A2 · Unit 13 · 40 words, 3 texts with translation

Describe how your neighborhood used to be

Talk about what your neighborhood was like in the past: describe places, people and the weather, and say what used to be there.

Texts in this unit

Dialogue · 16 linesAntes todo era distintoEverything used to be different Story · 16 linesEcho de menos aquel barrio aburridoI miss that boring neighborhood Dialogue · 12 linesUn puente sin ríoA bridge without a river

Grammar in this unit

The imperfect for descriptions: how things were

You already know the forms of the imperfect (hablaba, comía, era, iba) and its first job: habits in the past, like de pequeña jugaba en la calle — "as a little girl, I used to play in the street" (unit 12).

Its second job is description. Picture an old photo of your street: nothing happens in it, it just shows what the houses, the people and the weather were like. Everything you say "about the photo" goes in the imperfect. This is how people talk about their hometown, an old apartment or their old neighbors.

What we describe	Example
A place	El barrio era* tranquilo y tenía muchas tiendas.* — The neighborhood was quiet and had lots of stores.
A person	La portera era* muy seria y llevaba gafas.* — The concierge was very serious and wore glasses.
The weather	Hacía frío y llovía. — It was cold and it was raining.
Age and time	Yo tenía* diez años. Eran las ocho.* — I was ten. It was eight o'clock.
Feelings and wishes	Estaba cansada y quería dormir. — I was tired and wanted to sleep (woman speaking).

Common mistake. English uses "was" for all of these. Spanish makes you choose the verb, just like in the present (A1, unit 16):

era — what something was like: La plaza era grande. — The square was big.
estaba — where it was or what state it was in: La plaza estaba cerca y estaba vacía. — The square was nearby and it was empty.
tenía — what it had: La plaza tenía una fuente. — The square had a fountain.

And the weather: "it was hot" is hacía calor, not ✗ era calor.

Había: there was, there were

You already know hay — "there is / there are": en mi calle hay un bar (A1, unit 4). Había is the same word in the past: "there was / there were".

You need it every time you say what there was in a place: which stores, how many people, whether it was noisy. Stories about how people used to live somewhere often start with it.

Like hay, había never changes: it's the same form for one thing and for many. English switches from "was" to "were", but Spanish doesn't.

Aquí había una fábrica. — There was a factory here.
En la plaza había muchos niños. — There were lots of kids in the square.
No había tráfico. — There was no traffic.
Había mucho ruido. — There was a lot of noise.
¿Había tranvía en tu ciudad? — Was there a streetcar in your city?

After había you put un / una, a number, mucho, poco or a noun with no article at all, just like after hay. If the thing is already known (el, la, mi) and you're saying where it was, use estaba:

Había una fuente en la plaza. — There was a fountain in the square (some fountain we haven't mentioned yet).
La fuente estaba en la plaza. — The fountain (the one we already know) was in the square.

Common mistakes.

English "there were" pulls you toward a plural: ✗ habían muchas tiendas. Spanish doesn't say that. The correct form is había muchas tiendas: always one form.
English "was" pulls you toward era or estaba. But "there was a market here" is aquí había un mercado, not ✗ aquí era un mercado.

Words in this unit

por aquí — around here, near here
¿Hay una farmacia por aquí? — Is there a pharmacy around here?
hoy en día — nowadays, these days
Hoy en día todo el mundo tiene móvil. — Nowadays everyone has a cell phone.
en aquella época — back then, in those days, at that time
En aquella época no teníamos coche. — Back then we didn't have a car.
la zona — area, zone
Vivo en una zona muy tranquila. — I live in a very quiet area.
el ruido — noise
Hay mucho ruido en la calle. — There's a lot of noise in the street.
el silencio — silence, quiet
Aquí por la noche hay silencio total. — At night there's total silence here.
el tráfico — traffic
Hay mucho tráfico a esta hora. — There's a lot of traffic at this time of day.
existir — to exist
Esa panadería ya no existe. — That bakery doesn't exist anymore.
construir — to build
Construyen un edificio nuevo en mi calle. — They're building a new building on my street.
desaparecer — to disappear
Muchos comercios pequeños desaparecen. — Many small stores are disappearing.
vacío — empty
La calle está vacía por la noche. — The street is empty at night.
lleno — full, crowded
El tranvía va lleno a esta hora. — The streetcar is full at this time of day.
peligroso — dangerous
Esta carretera es muy peligrosa. — This road is very dangerous.
la panadería — bakery
Voy a la panadería a comprar pan. — I'm going to the bakery to buy bread.
la fábrica — factory
Mi padre trabaja en una fábrica. — My father works in a factory.
el comercio — store, shop, trade
Los comercios del barrio cierran a las ocho. — The stores in the neighborhood close at eight.
la carretera — road, highway
La carretera pasa por el pueblo. — The road goes through the town.
el puente — bridge
Cruzamos el puente a pie. — We cross the bridge on foot.
la fuente — fountain
En la plaza hay una fuente muy bonita. — There's a very pretty fountain in the square.
las afueras — outskirts, suburbs
Vivo en las afueras de Madrid. — I live on the outskirts of Madrid.
la contaminación — pollution
En Madrid hay mucha contaminación. — There's a lot of pollution in Madrid.
el anciano — elderly person, old man
Mi vecino es un anciano muy simpático. — My neighbor is a very nice old man.
el ayuntamiento — city hall
El ayuntamiento está en la plaza. — City hall is on the square.
el quiosco — newsstand, kiosk
Compro el periódico en el quiosco. — I buy the newspaper at the newsstand.
la portera — concierge, doorkeeper
La portera del edificio es muy amable. — The building's concierge (female) is very nice.
el cartero — mailman, mail carrier
El cartero llega a las diez. — The mailman comes at ten.
el tranvía — streetcar, tram
Voy al trabajo en tranvía. — I go to work by streetcar.
el huerto — vegetable garden
Mi abuelo tiene un huerto con tomates. — My grandfather has a vegetable garden with tomatoes.
la obra — construction work, renovation, work
Hay obras en mi calle. — There's construction work on my street.
la acera — sidewalk
Camina por la acera, por favor. — Walk on the sidewalk, please.
la farola — streetlight
La farola de la esquina no funciona. — The streetlight on the corner doesn't work.
la aldea — small village, hamlet
Mi abuela nació en una aldea pequeña. — My grandmother was born in a small village.
la urbanización — housing development
Vivo en una urbanización con piscina. — I live in a housing development with a pool.
vida de barrio — neighborhood life, community feel
Aquí hay mucha vida de barrio. — There's a lot of neighborhood life here.
reformar — to renovate, to remodel
Estamos reformando la cocina. — We're renovating the kitchen.
derribar — to tear down, to knock down
Van a derribar el edificio viejo. — They're going to tear down the old building.
tender — to hang (laundry), to stretch out
Mi madre tiende la ropa en el balcón. — My mother hangs the laundry on the balcony.
la cuerda — rope, clothesline
Tiendo la ropa en una cuerda. — I hang the laundry on a clothesline.
la chimenea — fireplace, chimney
Mi abuela tiene una chimenea en casa. — My grandmother has a fireplace at home.
el rascacielos — skyscraper
En el centro hay muchos rascacielos. — There are lots of skyscrapers downtown.

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