Some common greetings and exchanges include, simply "hola, como estas?" (hello, how are you?), "buenas noches" (good evening), "hasta luego" (until later) and "claro" (sure!). To tell someone your name, just say "me llamo ___" (I call myself ___); to ask someone their name, say "como se llama?" (how do you call yourself?). To say yes is "sí" and no stays as "no." Another easy one to ask is "how are you?"--"como estas?"
When it comes to purchasing items, it can be smart to ask the price of an object ("Cuanto cuesta?") beforehand, and an easy bargaining response (at a street market for example) upon hearing the cost is to reply "demasiado" (too much!).
The easiest way to ask for something is to say "Quiero" or "Yo Quiero" (I want) followed by the object in question, such as "Yo quiero una cerveza" (I want a beer). It's always best to be polite, so be sure to add "por favor" (please); other pleasantries are "gracias" (thank you), "de nada" (you're welcome), and "perdon" or "excusame" (excuse me).
In the event of an emergency, the simplest phrase to recall is "ayudame!" (help me!); to be more specific you can ask for the police ("necesito la policía!") or a hospital, "donde esta el hospital?" (where is the hospital?).
It never hurts to find out if someone you wish to speak with knows English, so just say "hablas ingles?" (do you speak English?). If someone is trying to speak to you in Spanish you can tell them you don't understand ("no comprende"), that you only speak English ("solo hablo Ingles"), or-if you're learning some Spanish but they're speaking too quickly-"hablas mas lento por favor" (speak more slowly please).
Places/things you might need to find would include: a hotel (just "hotel"), restaurant ("restaurante"), market ("mercado") or tavern ("taberna"). When ordering or buying food, common items include: "leche" (milk), "agua fria" (cold water), "queso" (cheese), "jamon" (ham), "marisco" (seafood), "bisteca" (beefsteak), and "arroz" (rice).
Some forms/centers of transport that might come in handy are: taxi (just "taxi"), airport ("aeropuerto"), train station ("estación de tren"), bus ("autobus") and boat ("barco"). To say "take me" is "llevame", so to say "take me to the beach" to a cabbie you'd say "llevame a la playa." You could also say "Yo quiero ir a la playa" (I want to go to the beach).
