Day 6 of 90
Where is it
Spanish has two verbs where English has one, and today you meet the second. The rule that actually works is simpler than the one most courses teach.
Asking
One question shape covers almost everything you need to find.
está asks where a specific thing is, and hay asks whether any such thing exists nearby. That is the difference between where is the bank, which assumes one, and is there a bank, which does not. Choosing the wrong one is understood but it quietly tells the listener something untrue about what you already know.
The answer
Learn to receive directions, not just ask for them.
derecha is right as a direction and derecho is straight ahead in most of Latin America, one letter apart and both extremely common in the same sentence. When you are unsure, watch the hand. Spanish speakers gesture directions almost without exception, and the gesture is more reliable than your ear in the first month.
ser or estar
Both mean to be. The split is not what most courses tell you.
The rule usually taught is permanent against temporary, and it fails immediately, because a building is permanent and still takes estar. The rule that holds is this: ser says what something is, estar says where it is or how it is doing. A bank is a bank, which is ser, and it is in the square, which is estar. Run any sentence through what against how and where, and you will be right far more often.
el baño is the everyday word across Latin America. In Spain ask for el servicio or los servicios. el aseo is the sign you will see written. Asking ¿dónde está el baño? anywhere in the Spanish speaking world will be understood, so use it and let the local word arrive on its own.
Check yourself
Eight questions. Get 5 of them right to finish the day.
More from this course
Weeks 1 to 2: first words, first sentences.
See all 90 days of the course →