B2 · Unit 6 · 42 words, 2 texts with translation
Read local news
Understand newspaper headlines and the TV news: fires and other incidents, city events, trials and sentences. Learn to recognize the passive voice and le instead of lo for a man.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Passive voice: fue construido, ha sido detenido (recognize only)
You already know how to say that something was done without saying who did it: se construyó un puente (B1, unit 7) or just construyeron un puente. Newspapers and the TV news have a third way: the passive voice. You don't need to use it yourself, but you do need to recognize it: you can't read a single news story without it.
Why it's used. In the news, what matters is who or what something happened to, not who did it: "Thief arrested," "The bridge was built in 1930."
How it's built: the verb ser in the right tense + past participle, just like English "be + past participle." Only ser shows the tense.
| When | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| in the past | El puente fue construido en 1930. | The bridge was built in 1930. |
| just now | Un ladrón ha sido detenido. | A thief has been arrested. |
| in the future | La biblioteca será inaugurada el sábado. | The library will be officially opened on Saturday. |
Here the participle works like an adjective: it agrees in gender and number. fue detenido (a man), fue detenida (a woman), fueron detenidos (several people). If it matters who did it, that comes after por (English "by"): Los vecinos fueron rescatados por los bomberos. — The residents were rescued by the firefighters.
Headlines often drop ser, just like English headlines drop "was": Detenido un ladrón en el centro — Thief arrested downtown.
What about in conversation? People almost never talk like this: it sounds like a newscaster. They say the same three sentences from the table in two ways you already know:
- with
se: El puente se construyó en 1930. - with "they" and no subject: Han detenido a un ladrón.
- the same, with the thing first: La biblioteca la abren el sábado.
A common mistake for English speakers is to copy the English passive: "I was robbed," "I was told." Not fui robado, but me han robado; not fui dicho (that form doesn't exist at all), but me dijeron. Keep it simple: when you read or listen to the news, recognize ser + participle; when you speak, use se or "they."
Le vi ayer: le instead of lo for a man (recognize only)
You already know that "him, her, it, them" is lo, la, los, las (A2, unit 5), and le means "to him, to her" (A2, unit 11). So by the rule you say lo vi ayer — I saw him yesterday.
But in Spain you'll hear something else all the time: le vi ayer. It's not a mistake, and it doesn't mean "to him." When they talk about one man, a lot of Spaniards say le instead of lo, especially in Madrid, in the center and in the north of the country; in the south, in Andalusia, you'll hear lo more often. You'll hear it on the news too, and the Royal Spanish Academy (the official authority on the language) accepts it as correct, but only for one man. This is called leísmo.
| Who or what | By the rule | What you'll hear in Spain |
|---|---|---|
| one man | Lo conozco. | Le conozco. — I know him. |
| a woman | La conozco. | only La conozco. |
| several people | Los conozco. | Los conozco. (you may also hear les, but that's not considered correct) |
a thing (el móvil) | Lo compré ayer. | only Lo compré ayer. |
- ¿Has visto a Pablo? — Sí, le vi ayer en el bar. — Have you seen Pablo? — Yes, I saw him yesterday at the bar.
- Al ladrón le detuvieron en el portal. — They arrested the thief at the entrance of the building.
- A tu hermano no le conozco, pero a tu hermana la vi ayer. — I don't know your brother, but I saw your sister yesterday.
How can you tell if it means "him" or "to him"? From the verb. Ver, conocer, esperar, detener, invitar act directly on a person (you see someone, wait for someone, arrest someone), so le with them means "him": le vi — I saw him. But in le di las llaves — I gave the keys to him — it's the usual "to him."
What should you do? Say lo: it's correct always and everywhere. Just recognize le for a man and don't be surprised by it. A common mistake is to decide that le now works for everyone: for a woman it's only la vi, for a thing only lo compré.
Words in this unit
el titular — headline
Solo leo los titulares. — I only read the headlines.
informar — to inform, to report
Los periódicos informan de lo que pasa en la ciudad. — Newspapers report on what happens in the city.
publicar — to publish, to post
El periódico publica la noticia hoy. — The newspaper is publishing the story today.
investigar — to investigate, to research, to look into
La policía investiga el caso. — The police are investigating the case.
la investigación — investigation, research
La investigación sigue abierta. — The investigation is still open.
el reportaje — feature, report
Anoche vi un reportaje sobre los bomberos. — Last night I watched a report about firefighters.
el telediario — TV news
Vemos el telediario a las nueve. — We watch the TV news at nine.
el suceso — incident (crime or accident)
Este suceso ha sorprendido a todo el barrio. — This incident has surprised the whole neighborhood.
el incendio — fire
Anoche hubo un incendio en el barrio. — Last night there was a fire in the neighborhood.
el bombero — firefighter
Mi tío es bombero. — My uncle is a firefighter.
la ambulancia — ambulance
Ha llegado una ambulancia. — An ambulance has arrived.
rescatar — to rescue
Los bomberos rescatan a una familia del edificio. — The firefighters rescue a family from the building.
destruir — to destroy
El fuego destruye la casa. — The fire destroys the house.
la construcción — construction, building
La construcción del puente dura dos años. — The construction of the bridge takes two years.
inaugurar — to open (officially), to inaugurate
El alcalde inaugura el nuevo parque. — The mayor officially opens the new park.
el alcalde — mayor
El alcalde habla con los vecinos. — The mayor talks with the residents.
el ministro — minister
El ministro habla hoy en la radio. — The minister is speaking on the radio today.
municipal — city, municipal
Voy a la piscina municipal. — I go to the city pool.
el/la habitante — inhabitant, resident
Mi pueblo tiene mil habitantes. — My town has a thousand inhabitants.
la manifestación — protest, demonstration
Hay una manifestación en el centro. — There's a protest downtown.
la huelga — strike
Mañana hay huelga de trenes. — There's a train strike tomorrow.
el ladrón — thief, robber
Un ladrón entró en la tienda por la noche. — A thief broke into the store at night.
el delito — crime, offense
Robar en una tienda es un delito. — Stealing from a store is a crime.
cometer — to commit
Todos cometemos errores. — We all make mistakes.
acusar — to accuse
La policía acusa a dos jóvenes del robo. — The police accuse two young people of the robbery.
atacar — to attack
Un perro ataca a un hombre en la calle. — A dog attacks a man in the street.
el juicio — trial
El juicio empieza mañana a las diez. — The trial starts tomorrow at ten.
el tribunal — court
El tribunal decide el lunes. — The court decides on Monday.
el testimonio — testimony, account
El testimonio de la vecina es muy importante. — The testimony of the neighbor (female) is very important.
la sentencia — sentence, court ruling
La sentencia sale la semana que viene. — The ruling comes out next week.
condenar — to sentence, to convict, to condemn
El tribunal condena al ladrón a dos años de cárcel. — The court sentences the thief to two years in prison.
provocar — to cause, to provoke
Un cable provoca el incendio. — A wire causes the fire.
tras — after
Tras el accidente, la calle sigue cortada. — After the accident, the street is still closed.
recientemente — recently
Recientemente abrieron un bar en mi calle. — They recently opened a bar on my street.
en directo — live
Vemos el partido en directo. — We're watching the game live.
de última hora — breaking (news), last-minute
Noticias de última hora: hay un incendio en el centro. — Breaking news: there's a fire downtown.
tener lugar — to take place
La fiesta tiene lugar en la plaza. — The celebration takes place in the square.
producirse — to happen, to occur
Se ha producido un accidente en la carretera. — An accident has occurred on the road.
fallecer — to pass away, to die
Dos personas fallecen en un accidente de coche en la autopista. — Two people die in a car accident on the highway.
llevar a cabo — to carry out
El ayuntamiento lleva a cabo unas obras en la calle. — City hall is carrying out some work on the street.
sacar a la luz — to bring to light, to reveal
La policía sacó a la luz una gran estafa. — The police brought a big scam to light.
tomar medidas — to take measures, to take action
El ayuntamiento debe tomar medidas contra el ruido. — City hall has to take measures against the noise.
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.