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Fundamentals of Spanish (pt. 8/10) – Lesson 61
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(Lesson summary)
Spanish fundamentals part 8: conmigo, contigo, desde hace, ¿quieres tomar algo?, no lo sé and no te preocupes.
- Con, sin, conmigo, contigo
- Desde and desde hace
- Listo, raro, casi, tomar algo
- No lo sé, no lo recuerdo, no te preocupes
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(The full lesson)
Spanish fundamentals: part 8
Lesson 61 already! Before we start, a quick compliment: you’re doing amazing. I remember how many hours I spent on YouTube, online courses and books when I was learning the basics of Spanish. Getting this far takes real energy and dedication. Sometimes you’ll feel demotivated or confused, and that’s completely normal. Keep going, I’m here to help!
Now, part 8 of the green fundamentals. As always: learn these by heart.
Con, sin, conmigo, contigo
con with
sin without
conmigo with me
contigo with you
You know con and sin from lesson 22. But watch out: “with me” isn’t con mí, it’s one special word: conmigo. And “with you” is contigo. ¿Vienes conmigo? = Are you coming with me?
Desde and desde hace: since, for
Vivo aquí desde 2024. I’ve lived here since 2024.
Vivo aquí desde hace diez años. I’ve lived here for ten years.
Desde = since / from a moment: desde 2024, desde el lunes. Desde hace = for an amount of time: desde hace diez años, desde hace una semana.
(Wes’s tip)
Notice: Spanish uses the present tense here (vivo = I live), where English says “I have lived“. When something started in the past and is still going on, Spanish just uses the present.
¿Hace cuánto…? How long…?
¿Hace cuánto conoces a María? How long have you known María?
Literally “it makes how much (time) you know María?”. You’ll also hear ¿Desde hace cuánto…? and ¿Cuánto tiempo hace que…?: all mean the same.
Un montón: a lot
un montón a lot
Hay un montón de gente. There are a lot of people.
Un montón literally means “a pile”. It’s informal and super common in everyday speech, especially in Spain. A more neutral way is mucho / mucha.
Listo: ready
¿Estás listo? Are you ready? (to a man)
¿Estás lista? Are you ready? (to a woman)
Estoy listo. I’m ready.
¡Listo! Ready! / Done!
We saw listo in the estar lesson. On its own, ¡listo! is also a quick way to say “done!” or “all set!”.
Raro and casi: weird and almost
Es muy raro, ¿no? It’s very weird, isn’t it?
Casi siempre voy al mismo restaurante. I almost always go to the same restaurant.
Adding ¿no? at the end works just like ¿verdad?: “isn’t it?”, “right?”.
Tomar algo: to grab a drink
tomar to take / to have (a drink)
¿Quieres tomar algo? Do you want to grab a drink?
Tomar means “to take”, but you’ll hear it all the time for food and especially drinks: tomar un café, tomar una cerveza. And ¿quieres tomar algo? is the classic way to invite someone for a drink.
Cada vez: every time
Cada vez que cocino, pruebo algo nuevo. Every time I cook, I try something new.
Sé and recuerdo: I know, I remember
| I… | I don’t… | I… it | I don’t… it | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| know | (yo) sé | no sé | lo sé | no lo sé |
| remember | recuerdo | no recuerdo | lo recuerdo | no lo recuerdo |
A great way to practice no and lo together! Remember the rules: no goes first (lesson 51), and lo goes right before the verb (lesson 43). So: no lo sé, never lo no sé. And sé needs its tilde, because se is a different word.
No te preocupes: don’t worry
No te preocupes. Don’t worry.
Someone apologizes, or is stressed about something? ¡No te preocupes! To someone you’d call usted: no se preocupe.
Recap: Spanish fundamentals (part 8)
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| con / sin | with / without |
| conmigo / contigo | with me / with you |
| desde / desde hace | since / for |
| ¿Hace cuánto…? | How long…? |
| un montón | a lot |
+ 8 more words & phrases
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Get the free PDF ↓Practice: fundamentals
Say it out loud first, then click to check.
1. Ask a friend if they’re coming with you.
¿Vienes conmigo?
2. Say “I’ve lived here since 2020”.
Vivo aquí desde 2020.
3. Say “I’ve lived here for five years”.
Vivo aquí desde hace cinco años.
4. Ask a friend if she’s ready.
¿Estás lista?
5. Invite someone for a drink.
¿Quieres tomar algo?
6. Say “I don’t remember it”.
No lo recuerdo.
7. Your friend says sorry. Say “Don’t worry”.
No te preocupes.
Quiz: Spanish fundamentals (part 8)
9 questions. No te preocupes, you’ve got this!
Frequently asked questions
Recuerdo or me acuerdo?
Both mean “I remember”. Me acuerdo (from acordarse) is even more common in everyday speech: no me acuerdo = I don’t remember. We’ll learn how those me verbs work later.
Before you go to the next lesson
Learn these by heart, especially no lo sé, no te preocupes and ¿quieres tomar algo?: you’ll use them every day. Grab the free reference sheet below. ¡Hasta la próxima!
(Free reference sheet)
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