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Spanish A2.11: Emergency services

Servicios de emergencia

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Vocabulary (10)

El socorro: The relief (Spanish)

El socorro llegaba cuando llamabais al 112.

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The help arrived when you called 112. Show

El socorro

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The relief Show

El teléfono de emergencia: The emergency telephone (Spanish)

Mi hermana llamaba al teléfono de emergencia al ver humo.

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My sister was calling the emergency number upon seeing smoke. Show

El teléfono de emergencia

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The emergency telephone Show

Llamar los bomberos: Call the fire brigade (Spanish)

Cuando veíamos humo, siempre llamábamos a los bomberos rápidamente.

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When we saw smoke, we always called the fire brigade quickly. Show

Llamar los bomberos

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Call the fire brigade Show

La Cruz Roja: The Red Cross (Spanish)

La Cruz Roja ayudaba en todas las situaciones de emergencia.

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The Red Cross assisted in all emergency situations. Show

La Cruz Roja

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The red cross Show

La ambulancia: The ambulance (Spanish)

La ambulancia llegaba rápidamente a emergencias.

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The ambulance was arriving quickly at the emergency department. Show

La ambulancia

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The ambulance Show

La Seguridad Social: National Insurance (Spanish)

Ellos llamaban a la Seguridad Social durante emergencias graves.

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They called the Social Security during serious emergencies. Show

La Seguridad Social

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National insurance Show

La paramédica: The paramedic (Spanish)

La paramédica ayudaba a los heridos en accidentes.

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The paramedic was helping the injured in accidents. Show

La paramédica

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The paramedic Show

La sala de urgencias: The casualty department (Spanish)

El médico explicaba los síntomas en la sala de urgencias.

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The doctor was explaining the symptoms in the emergency room. Show

La sala de urgencias

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The casualty department Show

Tener una emergencia: To have an emergency (Spanish)

Ella llamaba al 112 cuando tenía una emergencia.

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She called 112 when she had an emergency. Show

Tener una emergencia

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To have an emergency Show

La protección: The protection (Spanish)

La protección siempre era prioridad en emergencias.

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Protection was always a priority in emergencies. Show

La protección

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The protection Show

Exercises

These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.

Exercise 1: Reorder sentences

Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.

Show answers Show translation
1.
en accidentes. | ayudaba a | los heridos | La paramédica
La paramédica ayudaba a los heridos en accidentes.
(The paramedic was helping the injured in accidents.)
2.
112. | llegaba cuando | llamabais al | El socorro
El socorro llegaba cuando llamabais al 112.
(The help arrived when you called 112.)
3.
de emergencia. | La Cruz | en todas | Roja ayudaba | las situaciones
La Cruz Roja ayudaba en todas las situaciones de emergencia.
(The Red Cross assisted in all emergency situations.)
4.
rápidamente. | los bomberos | Cuando veíamos | humo, siempre | llamábamos a
Cuando veíamos humo, siempre llamábamos a los bomberos rápidamente.
(When we saw smoke, we always called the fire brigade quickly.)
5.
las situaciones | críticas. | Las ambulancias | ayudaban en
Las ambulancias ayudaban en las situaciones críticas.
(The ambulances assisted in critical situations.)
6.
teléfono de | emergencia al | Mi hermana | ver humo. | llamaba al
Mi hermana llamaba al teléfono de emergencia al ver humo.
(My sister was calling the emergency number upon seeing smoke.)
7.
graves. | a la | Seguridad Social | durante emergencias | Ellos llamaban
Ellos llamaban a la Seguridad Social durante emergencias graves.
(They called the Social Security during serious emergencies.)

Exercise 2: Translate and use in a sentence

Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.

1

Llamar los bomberos

Call the fire brigade

2

La paramédica

The paramedic

3

El teléfono de emergencia

The emergency telephone

4

La sala de urgencias

The casualty department

5

Tener una emergencia

To have an emergency

Exercise 3: Verb conjugation

Instruction: Choose the correct verb and tense.

Show translation Show answers

ibas, ayudábamos, iba, ayudaban, ibais, iban, llamabais

1.
Él ... directo a la sala de urgencias.
(He was heading straight to the emergency room.)
2.
... a consultar el número de emergencia.
(You were going to call the emergency number.)
3.
... a llamar a la cruz roja.
(I was going to call the Red Cross.)
4.
... a alertar sobre el incendio.
(You were going to alert about the fire.)
5.
... a organizar el socorro.
(They were going to organise the relief.)
6.
Ellos ... a la cruz roja a menudo.
(They often helped the Red Cross.)
7.
Nosotros ... en el teléfono de emergencia.
(We were helping on the emergency phone.)
8.
Vosotras ... a la sala de urgencias.
(You were calling the emergency room.)

Exercise 4: El pretérito imperfecto de verbos regulares

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Grammar: The imperfect past tense of regular verbs

Show translation Show answers

atendían, ayudaban, visitaban, miraba, llamaba, escuchabais, usabas, trabajábamos

1. Mirar:
Ella ... la sala de urgencias desde la ventana.
(She was looking at the emergency room from the window.)
2. Usar:
¿Tú ... el teléfono de emergencia frecuentemente?
(Did you use the emergency phone frequently?)
3. Visitar:
Ustedes ... la clínica todos los lunes.
(You visited the clinic every Monday.)
4. Atender:
Los médicos ... a muchos pacientes cada día.
(The doctors were attending to many patients each day.)
5. Ayudar:
Ellos ... en las campañas de protección civil.
(They helped with the civil protection campaigns.)
6. Llamar:
Mi hermana ... a los bomberos cada vez que veía humo.
(My sister used to call the fire brigade every time she saw smoke.)
7. Trabajar:
Nosotros ... con la Cruz Roja todos los veranos.
(We used to work with the Red Cross every summer.)
8. Escuchar:
Vosotros ... las instrucciones del socorro.
(You were listening to the rescue instructions.)

Exercise 5: El pretérito imperfecto de verbos irregulares

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Grammar: The imperfect tense of irregular verbs

Show translation Show answers

veías, veíamos, iban, íbamos, eran, era

1. Ser:
Los paramédicos ... rápidos y eficaces.
(The paramedics were quick and efficient.)
2. Ir:
Nosotros ... a la Cruz Roja cada semana.
(We used to go to the Red Cross every week.)
3. Ser:
Yo ... parte del equipo de socorro.
(I was part of the relief team.)
4. Ser:
Ella ... voluntaria en emergencias.
(She was a volunteer in emergencies.)
5. Ver:
Nosotros ... muchos casos cada día.
(We used to see many cases every day.)
6. Ver:
¿Tú ... las instrucciones en la sala?
(Did you see the instructions in the room?)
7. Ser:
El médico ... muy amable con los pacientes.
(The doctor was very kind to the patients.)
8. Ir:
Ellos ... al centro médico cada mañana.
(They went to the medical centre every morning.)

Grammar

It's not the most exciting thing, we admit, but it’s absolutely essential (and we promise it'll pay off)!

A2.11.1 Gramática

El pretérito imperfecto de verbos regulares

The imperfect past tense of regular verbs

A2.11.2 Gramática

El pretérito imperfecto de verbos irregulares

The imperfect tense of irregular verbs

Verb conjugation tables for this lesson

Ir to go

Pretérito imperfecto

Spanish English
yo iba I was going
tú ibas you were going
él/ella iba He/she was going
nosotros/nosotras íbamos we used to go
vosotros/vosotras ibais You all were going
ellos/ellas iban They used to go

Exercises and examples phrases

Ayudar to help

Pretérito imperfecto

Spanish English
yo ayudaba I was helping
tú ayudabas You were helping
él/ella ayudaba He/she was helping
nosotros/nosotras ayudábamos We helped
vosotros/vosotras ayudabais You were helping
ellos/ellas ayudaban They were helping

Exercises and examples phrases

Llamar to call

Pretérito imperfecto

Spanish English
yo llamaba I called
tú llamabas You were calling
él/ella llamaba He/she was calling
nosotros/nosotras llamábamos We called
vosotros/vosotras llamabais You called
ellos/ellas llamaban they called

Exercises and examples phrases

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