Quick answer
Estudio español desde hace dos años.
I have been studying Spanish for two years. Spanish uses the present tense with desde hace where English uses a perfect.
The words
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la escuela | the school |
| el colegio | the primary school |
| el instituto | the secondary school |
| la universidad | the university |
| el alumno | the pupil |
| el profesor | the teacher |
| la clase | the class |
| la asignatura | the subject |
| los deberes | the homework |
| el examen | the exam |
| la nota | the mark |
| el cuaderno | the notebook |
| la beca | the scholarship |
| estudiar | to study |
| aprobar | to pass |
The phrases you will actually say
Worth knowing
The words for schools do not line up with English. El colegio is a primary school, not a college, and el instituto is the state secondary school for ages twelve to eighteen; university study is la carrera, which otherwise means a career or a race. Marks run from zero to ten, you pass at five, and the names matter: aprobado is a bare pass, notable around seven, sobresaliente nine or above. The verb aprobar means to pass an exam, while to sit one is hacer or presentarse a un examen; saying tomar un examen sounds translated. Careful with the false friend la lectura, which is reading, not a lecture, and note that Latin America usually says la tarea where Spain says los deberes.
Practice
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Check yourself
What is "el colegio"?