Spanish in five ideas
1. Every noun has a gender
el libro (masculine), la mesa (feminine). Articles and adjectives agree: la mesa blanca, los libros blancos.
2. The verb tells you who
hablo (I speak), hablas (you speak), habla (he/she speaks). Because the ending says who, the pronoun is usually dropped: "Hablo español."
3. Two verbs for "to be"
ser for what something is (Soy profesor), estar for state and location (Estoy cansado, Estoy en casa).
4. You read what you see
Spanish spelling is regular: once you know the five vowel sounds, you can pronounce any written word.
5. Two past tenses
hablé is a finished event (I spoke), hablaba is background or habit (I used to speak, I was speaking).
Practise it with someone
Your Spanish partner writes to you first — about their own day, with photographs from wherever they are — and what you got wrong comes back struck through, with the right version beside it.