Vocab test
- La vaca – The cow
- El perro – The dog
- El gato – The cat
- El pájaro – The bird
- Los cerdos – The pigs
- Los caballos – The horses
- Los búhos – The owls
- Los peces – The fish
- No escribieron nada – They didn’t write anything
- Aprendieron tres idiomas – They learned three languages
Verb of the day
Conjugate the verb COMER (To eat) in the preterite tense.
| Yo | Nosotros |
| Tú | Vosotros |
| Él/ Ella/ Usted | Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes |
Questions to answer
¿Quién limpió el refrigerador ayer?
¿Ustedes ya miraron esta película?
¿A tus padres les gustan las películas de terror?
¿Cuándo limpiaron ellos los dormitorios?
¿Quién abrió las ventanas?
¿Quién escribió esta nota?
¿Dónde aprendieron francés esos caballos?
¿Qué aprendieron ustedes en la granja?
A simple dialogue
Use the Spanish phrases to translate the English dialogue. Write it out and perform it.
- Do you like stories about animals?
- I love animals. Yesterday, some cats sang a a funny song together.
- I love animals too. I saw some cows in the field near my house last week and I played my guitar for them.
- Did they like it?
- Yes. They all lay down near me and they listened to the music.
- That is nice. I remember a picnic I had with some animals.
- Where was that?
- Near the river. Two ducks came and asked me for food. Then three sheep arrived. We ate cake together. It was a good day.
Use these phrases to translate the dialogue.
¿Dónde fue eso?
¿Les gustó?
¿Te gustan las historias sobre animales?
Amo a los animales también. La semana pasada vi algunas vacas en el campo cerca de mi casa y les toqué la guitarra.
Amo a los animales. Ayer unos gatos cantaron juntos una canción divertida.
Cerca del río. Vinieron dos patos y me pidieron comida. Luego llegaron tres ovejas. Comimos pastel juntos. Fue un buen día.
Eso es lindo. Recuerdo un picnic que hice con unos animales.
Sí. Todos se acostaron cerca de mí y escucharon la música.
Choose from a range of voices to read your dialogue here.
Grammar notes
* Read this information, then use it to quiz a friend.
The preterite tense (el pretérito) is used in Spanish to describe actions or events that are completed in the past. When telling stories, the preterite is used for describing what happened or recounting actions that advanced the plot.
Conjugating regular verbs in the preterite
AR Verbs
Example: Caminar (to walk)
- Él/Ella/Usted caminó
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes caminaron
ER Verbs
Example: Correr (to run)
- Él/Ella/Usted corrió
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes corrieron
IR Verbs
Example: Salir (to leave)
- Él/Ella/Usted salió
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes salieron
Irregular Verbs in the Preterite
Some common irregular verbs include:
- Ir (to go): Fue, Fueron
- Hacer (to do/make): Hizo, Hicieron
- Decir (to say): Dijo, Dijeron
Examples of the preterite in stories:
- El león rugió y todos los animales corrieron al bosque. = The lion roared, and all the animals ran to the forest.
- Un día, el zorro vio un gallo y trató de atraparlo. = One day, the fox saw a rooster and tried to catch it.
- El pato nadó, salió del agua y buscó comida. = The duck swam, got out of the water, and looked for food.
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!
| Write a story about some dogs, cats, a horse, a cow, and two owls who live together. What are their hobbies? What jobs do they do to look after where they live? What did they do yesterday? Stick to actions and avoid descriptions, as that would use a different tense. | Escribe una historia sobre algunos perros, gatos, un caballo, una vaca y dos búhos que viven juntos. ¿Cuáles son sus aficiones? ¿Qué trabajos hacen para cuidar el lugar donde viven? ¿Qué hicieron ayer? Céntrate en las acciones y evita las descripciones, ya que eso usaría un tiempo verbal diferente. |
Next lesson: 3.20 Describe your weekend
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
Please share this website with education professionals and language students.
DuoBookClub.com 