A2 · Unit 1 · 40 words, 2 texts with translation
Catch up with friends and family
Chat with friends and family on video calls and by message: share your news and ask what's new with them.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Estar + gerund: what's happening right now
On a video call, the first question is often "What are you doing?" To talk about an action that's happening right now, Spanish uses the present progressive: estar + the gerund (the -ando / -iendo form). It works like English "am / is / are + -ing".
You already know the forms of estar (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están). The gerund is easy to make, and it never changes for gender or number:
| Verb | Gerund | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | hablando | Estoy hablando con Pablo. — I'm talking to Pablo. |
| comer | comiendo | ¿Estás comiendo? — Are you eating? |
| escribir | escribiendo | Ana está escribiendo un mensaje. — Ana is writing a message. |
Four common gerunds are irregular — learn them by heart: leer → leyendo, dormir → durmiendo, decir → diciendo, pedir → pidiendo.
- ¿Qué estás haciendo? — Estoy cocinando. — What are you doing? — I'm cooking.
- Los niños están durmiendo. — The kids are sleeping.
- Estoy aprendiendo español. — I'm learning Spanish (not this very second, but these months — Spanish uses it this way too).
- Me estoy duchando, te llamo luego. — I'm taking a shower, I'll call you later.
With reflexive verbs, me, te, se go before estar: me estoy duchando.
Present or present progressive. Spanish keeps them apart just like English: Trabajo en un banco — I work at a bank (in general); estoy trabajando — I'm working (busy with work right now).
Common mistake: using it for plans. English says "I'm working tomorrow", but Spanish doesn't use estar + gerund for plans or habits. Say mañana trabajo or mañana voy a trabajar, not ✗ estoy trabajando mañana.
The written accent: what it does
The little mark over a vowel (á, é, í, ó, ú) isn't decoration. It has two jobs.
1. It shows the stress when a word breaks the rule. The rule is simple:
- a word that ends in a vowel, -n or -s: stress the second-to-last syllable — casa, hablan, lunes;
- a word that ends in any other consonant: stress the last syllable — hablar, ciudad, español.
If a word breaks the rule, the stressed vowel gets a written accent: café, aquí, también, teléfono, móvil, conexión. See the mark — stress that syllable. Sometimes the meaning depends on it: esta casa means "this house", but está en casa — he's at home.
2. It tells apart short words that look alike. They sound the same but mean different things:
| No accent | With accent |
|---|---|
| el — the: el móvil | él — he: él llama |
| tu — your: tu madre | tú — you: ¿y tú? |
| mi — my: mi casa | mí — me: para mí |
| si — if: si quieres | sí — yes: sí, claro |
| te — you, to you: te llamo | té — tea: un té |
Question words always have an accent in questions and exclamations: ¿qué?, ¿cómo?, ¿dónde?, ¡cuánto tiempo! The same words without a question have no accent: creo que sí (I think so).
Common mistake: skipping accents in texts ("they'll understand anyway"). Not always: ✗ si, esta en casa reads like "if, this at home". The right way is Sí, está en casa (Yes, she's at home).
Yo-go verbs: hago, pongo, salgo
You already know tengo (A1, unit 2), hago and digo (A1, unit 10) one by one. Now let's put them in one group — that makes them easier to remember.
A few very common verbs add a g before the -o ending in the yo form. Only in the yo form — the other forms don't have it.
| Verb | yo | tú | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| hacer — to do, to make | hago | haces | Hago la cena. — I make dinner. |
| poner — to put | pongo | pones | Pongo el móvil en la mesa. — I put the phone on the table. |
| salir — to go out, to leave | salgo | sales | Salgo a las ocho. — I leave at eight. |
| traer — to bring | traigo | traes | Traigo el pan. — I'll bring the bread. |
| tener — to have | tengo | tienes | Tengo una llamada. — I have a call. |
| venir — to come | vengo | vienes | Vengo enseguida. — I'm coming right away. |
| decir — to say, to tell | digo | dices | Te digo la verdad. — I'm telling you the truth. |
hacer, poner, salir and traer are regular in all the other forms. tener, venir and decir also change the stem (tienes, vienes, dices) — you've seen this before too.
Common mistake: making the yo form by the usual rule: ✗ hazo, ✗ pono, ✗ salo, ✗ teno. These words don't exist. If a verb is on this list, its yo form always ends in -go.
Words in this unit
contar — to tell, to count
Te cuento una cosa. — I'll tell you something.
enviar — to send
Envío un mensaje a mi madre. — I'm sending a message to my mother.
recibir — to receive, to get
Recibo muchos mensajes de mis amigos. — I get a lot of messages from my friends.
el mensaje — message
Tengo un mensaje de Lucía. — I have a message from Lucía.
la llamada — call, phone call
Tengo una llamada importante. — I have an important call.
la videollamada — video call
Tenemos una videollamada a las ocho. — We have a video call at eight.
la novedad — news, something new
¿Hay alguna novedad? — Is there any news?
así — like this, like that, this way
Se hace así. — It's done like this.
tan — so, such
Tu casa es tan bonita. — Your house is so pretty.
tanto — so much, so many
Hablamos tanto por teléfono. — We talk on the phone so much.
último — last, latest
Esta es mi última semana en casa. — This is my last week at home.
aún — still, yet
Aún no tengo amigos aquí. — I still don't have any friends here.
justo — just, right, exactly
Estoy justo en la puerta. — I'm right at the door.
realmente — really
Realmente me gusta Valencia. — I really like Valencia.
enseguida — right away
Voy enseguida. — I'll be right there.
el rato — while, short time
Hablamos un rato. — We'll talk for a while.
echar de menos — to miss (someone or something)
Echo de menos a mi familia. — I miss my family.
acostumbrarse — to get used to
Me acostumbro al calor poco a poco. — I'm getting used to the heat little by little.
sonar — to sound, to ring (a phone)
Eso suena muy bien. — That sounds really good.
colgar — to hang, to hang up
Cuelgo ahora, tengo que cenar. — I'm hanging up now, I have to have dinner.
charlar — to chat, to talk
Charlamos por teléfono cada domingo. — We chat on the phone every Sunday.
la pantalla — screen
La pantalla de mi móvil es grande. — My phone's screen is big.
la conexión — connection, internet connection
La conexión es mala. — The connection is bad.
la cobertura — signal, coverage
No tengo cobertura aquí. — I don't have any signal here.
el saludo — greeting, regards
Un saludo a tu familia. — Say hi to your family.
el cariño — honey, dear; affection
Hola, cariño, ¿qué haces? — Hi, honey, what are you doing?
la costumbre — habit, custom
Es una buena costumbre. — It's a good habit.
la experiencia — experience
Es una experiencia nueva para mí. — It's a new experience for me.
emocionado — excited, moved
Estoy muy emocionada con el viaje. — I'm really excited about the trip (woman speaking).
distinto — different
Valencia es distinta de Madrid. — Valencia is different from Madrid.
el acento — accent, written accent
Tengo acento extranjero. — I have a foreign accent.
el principio — beginning
Es el principio de la historia. — It's the beginning of the story.
de momento — for now, at the moment
Todo bien de momento. — Everything's fine for now.
por cierto — by the way
Por cierto, ¿qué haces hoy? — By the way, what are you doing today?
en fin — anyway, oh well
En fin, nos vemos mañana. — Anyway, see you tomorrow.
al principio — at first, in the beginning
Al principio siempre estoy nervioso. — At first I'm always nervous (man speaking).
pasarlo bien — to have a good time
Lo paso bien aquí. — I have a good time here.
cuánto tiempo — how long; long time no see
¡Cuánto tiempo, Pablo! ¿Qué tal? — Long time no see, Pablo! How are you?
hace tiempo — for a long time, a long time ago
Hace tiempo que no veo a mis abuelos. — I haven't seen my grandparents in a long time.
estoy comiendo — I'm eating (right now)
Estoy hablando con Pablo. — I'm talking to Pablo.
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