Getting a grip on some basic Spanish

Periodically, I replay my way through the various audio lessons with which I first began learning Spanish.
I find it serves two functions. One is to encourage me, by showing how much I've learned. The other is to help avoid complacency, by reminding me how much I've forgotten.

The other day, I was listening to a Michel Adam recording, when he used an interesting phrase
"A good handle"
He was referring to words or constructions which, once memorised, could easily be used as building blocks, to construct more complex sentences, just by tacking on an infinitive.
This means you can begin to use new verbs, which you've juts learned, immediately, without having to stop and think about how they're conjugated.

One of the simplest 'handles' I can think of is 'Quiero' - 'I want'
Just stick the infinitive form of a verb on the end, and you can ask for all sorts of things.
Quiero comer - I want to eat
Quiero ir - I want to go
Quiero dormir - I want to sleep
Quiero comprar algo - I want to buy something

Of course, you can be a little more polite and  use, say 'me gustaria', or 'quisiera', both of which mean 'I would like'. Then there's 'me gusta' - 'I like' and 'necesito' - 'I need'

If you are wanting someone else to do something, you could try 'puede', or 'puedes' - 'can you?'
'¿Puedes ayudarme?' - can you help me?
'¿Puede decirme?' - can you tell me?
As with 'quiero', there are more polite forms, like 'pudiera(s)' - 'could you?', or 'podria(s)' - 'would you?'

Another construction, which will be familiar, if you've started looking at the Future tenses, is 'voy a' - 'I'm going to'
'Voy a buscar un hotel' - 'I'm going to find a hotel'
This verb'ir' also works just as well in the Past as 'iba a' - 'I was going to'
'Yo iba a decirtelo' - 'I was going to tell you it'
Speaking of which, going back to 'poder' (to be able), if you use the past tense(s) you can say either 'no pude' or 'no podía' so, for example 'no pude entenderlo' - 'I couldn't understand it'

I'm sure, as you progress, you'll come across more of these useful words and snippets, which you can hang infinitives on, to make your speech more interesting, without having to tackle the conjugations of every new verb before you're ready, but here's a goodie, to finish with
'Acabar de' - to have just done something
Example:
' Acabo de terminar' - 'I have just finished'  ;-)

¡Hasta pronto!