Stock Market Investing: Smart Ideas for After the Holidays

Key vocabulary

• invertirv.

  to invest

  “Muchas personas quieren invertir en Bolsa.”— Many people want to invest in the stock market.

  Pattern invertir en (to invest in...)

  Compare colocar (to place, to invest)

  Irregular verb, conjugated as: invirtiendo, invirtió

  💡 Associate with English 'invest', same root, easy to remember.

• las vacacionesf. pl.

  vacation, holidays

  “Después de las vacaciones, vuelvo al trabajo.”— After the holidays, I go back to work.

  Pattern estar de vacaciones (to be on vacation)

  Compare descanso (rest)

  Plural noun form, singular vacación

  💡 vacación comes from Latin vacatio, meaning free time.

• los expertosm. pl.

  experts

  “Los expertos dan consejos sobre inversiones.”— Experts give advice on investments.

  Pattern experto en (expert in...)

  Compare especialistas (specialists)

  Masculine plural noun, singular experto

  💡 Cognate with English 'expert', easy to remember.

• recomendarv.

  to recommend

  “Te recomiendo leer este libro.”— I recommend you read this book.

  Pattern recomendar + inf. (to recommend doing something)

  Compare aconsejar (to advise)

  Irregular verb, e changes to ie, e.g. recomiendo

  💡 Associate with English 'recommend', same root.

• las accionesf. pl.

  stocks, shares

  “Comprar acciones puede ser arriesgado.”— Buying stocks can be risky.

  Pattern comprar/vender acciones (to buy/sell stocks)

  Compare valores (securities)

  Plural noun form, singular acción

  💡 acción has two meanings: 'action' and 'stock'; associate 'shares' as a piece of action of a company.

• la bancaf.

  banking (sector)

  “La banca es un sector importante en España.”— Banking is an important sector in Spain.

  Pattern sector bancario (banking sector)

  Compare banca (banking world)

  Feminine noun, plural bancas (but singular commonly used)

  💡 Cognate with English 'bank', but banca specifically refers to the banking industry.

• subirv.

  to rise, go up

  “Los precios han subido este año.”— Prices have risen this year.

  Pattern subir de precio (to go up in price)

  Compare aumentar (to increase)

  Regular verb, past participle subido

  💡 Imagine the action of 'up', subir means to go up.

• empezarv.

  to start, begin

  “Puedes empezar con poco dinero.”— You can start with little money.

  Pattern empezar a + inf. (to start doing...)

  Compare comenzar (to begin)

  Irregular verb, e changes to ie, e.g. empiezo

  💡 Same meaning as English 'begin', but different form; associate 'empe' in 'empezar' with 'starting an action'.

Grammar spotlight

Sentence patterns to steal

• La banca sigue siendo una opción popular, aunque los precios ya han subido mucho.

  Banking is still a popular choice, although prices have already risen a lot.

  sigue siendo + noun/adjective + aunque + clauseAfter sigue siendo, you can use other nouns or adjectives, such as una buena idea ('a good idea').

• Es importante informarse bien y no tener prisa.

  It is important to be well informed and not to rush.

  Es importante + infinitive + y + infinitiveImportante can be replaced with necesario ('necessary') or bueno ('good').

• Invertir no es fácil, pero puedes empezar con pequeñas cantidades.

  Investing is not easy, but you can start with small amounts.

  No es + adjective + pero + sentenceFácil can be replaced with difícil ('difficult') or caro ('expensive').