Motifluent
Language Transfer Spanish notes

Lesson 5

Yo, Te, Lo, and Getting the Sounds Right

Language Transfer Complete Spanish is by Mihalis Eleftheriou. Listen to the original audio first; use these notes for revision.

New vocabulary

SpanishEnglish
yoI (only for emphasis)
teyou (informal object pronoun)
loit / him / you (formal male)
luzlight
perobut
perrodog
arrozrice
celebracióncelebration
informacióninformation
salvaciónsalvation
situaciónsituation
participaciónparticipation
participarto participate
creacióncreation
crearto create

Rule 7: -ence/-ance → -encia/-ancia

SpanishEnglish
experienciaexperience
diferenciadifference
influenciainfluence
existenciaexistence
consistenciaconsistence
inconsistenciainconsistence
incongruenciaincongruence

Experimentar = to experience AND to experiment (same verb — your experience is your experiment)

  • experiencia = experience (noun), experimento = experiment (noun)

The rolling R

  • Initial R or double RR → rolling/trilled R

  • pero (/single r/) = but vs perro (/double rr/) = dog

  • Don't stress about it — it comes with exposure. Keep your mouth relaxed.

Example sentences

SpanishEnglish
Yo quiero.I want. (emphatic)
Yo no quiero.I don't want. (emphatic)
Yo no quiero cancelar.I don't want to cancel.
Quiero celebrar.I want to celebrate.
Quiero ilustrar.I want to illustrate.
Quiero informarme.I want to find out / inform myself.
No quiero obligarte.I don't want to oblige you / make you.
No quiero provocarte.I don't want to provoke you.
Quiero cancelarlo.I want to cancel it.
Quiero regularlo.I want to regulate it.
Quiero salvarlo.I want to save him.
Quiero visitarlo.I want to visit him.

Key notes

  • Yo is optional. Use it for emphasis, not by default.

  • Lo can mean it, him, or formal you depending on context.

  • Informarme is literally to inform myself but naturally means to find out.

  • Don't force the rolling r. Keep the mouth relaxed and let it develop with exposure.