📖LearnModule 7 · Lesson 13 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, completedUnit 3 · El trabajo y el dinero
Ganar, gastar, ahorrar
Module 7 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B1, completed), lesson 13 of 30: Three verbs run the whole money conversation. On this page: 11 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
ganar
to earn
gah-NAR
gastar
to spend
gahs-TAR
ahorrar
to save up
ah-oh-RRAR
el sueldo
the wage
ehl SWEHL-doh
el alquiler
the rent
ehl ahl-kee-LEHR
los impuestosplural
the taxes
lohs eem-PWEHS-tohs
el gasto
the expense
ehl GAHS-toh
el peso
the peso
ehl PEH-soh
el dinero
the money
ehl dee-NEH-roh
ellos ganan poco
they earn little
EH-yohs GAH-nahn POH-koh
nosotros ahorramos dinero
we save money
noh-SOH-trohs ah-oh-RRAH-mohs dee-NEH-roh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Three verbs run the whole money conversation. Ganar is to earn (and also to win), gastar is to spend, ahorrar is to save up. Gano bien — I make a good living. Ellos ganan poco — they earn little. Nosotros ahorramos dinero — we save money.
Y también · And also
Nouns to go with them: el sueldo (the wage), los impuestos (the taxes), el alquiler (the rent — la renta in Mexico), los gastos (the expenses). Es demasiado caro para mí — that is too expensive for me. El peso is the money of Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina and more.
Ojo · Watch out
ganar is to earn AND to win; ahorrar is to save money. Saving a file or a person is a different verb (guardar, salvar). And gastar is to spend money; to spend TIME is pasar tiempo.
ganar, presente — the table
yo gano · tú ganas · él/ella/usted gana · nosotros ganamos · ustedes ganan · ellos/ellas ganan
ahorrar, presente — the table
yo ahorro · tú ahorras · él/ella/usted ahorra · nosotros ahorramos · ustedes ahorran · ellos/ellas ahorran
Do it now — on paper
Say all 11 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with ganar.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out ganar, presente and ahorrar, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.