B2 · Unit 28 · 45 words, 2 texts with translation
Celebrate a housewarming with friends
Host a housewarming: set the table, raise a toast and look back on arriving in the city three years ago.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Indicative, subjunctive or conditional: three questions before you choose
Nothing new here: this is the whole level on one page. Before the verb that comes after a connector, ask yourself three questions, in this order.
1. Am I stating a fact? Then the normal form (indicative): Sé que vienes. — I know you're coming.
2. Am I not stating a fact but wanting, feeling, judging, doubting or setting a condition — or hasn't it happened yet? Then the subjunctive: Me alegra que vengas. — I'm glad you're coming.
3. Is it a "would": imagined, polite, or a guess? Then the conditional: Yo vendría, pero no puedo. — I'd come, but I can't.
| What comes before the verb | Form after it | B2 unit |
|---|---|---|
creo que, es verdad que, está claro que, lo malo es que, a lo mejor, seguramente | indicative | 7, 20 |
wish, doubt, purpose: quiero que, no creo que, para que | subjunctive | B1: 18, 24, 19 |
feeling and judgment: me alegra que, es importante que | subjunctive | 5, 7 |
something that doesn't exist yet or hasn't happened yet: busco un piso que…, hasta que, en cuanto, antes de que | subjunctive | 3, 10 |
doubt and conditions: puede que, a no ser que, con tal de que, sin que | subjunctive | 20, 24 |
a past main verb: quería que…, me pidió que… | imperfect subjunctive: viniera | 13, 14 |
si for an unreal "if", como si, ojalá about something that can't happen | imperfect subjunctive | 17, 18 |
the result of an unreal "if"; a polite request; a guess about the past; a promise in reported speech: dijo que vendría | conditional | 17, 16, 19, 15 |
Which subjunctive tense to use — venga, haya venido or viniera — see unit 27.
A common mistake is putting the conditional after si (if): ✗ si podría. The correct form is si pudiera. English works the same way: you don't say "if I would know", you say "if I knew". The conditional goes only in the main part: Si pudiera, iría. — If I could, I'd go.
One connector, two forms: how the verb form changes the meaning
The hardest thing at this level is connectors that can take either form: the verb form changes the meaning of the whole sentence. You've already studied each pair; here they are side by side.
| Connector | With the indicative | With the subjunctive | Explained in |
|---|---|---|---|
aunque | aunque llueve — although it's raining | aunque llueva — even if it rains | unit 11 |
cuando, hasta que, en cuanto | cuando llego, ceno — when I get home, I have dinner (always) | cuando llegue, cenaré — when I get home, I'll have dinner (I'm not home yet) | B1, unit 21; unit 10 |
siempre que | siempre que viene… — whenever he comes… | siempre que venga… — as long as he comes… | unit 24 |
decir que | dice que vienes — he says you're coming | dice que vengas — he's telling you to come | unit 14 |
sentir que | siento que está triste — I feel that he's sad | siento que esté triste — I'm sorry he's sad | unit 5 |
quizá, tal vez | quizá viene — he'll probably come | quizá venga — he might come | unit 20 |
un piso que… | tengo un piso que tiene terraza — I have an apartment that has a terrace (it exists) | busco un piso que tenga terraza — I'm looking for an apartment with a terrace (I don't have one yet) | unit 3 |
si | si tengo tiempo, iré — if I have time, I'll go | si tuviera tiempo, iría — if I had time, I'd go | unit 17 |
The idea is almost always the same. The indicative says "this is how it is": a fact, a habit. The subjunctive says "so far this is only in my head": the future, a condition, a wish. The odd one out is sentir que: there the subjunctive comes after a feeling (being sorry).
English helps with cuando: when you talk about the future, English doesn't use "will" after "when" either ("when I get home", not "when I will get home"). Spanish uses the subjunctive there.
Check yourself on sentences from this unit's texts:
- Saldrá cuando os sentéis. — He'll come out when you sit down (to several people). They haven't sat down yet, so the subjunctive.
- …aunque tú todavía no sabes que existe. — …even though you don't know it exists yet. A fact, so the indicative.
- Habla, aunque te equivoques. — Speak, even if you make mistakes. Nobody knows yet whether you'll make mistakes, so the subjunctive.
Words in this unit
reunirse — to get together, to meet
El sábado nos reunimos en casa de Ana. — On Saturday we're getting together at Ana's place.
la inauguración — opening, housewarming
Mañana es la inauguración de nuestro piso. — Tomorrow is the housewarming for our apartment.
la sobremesa — sobremesa, lingering at the table after a meal
Después de comer hacemos una larga sobremesa. — After the meal we have a long sobremesa.
magnífico — magnificent, wonderful
Tenemos una vista magnífica desde el balcón. — We have a magnificent view from the balcony.
delicioso — delicious
La tarta está deliciosa. — The cake is delicious.
sabroso — tasty, flavorful
El jamón de este bar es muy sabroso. — The ham at this bar is very tasty.
cálido — warm, welcoming
Nos dieron una bienvenida muy cálida. — They gave us a very warm welcome.
el aperitivo — aperitif, appetizer
Tomamos un aperitivo antes de comer. — We have an aperitif before lunch.
la ración — portion, shared plate
Pedimos una ración de croquetas para todos. — We order a portion of croquettes for everyone.
los cubiertos — silverware
Pon los cubiertos en la mesa, por favor. — Please put the silverware on the table.
la aceituna — olive
Pon unas aceitunas en la mesa. — Put some olives on the table.
la croqueta — croquette
Mi madre hace unas croquetas buenísimas. — My mom makes amazing croquettes.
el tinto — red wine
Un tinto, por favor. — A glass of red, please.
el cava — cava (Spanish sparkling wine)
Brindamos con cava por la casa nueva. — We toast the new home with cava.
el ramo — bouquet, bunch of flowers
Le llevo un ramo de flores a Marta. — I'm bringing Marta a bouquet of flowers.
el bombón — chocolate (candy)
He traído una caja de bombones. — I've brought a box of chocolates.
el discurso — speech
Mi padre quiere hacer un discurso. — My father wants to make a speech.
la carcajada — loud laugh, burst of laughter
Soltó una carcajada al oír la broma. — He burst out laughing when he heard the joke.
la decoración — decor, decorations
Me gusta la decoración de tu salón. — I like the decor in your living room.
juntarse — to get together, to meet up
Los domingos nos juntamos toda la familia. — On Sundays we all get together as a family.
trasnochar — to stay up late
Cuando hay fiesta, trasnocho sin problema. — When there's a party, I stay up late, no problem.
acoger — to welcome, to take in
Mis vecinos me acogieron muy bien. — My neighbors welcomed me very warmly.
evolucionar — to evolve, to develop, to grow
Mi español evoluciona poco a poco. — My Spanish is developing little by little.
transformar — to transform, to turn (into)
Quiero transformar este cuarto en un despacho. — I want to turn this room into a home office.
el reencuentro — reunion, meeting again
El reencuentro con mi familia fue muy emotivo. — The reunion with my family was very emotional.
el ciclo — cycle, stage (of life)
Termina un ciclo y empieza otro. — One stage ends and another begins.
el nido — nest
Hay un nido en el balcón. — There's a nest on the balcony.
la velada — evening (spent together)
Fue una velada muy agradable. — It was a very pleasant evening.
el embutido — cold cuts, cured sausage
Ponemos un plato de embutidos en la mesa. — We put a plate of cold cuts on the table.
las sobras — leftovers
Hoy cenamos las sobras de ayer. — Tonight we're having yesterday's leftovers for dinner.
el picoteo — snacks, finger food
Para la fiesta preparamos un picoteo. — We're making some snacks for the party.
el vermut — vermouth, pre-lunch drink
Nos tomamos un vermut antes de comer. — We have a vermouth before lunch.
el sacacorchos — corkscrew
¿Tienes un sacacorchos? — Do you have a corkscrew?
descorchar — to uncork, to open (a bottle)
Vamos a descorchar una botella de cava. — We're going to uncork a bottle of cava.
el felpudo — doormat
Dejo la llave debajo del felpudo. — I leave the key under the doormat.
el paisano — fellow countryman, someone from back home
En el viaje conocí a un paisano. — On the trip I met a fellow countryman.
exquisito — exquisite, delicious
La cena fue exquisita. — Dinner was exquisite.
sea cual sea — whatever (it is), no matter what
Sea cual sea el resultado, lo celebramos juntos. — Whatever the result, we'll celebrate together.
de haberlo sabido — if I had known, had I known
De haberlo sabido, ahora no estaría tan cansada. — If I'd known, I wouldn't be so tired now (woman speaking).
como si fuera ayer — as if it were yesterday
Han pasado tres años, pero lo recuerdo como si fuera ayer. — Three years have gone by, but I remember it as if it were yesterday.
a estas alturas — by now, at this point
A estas alturas ya conocemos a todos los vecinos. — By now we know all the neighbors.
para chuparse los dedos — finger-licking good
La paella estaba para chuparse los dedos. — The paella was finger-licking good.
estar en su salsa — to be in your element
Ana está en su salsa cuando cocina para mucha gente. — Ana is in her element when she cooks for lots of people.
ponerse las botas — to stuff yourself, to have a feast
En la boda nos pusimos las botas. — At the wedding we stuffed ourselves.
el desafío — challenge
Aprender un idioma es un gran desafío. — Learning a language is a big challenge.
Learn these words with flashcards
In the app, the unit’s words come to your flashcards a few at a time and repeat until they stick, and the texts show them in use. 15 minutes a day.
Start for freeEverything is open for free. No card needed to sign up.