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Vocab test

1. Al lado de – Next to
2. A la derecha – To the right
3. A la izquierda – To the left
4. Cerca de – Near to
5. Lejos de – Far from
6. Detrás de – Behind
7. Delante de – In front of
8. El edificio – The building
9. La calle – The street
10. ¿Dónde está? – Where is (it)?

Verb of the day

Conjugate the verb IR (to go) in the present tense.

Yo	Nosotros
Tú	Vosotros
Él/ Ella/ Usted	Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes

Questions to answer

Translation tool

1. ¿Dónde está la estación de tren?

2. ¿Estamos cerca de un café?

3. ¿El hotel está lejos de aquí?

4. ¿Necesito tomar el autobús?

5. ¿Cuántas puertas tiene este edificio?

6. ¿Quieres tomar un taxi?

7. ¿Necesitas ir al banco?

8. ¿Tus amigos están en el café?

A simple dialogue

Use the Spanish phrases to translate the English dialogue.  Write it out and perform it.

• Do you want to go to the café?
• I need to go to the supermarket first.
• The supermarket is near the café.
• The problem is that after the supermarket I need to go home.
• Of course, but why don’t we go to the café that is right next to the supermarket?
• Do you want to go to the supermarket with me, after we have a cup of coffee?
• Yes please!  When do you want to go?
• Why don’t we go now?
• Good idea.  We’re at the bus stop, and here’s the bus!

Use these phrases to translate the dialogue.

¡Sí, por favor!  ¿Cuándo quieres ir?

¿Por qué no nos vamos ahora?

¿Quieres ir al café?

¿Quieres ir al supermercado conmigo después de tomar un café?

Buena idea.  Estamos en la parada del autobús, ¡y aquí está el autobús!

El problema es que después del supermercado tengo que volver a casa.

El supermercado está cerca de la cafetería.

Por supuesto, pero ¿por qué no vamos a la cafetería que está justo al lado del supermercado?

Primero necesito ir al supermercado.

Choose from a range of voices to read your dialogue here.

Grammar notes

* Read this information, then use it to quiz a friend.

WORDS THAT MERGE

The Spanish word for to = a.

The Spanish word for from = de.

We don’t always translate directly from English to Spanish, so you will find that sometimes in English we say to, where the Spanish use the translation for from.  Look out for examples!

These little words form the basis of the only two Spanish word mergers. 

A + el = Al = To the (masculine noun)	De + el = Del = From the (masculine noun)
A la = To the (feminine noun)	De la = From the (feminine noun)

See how this works in the following examples.

• El supermercado está lejos de la estación. = The supermarket is far from the station.
• La estación está lejos del supermercado. = The station is far from the supermarket.
• El banco está al lado de la farmacia. = The bank is to the side of the pharmacy.
• La farmacia está a la derecha del banco. = The pharmacy is to the right of the bank.

WITH PEOPLE

The forms for with me and with you are special, as you can see from the list.

With me = Conmigo	With you = Contigo	With him = Con él	With her = Con ella	With you = Con usted
With us = Con nosotros	With you = Con vosotros	With them = Con ellos	With them = Con ellas	With you = Con ustedes

SER AND ESTAR

Ser is used for permanent characteristics or inherent qualities, such as size, shape, color, nationality, profession.  Remember the parts of ser: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son.

• Es pequeña = It is small.  The size is considered an inherent, permanent characteristic of the object. 

Estar is used for temporary states or locations.  Remember the parts of estar: estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están.

•  Está cerca = It is near.  Nearness refers to a location, and regardless of whether location is permanent or temporary, we use estar. 

Suggested grammar lesson.

Journal prompts

Write short sentences.  Keep them as simple as you can.

Use a translation tool to put them into Spanish.

Write them out, then check them with your teacher.  Present them to a friend, teaching your friend any new Spanish, and making sure they learn it!

List some of the features of your town, such as a church, a castle, a public toilet …  Imagine a person asking you where these places are.  Is the person you imagine male or female?  Can they understand you?  Where are you giving directions from?  How could non-verbal communication play a role?

Enumera algunas de las características de tu pueblo, como una iglesia, un castillo, un baño público…  Imagínate que una persona te pregunta dónde están estos lugares.  ¿La persona que imaginas es hombre o mujer?  ¿Pueden entenderte?  ¿Desde dónde estás dando direcciones?  ¿Cómo podría desempeñar un papel la comunicación no verbal?

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