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Vocabulary (11)

El cuento: The story (Spanish)

A menudo leíamos el cuento en voz alta durante la clase.

Show

We often read the story aloud during the lesson. Show

El cuento

Show

The story Show

Antes: Before (Spanish)

Antes de la pandemia, la gente paseaba con sus perros.

Show

Before the pandemic, people walked with their dogs. Show

Antes

Show

Before Show

Después: Afterwards (Spanish)

Primero cenábamos en familia y después contábamos cuentos antes de dormir.

Show

First we had dinner as a family and then we told stories before bed. Show

Después

Show

Afterwards Show

De repente: All of a sudden (Spanish)

Estábamos caminando por el bosque cuando, de repente, apareció un zorro.

Show

We were walking through the forest when, all of a sudden, a fox appeared. Show

De repente

Show

All of a sudden Show

Al final: In the end (Spanish)

Al final del cuento, los personajes descubrieron un secreto increíble.

Show

In the end, the characters discovered an incredible secret. Show

Al final

Show

In the end Show

Al principio: At first (Spanish)

Al principio, el personaje del cuento parecía misterioso.

Show

At the beginning, the character in the story seemed mysterious. Show

Al principio

Show

At first Show

Cuento de hadas: Fairy tale (Spanish)

Ayer leímos un cuento de hadas interesante.

Show

Yesterday we read an interesting fairy tale. Show

Cuento de hadas

Show

Fairy tale Show

La tarjeta de la biblioteca: The library card (Spanish)

La tarjeta de la biblioteca

Show

The library card Show

La novela: The novel (Spanish)

La novela

Show

The novel Show

La literatura: Literature (Spanish)

La literatura

Show

Literature Show

El escritor: The writer (Spanish)

El escritor

Show

The writer Show

Listening & reading materials

Follow adventures of Eva, Ana, Juan and Pedro.

Spanish A2.14.1 Don Quijote de la Mancha: Between Windmills and Dreams

A2.14.1 Cultura

Don Quijote de la Mancha: Entre Molinos y Sueños

Don Quijote de la Mancha: Between Windmills and Dreams

Grammar

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

A2.14.2 Gramática

¿El pretérito imperfecto o el pretérito indefinido?

The imperfect tense or the preterite tense?

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.
la gente | paseaba con | la pandemia, | sus perros. | Antes de
Antes de la pandemia, la gente paseaba con sus perros.
(Before the pandemic, people walked with their dogs.)
2.
contábamos cuentos | dormir. | en familia | antes de | Primero cenábamos | y después
Primero cenábamos en familia y después contábamos cuentos antes de dormir.
(First we had dinner as a family and then we told stories before bed.)
3.
secreto increíble. | Al final | del cuento, | descubrieron un | los personajes
Al final del cuento, los personajes descubrieron un secreto increíble.
(In the end, the characters discovered an incredible secret.)
4.
biblioteca. | De niño, | los cuentos | divertía leyendo | siempre me | en la
De niño, siempre me divertía leyendo los cuentos en la biblioteca.
(As a child, I always enjoyed reading the stories in the library.)
5.
durante la | leíamos el | clase. | cuento en | voz alta | A menudo
A menudo leíamos el cuento en voz alta durante la clase.
(We often read the story aloud during the lesson.)
6.
apareció un | de repente, | bosque cuando, | zorro. | Estábamos caminando | por el
Estábamos caminando por el bosque cuando, de repente, apareció un zorro.
(We were walking through the forest when, all of a sudden, a fox appeared.)
7.
de hadas | un cuento | interesante. | Ayer leímos
Ayer leímos un cuento de hadas interesante.
(Yesterday we read an interesting fairy tale.)

Exercise 2: Translate and use in a sentence

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

1

Después

Afterwards

2

Al principio

At first

3

La tarjeta de la biblioteca

The library card

4

Cuento de hadas

Fairy tale

5

La novela

The novel

Exercise 3: Verb conjugation

Instruction: Choose the correct verb and tense.

Show translation Show answers

traíamos, traía, trajiste, trajimos, trajeron, traje, trajo, traíais

1.
Él ... la maleta al aeropuerto.
(He brought the suitcase to the airport.)
2.
Yo ... la toalla cuando íbamos a la playa.
(I brought the towel when we went to the beach.)
3.
Ellos ... la comida para alimentar a la cabra.
(They brought the food to feed the goat.)
4.
Nosotros ... los biquinis para nadar en el río.
(We brought the bikinis to swim in the river.)
5.
Tú ... las gafas de sol para ir a la excursión.
(You brought the sunglasses to go on the excursion.)
6.
Nosotros ... la comida para la excursión.
(We brought the food for the excursion.)
7.
Yo ... la toalla para ir a la playa.
(I brought the towel to go to the beach.)
8.
Vosotros ... la ropa interior en la mochila.
(You were bringing the underwear in the backpack.)

Exercise 4: ¿El pretérito imperfecto o el pretérito indefinido?

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

soñaste, se divertían, habló, escuchaban, soñaba, andaba, jugasteis, nos divertimos

1. Jugar (vosotros):
Al final, ...en casa.
(In the end, you played at home.)
2. Escuchar (ellos):
Al principio, la historia era muy interesante y todos ... con atención.
(At first, the story was very interesting, and everyone was listening attentively.)
3. Soñar (yo):
Cuando era niño, siempre ... con ser un gran hombre.
(When I was a child, I always dreamed of being a great man.)
4. Divertirse (nosotros):
El año pasado, fui al cine con mis amigos y ... mucho.
(Last year, I went to the cinema with my friends and we had a lot of fun.)
5. Soñar (tú):
Ayer ... con visitar a tu amigo después de mucho tiempo.
(Yesterday you dreamt of visiting your friend after a long time.)
6. Andar (él):
Antes, el personaje siempre ... por el bosque.
(Before, the character always walked through the forest.)
7. Hablar (ella):
La semana pasada la profesora ... conmigo sobre de las diferencias entre los dos personajes.
(Last week the teacher spoke to me about the differences between the two characters.)
8. Divertirse (ellos):
En la época de los años 80, las personas a menudo ... en las fiestas con una buena música.
(In the 1980s, people often had fun at parties with good music.)

Additional learning materials

Appendix 1: Extended vocabulary table

Core vocabulary (11): Adverbs: 2, Interjection: 3, Nouns: 5, Sentences / word combination: 1
Context vocabulary: 5

Spanish English
Al final In the end
Al principio At first
Antes Before
Cuento de hadas Fairy tale
De repente All of a sudden
Después Afterwards
El cuento The story
El escritor The writer
Esperanza Hope
Gigantes Giants
Ideas Ideas
Imaginación Imagination
La literatura Literature
La novela The novel
La tarjeta de la biblioteca The library card
Molinos Windmills

Appendix 2: Verb conjugation tables for this lesson

Traer to bring

Pretérito indefinido

Spanish English
yo traje I brought
tú trajiste You brought
él/ella trajo he brought
nosotros/nosotras trajimos we brought
vosotros/vosotras trajisteis you brought
ellos/ellas trajeron They brought

Exercises and examples phrases

Traer to bring

Pretérito imperfecto

Spanish English
yo traía I was bringing
tú traías you brought
él/ella traía he was bringing
nosotros/nosotras traíamos we brought
vosotros/vosotras traíais you (plural) were bringing
ellos/ellas traían They brought

Exercises and examples phrases

Andar to walk

Pretérito indefinido

Spanish English
yo anduve I walked
tú anduviste You walked
él/ella anduvo he walked
nosotros/nosotras anduvimos we walked
vosotros/vosotras anduvisteis You walked
ellos/ellas anduvieron They walked

Exercises and examples phrases

Andar to walk

Pretérito imperfecto

Spanish English
yo andaba I was walking
tú andabas You were walking
él/ella andaba He/she was walking
nosotros/nosotras andábamos we were walking
vosotros/vosotras andabais You were walking
ellos/ellas andaban they were walking

Exercises and examples phrases

Venir to come

Pretérito imperfecto

Spanish English
yo venía I was coming
tú venías you were coming
él/ella venía he/she was coming
nosotros/nosotras veníamos we were coming
vosotros/vosotras veníais you were coming
ellos/ellas venían they came

Exercises and examples phrases

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