Book excerpt: Learning Spanish can be easy and fun! Hola! If you've always wanted to learn Spanish, here's a quick and easy way to get started. Whether you're planning a vacation in Mexico or adding a valuable second language to your resume, The Everything Essential Spanish Book will help you order the right dish in a restaurant, answer customer's questions, or converse with locals when traveling. With easy-to-follow instructions and simple explanations, this portable guide covers the most important Spanish basics, including: The Spanish alphabet and translation Greetings and conversation starters Common questions and answers Verb tenses and sentence structure Don't just learn to repeat words and key phrases--learn to understand them on your own terms and at your own speed. The simple step-by-step approach and lively examples will have you speaking--and understanding--Spanish in no time!