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4 A SPANISH REFERENCE GRAMMAR

the wall; la luna difunde luz, the moon sheds light; con mucho gusto lo discuto, I gladly discuss it, nunca suben muchos juntos, never do many go up together. 10.

B. SOUNDS OF THE DIPHTHONGS (sonidos de los diptongos)

I. ai or ay ; sound of a, stressed, followed by sound of i; e; que hay en el aire? what is there in the air?; hablEs a los frailer, you speak to the friars; los naipes bailan por el aire, the cards dance through the air. 11.

  1. ei or ey ; sound of open e, stressed, followed by sound of i; el rey no hace la ley, the king does not make the law; veis veinte peines y un peinador, you see twenty combs and a dressing gown; la reina tiene treinta y seis aims, the queen is thirty-six years old. 12.

  2. of or oy ; sound of open o, stressed, followed by the sound of i : oiga, estoy aqui hoy, listen, I am here today; doy el toisen al conde, I give the order of the Golden Fleece to the count; voy a la escuela, I go to school. 13.

  3. au; sound of a, stressed, followed by sound of u : el cautivo aumenta su cautela, the captive increases his caution; aplauden al autor en la pausa, they applaud the author in the pause. 14.

  4. eu; sound of open e, stressed, followed by sound of u : mis deudos son de Europa, my

SOUNDS OF THE SEMI–CONSONANTS 5

relatives are from Europe; en Ceuta sufren de reuma, they suffer from rheumatism in Ceuta. 15.

  1. ou; rare; sound of 0, stressed, followed by sound of u: Carlos Couto habla, Charles Couto speaks. 16.

  2. SOUNDS OF THE SEMI-CONSONANTS (sonidos de las semiconsonantes)

I. u unstressed before another vowel, about as w in wet; or i or y unstressed before another vowel, about as y in yet: no principieis a mover el pie, do not begin to move your foot, Juan cierra la puerta, john closes the door; pueden it hacia el palacio, they can go toward the palace; la nacien recibie con rabia las noticias, the nation received the news with wrath; leyes y reyes, laws and kings; soy espanol, I am Spanish. 17.

  1.  SOUNDS OF THE CONSONANTS (sonidos de las consonantes)

I. b or v; pronounce with the lips only; never press the upper teeth upon the lower lip in pronouncing v. There are two sounds of b (or v):

(a) When b (or v) stands at the beginning of a breath-group, or when preceded by m or n, it has almost the same value as English b, though the lips are less tense in Spanish:

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