1. If you know the sound of each symbol (each letter of the alphabet) in Spanish, you can read and a Spanish-speaker can understand what you say (no matter if you can understand what you are saying yourself).

2. If you know the sound of each symbol (each letters of the alphabet) in Spanish, you can put in writing what you listen in Spanish and any Spanish-speaker will be able to read it (no matter if you understand those words yourself).

3. In general, adjectives in   Spanish dictionaries appear in their masculine-singular form (like "amarillo") and verbs appear in their infinitive form (like "cantar"). So words like "amarillas" or "cantamos" don´t commonly appear in the dictionaries.

4. Like English, Spanish has different words with the same meaning (for example, "to cancel"/"to call off") called "synonyms". You don´t need to know synonyms when you speak, but knowing them will help you when someone speaks to you.

5. Like in English,  if you have a repertoire of tenses with at least one future, one present, and one past, you can convey a message in Spanish and be understood.

6. If you don´t know how to use the imperative form (commands) in Spanish, you can use verbs as "poder" (can) or "necesitar" (to neeed) to make suggestions. So, instead of "Toma (tú) una pastilla cada día," you can say "(Tú) Necesitas tomar una pastilla cada día".

7. If you are the a health care provider, you control the conversation regardless of who (you or your patient) has a better knowledge in the language. You are who makes the questions, you are who asks the patient if s/he has questions for you, etc.

8.  In the communication with your patient, you are the one that has the context (the one who knows the procedure to follow and what to do), and you have learned the language at least to manage this kind of conversations.

9. You may (you must) tell your patient if you don´t understand an important word or a part of his/her message. The goal is to communicate (this is, to inform and being informed). Your patient trusts you as a healthcare provider not as a linguist. If you detect miscommunication, you should request an available interpreter.

10.  Spanish verbs with the exception of 13 very irregular ones, give you three pieces of information in the form of stem + suffix 1 +suffix 2, this is, what, when, and who makes the action, like in the word cancel + a + mos , which is to cancel +now + we