Lingo Lobby

Learning sentence starters will help you start responding more naturally and easily. Memorising these sentence starters / connectors will dramatically imrpove your speaking skills in spanish.

SHARING YOUR OPINION

Lo importante es que – The important thing is

Lo importante es que lleves una vida muy sana.

The important thing is that you lead a healthy lifestyle.

De hecho – Actually

De hecho , mi madre me dio a luz cuando tenía 19 años.

Actually , my mum gave birth to me when she was 19 years old

Yo creo que – I believe that (used more to mean I think that)

Creo que los gatos son mejores que los perros porque no huelen mal, son más baratos y son más fáciles de cuidar.

I think that cats are better than dogs because they don’t smell bad , more cheaper and are easier to take care of.

Yo diría que – I would say that

Diría que debería divorciarse.

I would say that she should get a divorce

Estoy a punto de – I’m about to …

Estoy a punto de llegar casa

I’m about to arrive home

Me parece que – It seems to me / Looks to me that

Me parece que va a llover

It seems to me that its going to rain.

SUBJUNCTIVE

Aunque (followed by indicative or subjunctive for hypothetical situations) – Even though ……

Aunque llueva, iremos al parque

Even though its raining , we will go the park

Ojalá (subjeunctive ) – I hope that ……..

Ojalá que no llueva mañana.

I hope that it won’t rain tommorow

MISCELLANEOUS

Llevo (time period) doing something – I have …… of experience doing something

Llevo 4 años estudiando español

I have been studying spanish for 4 years. NOTE: This is the most natural way to say I have been doing “insert activity” for x amount of time.

Por otro lado – on the other hand

Por un lado es lindo , pero por otro lado es molesto.

On one hand he is cute but on the other hand he is annoying

En resumen – In summary

En resumen, Frida Kahlo fue la artista mexicana más grande del siglo XX.

In summary , Frida Kahlo was the greatest mexican artist of the 20th century.

Al principio – In the beginning

Al principio , no me gustaba la pelicula pero creo que el fin fue buenisimo.

In the beginning , I didn’t like the movie but I think that the ending was really good.

Sin embargo – However

Me gusta tu sala sin embargo, la cocina es fea.

I like your living room however the kitchen is ugly

A pesar de – Despite ….

A pesar de estar triste, trabajé.

Despite being sad , I worked.

En otras palabras – In other words …..

No tiene un ingreso , en otras palabras es pobre.

He has no income , in other words he is poor.

Según – According to

Según María, el café es mejor que el té.

According to Maria , coffee is better than tea.

Ni siquiera

Ni siquiera me habló cuando me vio

He didn’t even talk to me when he saw me

Ya que – Since

No voy a dormir ya que tengo cosas que hacer

I’m not going to sleep because I have things to do.