I have heard, several times, Spanish language is easier to learn, compared with other languages. And I am not talking about Spanish verbs conjugations! I am talking about reading and writing Spanish.

Except for letters “h”, “j”, “g”, “b” and “v”, Spanish spelling is not difficult and using some easy rules, we can read a text in Spanish or even write what we hear without much complication.

With this set of articles I am going to try to clarify when we should use/write either “b” or “v” in Spanish. But don’t worry! Although there are several rules, the good news is we have rules to apply! The key to a good spelling in Spanish is practice, practice and practice. So, apart from reading this rules and understanding them, we also have to read a lot in Spanish. Read newspapers on the internet, there are several of them! Read books in Spanish! And, one more thing to help you understand how these rules work, is the set of exercises and tests you will also find in these articles.

So, let’s start talking about the use of “b” in Spanish.

1. All words starting with the prefix bi- are written with “b”. Examples:
   bilingüe (bilingual); billón (billion); bimestral (two-month, bimonthly); bimotor (twin-engined)



2. Verbs “beber”, “caber”, “haber”, “saber”, “sorber” and “deber”, conjugated in all tenses.
   Examples:
   With “beber” (to drink): Él bebió (He drunk);
   With “caber” (to fit): La camisa no me cabe. (The shirt does not fit.)
   With “haber” (to have, there is, there are): No había problemas. (There were no problems.)
   With “saber” (to know): No sabía cómo ir a tu casa. (I didn’t know how to go to your home.)
   With “sorber” (to slurp): Ana sorbe (Ana slurps)
   With “deber” (to have to, must, to own): Juan debe caminar. (Juan must walk.)



3. All words ending with the sound “b” end must be written with letter “b”.
   Examples:
   Club (club); sub (sub); baobab (baobab).

These three rules about the use of “b” in Spanish are enough, for now.
To review them, here’s a set of questions:

1. Choose the right option:
a) Ustedes beben agua.
b) Ellos beven agua.
d) Yo vevo agua.

2. One of the following options is wrong:
a) “deber” means “to have”
b) “beber” means “to drink”
c) “caber” means “to fit”

3. Right or wrong?
a) All words ending with a “b” sound must be written with “v”
b) All words ending with a “g” sound must be written with “b”
c) All words ending with a “b” sound must be written with “b”

4. Right or wrong?
a) vilingüe
b) vikingo
c) bilabial
d) nosotros bebemos
e) deber
f) dever
g) haber
h) bebemos
i) bilabial




ANSWERS:

1. a) Ustedes beben agua.

2. a) “deber” means “to have”

3. Right or wrong?
a) All words ending with a “b” sound must be written with “v” - WRONG
b) All words ending with a “g” sound must be written with “b” - WRONG
c) All words ending with a “b” sound must be written with “b” - RIGHT

4. Right or wrong?
a) vilingüe - WRONG
b) vikingo - RIGHT
c) bilabial - RIGHT
d) nosotros bebemos- RIGHT
e) deber- RIGHT
f) dever - WRONG
g) haber- RIGHT
h) bebemos- RIGHT
i) bimensual- RIGHT