Vocab test
- Preocuparse – To worry
- Yo me preocupo – I worry
- Él cantó – He sang
- Yo dibujé – I drew
- No lo vi – I didn’t see it
- Tú tomaste – You took
- Ellos olvidaron – They forgot
- Ellos enseñaron – They taught
- Ellos respondieron – They answered
- Él se sienta allá – He sits over there
Verb of the day
Conjugate the verb SENTARSE (To sit) in the preterite tense.
| Yo | Nosotros |
| Tú | Vosotros |
| Él/ Ella/ Usted | Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes |
Questions to answer
¿Por qué no nos sentamos y te ayudo a estudiar?
¿Qué le estás enseñando?
¿Puedes parar de responder todo?
¿Puedes responder esa pregunta?
¿Ustedes ya empezaron a estudiar?
¿A qué hora empezó la clase?
¿Qué enseñaste el año pasado?
¿Comprendes bien el español?
A simple dialogue
Use the Spanish phrases to translate the English dialogue. Write it out and perform it.
- I can’t find my book!
- Where did you last have it?
- I don’t know. I started a new course yesterday.
- Did you take your book with you?
- I think so.
- Which college was it?
- It’s at the Arts Centre.
- Do you know the name of the teacher?
- It was a lady called Mrs Borrega.
- In that case, you don’t need to worry.
- Just call the Arts centre, and ask if a book was left in Mrs Borrega’s classroom yesterday.
- This is the number.
- Why don’t you call them now?
- Well I’m not going to call them now.
- Why not?
- Today is Sunday.
Use these phrases to translate the dialogue.
Solo llama al Centro de Artes y pregunta si ayer se dejó algún libro en el aula de la señora Borrega.
No sé. Ayer comencé un nuevo curso.
Hoy es domingo.
Este está el número.
Está en el Centro de las Artes.
Era una señora llamada señora Borrega.
En ese caso, no tienes que preocuparte.
Creo que sí.
Bueno, no los voy a llamar ahora.
¿Sabes el nombre del profesor?
¿Qué academia era?
¿Por qué no?
¿Por qué no los llamas ahora?
¿Llevaste tu libro contigo?
¿Dónde lo tuviste por última vez?
¡No encuentro mi libro!
Choose from a range of voices to read your dialogue here.
Grammar notes
* Read this information, then use it to quiz a friend.
Verb with preterite spelling changes
The regular -ar verb endings in the preterite tense are -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron.
In the yo form of verbs that end with -car, -gar and -zar there are spelling changes.
| -car verbs Sacar = To take out Explicar = To explain Buscar = To look for | -gar verbs Pagar = To pay Jugar = To play Llegar = To arrive | -zar verbs Almorzar = To have lunch Comenzar = To begin Empezar = To begin |
| Yo busqué Tú buscaste Él/Ella/Usted buscó Nosotros buscamos Vosotros buscasteis Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes buscaron | Yo llegué Tú llegaste Él/Ella/Usted llegó Nosotros llegamos Vosotros llegasteis Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes llegaron | Yo empecé Tú empezaste Él/Ella/Usted empezó Nosotros empezamos Vosotros empezasteis Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes empezaron |
The spelling changes happen due to Spanish spelling and pronunciation rules.
In Spanish, the letter c has a hard “k” sound before a, o, u (e.g., casa, cómo, cubo), and a soft “s” sound (or “th” in Spain) before e or i (e.g., cielo, centro). If we wrote buscé instead of busqué, the c before é would sound like an “s” (or “th” in Spain) instead of the hard “k” sound that we want, so we write busqué.
The letter g has a hard “g” sound (like in “go”) before a, o, u (e.g., gato, goma, gusano), and a soft “h” sound (like the English “h” in “huge”) before e or i (e.g., gente, girar). If we wrote llegé instead of llegué, the g before é would sound like a soft “h” instead of the hard “g” sound we need, so we write llegué.
The letter z is pronounced like the English “s” in Latin America or “th” in Spain. The letter z is never followed by e or i in correct Spanish spelling. When z would appear before these vowels, it is always replaced with c, so we write empecé.
- Tocar = To touch. Explicar = To explain. Practicar = To practice. Secar = To dry.
- Apagar = To turn off. Entregar = To deliver. Cargar = To charge. Investigar = To investigate.
- Cruzar = To cross. Rezar = To pray. Abrazar = To hug. Organizar = To organize.
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!
| When did you last: * explain how to do something * practice a hobby * deliver a gift * hug a friend * charge your phone | ¿Cuándo fue la última vez que …? * explicaste cómo hacer algo * practicaste un pasatiempo * entregaste un regalo * abrazaste a un amigo * cargaste tu móvil |
Next lesson: 3.27 Talk about your past
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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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