A2 · Unit 8 · 40 words, 3 texts with translation
Talk about a trip
Tell the story of a trip: where you stayed, what you saw, where you went and what went wrong.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
The preterite: -er and -ir verbs
You already know the preterite of -ar verbs: hablé, hablaste, habló… (unit 7). Now it's time for -er and -ir verbs. You need them to say what you ate, where you went up and when you came back.
The good news: these two groups have the same endings. Drop -er or -ir and add:
| Person | comer (to eat) | salir (to leave) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | comí | salí |
| tú | comiste | saliste |
| él / ella / usted | comió | salió |
| nosotros | comimos | salimos |
| vosotros | comisteis | salisteis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comieron | salieron |
The same with beber, volver, conocer, perder, coger and vivir, subir, abrir, escribir, decidir.
Examples:
- Ayer comí en un bar del casco antiguo. — Yesterday I had lunch at a bar in the old town.
- ¿A qué hora saliste del hostal? — What time did you leave the guesthouse?
- Mis amigos volvieron muy tarde. — My friends came back very late.
What matters:
- In the yo and él forms the stress is on the ending, and the written accent is a must: comí, comió.
- The stem of -er verbs doesn't change in this tense: vuelvo, but volví; pierdo, but perdí.
- For -ir verbs the nosotros form is the same as in the present tense: salimos is both "we leave" and "we left". Time words like ayer tell you which one.
A common mistake is using the -ar endings out of habit: ✗ comé, ✗ bebó. The right forms are comí and bebió.
The verbs ser, ir, estar, tener, hacer, ver, dar are irregular in this tense. They come in the next unit.
Hace + time: saying "ago"
When you talk about a trip, you soon need to answer "when was it?". English says "two years ago"; Spanish says hace + a period of time: hace dos años.
hace is a form of hacer, but here it never changes: it's always hace, however many days or years have passed. You've already seen it in hace tiempo — a long time (unit 1).
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| hace diez minutos | ten minutes ago |
| hace una hora | an hour ago |
| hace tres días | three days ago |
| hace un mes | a month ago |
| hace dos años | two years ago |
| hace mucho / hace poco | a long time ago / not long ago |
The verb with it is in the preterite:
- Llegué a Valencia hace cinco meses. — I arrived in Valencia five months ago.
- Hace dos años recorrí Portugal. — Two years ago I traveled around Portugal.
- — ¿Cuándo llegaste? — Hace tres días. — When did you arrive? — Three days ago.
- El autobús salió hace diez minutos. — The bus left ten minutes ago.
A common mistake is the English word order. In English "ago" comes after the time, but hace always comes before it: hace dos años, not ✗ dos años hace.
Don't mix it up with the weather (A1, unit 11): hace calor — it's hot. There a weather word comes after hace; here it's a period of time.
Words in this unit
el equipaje — luggage, baggage
Mi equipaje está en la habitación. — My luggage is in the room.
la mochila — backpack
Llevo la mochila en la espalda. — I carry the backpack on my back.
el hostal — guesthouse, budget hotel
Dormimos en un hostal barato. — We slept at a cheap guesthouse.
la excursión — trip, excursion, tour
Mañana hacemos una excursión a la montaña. — Tomorrow we're going on a trip to the mountains.
coger — to take, to catch (a bus or a train)
Cojo el autobús a las ocho. — I take the bus at eight.
decidir — to decide
Decidimos ir a la playa. — We decided to go to the beach.
elegir — to choose, to pick
Elijo el camino más corto. — I choose the shortest way.
la historia — history, story
Me gusta la historia de esta ciudad. — I like the history of this city.
la parte — part, place
Esta es la parte más bonita de la ciudad. — This is the prettiest part of the city.
recorrer — to travel around, to go around, to cover (a distance)
Queremos recorrer toda la costa. — We want to travel the whole coast.
el conductor — driver
El conductor del autobús es muy amable. — The bus driver is very kind.
equivocarse — to make a mistake, to be wrong
Me equivoco de calle otra vez. — I get the street wrong again.
equivocado — wrong
Estás equivocado, esta no es mi calle. — You're wrong, this isn't my street (to a man).
darse cuenta — to realize, to notice
Me doy cuenta de que no tengo el móvil. — I realize I don't have my phone.
por suerte — luckily, fortunately
Por suerte, el hostal está cerca. — Luckily, the guesthouse is close.
el/la guía — guide, guidebook
La guía habla muy rápido. — The guide (female) talks very fast.
la ruta — route
¿Qué ruta hacemos hoy? — Which route are we taking today?
el monumento — monument, sight
Este monumento tiene mil años. — This monument is a thousand years old.
la catedral — cathedral
Hay una catedral gótica en el centro. — There's a Gothic cathedral in the center.
el castillo — castle
El castillo está en lo alto de la montaña. — The castle is at the top of the mountain.
la frontera — border
La frontera con Portugal está cerca. — The border with Portugal is close.
el recuerdo — souvenir, memory
Compré un recuerdo para mi madre. — I bought a souvenir for my mother.
atrás — back, behind
Dejamos atrás la ciudad. — We leave the city behind.
detrás — behind
El hostal está detrás de la catedral. — The guesthouse is behind the cathedral.
adelante — forward, ahead
Tenemos que seguir adelante. — We have to keep going.
la vista — view, eyesight
La habitación tiene vistas al mar. — The room has a view of the sea.
perdido — lost
Estoy perdido, ¿dónde está la estación? — I'm lost, where's the station? (man speaking)
la señal — sign, signal
No veo ninguna señal. — I can't see any sign.
el alojamiento — accommodation, place to stay
Busco alojamiento barato. — I'm looking for cheap accommodation.
alojarse — to stay (at a hotel or someone's place)
Nos alojamos en un hostal pequeño. — We're staying at a small guesthouse.
madrugar — to get up early
Mañana tenemos que madrugar. — We have to get up early tomorrow.
el atardecer — sunset, dusk
El atardecer desde el mirador es precioso. — The sunset from the viewpoint is beautiful.
el amanecer — dawn, sunrise
El amanecer en la montaña es muy bonito. — The sunrise in the mountains is very pretty.
casco antiguo — old town
Vivo en el casco antiguo. — I live in the old town.
el mirador — viewpoint, lookout
Subimos al mirador para ver el atardecer. — We go up to the viewpoint to see the sunset.
el sendero — trail, path
Seguimos el sendero hasta el pueblo. — We follow the trail to the village.
la cima — top, summit
Llegamos a la cima en dos horas. — We reach the top in two hours.
la muralla — city wall, castle wall
Paseamos por la muralla. — We walk along the city wall.
el callejón — alley, narrow street
Mi hostal está en un callejón pequeño. — My guesthouse is in a small alley.
hace dos años — two years ago
Llegué a Valencia hace cinco meses. — I arrived in Valencia five months ago.
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