Vocab test
- Hablando – Speaking
- Escuchando – Listening
- Aprendiendo – Learning
- Escribiendo – Writing
- Saliendo – Leaving
- Comiendo – Eating
- Hay – There is/ There are
- La pizarra – The whiteboard
- El aula – The classroom
- El almuerzo – The lunch
Verb of the day
Conjugate the verb ESTAR (To be) in the present tense.
| Yo | Nosotros |
| Tú | Vosotros |
| Él/ Ella/ Usted | Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes |
Questions to answer
¿Quién está hablando?
¿Tú estás escuchando?
¿Tienes que estudiar hoy?
¿Qué estás comiendo?
¿Quieres aprender a hablar español o no?
¿Qué estás haciendo ahora?
¿Tienes que hacer mucha tarea?
¿Por qué estás aprendiendo alemán?
A simple dialogue
Use the Spanish phrases to translate the English dialogue. Write it out and perform it.
- Are you reading the same book as me?
- I don’t know. What are you reading?
- This is a book I have to read for my Spanish class. It is called “The Little Prince.”
- Is it a Spanish book?
- Well, the original is French, but we are reading it in Spanish.
- That is amazing! I am learning German, but I can’t read books in German.
- What are you doing to study?
- I watch T.V. in German with English subtitles, and I use Duolingo and take notes.
- I think that you are doing everything right. Keep studying. I am sure you will be reading books in German very soon if you just keep going!
Use these phrases to translate the dialogue.
¡Eso es asombroso! Estoy aprendiendo alemán, pero no puedo leer libros en alemán.
¿Es un libro en español?
¿Estás leyendo el mismo libro que yo?
¿Qué estás haciendo para estudiar?
Bueno, el original es francés, pero lo estamos leyendo en español.
Creo que estás haciendo todo bien. Sigue estudiando. ¡Estoy seguro de que estarás leyendo libros en alemán muy pronto si sigues avanzando así!
Este es un libro que tengo que leer para mi clase de español. Se llama “El Principito”.
No sé. ¿Qué estás leyendo?
Veo televisión en alemán con subtítulos en inglés, uso Duolingo y tomo notas.
Choose from a range of voices to read your dialogue here.
Grammar notes
* Read this information, then use it to quiz a friend.
Gerunds
A gerund in Spanish is a verb form that corresponds to the English verbs ending in -ing, like “speaking” or “eating”.
Gerunds in Spanish are used to describe actions in progress.
Forming gerunds in Spanish
The gerund is formed by taking the verb’s stem and adding specific endings.
1. For -AR verbs drop the -ar ending and add -ando.
- hablar → hablando (speaking)
- estudiar → estudiando (studying)
2. For -ER and -IR verbs drop the -er or -ir ending and add -iendo.
- comer → comiendo (eating)
- salir → saliendo (leaving)
3. Irregular gerunds
- leer → leyendo (reading)
- decir → diciendo (telling)
Uses of the gerund
1. The gerund is most commonly used with the verb estar to describe actions that are happening at the moment of speaking. This is the present progressive tense.
- Estoy estudiando para el examen. = I am studying for the exam.
- Estamos escribiendo un ensayo. = We are writing an essay.
2. Gerunds can be used with verbs like seguir, continuar, andar, or ir:
- Sigue estudiando si quieres aprender más. = Keep studying if you want to learn more.
3. Unlike in English, gerunds in Spanish cannot function as nouns. Use the infinitive instead of the gerund.
- English: Reading is fun.
- Spanish: Leer es divertido.
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!
| Imagine you are in a perfect day. What are you doing? Think of a famous person. What is he/ she doing right now? | Imagina que estás en un día perfecto. ¿Qué estás haciendo? Piensa en una persona famosa. ¿Qué está haciendo ahora mismo? |
Next lesson: 3.12 Use direct object pronouns
Buy the workbook in print!
Convenient, photocopiable books available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Please note, the books are the same content as this website, for those who want a convenient place to write their responses.
Key features.
- Habit tracker
- List of 20 vocabulary items to learn for each unit
- Space to note Duolingo phrases
- A conjugated verb for each unit
- Duolingo inspired questions to answer with the help of AI
- A simple on-theme dialogue for each unit
- Grammar explanations for each unit
- Suggested websites for further study
- Journal prompts to encourage the Spanish journaling habit
- Teaching notes and ideas
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