads.

Can you say that in Spanish?: As a starter, two salads.

As a starter is: De primero, de primero.

And salad is: ensalada, ensalada.

So ‘As a starter, two salads’ is: De primero, dos ensaladas. - De primero, dos ensaladas. 

Did you get that right?: De primero, dos ensaladas. 

Now it’s my turn: And for the main course?

¿Y de segundo?

¿Y de segundo?

Your line is: A steak with roast potatoes and a burger with French fries.

How would you say: A steak with roast potatoes.

A steak is: un filete, un filete

And what about roast potatoes?: patatas asadas, patatas asadas

So ‘A steak with roast potatoes’ is:

Un filete con patatas asadas - Un filete con patatas asadas 

and a burger with French fries.

How do you say that in Spanish?: and a burger with French fries.

A burger is: una hamburguesa, una hamburguesa

And French fries are: patatas fritas, patatas fritas.

A burger with French fries is: una hamburguesa con patatas fritas. - una hamburguesa con patatas fritas.

So ‘A steak with roast potatoes and a burger with French fries’ is: Un filete con patatas asadas y una hamburguesa con patatas fritas.  - Un filete con patatas asadas y una hamburguesa con patatas fritas. 

My next line is:

¿Y de beber?

And to drink?

¿Y de beber?

Your line is: A bottle of red house wine and sparkling mineral water. 

How do you say?: A bottle of red house wine

A bottle is: una botella, una botella

And red house wine, how do you say?: red house wine

Vino tinto de la casa, vino tinto de la casa

A bottle of red house wine is: 

Una botella de vino tinto de la casa - Una botella de vino tinto de la casa

And what about?: sparkling mineral water.

Mineral water is: agua mineral, agua mineral

And what about sparkling?: 

Sparkling is: con gas, con gas

sparkling mineral water is: agua mineral con gas. - agua mineral con gas. 

so ‘A bottle of red house wine and sparkling mineral water’ is:

Una botella de vino tinto de la casa y agua mineral con gas.

Let’s say the whole conversation together. Make sure you say all the lines out loud just a split second behind me. Imitate my pronunciation and intonation as much as you can. Here’s the conversation:

¿Qué van a tomar?

See the full transcript.

💌 Sign up to get my free weekly Spanish lessons.

🇪🇸 Visit my Spanish learning website.

WHO AM I?
💃🏻 I’m Maria Fernandez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid (Spain). I’ve taught Spanish for over 5000 hours, and counting. My mission is to make you fluent in Spanish super fast. Creating step-by-step lessons for you is one of the things I love most. 😀
 
 Over the last few years I've published a bunch of courses, books and audiobooks. I’ve also studied an insane amount of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.

Support the show

🎧 Listen to my free Spanish audiobooks on YouTube, Spotify & more

Learn Spanish fast with my step-by-step courses.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

In today’s episode I’m going to give you fifteen tips that are going to dramatically improve your Spanish accent. Stay tuned till the end, because the tips only get better and better.

Tip #1: To sound fluent, say repeated letters only once, and drop the second one.

For example, instead of saying:
 “Jaime - es - simpático.” (Jamie is nice).

Say it like this: Jaimesimpático.

Say only one E in “Jaime es”: Jaimes

Then say only one S in “es simpático”: esimpático

So the whole sentence is: jaimesimpático.

It should sound like one long word with no gaps at all between the words: jaimesimpático.

When you link words like this you’ll sound much more fluent, and you’ll also be able to understand fast spoken Spanish a lot better.

Tip #2: To sound even more fluent, link words that end in a consonant and start with a vowel.

For example: Juan escribe en español [Juanescribenespañol]. (John writes in Spanish)

Say it as if it was one long word, not three or even two word. Just one word: Juanescribenespañol.

Link the final N in “Juan” and the initial E in “escribe”: Juanescribe

Then say only one E in “escribe en”, as you learned in Tip #1: escriben.

Then link the final N in “en” to the initial E in “español”: enespañol.

And now the whole sentence sounds like one long word: juanescribenespañol. 

Tip #3: The majority of Spanish words are stressed on the second-to-last syllable.

For example:

familia (faMIlia)
chocolate (chocoLAte),
avenida (aveNIda),
botella (boTElla),

Watch out for words that look similar in English. Make sure you stress them on the right syllable:

In English: FAmily.
In Spanish: faMIlia.

CHOcolate - chocoLAte

Avenue - aveNIda

BOttle - boTElla

Getting the stress right makes a big difference. People will understand you a lot better.

Tip #4: Some letters become more difficult to say when they come after certain letters.

For example:
 the letter S followed by the rolled R: Israel

When saying “Israel” you don’t get a full on S and a full on RR. Instead, you get only half of each: Israel.

Avoid saying: Iss-rrael. To sound fluent, make sure you shorten both the S and the RR: Israel.

If you want tomaster the double R, and all other Spanish sounds, have a look at my Spanish courses. I’ve put the link in the show notes.

Tip #5: Spanish has only 5 vowel sounds, and they correspond to the written vowels.

The five Spanish vowel are: A, E, I, O, U

See the full transcript.

💌 Sign up to get my free weekly Spanish lessons.

🇪🇸 Visit my Spanish learning website.

WHO AM I?
💃🏻 I’m Maria Fernandez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid (Spain). I’ve taught Spanish for over 5000 hours, and counting. My mission is to make you fluent in Spanish super fast. Creating step-by-step lessons for you is one of the things I love most. 😀
 
 Over the last few years I've published a bunch of courses, books and audiobooks. I’ve also studied an insane amount of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.
 
 To find out more about me,

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Today I’m bringing you some amazing drills to improve your Spanish fluency.

🎧 Listen to my free Spanish audiobooks on Spotify, YouTube & more.

FREE PODCAST TRANSCRIPT
✍️ Here are the free transcripts of all the episodes.

WHO AM I?
💃🏻 I’m Maria Fernandez, a native Spanish speaker from Madrid (Spain). I’ve taught Spanish for over 5000 hours, and counting. My mission is to make you fluent in Spanish super fast. Creating step-by-step lessons for you is one of the things I love most. 😀
 
 Over the last few years I've published a bunch of courses, books and audiobooks. I’ve also studied an insane amount of English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.
 
 To find out more about me, visit my website: kerapido.com

Support the show