Why an English speaker learns Spanish
Spanish is the world's second most spoken native language — 21 countries, over 500 million people. For Brits, Spain is the number one holiday destination, hundreds of thousands own property there, and Spanish is the most studied language in UK schools.
For an English speaker Spanish is one of the friendlier languages to start: near-phonetic spelling, five clear vowels, and thousands of recognisable words — nation/nación, important/importante, family/familia. The difficulty comes later: gender, the tense system and the subjunctive.
Words and grammar through English eyes
The sets cover 5,900+ of the most useful Spanish words — by topic and level, always with English translation and transcription. The grammar runs from A1 to C2: genders el/la, verb conjugation, pretéritos, subjuntivo and ser/estar — explained in English.
Typical traps for English speakers: gender (English barely has it — el sol is masculine, la luna feminine, and there's no logic shortcut), ser vs estar (both mean 'to be'), pretérito indefinido vs imperfecto, and the subjunctive which English has nearly lost.
- Frequency bands A1–B2 — the most-used words first
- Themed sets for travel, work and everyday life
- Every word with English translation and transcription
Exam preparation
Useful for certificates too: the frequency bands overlap DELE and SIELE vocabulary through B2, and the grammar covers the most tested points — pretéritos, subjuntivo, ser/estar and the prepositions por/para.
A real study day
Ten to fifteen minutes a day brings visible progress: streaks, XP and the leaderboard among friends turn study into a habit. The price is simple: AtoC is fully free — sets, grammar and drills open. The only limit is energy; a subscription raises it.
Typical rhythm: a week of A1 sets and reading rules (Spanish reads almost as it's written), then words and grammar in parallel — one grammar topic plus one new set a day, the rest reviews. After a month you understand simple Spanish and order at a restaurant without pointing.