tú hablas inglés
/tu ablas inɡles/from spelling rules
In Spanish, tú hablas inglés is used to say 'you speak English'.
This phrase is a statement used to tell someone that they have the ability to speak the English language.
Which one should you use?
In natural speech, the pronoun tú is often omitted because the verb ending -as already indicates that the subject is 'you'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word hablas is the second-person singular present indicative form of the verb hablar.
How do you pronounce it?
/tu ablas inɡles/
Did you know?
- The word hablar shares the same root as the word for 'speech' or 'speaking' across many Romance languages, but in Spanish it is also used in the phrase hablar por los codos, meaning to talk incessantly.
- The Spanish word inglés entered the language via Old French angleis rather than coming directly from Old English.
- If you want to ask this as a question, ¿Hablas inglés?, you do not need to change the word order or add a helper verb like 'do' in English.
Examples in context
- Algún día espero hablar tan bien alemán como tú hablas inglés.I hope to one day speak German as well as you speak English.This sentence is useful for comparing how well someone speaks different languages using the form tú hablas inglés.Tatoeba #652709 by Shishir, translation #652541 by darinmex
- Buenos días, señor. ¿Habla usted inglés?Good morning, sir. Do you speak English?
- Oye, ¿tú hablas inglés?Hey, do you speak English?
- Sé que tú hablas inglés.I know that you speak English.
- Tú hablas inglés muy bien.You speak English very well.
Example conversation
A person is surprised by their friend's language ability.
- Elena¿De verdad tú hablas inglés?Do you really speak English?
- AlejandroSí, lo aprendí en la escuela.Yes, I learned it in school.
- Elena¡Qué increíble, Alejandro!How incredible, Alejandro!
- AlejandroGracias, Elena.Thank you, Elena.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries inglés, tú, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
