Skip to content
Spanish
Log inStart
Illustration for “Congratulations, Ana!”

Spanish story with translation · A1 · 11 lines

¡Felicidades, Ana! Congratulations, Ana!

Comic · 7 panels

Panel 1 of 7 for “Congratulations, Ana!”: Today is my birthday. I'm thirty-two.

  1. Hoy es mi cumpleaños. Tengo treinta y dos años.

    Today is my birthday. I'm thirty-two.

Panel 2 of 7 for “Congratulations, Ana!”: At seven, a man calls: "Congratulations, Ana!" He's ninety-nine: a hundred minus one!

  1. A las siete llama un señor: «¡Felicidades, Ana!»

    At seven, a man calls: "Congratulations, Ana!"

  2. Tiene noventa y nueve años: ¡cien menos uno!

    He's ninety-nine: a hundred minus one!

Panel 3 of 7 for “Congratulations, Ana!”: At ten, a sixty-year-old teacher calls; at eleven, a man of seventy. At twelve, an eighty-year-old lady.

  1. A las diez llama un profesor de sesenta años; a las once, un señor de setenta.

    At ten, a sixty-year-old teacher calls; at eleven, a man of seventy.

  2. A las doce, una señora de ochenta años.

    At twelve, an eighty-year-old lady.

Panel 4 of 7 for “Congratulations, Ana!”: Pablo calls too: "How old are you? Thirty? Forty?" "Thirty-two, Pablo, not forty!" And he says: "Thirty-two or forty, congratulations!"

  1. Pablo también llama: «¿Qué edad tienes? ¿Treinta? ¿Cuarenta?»

    Pablo calls too: "How old are you? Thirty? Forty?"

  2. «¡Treinta y dos, Pablo, no cuarenta!» Y él: «Treinta y dos o cuarenta, ¡felicidades!»

    "Thirty-two, Pablo, not forty!" And he says: "Thirty-two or forty, congratulations!"

Panel 5 of 7 for “Congratulations, Ana!”: In the afternoon, five students of Spanish call. They're thirteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen.

  1. Por la tarde llaman cinco estudiantes de español.

    In the afternoon, five students of Spanish call.

  2. Tienen trece, dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho y diecinueve años.

    They're thirteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen.

Panel 6 of 7 for “Congratulations, Ana!”: Today more than twenty friends call. At twelve midnight, one more: "Ana, one more year!"

  1. Hoy llaman más de veinte amigos. A las doce de la noche, uno más: «Ana, ¡un año más!»

    Today more than twenty friends call. At twelve midnight, one more: "Ana, one more year!"

Panel 7 of 7 for “Congratulations, Ana!”: Thanks a million to everyone.

  1. Mil gracias a todos.

    Thanks a million to everyone.

Grammar for this text

Age: tener + años

  • Tiene noventa y nueve años — "he's ninety-nine", word for word "he has ninety-nine years". ¿Qué edad tienes? is another way to ask someone's age: "how old are you?" (word for word "what age do you have?").
  • un profesor de sesenta años — "a sixty-year-old teacher": the age is joined with de. In un señor de setenta the word años is left out because it's clear anyway.

Más and menos

  • cien menos uno — "a hundred minus one"; uno más — "one more"; ¡un año más! — "one more year!": más means "more" or "plus", menos means "less" or "minus".
  • más de veinte amigos — "more than twenty friends": before a number, "more than" is más de.

Llama un señor: who's calling

  • llama un señor — one person calls, so the verb is llama; llaman cinco estudiantes — several people call, so it's llaman. The subject comes after the verb here: Spanish often does this, English doesn't.
  • Por la tarde — "in the afternoon": parts of the day go with por la.

Time: a las siete — at seven

  • It's three words: a — "at", las — the article, siete — "seven". This is how you answer "when?": a las siete, a las diez, a las once.
  • Why plural: after las, the word horas (hours) is understood. Hora is feminine, and seven hours are more than one, so the article is feminine plural: las.
  • Add the part of the day with de: a las doce de la noche — "at twelve midnight".

Words and grammar of the unit: Say your age and phone number.

Learn the words from the texts with flashcards

In the app, you can tap any word in a text to see its translation, forms and examples, and new words stick with flashcards. 15 minutes a day.

Start for free

Everything is open for free. No card needed to sign up.