Free A1 Spanish course: elementary
A1 turns words into conversations. It covers the present tense and its stem changes, ser or estar, gustar, plans with ir a, and everyday situations like ordering in a café, telling the time and asking the way.
38 grammar lessons, 6 graded stories, flashcards and an AI conversation partner, all free. Plan on roughly 80 hours of study for this level (80 in total from zero, by an approximate CEFR estimate that isn't specific to Spanish).
What you'll be able to do
- Listening: I can understand slow, clear questions about myself, my family and where I live.
- Listening: I can catch numbers, prices and times when people speak slowly.
- Reading: I can read short messages, a menú del día and simple notices.
- Reading: I can follow a very simple story with familiar words.
- Speaking: I can order in a bar or café, buy things and ask the way with simple phrases.
- Speaking: I can talk about my day, my family and what I like (me gusta, me encanta) in short sentences.
- Speaking: I can make simple plans with voy a… and suggest a time to meet.
- Writing: I can write a short postcard or a simple WhatsApp-style message.
What you'll learn
The present tense
Regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs, stem changes (quiero, puedo, pido) and irregular yo forms (hago, tengo, conozco).
Ser or estar
The first big contrast: es alto (what he's like), está cansado (how he is), está en Madrid (where he is).
Gustar and object pronouns
Me gusta el café, me gustan los perros; lo, la and le; and the personal a: veo a María.
Numbers, time and plans
Prices, dates, es la una, son las dos y media, and voy a + infinitive for what you're going to do.
Learning A1 Spanish with AI
At A1 you can role-play ordering tapas, checking into a hostal or asking for directions with the AI partner, and ask it to explain any mistake in plain English. The AI also explains any wrong answer in a lesson, in plain English. It's included free, with a daily allowance; like any AI it can make mistakes, so the lessons remain the reference. More about learning Spanish with AI.
All 38 A1 grammar lessons
Free to read here. In the app, each one is taught in short steps with audio, practised, and brought back for review.
- Present tense of -ar verbs (hablar)
- Present tense of -er and -ir verbs (comer, vivir)
- Ser or estar: the core contrast
- Ir and ir a + infinitive (plans)
- Stem-changing verbs e → ie (querer, empezar)
- Stem-changing verbs o → ue, u → ue (poder, jugar)
- Stem-changing verbs e → i (pedir, repetir)
- Irregular yo forms: hago, pongo, salgo, traigo, conozco
- Tener, venir, decir: irregular in two ways
- Gustar: me gusta / me gustan
- Reflexive verbs for the daily routine (levantarse)
- Querer, poder, necesitar + infinitive
- Obligation: tener que, hay que
- Saber or conocer
- Estar + gerund: what is happening now
- Tener hambre, sed, frío, calor, prisa, miedo, razón, sueño
- The weather: hace calor, llueve, está nublado
- lo, la, los, las: the first object pronouns
- me, te, le, nos, os, les with gustar and dar
- The personal a: Veo a María
- a + el = al, de + el = del
- Where things are: en, encima de, debajo de, al lado de, entre, cerca de
- este, ese, aquel: this, that, that over there
- Possessive adjectives: mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro
- Muy or mucho; poco, bastante, demasiado
- más … que, menos … que, tan … como
- Shortened adjectives: buen, mal, gran, primer
- nada, nadie, nunca: the double negative
- también and tampoco; a mí también / a mí tampoco
- Every question word: qué, cuál, quién, cuánto, por qué…
- ¿Qué? or ¿Cuál?
- Numbers 21–100
- Hundreds, thousands and prices
- Telling the time: es la una, son las dos y media
- Days, months and dates
- Frequency: siempre, a menudo, a veces, nunca
- Ordering in a café or restaurant
- Linking words: y/e, o/u, pero, porque
Reading at A1
- Planes para el sábado: Three friends on a terrace in Seville make plans for Saturday. One of them is always late.
- La semana de Amaia: A week in the life of Amaia, a student in Bilbao: metro, rain, pintxos and a weekend plan.
- El vecino del tercero: A new neighbour moves in next to Irene in Madrid. Every night at a quarter past one he goes out with a heavy blue suitcase.
- Busco piso en Valencia: Pau needs a room in Valencia. He reads an advert and visits a shared flat in Ruzafa.
- La puerta del cine: Irene and her friend Álex follow don Tomás through the night to an old, closed cinema.
- Un mes en Ciudad de México: Claudia from Madrid spends a month in Mexico City. Mexican words in the story: ustedes (also for friends, instead of vosotros), camión (bus), jugo (juice), ¿mande? (pardon?) and tomar el metro (rather than coger).
Questions
What can you do with A1 Spanish?
Introduce yourself, say what you like with gustar, order in a café, ask the way and talk about your plans with ir a.
How long does it take to reach A1?
Count on around 80 hours from zero, by an approximate CEFR guided-hours estimate (not specific to Spanish). If you study half an hour a day, that's about five months.
Is there a free Spanish level test?
Yes, two kinds. The adaptive placement test finds where to start in Spanish, and a test at the end of every level, A1 included, checks you're ready to go on.
Start A1 Spanish now
No payment details, and no account needed to start: your progress is kept on your device, and you can save it to a free account whenever you like. AI chat gives three guest prompts, then needs a free account.
Start A1 free