Ensayos Cortos

Essays in Spanish

In our site we have over 150 essays in Spanish (full and free) that you can check to inspire yourself for your homework or assignments and use them as example essays.

Our essays are simple and short, so they are really good for Spanish classes for students that speak English as a native language. They can be good for middle school, high school, college, or any language learning classes.

Each essay is written around a topic that it’s included in the title. You can check our homepage to find our latest essays published, or use our search form in the right sidebar (you should use keywords or topics in Spanish).

For an easy start, here we include some of the essays in Spanish but with the title (topic) translated to English so you can find a match for your interest.

List of essays in Spanish

  • Example essay about  family in Spanish
  • Example essay about  discrimination in Spanish
  • Example essay about  violence in Spanish
  • Example essay about  what is life in Spanish
  • Example essay about  peace in Spanish
  • Example essay about  global warming in Spanish
  • Example essay about  myself and my life in Spanish
  • Example essay about  Mexico in Spanish
  • Example essay about  Donald Trump in Spanish
  • Example essay about  corruption in Spanish
  • Example essay about  innovation  in Spanish
  • Example essay about  Aristotle  in Spanish
  • Example essay about  homosexuality  in Spanish
  • Example essay about  smoking  in Spanish
  • Example essay about  sports  in Spanish
  • Example essay about  life projects  in Spanish
  • Example essay about  technology  in Spanish
  • Example essay about  love  in Spanish
  • Example essay about  racism  in Spanish
  • Example essay about  bullying  in Spanish

Please use the comments area below in this post if you can’t find the essay you were looking for! – you can write in English if your Spanish isn’t the best 🙂

2 comentarios en «Essays in Spanish»

Odio la escuela

Aquí hay un ensayo escrito en español sobre el ataque del 11 de septiembre La mañana del 11 de septiembre de 2001 fue la mañana en que el mundo entero hizo una pausa y contuvo la respiración. Cada 11 de septiembre desde entonces, la gente de todas partes se detendrá para recordar. Esa fue la mañana en que terroristas de Arabia Saudita secuestraron cuatro aviones estadounidenses diferentes, pensando solo en la misión suicida que tenían por delante y en lo que tenían que hacer para llevarla a cabo. De alguna manera subieron a los aviones sin ser detectados y en algún momento del vuelo se revelaron.Se hicieron con el control del avión, amenazando a los pasajeros con una bomba. Sin embargo, lo que los pasajeros no sabían es que no había ninguna bomba. Los terroristas tenían planes diferentes para los aviones ese día. Su estrategia era estrellar los cuatro aviones contra diferentes edificios, matando a tantas personas como pudieran. El primer avión, el Vuelo 11 de American Airlines, se estrelló contra la torre norte del World Trade Center. Otro avión, el Vuelo 175, voló hacia la torre sur del World Trade Center y también estalló en llamas. El tercer avión secuestrado, el vuelo 77 de American Airlines, se estrelló contra el edificio del Pentágono.Mientras tanto, personas de todo el mundo miraban las noticias. Miles de personas sabían de este ataque, pero solo algunos podían ayudar. Otros solo podían ver las noticias y contener la respiración, esperando lo mejor. La mayoría de las personas intentaron llamar a sus familias y algunas de esas personas se pusieron en contacto con ellos. Algunas de esas personas estaban en el Vuelo 93. Juntos estaban tratando de averiguar qué estaba pasando. Alguien debe haber juntado las piezas y sabía que tenía que hacer algo. Varios pasajeros intentaron retomar el control del avión, pero solo provocaron que el secuestrador hiciera volar el último avión contra el suelo en Pensilvania. El resultado fue devastador. Las torres norte y sur del World Trade Center se derrumbaron y muchos bomberos arriesgaron sus propias vidas para intentar salvar a otras. Según el sitio web de la CNN, más de dos mil personas fueron gravementeheridos y casi tres mil personas perdieron la vida. La razón principal del ataque fue el intento de Al Qaeda de desestabilizar las economías occidentales. Tal vez también estaban tratando de enviar un mensaje sobre algo. Nueve años después del ataque, mi papá recuerda ver las noticias y ver los aviones golpeando los diferentes edificios y destruyendo tanto. También recuerda que muchas personas murieron en todos los accidentes. Cuando mi mamá piensa en el 11 de septiembre, recuerda que venía a recogernos a mi hermano y a mí de la escuela. Ella vino alrededor de las 11:30 a buscarnos porque solo nos quedamos la mitad del día en ese entonces. Mi mamá estaba haciendo mandados antes de eso y no había oído hablar del ataque. Luego se enteró de que también tenía que buscar a mi hermana, porque los dejaron salir temprano. Cuando llegamos a casa, mi mamá dice que encendió la televisión para tratar de averiguar qué había sucedido. Lo descubrió con bastante facilidad porque el ataque estaba en todas las noticias. Mi hermana, Emily, estaba en segundo grado cuando ocurrió el ataque. Ella recuerda que su clase estaba almorzando cuando los padres de todos llegaron y los llevaron a casa. También recuerda que todos los padresestaban asustados por algo, pero ella no sabía lo que había sucedido. Estaba en el jardín de infantes el 11 de septiembre y no recuerdo nada de ese día, aparte de lo que he escuchado desde entonces. Después de ver el video en clase, me di cuenta de la destrucción que realmente fue el ataque. Causó el colapso total de dos torres en el World Trade Center. Tantas personas estaban atrapado dentro de ambos edificios y casi ninguno logró salir. Los que lo hicieron definitivamente son extremadamente afortunados de estar vivos. Sin embargo, solo unas pocas personas en el primer piso lograron salir. No había esperanza para las personas en los pisos superiores, lo que empeoró este día. Desde el ataque de 2001, la economía nunca se ha recuperado por completo. El principal efecto económico a largo plazo del ataque fue la guerra en Irak. Nuestros soldados han estado allí durante nueve años y no se está volviendo más fácil para nadie. Enviamos más y más tropas para ayudar a luchar en la guerra, y la economía sigue siendo mala. Definitivamente también ha sido una lucha financiera para el gobierno. En mi opinión, nada bueno salió del 11 de septiembre. Comenzó otra guerra más para que nuestros soldados pelearan, y muchas personas ya han perdido la vida. Todos los años a partir de ahora todos se detendrán por un momento para pensar y lamentarse por el ataque del 11 de septiembre de 2001.

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Spanish Essay Phrases: 40 Useful Phrases for an Impressive Writeup

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May 30, 2019

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Do you need to write a lot of essays in Spanish? If you do, don’t worry. It's about to get a little bit easier for you because here in this article, we’ve listed many useful Spanish essay phrases that you can readily use in your essays.

Essay Phrases

Feel free to pepper your essays with the words and expressions from this list. It would certainly elevate your essays and impress your teachers. You're welcome!

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Spanish Essay Phrases

Spanish Essay PhraseEnglish Translation
1para empezarto begin with
2en primer lugarin the first place
3al principioin the beginning
4como punto de partidaas a point of departure
5por un ladoon the one hand
6para continuarto continue
7duranteduring
8mientras tantomeanwhile
9ademásin addition; also; moreover
10tambiéntoo; also
11luegothen
12entoncesthen
13después de (+ infinitivo)after
14mientraswhile
15yand
16antes de (+ infinitivo)before
17sin embargonevertheless
18a pesar de (+ infinitivo)in spite of
19aunqueeven though; even if
20perobut
21en cambioon the other hand
22por otra parteon the other hand
23por otro ladoon the other hand
24sino que; sinobut (rather)
25en realidadin reality; really
26hay que tomar en cuentayou have to take into account
27lo importante esthe important thing is
28por esotherefore
29por lo tantotherefore
30desgraciadamenteunfortunately
31afortunadamentefortunately
32para ilustrarto illustrate
33por ejemplofor example
34a causa debecause of
35en conclusiónin conclusion
36en finin short
37finalmentefinally
38en resumenin summary; to summarize
39para concluirto conclude
40para terminarto conclude

Spanish essay phrases pinterest

Additional Resources

You can also check out the following resources:

84 Spanish Expressions for Agreeing and Disagreeing

Common Spanish Verbs

Expresiones útiles para escribir en español

Looking for more Spanish phrases? Check out this e-book with audio!

Try to use the essay phrases in Spanish that you learned in this lesson and write a few example sentences in the comments section!

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About the author 

Janey is a fan of different languages and studied Spanish, German, Mandarin, and Japanese in college. She has now added French into the mix, though English will always be her first love. She loves reading anything (including product labels).

VERY VERY useful !! Gracias

Amazing! This will definitely help me in tomorrow’s spanish test 🙂

Sounds good

Thanks for the assistance, in learning Spanish.

Amazing article! Very helpful! Also, this website is great for Spanish Beginners.

It’s easy when you put it that way

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Spanish essay example and how to write it.

Today, I will share a  Spanish essay example   in the end of the article and talk about the steps and hacks to help you craft the perfect Spanish essay.

As an experienced writer, I understand how hard it can be to write in a language different from your mother tongue. But, know that learning  how to write a good Spanish essay  has more to do with following a structure than it has to do with understanding the language.

Of course, you need to have a basic understanding of spelling and grammatical practices; as well as a vast vocabulary to avoid sounding monotonous. 

However, learning  how to write a Spanish essay  is not impossible if you follow these simple steps:

  • Draft an outline 
  • Create a list of words and terms 
  • Start writing the body of your essay
  • Write the introduction 
  • Formulate the conclusion 
  • Proofread and edit 

As you can see, learning how to write a good Spanish essay requires a lot of planning and organization. And although it might be counter-intuitive at first, following the structure above will save you a lot of time. Plus, once you have the system down, you will be able to create exciting pieces without breaking a sweat!

Before we dive in, I always recommend you do a little research. So, look up  Spanish essay examples  online and analyze the way the writer structured the piece. Bonus points if you can find useful examples of essays within your topic of choice. The idea is not to copy what others are saying but to understand  how to write a Spanish essay  that is well crafted, appealing, and informative — all at the same time. 

Now that you have done your homework; it is time to start writing your essay by following the steps I mentioned earlier:

1. Draft an outline

An outline is vital when you are learning  how to write a Spanish essay , as it will allow you to organize your arguments and ideas. Plus, given that you are not writing in your first language, an outline will help you translate keywords or phrases from English to Spanish (if need be).

As you can see from the Spanish essay example, I have shared it after the text . You must keep it simple. Nonetheless, make sure you have enough information to elaborate on 6-7 paragraphs. Also, do not forget to include any quotes, statistics, or other information (from credible sources) that could support your arguments.

2. Create a list of words and terms 

I always recommend that before you start writing, you create a list of keywords or phrases that are vital to your essay. More often than not, these terms will appear as part of your outline, but, in other instances, these could be hard-to-translate terms. 

You do not need to write every word or term you will be using throughout the piece as you can always use a English-Spanish dictionary if you cannot recall a specific term.

The list is a way of double-checking. keywords to make sure you are using the correct term in Spanish and not using a literal translation. For instance, in the list of our Spanish essay example, the word “ must-have ” is not translated to “ debes tener ,” as that would be a literal translation. Instead, the phrases “ cualidades indispensables ” is used, which would be the appropriate term in Spanish.  

3. Start writing the body of your essay

The body of the essay is where you fully develop your argument. It might seem odd, but you should ignore your essay’s introduction and go straight to the body . 

If your goal is to master  how to write a good Spanish essay  make sure your body has a good flow in between paragraphs, so they do not end up being separate mini-essays. It is also essential that each body paragraph contains only one main argument or claim. However, this central idea can (and should) be supported by approximately 5 to 6 other sentences.

Spanish essays are usually wordier/more complicated than your average English essay as the language is richer. So, do not be afraid to write longer sentences to get the message across.  

Lastly, do not forget to add relevant examples, evidence to support your arguments, and quotes from experts or credible sources (i.e., academic books and journal articles).   You can see one example of a quote here.

Let’s be honest, most students do not do that, but shows the teacher you have put effort to research your topic.

 Go back to our Spanish essay example and dissect each paragraph. Pay attention to the transitions here and here , the way we incorporated quotes, and how each paragraph’s main idea is developed. In doing so, you will be gaining valuable insight as to how to structure your document. 

4. Write the introduction 

Once you have finished writing your entire essay’s body, write the introduction. Why? Simple. If the job of an introduction is to set the tone for what will follow. You will have a more precise and more detailed idea of what that is once you’ve written the entire piece. 

An introduction should state a problem or introduce a subject of discussion. It should also tell the reader  why  you are writing this essay and why he/she should feel compelled to read it. 

Let’s look at our Spanish essay example. Here, the introduction , although it is short, gives us enough information. It allows us to understand that we will know how to manage a remote team by choosing the right candidates and establishing an effective strategy after reading this essay. And that is precisely what you want an introduction to be doing!  

5. Formulate the conclusion 

When learning  how to write a Spanish essay , you have to be really careful with how you formulate the conclusion. In Spanish, your conclusion should always begin by restating your main argument. In other words, this is your chance to tie all of your main points together and give the reader a succinct takeaway. 

For instance, in our Spanish essay example, the conclusion is everything. Think about it, if you only read the title and this last paragraph, you almost do not need to read the body. All the main points are there, and as a reader, I got what I came looking for: strategies to manage a remote team effectively. 

6. Proofread and edit 

To finish our easy steps on  how to write a Spanish essay,  we must not leave our editing and proofreading! This step is critical to composing a great essay. Most readers will not even finish reading articles if they spot a spelling mistake, typo, or grammatical error. Thus, take the time to go over your essay.

Furthermore, when editing your essay, pay attention to:

  • Readability 
  • Consistency of the language
  • Argument reasoning and rationale
  • Transition between paragraphs
  • Writing style
  • Citations and referencing 

Lastly, given that Spanish is not your first language, I always recommend having someone else proofread your final draft before sending it out or printing it. A native Spanish speaker can easily spot mistakes that you might have missed, which could affect your article’s natural flow. 

Do you need help?

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short essays in spanish

How to Make your Spanish Essay More Persuasive 

Now that you have finished writing a good Spanish essay, you might want to go the extra mile by making it more persuasive. 

A  Spanish persuasive essay  or any persuasive essays’ goal is to convince the reader to think like you or validate your perspective. But, some topics can be more subjective than others. Thus, to make sure your essay is effective, always rely on others. 

In other words, don’t let your argument stand-alone—research statistics, graphs, information, and data that can back up what you are saying. Citing or quoting experts in the field is also a great way to go about it as it allows your message to carry more weight. 

Nonetheless, make sure you are only using reliable sources. Below a list of ways to vet a reference to make sure your  Spanish persuasive essay  uses only the best sources:

Verify the information you already have against the data found in the source.

• Authority

Make sure a dependable author or institution writes the source.

Depending on your subject, your currency needs will vary. Thus, make sure to check when was the book or article written/published.

As a rule of thumb, I consider a reliable source:

• Materials published within the last five years

• Official websites (.gov., .edu,.org)

• Academic databases

• Articles published by well-known authors or experts in a specific topic

There you have it! Six easy steps that will help you write a good Spanish essay and a few tips and tricks to make it more persuasive.

Spanish essay example – See below

Cómo desarrollar una estrategia efectiva de teletrabajo.

[Start of the Introduction section]

El Covid-19 ha llevado a muchas empresas a migrar de un trabajo presencial al teletrabajo. Según Global Workplace Analytics [ and in the end you can add the reference to your Bibliografía ], unos 75 millones de trabajadores de los EEUU podrían teletrabajar al menos un parte de su jornada de trabajo. Sin embargo, para muchos sectores esto se ha convertido en un verdadero reto.

Aunque para muchos no sea obvio, los beneficios de trabajar con equipos remotos son incontables, siempre que construyas una política realmente efectiva y diseñes el proceso de reclutamiento acertado. Así es que si buscas desarrollar una estrategia efectiva de teletrabajo, debes asegurarte de que tus empleados o candidatos para trabajar a distancia, cuenten con las herramientas adecuadas.

[End of the Introdution]

[Start of the body section]

Cuando comiences a reclutar personas (nuevas o dentro de tu mismo equipo de trabajo), asegúrate de informarles de las cualidades indispensables que buscas en un candidato. No todo el mundo podrá unirse a la modalidad de teletrabajo por más que la situación lo requiera.

Por ejemplo , si una de las características más importantes para el desarrollo del proyecto es la conectividad, los candidatos adecuados deben poder estar a tu disponibles a través de sus computadoras o dispositivos móviles. Mónica Zent [ another reference in our Bibliografía section ], fundadora de Foxwordy la primera red social privada para abogados, recomienda que a todos los candidatos se les debería preguntar acerca de sus hábitos digitales. Pues, los candidatos ideales para el teletrabajo son aquellos que tienen disponibilidad y buena disposición para mantenerse conectados o conectarse en el momento en que sea necesario.

Del mismo modo , debes infórmales sobre de tus reglas para el teletrabajo y ayudarlos a mejorar sus métodos de gestión del tiempo. La idea es que te apoyes en un equipo eficiente, pero que además sea capaz de lograr un buen equilibrio entre la vida y el trabajo. Aunque la flexibilidad es una de las características inherentes del trabajo remoto, debes construir una política firme según las necesidades específicas de tu proyecto para poder dirigir un equipo eficiente y efectivo.

Las horas laborales oficiales, dependerán de los requerimientos de tu proyecto, por lo que es importante que los miembros de tu equipo sepan a qué horario atenerse. En caso de que los miembros de tu equipo tengan distintos husos horarios, define uno oficial con el que todos se sientan cómodos.

Determina los días que necesites una videoconferencia con todo el equipo dentro del huso horario oficial. Estas llamadas les permitirán recordar que trabajan con otras personas aunque por lo general hagan sus tareas aislados. Promueve el uso de la webcam para que todos estén concentrados en la conversación y estén realmente presentes. El verse las caras permite la comprensión del lenguaje corporal y una mejor comunicación.

[End of body section]

[Start of the conclusion section]

En conclusión, una estrategia efectiva de trabajo remoto dependerá de la forma en la que buscas y vetas los candidatos en tu empresa. No todo el mundo tiene la capacidad de trabajar desde casa de manera efectiva.

Además , recuerda hacer hincapié en la modalidad de trabajo y plantea una estructura clara donde se establezcan horarios, reuniones y seguimientos para lograr los mejores resultados.

Si logras incoporar todas estas prácticas dentro de tu modelo de negocio, tendrás un equipo remoto efectivo, compenetrado y eficiente. Tres factores de vital importancia para sobrepasar la crisis mundial que nos ha tocado vivir este 2020.

Bibliografía

  • Global Workplace Analytics, 2020. How many people could work-from-home . Consultado a 04.10.2020 en [https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/how-many-people-could-work-from-home].
  • Zent, Mónica, 2015. Monica Zent’s 5 Ways to Effectively Lead Remote Teams . Consutlado a 04.10.2020 en [https://medium.com/@MonicaZent/monica-zent-s-5-ways-to-effectively-lead-remote-teams-the-most-cutting-edge-companies-of-the-ab409c3db16a]
  • Introducción
  • “En los EE. UU., 4.7 millones de empleados trabajan desde casa al menos la mitad de la semana.”
  • Qué estas buscando
  • Conectividad
  • Disponibilidad
  • El candidato ideal
  • Tip de Mónica Zent
  • Flexibilidad
  • Modalidad de trabajo
  • Estrategia/planificación
  • Video conferencias/Uso de la webcam
  • Fechas de entrega

List of words

  • Work remotely = Trabajo remoto/teletrabajo
  • Flexibilty = Felixbilidad
  • Availability = Disponibilidad
  • 24/7 Connectivity = Conectividad las 24 horas
  • Must-haves = Cualidades indispensables
  • Video conference = Video conferencias
  • Deadlines = Fechas de entrega
  • Time zone = huso horario
  • Webcam = webcam

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CommonLit

CommonLit Español Engaging Short Stories in Spanish for Elementary, Middle, and High School Students

Agustina Moppett

Agustina Moppett

CommonLit offers great short stories in Spanish that teach important lessons about family, identity, courage, and more

Short stories are an enjoyable entry point into the world of high-quality literature. They can introduce students to relatable characters, new cultures, and important ideas. Reading short stories with your students is a great way to promote discussion, encourage them to make connections, and have them practice using skills that will help them understand more complex texts.

Here is an engaging set of short stories in Spanish from CommonLit for grades 3–9. This diverse selection includes realistic fiction, science fiction, mysteries, and more!

“ Mi bisabuela ” by Nancy Machlis (3rd grade)

In this short story, the narrator and her brother Zach visit their great-grandma in a nursing home. Great-Grandma struggles with memory loss, and Zach is upset when she doesn’t remember him. The narrator comforts her brother by reminding him of Great-Grandma’s words: “Love is a light in your heart that lives forever.” When it is time to leave and Great-Grandma smiles at her, the narrator is reminded that even as her great-grandmother’s memory fades, the love in their hearts still ties them together.

While students read, have them follow the annotation task, which asks them to take notes on how the children feel when they visit their great-grandma. Then, have students use their notes to make text-to-self connections. Students can compare and contrast how they feel when they spend time with older relatives with how the children in the story feel.

“ Los perros mágicos de los volcanes ” by Manlio Argueta (4th grade)

In this folktale, the cadejos are magical dogs that live in volcanoes and protect the people of El Salvador. When Don Tonio and his thirteen brothers bring soldiers to attack the cadejos , the dogs seek help from two ancient volcanoes. The volcanoes fight off the soldiers to protect the cadejos , Don Tonio and his brothers flee, and the cadejos and the people of El Salvador celebrate a great festival that later becomes a national holiday.

Consider turning on Guided Reading Mode while students read to ensure they understand the characters’ motivations. Guided Reading Mode chunks the text into smaller pieces with a comprehension question after each section. Students must answer each comprehension question correctly to reveal the next chunk of text. Guided Reading Mode is a great way to help students monitor their own comprehension as they read!

The Student Preview of the CommonLit Español lesson "Los perros mágicos de los volcanes." Guided Reading Mode is enabled, so part of the text is blurred.

“ Galapagueña ” by Marsha Diane Arnold (4th grade)

In this short story, Valentina loves the Galápagos Islands where she lives. She spends her days exploring, swimming, and dancing. Valentina especially enjoys watching the various animals that call the islands home. When she gets older, Valentina leaves the island to study biology, but eventually comes back to the Galápagos to share her love for the island and its wildlife with others.

After reading, discuss what makes the Galápagos Islands so special to Valentina. Ask Discussion Question 2, “Según la autora, las Islas Galápagos son especiales. ¿Cuál de sus características te parece más especial? ¿Por qué?” In English, the question is, “According to the author, the Galápagos Islands are special. Which of its characteristics do you find the most special? Why?” Be sure to encourage students to support their thinking with evidence from the text.

“ Plumas ” by Unknown (5th grade)

In this meaningful short story, a woman is accused of starting a rumor about someone. When she speaks with the town rabbi, she claims that the rumor spreading is not her fault, because it was others who spread it. The rabbi decides to teach the woman an important lesson about kindness. He asks her to cut open his pillow, let the feathers inside fly through the air, then collect each of the feathers and bring the pillow back. The woman follows the rabbi’s directions and finds that she cannot re-capture all of the feathers. She realizes that, just like the feathers cannot be caught again, words cannot be taken back once spoken, and she vows to speak kindly from then on.

In fifth grade, students are learning how to navigate relationships with peers, so this text provides a great opportunity to have them make connections to their own lives. Ask students to discuss the importance of speaking kindly to others. Students can give evidence and examples from the text and from their own experiences to support their thinking.

The CommonLit Español lesson "Plumas."

“ Aurelia y los colores ” by Amaranta Castelán González (6th grade)

Aurelia is a skilled artist and an insect lover, but she is not much of an athlete. When Aurelia and her cousin Paula go to summer classes together, Aurelia excels in art class but is teased by two boys in physical education, who laugh at her when she plays soccer. Later, when Aurelia captures a tarantula to show her classmates, the boys are impressed by her knowledge of insects. Aurelia realizes that everyone has different strengths and abilities and that she should be proud of her unique skills.

It is important for middle school students to develop strong self-esteem and celebrate their own talents. Sixth graders may recognize themselves in Aurelia, who has trouble seeing the value of her own strengths when she struggles with other skills. Ask students Discussion Question 2, “¿A ti te gustan todas las clases o hay algunas que no te gustan tanto? ¿Y a tus amigos les pasa algo similar? ¿Hay actividades en las que eres más talentoso?” to start a conversation about how everybody has strengths and areas for growth. In English, the question is, “Do you like all your classes or are there some that you don’t like as much? Do your friends experience something similar? Are there activities at which you are very talented?”

“ En los rápidos ” by Bradford H. Robie (7th grade)

In this thrilling short story, Luis falls into a river during a rafting trip. He is terrified and knows he has to rely on his own skills and strength to survive. Luis remembers the guide’s instructions and thinks of how he stayed calm during a basketball game at school. He swims hard to make it back to the raft, where the guide is finally able to pull him out of the water.

While reading, have students follow the annotation task, which asks them to take notes on Luis’s attitude as he tries to save himself. Encourage students to make connections between Luis’s thoughts and actions. After reading, students can share how Luis’ determination helped him survive.

“ La inspiración ” by Pablo de Santis (8th grade)

In this engaging story, famous detective Sage Feng is summoned to solve the mystery of the death of Siao, the poet who lived in the Chinese emperor’s palace. Feng examines Siao’s belongings and asks the imperial advisor if Siao had any enemies. In the end, the detective is able to figure out that one of Siao’s rivals put poison in the monkey-hair brush he used to write his poetry.

Author Pablo de Santis plants several clues throughout the text, and students will get caught up in trying to solve the mystery of Siao’s death along with Feng. After reading, use Discussion Question 1, “Al leer el cuento por primera vez, ¿Cómo te sentiste al final? ¿Te sorprendió la resolución de la historia?” to start a conversation about the resolution of the story. In English, the question is, “When reading the story for the first time, how did you feel at the end? Were you surprised by the resolution of the story?” Encourage students to use evidence from the text to support their answers.

The CommonLit Español lesson "La inspiración."

“ El peatón ” by Ray Bradbury (9th grade)

In this dystopian science fiction story set in the future, writer Leonard Mead is out for an evening walk in an unnamed city. He is stopped by police, who ask questions about his purpose for walking, his job as a writer, and why he does not own a TV like the rest of the people in this technology-dominated society. The police determine that because of Mr. Mead’s “regressive” view of technology, he must be brought to a psychiatric center, and they take him away.

This short story provides an opportunity to start an interesting discussion about technology and society with your students. Mr. Mead’s career as a writer is not valued where he lives because nobody in his city buys books or magazines anymore. Ask Discussion Question 2, “En el texto, ¿de qué modo los progresos tecnológicos impactaron la manera en que las personas interactúan en nuestra sociedad? ¿Cuáles son algunos otros ejemplos de cómo la tecnología ha tenido impacto en la interacción humana?” to have students share ideas about the benefits and drawbacks of technology in society today. In English, the question is, “In the text, how have technological advances affected the way people interact in society? What are some other examples of how technology has affected human interaction?”

Looking for more Spanish texts on CommonLit? Browse the CommonLit Español library !

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Basic Guidelines For Writing Essays in Spanish

how to write essays in spanish

Students tend to focus on speaking practice while learning Spanish, so they often neglect writing. However, most educators emphasize its importance for mastering the language. They say it’s impossible to become fluent in a particular language if one doesn’t train writing skills. 

Therefore, teachers give a lot of essay assignments to students. This type of homework is a great way to inspire them to think and communicate in Spanish effectively. It may be quite difficult to complete such a task. However, it’s one of the most effective ways to learn Spanish or any other language.

You may be tempted to go online and find the best essay writing service to have your essay written for you. This may be helpful when you’re pressed for time, but in the long run, you’re missing an opportunity to improve your own essay writing skills. That’s why we are going to provide you with some recommendations on how to ease the writing process.

Some tips on writing in Spanish 

  • Be careful with word spelling. Remember that teachers pay special attention to spelling so it can either make or break your student image. Having good spelling makes a positive impression of your writing skills and boosts your grades. 
  • Make your essay coherent with the help of connectors. Use them to explain the relationship between the ideas so your essay doesn’t look like just a list of thoughts and facts. 
  • Pay attention to syntax or the word order. As you need to stick to the academic style, try to keep the traditional order such as “subject + verb + objects”. This will also help you express your opinion in a simpler way, so it’s more clear to the reader.
  • Avoid word repetitions by using synonyms. Frequent repetitions make your text boring and heavy. If you use the same words again and again, your essay will look dull. Hence, try to find synonyms in Spanish thesaurus and replace the most commonly used expressions with them. 
  • Before you create a final version of your essay, let someone read it and give feedback. It’s hard to be objective about your writing, so ask another person to tell you which ideas are less clear if your text contains any confusing phrases, and what are the positive aspects that can be reinforced. 
  • Do not write the essay in your native language first to translate it into Spanish then. This approach is not viable for mastering a foreign language. The only thing that you are doing by translating the text literally is practicing the grammatical structures that you have learned. This doesn’t help you learn new idioms and collocations that don’t follow the general grammatical rules. 

Now that you know how to make your writing better, let’s consider a step-by-step guide to essay writing in Spanish. 

Pick an interesting topic 

If possible, choose a topic you are truly excited about. Unless the specific title was given to you by instructors, find a theme you want to research and write about. True interest is what will drive you towards creating an excellent piece. If you enjoy reading about the subject you are going to analyze in your essay, then you will definitely succeed in writing. Remember that decent work can be done only if you are passionate about it. 

Brainstorm the ideas 

When it comes to any project, brainstorming is an integral stage of the creation process. This is one of the most efficient ways to gain insights and generate new ideas. You can use this technique to think of the main supporting arguments, an approach for a catchy introduction, and paragraph organization. You can also try freewriting and/or make a brief outline to ease the writing process itself. 

Create an introduction 

Probably the main rule about creating an introduction that you have to stick to is adding a clear thesis statement there. It must be included in the first paragraph to give your essay a certain direction and help the readers focus their attention on the topic. Also, your introduction must be catchy and intriguing to evoke the desire to read the essay further and learn more. 

Organize an essay body 

It’s essential to make the body paragraphs organized logically. You need to make sure that each of them is closely related to the main topic and discusses one major point. Each body paragraph must consist of a topic sentence and supporting arguments with evidence. It’s very important to write sentences in a logical sequence so they follow each other orderly. Also, since paragraphs shouldn’t overlap in content, add smooth transitions from one to the other. 

Sum up the content 

The vital requirement to the conclusion is that it must logically relate to the original thesis statement. Generally, it’s not acceptable to introduce new ideas in the conclusion. Instead, you need to sum up the main points mentioned in the essay’s body. It’s also forbidden to add any off-topic ideas to the last paragraph of your paper.

Check content relevance and cohesion 

Once you complete the conclusion, read through the essay for relevance and cohesion. Make sure that the whole piece is on the topic and in the mode required. In particular, check if body paragraphs support the thesis statement and whether the conclusion relates to it. After that, read your paper once again to see whether the parts connect together well. Think if there are logical links between ideas and if you need more transitions. 

Read for clarity and style

Scan your essay to find out whether some sections may be unclear to the reader. Analyze the text to find out if it sounds academic and polished. Check if there are any vague pronouns, excessive wording, or awkward phrases. Don’t forget to make sure that all points are listed in similar grammatical forms.

The last stage of your writing process is final proofreading. Read your paper the last time looking at grammar, spelling, punctuation, verb tense, word forms, and pronoun agreement. Correct all the mistakes to make your work excellent. 

Remember that the most important thing about learning a foreign language is a regular practice. Therefore, you should use any opportunity provided by instructors to polish your skills. Hopefully, the recommendations given above will help you write an excellent essay and master the Spanish language!

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short essays in spanish

Small Town Spanish Teacher

Teaching Language With Stories

Simple Stories in Spanish – Season 1: Cuentos sencillos

short essays in spanish

I began the podcast Simple Stories in Spanish in February 2020. The first season involves stories in the present tense that repeat important verbs such as “hay” (there is/are), “es” (is – followed by a description), “está” (is – followed by a feeling or location), “tiene” (has), “va” (goes), “quiere” (wants), “le gusta” (likes). These verbs are often referred to as the “Super 7” as you can communicate quite a bit with just these 7 verbs.

The links below will bring you to the audio, transcript, video, and pdf handout of each of the stories.

Episode 1: Carlos y el elefante How does this teacher start her students on their language journey? With a story, of course! Listen along as the Small Town Spanish Teacher tells the story of “Carlos y el elefante” – the story she uses on day 1 of Spanish 1. It repeats the verbs “mira” (sees/looks), “corre” (runs), “se sienta” (sits), “se levanta” (stands) and “para” (stops) as well as multiple cognates.

Episode 2: El elefante y el ratón What do people do in the park? They run and walk and maybe even dance. What does an elephant do in the park? Well, he writes poetry and makes friends with a mouse, of course! Listen along as the Small Town Spanish Teacher tells the story of “El elefante y el ratón”. It repeats the verbs “mira” (sees/looks), “corre” (runs), “escucha” (listens), “dice” (says), “escribe” (writes) and “para” (stops) as well as multiple cognates.

Episode 3: Eduardo busca novia It can be hard to wander through life alone, especially on Valentine’s Day. Eduardo the elephant is searching for the perfect girlfriend. He wants someone who is nice (amable), fun (divertida), and patient (paciente). However, as Eduardo discovers, those traits can sometimes be hard to find.

Episode 4: Eduardo es gordo Friends can be similar, but also quite different. Eduardo the elephant decides to change his lifestyle after his tiny friend Felix the mouse calls him fat. He runs (corre) and eats (come) good food. Perhaps now Felix should change his lifestyle too!

Episode 5: El cumpleaños de Félix Every party has potential for fun and for disaster. Eduardo the elephant wants to create a perfect birthday party for his friend Félix. He invites guests (invitados), decorates (decora) and prepares (prepara) food – including lots and lots of cheese (queso). He even buys a piñata! It will sure be a party to remember. 

Episode 6: La banda de animales The world is full of musical styles and instruments. Some people like to sing while others like to play and even more just like to listen. Music truly has the potential to bring people together. Eduardo and Feliz enjoy making music and want to create a band. Eduardo sings (canta), Félix and others play (toca) instruments and others just listen (escucha) to the música. Discover where their music adventure leads them and the other animals that join their band. 

Episode 7: La muchacha está enferma When a child is sick, they should stay home. However some kids fake being sick to get out of schoolwork. Such is the case of Jessica, who would rather be at home than taking tests. She fakes a cough (tos), and a cold (está resfriada) so she can stay at home on her teléfono. What a great actress! That is until she actually does get sick (enferma).

Episode 8: Pastel para el desayuno Birthdays are a special time, especially for young kids. Ruthie wakes up on her birthday wanting something special to eat for breakfast (desayuno): cake (pastel)! Her parents think that she should eat what they do, but Ruthie is determined to have her pastel and eat it too. Can she convince her sweet grandmother to make her cake for breakfast? With multiple repetitions of desayuno (breakfast), debes (you should), puedes (you can) and parece (it seems), this story is great for reviewing foods and common verbs. 

Episode 9: El oso curioso Most people know the story of Goldilocks and the three bears, but what if the bear is the intruder? Berry is an “oso curioso” (curios bear). He just wants to know what life is like inside of a house (casa). Berry looks through windows (ventanas) and sees (ve) and touches (toca) a lot of different things. What will this curious bear find? 

Episode 10: Las botas Luis enjoys his life as a ranchero. He likes taking care of animals. But being on a ranch requires specific footwear, namely boots (botas). Luis has a special friend that he wants to spend time with on the ranch, but she does not have boots, so Luis decides to get her some. Luis goes (va) all over town, including the shoe store (zapatería) the bank (banco) and the gas station (estación de gas) as he tries to buy (comprar) the perfect boots. Will he be able to get what he wants? Find out in “Las botas”. 

Episode 11: La mentira de Miguel Miguel just wants to go to a concert, but his mom says no, even when he begs (suplica). So, Miguel and his friend come up with a plan that involves just a little lie (mentira). Miguel typically tells the truth (verdad), so lying is not easy for him. Will he be able to maintain the lie, or will he cave under pressure?

Episode 12: La madre ocupada When things get lost, the logical solution is to look for them. Sometimes we are so busy looking that we don’t see what is right under our noses. Lourdes is busy (ocupada). She tries to make time for her son’s problems, but sometimes her own problems get in the way, such as when she needs some ginger (jengibre) for her cake (pastel). This story has multiple repetitions of ¿buscaste? (did you look?) And busqué (I looked) as well as places around the house. Will there be time to find everything? 

Episode 13: Las vacas perdidas Paula enjoys living in the mountains with her dog Bobo and her one hundred and fifty cows (vacas). But sometimes her cows wander off and need help getting out of some sticky situations. Paula counts (cuenta) her coas and when they are missing (le faltan), she looks for them. Paula will do anything to help her cows if they get stuck (metida). She will pull (jala), cut (corta) and even sing (canta) to help them. Will she be able to help them all?

Episode 14: Ramona en la playa Who doesn’t enjoy a day at the beach? Ramona certainly does. She goes to the beach (playa) every day and watches the tourists (turistas) as they take pictures (toman fotos) play in the waves (olas) and play in the sand (arena). Ramona is not a tourist. She is a capuchin monkey (mono capuchino). She is also a famous thief (ladrona). Listen in to find out how Ramona swindles beachgoers in “Ramona en la playa”.

Episode 15: Te quiero, mamá Mothers are very important people in the lives of many. Nadia is mother to Luisa and Perla. Luisa loves (quiere) her family and she loves to help (ayudar). But sometimes her help can lead to headaches for her mother. All is well, though, when Luisa hugs (abraza) her mom and tells her “I love you” (te quiero).

Episode 16: Estoy aburrido We all get bored. Jorgito has a room full of things, but he still gets bored. When he tells people he is bored, they just send him away to do something else. Will he just stay bored forever? Or will he find something to entertain the day away? This story features multiple repetitions of “estoy aburrido” (I’m bored) as well as “juguetes” (toys) such as “carritos” (toy cars) “dinosaurios” (dinosaurs) “oso de peluche” (teddy bear) and “muñecas” (dolls).

Episode 17: El cuaderno mágico Some students feel that they just don’t know anything, so why even try? Perhaps they just need a little bit of motivation and confidence. Daniel is not the smartest student, but he finds inspiration through a “cuaderno mágico” (magic notebook). Daniel “se da cuenta” (realizes) that maybe he is smart after all. 

Episode 18: Hasta luego The end of the school year sparks excitement for summer break, but it can also cause some sadness and students and teachers say goodbye – some for the summer, some for longer. Imani walks through the halls chanting “hasta luego” (see you later) to those she passes, until she realizes that she might not actually “see” some of them in the future. 

No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. Happy listening!

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Spanish Reading Practice

Reading exercises by level.

Boost your Spanish comprehension with our collection of interactive reading exercises. You'll find content tailored to every level from beginner (A0) to advanced (C1).

Spansh reading exercise from Kwiziq

All of our texts are carefully crafted by native Spanish teachers , so you know you're practising real Spanish. Most come paired with audio, offering you a powerful blend of reading and listening practice.

Choose one of the texts from the list below. As you read, click on any tricky phrases to reveal their English translation and delve into insightful grammar lessons. You can save any lesson that captures your interest in your Notebook.

Test your Spanish level  with our FREE level test to choose the correct exercises according to your current level. Dive in now and find out how our interactive readers will help you find your fluent!

A1: Beginner Spanish reading exercises

  • 12 cosas interesantes sobre Nicaragua Plural Adjetivo Preposición El Presente Singular Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Discover 12 interesting facts about Nicaragua! This reading and listening exercise can help you practise tener in the present tense, forming the plural of nouns ending in a consonant (except -z), forming regular masculine and feminine nouns and the preposition en.
  • Alquilando un coche en Málaga El Presente Adjetivo Plural Singular Preposición Monuments, Tourism & Vacations It's a good idea to rent a car if you want to visit the villages along the Costa del Sol! This exercise can help you practise Near Future, prepositions, forming regular masculine and feminine nouns and adjectives and "renting a car" vocabulary.
  • Benidorm Adjetivo Preposición Plural Género femenino El Presente Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Have you ever been to Benidorm? There's plenty to see and do! This exercise can help you practise El Presente, prepositions, forming regular nouns (singular and plural) and forming regular plural adjectives.
  • Calendario de adviento El Presente Adjetivo Plural Nombre Género femenino Celebrations & Important Dates This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Presente, the verb gustar plus the gender and number of nouns.
  • Cines de verano al aire libre El Presente Preposición Adjetivo Plural Verbo irregular Film & TV Sports & Leisure Experience the magic of cinema outdoors! This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Presente and El Futuro Próximo.
  • Consultorio de libros Preposición Adjetivo Plural Género femenino El Presente Literature, Poetry, Theatre There’s a website, Te receto un libro, where you can consult an expert who “prescribes” the book that suits you best. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Presente and El Futuro Próximo.
  • Curiosidades de Paraguay El Presente Adjetivo Plural Preposición Singular Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Learn some interesting facts about the Paraguay! This A1 exercise can help you practise forming El Presente Progresivo with estar, forming the plural of adjectives ending in -e and -a, and regular and irregular verbs in El Presente including saber and decir.
  • De viaje por Cuba Preposición Adjetivo Plural Género femenino El Presente Monuments, Tourism & Vacations This exercise can help you practise forming regular adverbs ending in -mente, el Futuro Próximo and possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our and their (adjetivos posesivos).
  • Destinos rurales con niños El Presente Preposición Plural Género femenino Adjetivo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Escape to the countryside with this exercise which can help you practise El Presente and modal verbs, the general use of prepositions and the gender/number of nouns.
  • E-learning Adjetivo Preposición Plural Género femenino El Presente This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Presente, plus and gender and number agreement.
  • El Canal de Panamá Adjetivo El Presente Plural Género femenino Preposición Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Join Cristina as she discovers the fascinating feat of engineering that is the Panama Canal. This A1 exercise can help you practise El Presente, adverbs in ending in -mente, El Futuro Próximo and the gender/number of nouns and adjectives.
  • El carnaval de las Palmas de Gran Canaria Adjetivo El Presente Plural Artículo definido Nombre Celebrations & Important Dates Carnival in Las Palmas, the capital city of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, is one of the most extravagant and famous carnivals in all of Spain. This exercise can help you practise Al and Del, expressing dates, and regular -ar verbs in the present tense.
  • El Día de Muertos en casa de Guadalupe Preposición Plural Adjetivo El Presente Nombre Celebrations & Important Dates Let's travel to Mexico to celebrate el Día de Muertos with Guadalupe and her family. This A1 exercise can help you practise forming regular masculine and feminine nouns and adjectives, the present progressive and the near future tense.
  • El mes de las madres Adjetivo Plural El Presente Nombre Género femenino Celebrations & Important Dates Hispanic madres are truly celebrated during the month of May - discover all the different dates! This exercise can help you practise forming regular adverbs, months in Spanish, and the general use of the preposition "en".
  • Empiezo la universidad Plural Adjetivo El Presente Singular Nombre Language & Education Join this student as she leaves home to study to be a vet. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise the general use of the preposition en and the near future (El Futuro Próximo).
  • En el aeropuerto El Presente Adjetivo Plural Verbo irregular Género femenino Monuments, Tourism & Vacations This exercise can help you practise el Presente, preposición and at the airport vocabulary.
  • Espíritu navideño El Presente Verbo irregular Preposición Adjetivo Género femenino Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Get into the spirit of Christmas with someone who truly loves celebrating the holiday season! This exercise can help you practise El Presente and El Futuro Próximo and gender and number agreement.
  • Gijón El Presente Preposición Adjetivo Género femenino Verbe irrégulier Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Discover this beautiful coastal town in Asturias, Spain. This A1 exercise can help you practise conjugating ir + a + infinitive to express the near future, how to say "must / can / to want to" using deber, poder, querer + infinitive and using the preposition en to mean on / in / inside / at.
  • La Constitución española Preposición Adjetivo El Presente Plural Nombre Immigration & Citizenship Every 6th of December Spain celebrates El Día de la Constitución. This A1 exercise can help you practise prepositions and El Futuro Próximo.
  • La mudanza El Presente Adjetivo Preposición Plural Nombre Politics, History & Economics Beatriz is moving to a new apartment in the city center to have more space and to live alone.
  • La Semana Santa en Guatemala Preposición Adjetivo Plural El Presente Gender of nouns in Spanish: masculine Celebrations & Important Dates Discover how they celebrate the period around Easter in Guatemala. This exercise can help you practise the present tense, gender and number in Spanish.
  • La Vuelta de San Juan El Presente Adjetivo Plural Género femenino Preposición Sports & Leisure Join Laura for a ride like no other, where passion meets pedal power in the heart of South America! This exercise can help you practise El Presente, El Futuro Próximo and Preposición.
  • Las casas colgadas de Cuenca El Presente Plural Adjetivo Género femenino Verbe irrégulier Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Take a trip to these surprising and beautiful houses in Cuenca. This exercise can help you practise subordinate clauses in El Presente and general prepositions.
  • Las noches del hipódromo El Presente Adjetivo Verbe irrégulier Plural Gender of nouns in Spanish: masculine Sports & Leisure A night at the races can be thrilling - especially the long summer evenings. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Presente and agreement of regular nouns and adjectives.
  • Las posadas de México El Presente Adjetivo Plural Preposición Singular Celebrations & Important Dates "Las Posadas" are a lovely tradition in Mexico and other Latin American countries where people remember Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem.
  • Mafalda y sus amigos El Presente Adjetivo Preposición Plural Género femenino Literature, Poetry, Theatre We'd like to offer this A1 reading and listening exercise about Mafalda and her friends as a tribute to Quino who passed away on 30 September 2020.
  • Mi asignatura favorita: Geografía El Presente Adjetivo Género femenino Plural Verbo irregular Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Learn about the rivers and mountains of Spain to prepare for a geography test. This exercise can help you practise modal verbs in the present, the difference between hay and está, and the near future.
  • Mi llama Llama El Presente Preposición Adjetivo Plural Género femenino Family & Relationships Meet this Argentinian girl's adorable pet llama, whose name is Llama!! This reading and listening exercise can help you practise tener and ser in El Presente, possessive adjectives, yeísmo and yeísmo rehilado.
  • Murales Mayas Plural El Presente Adjetivo Nombre Singular Art & Design Politics, History & Economics In San Bartolo, Guatemala, the remains of a Mayan pyramid have some incredible Mayan murals. This exercise can help you practise forming the masculine and feminine of regular singular adjectives, forming the masculine and feminine of regular nouns (singular and plural) and conjugating "ser" in the present tense.
  • Penélope Cruz y el Día de la Mujer Adjetivo Plural El Presente Nombre Preposición Famous People Celebrations & Important Dates Discover why this student admires Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, who as well as being the winner of an Oscar, a British Academy Film Award and many Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations, is, above all, a strong independent woman! This exercise can help you practise Muy vs Mucho, using ser to express an essential characteristic, tener in the present tense, stem-changing -ar verbs (o > ue) in the present tense, and preferir in the present tense.
  • Preparando unos tamales mexicanos El Presente Plural Preposición Adjetivo Género femenino Food & Drink Martina is delighted to help her Mexican boyfriend make some delicious tamales.
  • Presentaciones en español El Presente Adjetivo Género femenino Verbo irregular Verbos regulares -ar (presente) Family & Relationships Watch as María and Julio greet each other for the first time and then later, rather awkwardly, have to pretend to meet each other for the first time! This A1 exercise can help you practise greetings and introducing yourself in Spanish.
  • Pura Vida El Presente Adjetivo Plural Verbe irrégulier Preposición Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Travel through Costa Rica with Sara to discover this beautiful country. This A1 exercise can help you practise irregular verbs in El Presente, El Presente Progresivo, general use of the preposition sobre, using para (and not por) for purpose, gender and plural of nouns ending in -e and demonstrative adjectives.
  • Rafa Nadal Adjetivo El Presente Preposición Plural Género femenino Sports & Leisure Get to know Rafa Nadal, the world-famous Spanish professional tennis player. This exercise can help you practise El Presente and generally describing someone.
  • Salamanca Plural Preposición Adjetivo Género femenino El Presente Monuments, Tourism & Vacations This reading and listening exercise about the beautiful city of Salamanca can help you practise El Presente, using prepositions, and gender and number agreement.
  • Una vida nueva 1 El Presente Adjetivo Género femenino Verbo modal Plural Family & Relationships Part 1 of a series. Practise El Presente with Ángela who is about to start a new life in Madrid far away from her family and her rather useless boyfriend.
  • Una vida nueva 2 El Presente Adjetivo Adverbio Plural Singular Family & Relationships Here's part 2 of our series about Ángela. She's moved to Madrid and seems to be finding her feet.
  • Una vida nueva 3 Adjetivo El Presente Plural Género femenino Género Family & Relationships Here’s part 3 of our series about Ángela. Last week we learned that her boyfriend is not replying to her calls. But maybe there’s someone else out there looking for someone just like her?
  • Una vida nueva 4 El Presente Adjetivo Género femenino Verbo irregular Preposición Family & Relationships Here’s part 4 of our series about Ángela. This exercise can help you practise El Presente plus the gender and number of nouns.
  • Una vida nueva 5 El Presente Género femenino Adjetivo Preposición Verbos con cambio ortográfico e > ie (presente) Family & Relationships Here's part 5 of our series about Ángela.
  • Vida en los Andes El Presente Preposición Adjetivo Verbe irrégulier Plural Monuments, Tourism & Vacations This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Presente and possessive adjectives.
  • Visitando librerías especiales Adjetivo Preposición Plural El Presente Singular Literature, Poetry, Theatre Patricia and Sergio have planned an interesting trip to visit some cool bookshops in different Spanish cities.This reading and listening exercise can help you practise prepositions, regular verbs in present tense, and El Futuro Próximo.
  • Viviendas y mascotas en España Preposición Adjetivo El Presente Plural Adjetivo indefinido Family & Relationships Find out what type of housing Spanish people live in and whether they have pets. This A1 exercise can help you practise hay vs. está, modal verbs, indefinite adjectives, and indefinite pronouns.

A2: Lower Intermediate Spanish reading exercises

  • ¡A comer! Verbo irregular El Presente Adjetivo Singular Plural Food & Drink Learn how to make a Spanish potato omelette: una tortilla de patata.
  • ¿Te gusta la televisión? El Pretérito Indefinido El Presente Verbo irregular Adjetivo Preposición Film & TV A2 Spanish interactive reading article
  • ¿Y a ti qué te ha dejado Santa? Verbo irregular Preposición El Pretérito Perfecto Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Participio Celebrations & Important Dates It's Christmas morning! Our gift to you is this reading and listening exercise that can help you practise El Pretérito Perfecto and El Imperfecto Progresivo.
  • Aguas de marzo Adjetivo Género femenino Artículo definido Singular Género Music Listen to the Spanish-language version of a song originally written by the Brazilian Tom Jobim.
  • Alexia Putellas: icono del fútbol español femenino El Pretérito Indefinido Género femenino Verbo irregular Nombre Preposición Famous People Sports & Leisure Alexia Putellas is a Spanish football icon who continues to showcase her talent and leadership on the field.
  • Arquitectura y pintura en España El Presente Adjetivo Verbo irregular Género femenino Adverbio Art & Design Join this art student as they survey the many notable works of art and architectural marvels of Spain. This exercise can help you practise El Presente, using the preposition "de" with nouns for description, possessive adjectives, the regular adverbs, ir and ser in the preterite and tener in the preterite.
  • Azkena Rock Festival Preposición Adjetivo El Presente El Pretérito Indefinido Género femenino Music Immerse yourself in the electrifying spirit of rock at the Azkena Rock Festival, Spain's premier celebration of rock 'n' roll, in Vitoria Gasteiz.
  • Campeones olímpicos de América Latina El Pretérito Indefinido Preposición Adjetivo Adjetivo indefinido Verbo irregular Sports & Leisure Latin America has a rich history of producing outstanding Olympic athletes, and future generations are poised to continue this legacy.
  • Ciudadanía española: la experiencia de María Virginia Adjetivo Plural Preposición Nombre Verbo irregular Immigration & Citizenship Listen to María Virginia's experience of applying for Spanish nationality and, in particular, the types of questions that came up in the General Culture exam. This A2 exercise can help you practise El Indefinido, El Imperfecto, and the use and position of the preposition de for descriptions.
  • Cómo escribir un correo electrónico formal Género femenino Preposición Gerundio/Spanish present participle Adverbio Por or Para? Employment Read and listen to this text describing how to write a formal email.
  • De mochilero por Perú 1 Preposición Adjetivo El Presente Plural Verbo irregular Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Join us as we travel around Peru in this new series! This A2 exercise can help you practise Ser vs Estar, Por vs Para, El Pretérito Indefinido and El Futuro Próximo.
  • De mochilero por Perú 2 Adjetivo Preposición Género femenino El Presente Verbo irregular Monuments, Tourism & Vacations It's time for part two of our trip round Peru! This exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Indefinido, gender of nouns with specific endings and quantitative adjectives.
  • De mochilero por Perú 3 Preposición Adjetivo Género femenino Adverbio Por or Para? Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Get ready for the final part of our trip round Peru! Last stop: Cusco. This exercise can help you practise exclamatory sentences with qué, El Pretérito Indefinido, quantitative adjectives and the gender of words with specific word endings.
  • El certificado de empadronamiento Preposición Plural Adjetivo indefinido Adverbio Nombre Immigration & Citizenship The Spanish "certificado de empadronamiento" is one of the first bureaucratic steps someone from abroad needs to get sorted when settling in Spain.
  • El concierto de Aranjuez Adjetivo El Presente Preposición Plural Nombre Music Learn about this beautiful guitar concerto, written by Joaquín Rodrigo while you practise El Futuro Próximo and the gender and number of nouns that do not end in -o/-a.
  • El día de engañar en Menorca Preposición Adjetivo Por or Para? El Presente Adjetivo indefinido Celebrations & Important Dates Did you know that the Spanish-speaking world doesn’t celebrate April Fool’s Day? For Spain and Latin America "prank day" is on 28 December: El día de los inocentes. But, there is ONE place that DOES celebrate April Fool’s Day, and that’s Menorca. Find out why!
  • El Día de Europa Adjetivo Preposición El Pretérito Indefinido Verbe irrégulier Nombre Celebrations & Important Dates This exercise can help you practise el Pretérito Imperfecto, most nouns ending in -ía/-ia are feminine, gender of nouns ending in -umbre, -ión, -dad, -tad, -itis and -sis and their plural and preposición.
  • En un festival de música El Pretérito Indefinido Regular El Pretérito Imperfecto Verbos regulares -er (presente) Adjetivo Music A2 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Estamos hechas la una para la otra El Presente Preposición Plural Adjetivo Verbo irregular Family & Relationships Some friendships were just meant to be! This A2 exercise can help you practise using yo también and yo tampoco.
  • Francisco Salzillo El Pretérito Indefinido Adjetivo Verbo irregular Plural Nombre Art & Design Celebrations & Important Dates Francisco Salzillo was a celebrated Spanish Baroque sculptor who lived and worked in the 18th century. This A2 exercise can help you regular and irregular verbs in the Spanish preterite, the position of direct object pronouns and feminine nouns.
  • Haciendo la compra a mis mayores Adjetivo El Presente Preposición Plural Nombre Family & Relationships This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Perfecto.
  • Halloween en España El Presente Preposición Adjetivo Plural Género femenino Celebrations & Important Dates Halloween is here so let's all have a spooky time in Spain! This A2 exercise can help you practise indefinite adjectives, the gender of nouns and adjectives that don't end in -o or -a, and prepositions.
  • Jennifer López Nombre Plural Preposición El Pretérito Indefinido Singular Famous People Film & TV Music Jennifer Lopez is a multifaceted artist whose career spans acting, singing, and dancing, making her a prominent figure in both the music and film industries.
  • Julieta, a film by Pedro Almodóvar Le Présent (Indicatif) Verbe irrégulier El Pretérito Indefinido Preposición Adjetivo Film & TV Pedro Almodóvar is Spain's most successful film director of international renown. His quirky screenplays focus on pop culture, desire, passion, and strong female characters.
  • La alegría de ser abuela Preposición El Presente Género femenino Adjetivo Plural Family & Relationships The relationship a grandmother has with her grandchildren is very special! Join this abuela as she discovers she is going to have another nieto. This exercise can help you practise direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns and the diminutive suffix -ito.
  • La Asunción en Guatemala El Pretérito Indefinido El Presente Adjetivo Verbe irrégulier Preposición Celebrations & Important Dates August 15 sees the celebration of the Assumption of Mary in many Hispanic countries. Guatemala is no exception and she is the patron saint of its capital, Guatemala City. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise the preterite and indefinite adjectives.
  • La Carrera de Reyes en San Pablo Adjetivo Preposición Plural El Presente Nombre Celebrations & Important Dates Discover this fascinating Epiphany tradition that takes place in the Peruvian town of San Pablo. This A2 exercise can help you practise the gender of nouns and adjectives that don't end in -a or -o, possessive adjectives and the near future
  • La cuesta de enero Adjetivo Adjetivo indefinido Le Présent (Indicatif) Comparativo Verbos con cambio ortográfico e > i (presente) Celebrations & Important Dates The new year is here and with it annual price hikes. Learn about the uphill struggle known as "La cuesta de enero" with this A2 reading and listening exercise.
  • La escapada de Laura al albergue El Pretérito Imperfecto Preposición El Pretérito Indefinido Adjetivo Verbo irregular Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Laura needs to get away from it all and reconnect with nature. Join her as she discovers the Sierra de Guadarrama in Spain. This exercise can help you practise the preterite and the imperfect for completed or descriptive past actions.
  • La fiesta de la independencia Plural Nombre Adjetivo Preposición El Pretérito Indefinido Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Learn some of the history behind the many independence day celebrations that take place in September in Latin American countries. This exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Imperfecto, indefinite adjectives, El Pretérito Indefinido, the gender of nouns that don't end in -o or -a, and how to use Roman numerals in Spanish.
  • La historia del ceviche Verbo irregular El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Adjetivo Preposición Food & Drink A2 Spanish interactive reading article
  • La magia de La Rioja 1 Preposición Adjetivo El Presente Género femenino Nombre Monuments, Tourism & Vacations It's time for a new exciting series! Embark on an exhilarating journey with a group of friends as they explore the wonders of La Rioja in Spain. This exercise can help you practise the gender of nouns ending in -umbre, -ión, -dad, -tad, -itis and -sis and their plural, El Pretérito Perfecto and forming exclamatory sentences with qué.
  • La magia de La Rioja 2 El Presente Preposición Adjetivo Género femenino Verbo irregular Monuments, Tourism & Vacations What will our friends decide to do on their next day of travel through La Rioja? Find out in part two! This reading and listening exercise can help you practise the gender of nouns ending in -umbre, -ión, -dad, -tad, -itis and -sis and their plural, El Presente, the gender of most nouns ending in -ía/ia and Preposición.
  • La magia de La Rioja 3 Preposición El Pretérito Indefinido Adjetivo Nombre Género femenino Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Here's the final instalment in our series of Kwiziq Spanish bilingual readers set in the picturesque Rioja. This exercise can help you practise the gender of nouns ending in -umbre, -ión, -dad, -tad, -itis and -sis and their plural, El Presente, the gender of most nouns ending in -ía/ia and Preposición.
  • La noche de las velas de Pedraza Plural Adjetivo El Pretérito Imperfecto Regular Preposición Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Celebrations & Important Dates Visit this picturesque Segovian village by candlelight and practise El Pretérito Indefinido and El Pretérito Imperfecto.
  • La Roja baila El Presente Preposición Verbo irregular Género femenino Nombre Music Sports & Leisure This reading and listening exercise is based on a song by the Spanish national football team.
  • La vendimia Verbo irregular El Pretérito Indefinido Preposición El Pretérito Imperfecto El Presente Food & Drink Celebrations & Important Dates Listen to this story about how one group of friends spent their time in the town of Jeréz de la Frontera during the annual grape harvest. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Indefinido and El Pretérito Imperfecto.
  • Las tunas en el día de la Inmaculada Adjetivo El Presente Plural Género femenino Verbe irrégulier Music This reading and listening exercise is about the Spanish tradition of Las Tunas.
  • Los novios 5: final feliz El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Pronombre relativo Verbo irregular Pronombre indefinido Family & Relationships After all they've been through, find out how it all turns our for Susana and Alfredo while you practise past tenses.
  • Martes y Trece - supersticiones El Presente Verbo irregular Adjetivo Le Subjonctif Présent Pronombre Celebrations & Important Dates This exercise is about superstitions in Spain.
  • Mejorando mi español con Kwiziq Preposición Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adjetivo Adjetivo indefinido Pronombre indefinido Language & Education This A2 exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Perfecto and indefinite pronouns.
  • Melilla: una ciudad con encanto Preposición El Pretérito Indefinido Adjetivo Verbe irrégulier El Pretérito Imperfecto Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Read about a visit to Melilla, one of the Spanish enclaves situated in northern Africa that has been part of Spain since the 15th century. This exercise can help you practise el Indefinido, using cuánto/-a/-os/-as in interrogative, exclamative and indirect questions, and forming exclamatory sentences with qué [noun] or qué [adjective].
  • Mi día en Ecuador El Presente Adjetivo Género femenino Preposición Verbos con cambio ortográfico o > ue (presente) Family & Relationships Spend a day in Ecuador while practising regular and stem-changing verbs in El Presente, telling time, using para for purpose and the gender of nouns that don't end in -o or -a.
  • Mi DNI Preposición El Presente Nombre Adjetivo Género femenino Immigration & Citizenship Learn about the Spanish National Identification document, an ID card that's as important as a passport for Spanish people. This A2 exercise can help you practise el Indefinido and Ser vs Estar.
  • Mi hermana Adjetivo Plural El Presente Singular Nombre Family & Relationships Practise muy vs mucho, plus using tener and ser to describe people.
  • Narcisos El Presente Verbo irregular Adjetivo Género femenino Plural Sports & Leisure Let's take a look at a flower that really heralds springtime! This A2 can help you practise irregular verbs in El Presente and the general use of prepositions.
  • No está lejos Preposición Infinitivo Adverbio Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Nombre Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Have you ever visited the Spanish city of Zaragoza? Practise directions and prepositions like desde/de/hasta/a for "from/to".
  • No tengo miedo - Halloween song El Presente El Pretérito Imperfecto Plural Nombre Verbo irregular Music It's Halloween! How about practising your Spanish with this cute song?
  • Nuestra gran aventura de verano 1 Adjetivo El Presente Plural Verbo irregular El Pretérito Perfecto Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Meet Marian and Tania who are celebrating the end of exams by taking a break in the village of Tania's grandparents. Part 1 of a series.
  • Orgullosa de mis hijos Adjetivo Verbo irregular El Futuro Simple Género femenino Pronombre de complemento directo Family & Relationships Here's a short vignette narrated by a mother about her two sons.
  • Platos para celebrar el 25 de mayo Adjetivo Preposición Género femenino Nombre Verbo irregular Celebrations & Important Dates Discover some of the emblematic dishes that Argentinians serve on 25 May to mark el Día de la Patria, when they celebrate their independence from Spain. This exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Imperfecto, exclamatory sentences, El Pretérito Indefinido and gender of nouns with specific endings.
  • Pulque El Presente Preposición Plural Género femenino Nombre Food & Drink Discover this traditional Mexican drink that's made from plants similar to those used for tequila. This exercise can help you practise porque vs por qué, gender and plural of nouns with specific endings and que = that.
  • Razones por las que aprender español Adjetivo Preposición Plural Nombre El Presente Language & Education We know you are already converted and know hundreds of reasons why learning Spanish is the way to go! But read on, just in case you need some extra incentives! This exercise can help you practise indirect object pronouns, indirect object pronouns and using indefinite pronouns.
  • Santiago Calatrava Adjetivo Preposición Nombre Verbo irregular El Pretérito Indefinido Art & Design Discover the life and some of the most iconic works of Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. This A2 exercise can help you practise El Indefinido and forming ordinal numbers in Spanish.
  • Sara García Alonso: la primera mujer astronauta española Preposición Adjetivo Plural Nombre Le Présent (Indicatif) Technology & Science Sara García Alonso is the first Spanish female astronaut.
  • Ser perro durante la pandemia El Presente El Pretérito Imperfecto Verbo irregular Verbos regulares -ar (presente) Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Family & Relationships A2 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Song "Mediterráneo" by Ana Belén and Joan Manuel Serrat El Presente Adjetivo Verbos con cambio ortográfico e > ie (presente) Gender of nouns in Spanish: masculine Verbo irregular Music This reading and listening exercise is based on the lyrics of the Spanish song Mediterráneo written by singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat.
  • Súbeme la radio - Enrique Iglesias El Presente Gerundio/Spanish present participle Pronombre Adjetivo Verbo irregular Music This reading and listening exercise is based on the song Súbeme La Radio by Enrique Iglesias. It can help you practise El Imperative and El Presente.
  • Swimmy, el AirBnb de las piscinas Preposición El Presente Plural Nombre Adjetivo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Did you know that you can rent out your swimming pool the same way you can rent out a room or your home? This exercise can help you practise using the near future and the general use of the preposition en.
  • Un Halloween diferente Adjetivo Preposición Verbo irregular Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adjetivo posesivo Celebrations & Important Dates This Halloween-themed reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Perfecto, El Futuro Próximo and Halloween vocabulary.
  • Un sábado con Edu Preposición Género femenino Adjetivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Presente Family & Relationships It's Saturday and hopefully Celeste's day is going to work out exactly as she has planned! This A2 exercise can help you practise El Indefinido with completed actions, El Futuro Próximo, and the use and position of direct object pronouns.
  • Una cita a ciegas El Pretérito Indefinido Verbe irrégulier Preposición Adjetivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Family & Relationships Have you ever been on a disastrous blind date? This A2 exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Imperfecto and El Pretérito Indefinido.
  • V Centenario de la primera vuelta al mundo Preposición Adjetivo Verbo irregular Plural El Pretérito Indefinido Politics, History & Economics Discover what happened 500 years ago when the first circumnavigation of the world took place. This A2 exercise can help you practise El Indefinido, El Pretérito Imperfecto, direct object pronouns and indefinite adjectives.

B1: Intermediate Spanish reading exercises

  • ¿Harás caso a todo lo que se dice? Coca-Cola Light advert El Presente Plural Adjetivo Artículo definido Nombre Film & TV This advert for Coca-Cola Light can help you practise El Imperativo and El Futuro.
  • ¿Qué harías en Bilbao? El Presente Verbo irregular Adjetivo Plural Nombre Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Learn about the delights of the Basque city of Bilbao while practising El Condicional.
  • ¿Sabías cuál es el origen del turrón? El Presente Adjetivo Género femenino Verbo irregular Por or Para? Food & Drink Discover the traditional Spanish Christmas nougat called turrón.
  • 23-F: Coup d'Etat in Spain Adjetivo Verbe irrégulier El Presente Adverbio Género femenino Politics, History & Economics This exercise is based on events that occurred on 23 February 1981, when Lieutenant-Colonel Tejero led 200 civil guards in a coup d'État against the recently-formed Spanish democracy.
  • Algo inesperado Verbo irregular Adjetivo El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Plural Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Have an unexpected encounter on the beach while practising El Imperfecto and El Indefinido and introduces El Pluscuamperfecto.
  • Almudena Grandes El Pretérito Indefinido Adjetivo Verbo irregular El Pretérito Imperfecto Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Literature, Poetry, Theatre Find out more about her life and work of author Almudena Grandes with this B1 reading and listening exercise that can help you practise the pasiva refleja, El Pretérito indefinido and El Pretérito imperfecto.
  • Atletismo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Perífrasis verbal Gerundio/Spanish present participle Participe passé Infinitivo How sporty are you? This reading and listening exercise about athletics can help you practise verbal periphrasis
  • Aulas virtuales Verbo irregular El Presente de Subjuntivo Participio El Futuro Simple El Pretérito Perfecto Language & Education This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Futuro Simple, El Condicional Simple and some expressions followed by El Subjuntivo.
  • Campana sobre campana El Presente Written accents in Spanish Adverbio interrogativo Adjetivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Celebrations & Important Dates Music The Christmas bells are ringing with this B1 reading and listening exercise that can help you practise the position of pronouns, diminutives and written accents.
  • Canción bonita Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Nombre El Pretérito Indefinido Pronombre relativo Pronombre de complemento indirecto Music Listen to this duet by Ricky Martín and Carlos Vives which is a celebration of Puerto Rico. This B1 exercise can help you practise si followed by present indicative + main clause and position of Spanish direct and indirect object pronouns with infinitive/gerund and affirmative commands.
  • Celebrando Acción de Gracias Modo subjuntivo El Presente de Subjuntivo Adjetivo Preposición Expresión idiomática con "estar" Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships B1 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Cómo hacer un presupuesto para tu pequeña empresa Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Presente de Subjuntivo Nombre Verbo irregular El Futuro Simple Employment This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Futuro Simple and El Condicional Simple.
  • Confundida El Pretérito Perfecto Verbe irrégulier Participio Pronombre indefinido Pronombre Family & Relationships What advice would you give Sonia if you were her best friend Lidia? This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Perfecto for events in the past with no mention of specific date and experiences in life.
  • Cotilleando El Presente Verbo irregular El Pretérito Indefinido Verbos regulares -er (presente) Ser or Estar? Family & Relationships This exercise can help you practise how to use gustar to say you find someone attractive.
  • De crucero por España 3 Pronombre de complemento indirecto Verbe irrégulier Participe passé Le Présent (Indicatif) Verbos regulares -er (presente) Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Family & Relationships Daniel meets someone and then something unexpected happens. Are they connected? This exercise can help you practise past participles as adjectives and the position of pronouns with conjugated verbs. (Part 3 of 5)
  • Día Internacional de las Montañas El Presente Plural Nombre Singular Adjetivo Celebrations & Important Dates Find out why mountains are so important with this reading and listening exercise that can help you practise El Presente, El Imperativo and the position of pronouns after gerunds.
  • El Cid Verbo irregular El Pretérito Indefinido Adjetivo Written accents in Spanish El Pretérito Imperfecto Politics, History & Economics Learn about this famous Medieval warrior with this reading and listening exercise which can help you practise relative pronouns, past tenses and past participles as adjectives.
  • El clásico Le Présent (Indicatif) Adjetivo Verbe irrégulier Plural Nombre Sports & Leisure This discussion of the traditional rivalry that exists between the Real Madrid and Barcelona football teams can help you practise comparatives and superlatives.
  • El Descenso Internacional del Sella Written accents in Spanish El Presente de Subjuntivo El Pretérito Indefinido Adverbio interrogativo Adjetivo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Celebrations & Important Dates Discover this extraordinary race that takes place every August in Asturias, an autonomía on the northern coast of Spain, with hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators! This exercise can help you practise forming the present perfect progressive tense, past participles as adjectives, conditional sentences with if and the simple future.
  • El desfile del Día de Muertos El Pretérito Indefinido Pronombre relativo Adjetivo Verbo irregular Written accents in Spanish Celebrations & Important Dates Make the journey to Mexico City and discover the parade that takes place on All Saints' Day. This B1 exercise can help you practise que/ el cual/ la cual/ los cuales/ quien/ quienes (relative pronouns) and conjugating regular verbs in the conditional.
  • El Día de Muertos El Presente Adjetivo Nombre Género femenino Verbo irregular Celebrations & Important Dates The Mexican celebration of El Día de Muertos (the Day of the Dead) actually lasts more than one day as it is celebrated on el Día de Todos los Santos (All Saints' Day) and el Día de los Fieles Difuntos (All Souls' Day), 1 and 2 November respectively.
  • El esplendor de las haciendas mexicanas Adjetivo El Pretérito Imperfecto El Pretérito Indefinido Written accents in Spanish Verbo irregular Art & Design Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Politics, History & Economics Mexican haciendas show us a time of splendor to which we look with some nostalgia.
  • El frotar se va a acabar Pronombre de complemento directo Órdenes y peticiones El Imperativo Género femenino Adverbio interrogativo Film & TV An old school Spanish advert for washing powder full of great grammar.
  • El Gordo de Navidad Adjetivo El Presente Plural Verbo irregular Género femenino Celebrations & Important Dates This is about the Spanish Christmas tradition of playing the lottery known as El Gordo.
  • El Jazzaldia de San Sebastián Written accents in Spanish Adjetivo Preposición Le Présent (Indicatif) Verbo modal Celebrations & Important Dates Music Jazzaldia, aka the San Sebastian Jazz Festival, is Spain's oldest jazz festival. Every year during the third week of July, the city is alive with the sounds of jazz music as the festival takes over the city's venues, plazas and even the beach! This exercise can help you practise superlatives, forming la pasiva refleja and past participles as adjectives.
  • El sistema educativo en España Adjetivo indefinido Adjetivo Written accents in Spanish Pronombre impersonal Conjunción coordinante Language & Education This exercise can help you practise relative pronouns, using "cierto", "cierta", "ciertos" and "ciertas" (indefinite adjectives) and past participles as adjectives.
  • En la Feria Nacional de San Marcos Adjetivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Preposición Written accents in Spanish El Presente de Subjuntivo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Celebrations & Important Dates Travel to the Mexican city of Aguascalientes to celebrate the Feria Nacional de San Marcos. This exercise can help you practise la pasiva refleja, El Futuro Simple, gender and plural of nouns with specific endings and relative pronouns.
  • Explorando Antigua Guatemala entre volcanes Adjetivo Written accents in Spanish Nombre Adverbio Adverbio interrogativo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations This exercise can help you practise the position of pronouns with conjugated verbs, past participles as adjectives, and forming the passive with se (pasiva refleja).
  • Granizado de sandía Pronombre de complemento directo Preposición Pronombre Adverbio interrogativo Written accents in Spanish Food & Drink Learn how to make a very refreshing drink and practise the position of pronouns in commands.
  • Grazalema y la Villa Turística El Pretérito Indefinido Verbo irregular Preposición Pronombre relativo Adjetivo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Grazalema, a picturesque Andalusian village, captivates visitors with its stunning landscapes and charming whitewashed houses.
  • Guantanamera Preposición Adjetivo El Presente Nombre Género femenino Music Guantanamera is probably the most famous Cuban song in the world. Its name means "woman from Guantánamo". The version in this video was recorded by Playing for Change, an organisation created to inspire and connect the world through music.
  • Hasta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo Adjetivo Preposición Participio Género femenino Pronombre impersonal Language & Education Discover the meaning of this Spanish saying.
  • La Casa Azul de Frida Kahlo El Pretérito Indefinido Written accents in Spanish Verbe irrégulier Adjetivo Conjunción Art & Design Famous People Immerse yourself in Frida Kahlo's iconic "Casa Azul", where she painted and lived for much of her life. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise "cuando" with the present subjunctive vs the present indicative and written accents.
  • La Casa de Bernarda Alba Verbe irrégulier El Presente El Presente de Subjuntivo El Pretérito Indefinido Modo subjuntivo Literature, Poetry, Theatre Federico Garcí­a Lorca is probably Spain's most famous modern poet and playwright. La Casa de Bernarda Alba is one of his most well-known plays.
  • La Casa de las Flores: historia y personajes Adjetivo Nombre Gerundio/Spanish present participle Infinitivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Film & TV Family & Relationships The Mexican series La Casa de las Flores redefined telenovelas for a global audience through its dark comedy and drama and intricate plot twists.
  • La Feria de Abril Verbo irregular Plural Género femenino Gender of nouns in Spanish: masculine Oración negativa Celebrations & Important Dates This exercise is about the Spanish festival La Feria de Abril.
  • La ley de nietos Verbo irregular El Futuro Simple Conjunción Conjunción subordinante Género femenino Immigration & Citizenship Read about a new path to Spanish citizenship called La Ley de la Memoria Democrática, popularly referred to as La Ley de Nietos. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise la pasiva refleja, El Futuro Simple, and the gender of Spanish nouns with specific endings.
  • La Mama Negra en Ecuador Nombre Género femenino Written accents in Spanish Adjetivo Pronombre de complemento directo Celebrations & Important Dates In Latacunga, Ecuador, they have a fiesta called La Santísima Tragedia, but everyone calls it Mama Negra and since 2005 it's been officially recognised as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ecuador. This exercise can help you practise past participles as adjectives, and the imperative.
  • La Pedrera Adjetivo Le Futur Simple (Indicatif) Modo subjuntivo El Presente de Subjuntivo Oración subordinada relativa Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Join us on a very special trip to Barcelona to visit the incredible works of architect Antoní Gaudí. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Futuro Simple.
  • La pradera de San Isidro Adjetivo Pronombre relativo Pronombre Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Preposición Celebrations & Important Dates B1 Spanish interactive reading article
  • La Sagrada Familia: un tesoro arquitectónico en Barcelona Written accents in Spanish El Presente Nombre Adverbio interrogativo Adjetivo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Step into the awe-inspiring world of La Sagrada Familia, a masterpiece in the heart of Barcelona that transcends time and space. This exercise can help you practise que, el cual, la cual, los cuales, quien, quienes who, that, which (relative pronouns) and El Futuro Simple.
  • LA, LA, LA – Massiel, 1968. Festival de Eurovisión El Pretérito Indefinido Verbe irrégulier Participe passé Adverbio interrogativo Written accents in Spanish Music Spain's first win at the Eurovision Song Contest was with this song by Massiel in 1968, when the contest took place in London. This exercise can help you practise using indirect object pronouns and relative pronouns.
  • Las baleadas hondureñas El Imperativo El Presente Expressing desire (querer, gustar) Inverted verbs like gustar Órdenes y peticiones Food & Drink Learn how to make this delicious dish from Honduras! This exercise can help you practise the imperative affirmative and the position of object pronouns with affirmative imperatives.
  • Las croquetas más ricas del barrio Verbo irregular Written accents in Spanish El Presente de Subjuntivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adjetivo Food & Drink Family & Relationships Inma is setting up a croquette bar in her neighbourhood.
  • Las Doce Uvas El Presente Adjetivo Género femenino Verbo irregular Preposición Celebrations & Important Dates Are you familiar with the Spanish New Year's tradition of eating twelve grapes at midnight?
  • Las Fallas de Valencia Adjetivo Le Présent (Indicatif) Género femenino Verbe irrégulier Adjetivo indefinido Celebrations & Important Dates The Spanish festival Las Fallas de Valencia lasts for 5 days in March.
  • Las hogueras de San Juan Adjetivo El Presente Plural Género Verbo irregular Celebrations & Important Dates It's officially summertime! In Spain (and many other countries) because the solstice and the feast day of Saint John the Baptist are so close, the eve of Saint John's is celebrated as the start of summer.
  • Los Novios 1: Susana y Alfredo Modo subjuntivo El Presente de Subjuntivo Adjetivo El Presente Verbe irrégulier Family & Relationships This reading and listening exercise can help you practise the subjunctive.
  • Mario Testino El Pretérito Indefinido Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre relativo El Pretérito Perfecto Pronombre Art & Design Learn about Mario Testino, the iconic and infamous Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. This B1 exercise can help you practise past tenses, la pasiva refleja and past participles as adjectives.
  • Mi asistente Written accents in Spanish Participio Adverbio interrogativo Conjunción subordinante Adjetivo indefinido Language & Education Here’s a teacher who’s a big fan of Kwiziq! This exercise can help you practise the importance of written accents in Spanish and relative pronouns.
  • Mi gran noche Verbo irregular El Futuro Simple Pronombre relativo Pronombre indefinido Adjetivo Music Listen to the song "Mi gran noche" made famous when it appeared in the 1968 film "Digan lo que digan" starring the Spanish singer and actor Raphael. This B1 exercise can help you practise "El Futuro Simple".
  • Mis aventuras por España 1 Adjetivo Adverbio El Pretérito Perfecto Participio Nombre Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Here's part one of a new summer series! Take off with Laura as she heads to summer camp in Spain. Will she have a great time like her parents say she will?
  • Mis aventuras por España 2 El Pretérito Perfecto Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Verbo irregular Preposición El Pretérito Imperfecto Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Will Laura make new friends? What will happen between Laura and Juan? Find out what summer has in store for Laura in part two of her summer adventure!
  • Moriría por vos Por or Para? Preposición Nombre Conjunción coordinante Adverbio interrogativo Celebrations & Important Dates "Moriría por vos" was a hit single by Spanish rock duo Amaral. This exercise can help you practise voseo, El Condicional Simple and El Futuro Simple.
  • Noviembre sin ti Adjetivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Gerundio/Spanish present participle Adverbio interrogativo Written accents in Spanish Music Listen to this love song by Mexican band Reik taken from their eponymous 2015 album. This exercise can help you practise the position of pronouns with conjugated verbs and past participles as adjectives.
  • Nuestra gran aventura de verano 2 El Presente Adjetivo Nombre Género femenino Plural Monuments, Tourism & Vacations B1 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Nuestra gran aventura de verano 3 Preposición El Pretérito Indefinido Pronombre Verbo irregular Pronombre de complemento directo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations B1 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Nuestra gran aventura de verano 4 El Pretérito Imperfecto Regular El Pretérito Indefinido Pronombre Adjetivo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations B1 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Nuestra gran aventura de verano 5 Adjetivo El Pretérito Indefinido Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Pretérito Imperfecto Gender of nouns in Spanish: masculine Monuments, Tourism & Vacations B1 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Organización territorial de España Modo subjuntivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Written accents in Spanish Adjetivo Infinitivo Politics, History & Economics Immigration & Citizenship Learn some geographical statistics about Spain as well as how it is divided and organised administratively. This B2 exercise can help you practise past tenses generally, idiomatic expressions and gerunds.
  • Otoño, octubre Gerundio/Spanish present participle Verbo irregular Pronombre de complemento directo El Pretérito Indefinido Pronombre relativo This reading and listening exercise is based on a song by Spanish singer-songwriter Manuel Carrasco.
  • Paco de Lucía Adjetivo El Pretérito Indefinido Preposición Verbos regulares -ar (presente) Verbo irregular Music Learn about Paco de Lucía, pioneering guitarist who founded the new fusion flamenco genre. This B1 exercise can help you practise gender of nouns ending in -ista, shorter forms of ordinal numbers and using demasiado, bastante, suficiente, poco, tanto and mucho to express quantity.
  • Partes de un coche Adjetivo Nombre Adverbio Género femenino Conjunción subordinante Technology & Science Get ready to take a thrilling ride into the heart of automotive mastery! This exercise can help you practise pronombre demostrativo, adjectives used as nouns, and using demasiado, bastante, suficiente, poco, tanto and mucho to express quantity (quantitative adjectives).
  • Películas clásicas de miedo para Halloween Adjetivo Participio Género femenino Pronombre relativo Pronombre de complemento directo Celebrations & Important Dates How about these scary movies to help you practise the subjunctive, the imperative, the position of pronouns and Halloween vocabulary?
  • Premio Planeta Modo subjuntivo El Presente de Subjuntivo Adjetivo Verbe irrégulier Le Futur Simple (Indicatif) Literature, Poetry, Theatre This reading and listening exercise is about the lucrative and well-respected book prize. It can help you practise El Futuro Simple, plus relative and subordinate clauses.
  • Queridos Reyes Magos Adjetivo Verbo irregular El Presente Género femenino Adverbio Celebrations & Important Dates This is about the Spanish tradition of the Three Kings - Los Reyes Magos.
  • Semana de la Moda Madrid Verbo irregular El Futuro Simple Pronombre de complemento directo Adjetivo Verbos con cambio ortográfico e>ie (presente subjuntivo) Art & Design The end of January sees the arrival of Madrid’s Fashion Week. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Futuro Simple.
  • Sevillanas de Nochebuena Pronombre de complemento directo Participio El Pretérito Perfecto Verbs in Spanish Ser or Estar? Celebrations & Important Dates Music Listen to this Sevillana-style song that incorporates the lyrics to a couple of more traditional Spanish Christmas carols.
  • Song "La vida es un carnaval" by Lucrecia Adjetivo Pronombre El Presente Plural Oración negativa Music This reading and listening exercise is based on the lyrics of the Spanish song La vida es un carnaval sung by Lucrecia.
  • Sorolla el pintor de la luz y la costa valenciana Pronombre relativo Adjetivo Conjunción subordinante Conjunción Written accents in Spanish Art & Design Joaquín Sorolla is a Spanish painter from Valencia. This exercise can help you practise using the relative pronouns and the pasiva refleja.
  • Torrijas El Presente de Subjuntivo Órdenes y peticiones El Imperativo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Verbos con cambio ortográfico o>ue verbs (presente subjuntivo) Food & Drink Make these traditional Easter treats and practise El Subjuntivo and El Imperativo.
  • Un tiempito para mí Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Preposición Adjetivo Pronombre Adjetivo indefinido Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Andrés doesn't have a very romantic plan for February 14th, but he's going to have a good time anyway.
  • Una vida nueva 10 Adjetivo El Pretérito Imperfecto Verbo irregular El Pretérito Indefinido El Condicional Simple Family & Relationships Roberto asked Ángela a life-changing question. Will she say yes or no?
  • Una vida nueva 6 El Pretérito Imperfecto Verbo irregular El Pretérito Indefinido Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adjetivo Family & Relationships The last time we met Ángela and Roberto they were just getting together and it was 2019. Let's see what's happened to them since then! This B1 exercise can help you practise past tenses and El Futuro Simple.
  • Una vida nueva 7 El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Verbo irregular Regular Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Family & Relationships Part 7 of a series: Roberto is up to something, and now Ángela doesn't know if she can trust him anymore...
  • Una vida nueva 8 Adverbio Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adverbio interrogativo Written accents in Spanish Pronombre de complemento directo Family & Relationships Part 8 of a series. Roberto and Ángela decide to go skiing. It's very exciting as it's Ángela's first time! However, the excitement soon turns to something darker... This B1 exercise can help you practise the position of pronouns, El Futuro Simple and the difference between some accented/non-accented words.
  • Una vida nueva 9 El Pretérito Imperfecto El Pretérito Indefinido Adjetivo Verbo irregular Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Family & Relationships Last time we were with Roberto and Ángela there was an avalanche! Find out what happens next...

B2: Upper Intermediate Spanish reading exercises

  • ¿Qué? ¿ruidosas nosotras? Conjunción Significados de "que" Pronombre interrogativo y exclamativo Pronombre relativo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Family & Relationships The landlady is not happy with her noisy tenants.
  • ¿Quién es la Fallera Mayor de Valencia? Pronombre relativo El Presente de Subjuntivo Participio Voz pasiva Modo subjuntivo Celebrations & Important Dates Valencia's most spectacular, colourful and noisy celebration is Fallas, which takes place in March every year, culminating on 19 March: the feast day of Saint Joseph. Each year one lucky fallera is selected to be the Fallera Mayor de Valencia. This exercise can help you practise El Presente de Subjuntivo, El Futuro Simple, and the position of adjectives.
  • Alaska y Dinarama - Mi novio es un zombi Pronombre El Pretérito Imperfecto Adverbio Pronombre de complemento indirecto Gerundio/Spanish present participle Music The song "Mi novio es un zombi" was released in 1989 by new wave band Alaska y Dinarama. This B2 exercise can help you practise the Spanish Preterite, using hacer with the subjunctive/infinitive = to make [someone] do something and prepositions followed by infinitives.
  • Andalucía turismo con Antonio Banderas Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adverbio interrogativo Written accents in Spanish Gerundio/Spanish present participle El Pretérito Indefinido Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Here Antonio Banderas shares a story about an important message he received when he was in hospital following his 2017 heart attack. This exercise can help you practise the general use of El Pretérito Imperfecto versus El Pretérito Indefinido and the position of adjectives.
  • Aplausos a los sanitarios Verbe irrégulier Verbos pronominales El Presente Le Passé Composé (Indicatif) Participio Family & Relationships B2 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Aprende a decorar mesas navideñas Gerundio/Spanish present participle Pronombre relativo Modo subjuntivo Pronombre Infinitivo Art & Design It’s time to add a seasonal touch to really get in the festive sprit! This exercise can help you practise subordinate clauses in the subjunctive and the indicative plus relative clauses with prepositions.
  • Arabismos El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Participe passé Modo subjuntivo El Presente de Subjuntivo Politics, History & Economics This B2 reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Perfecto, and El Pretérito Indefinido.
  • Ay mamá - Rigoberta Bandini Verbos irregulares (condicional) El Condicional Simple Gerundio/Spanish present participle Pronombre de complemento directo Conjunción coordinante Music This reading and listening exercise can help you practise no sé vs no lo sé = I don't know, using the neuter article "lo" to refer to a clause, verb, adjective or adverb and using the infinitive after prepositions (not present participle).
  • Bolsas de plástico Pronombre relativo Modo subjuntivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Presente de Subjuntivo Written accents in Spanish Celebrations & Important Dates Technology & Science Did you know that 3 July is International Plastic Bag Free Day? It seems a bit strange but actually has an important message and serious repercussions. This B2 exercise can help you practise using a and de + el que, la que, los que, las que (relative pronouns), using a preposition + el que, la que, los que, las que (relative pronouns) and using the infinitive after prepositions.
  • Cabalgata Feria de Manizales El Presente de Subjuntivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Verbo irregular El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Celebrations & Important Dates Discover one of the spectacular events that takes place during the Feria de Manizales - an annual event every January in Colombia. This exercise can help you practise relative pronouns, relative clauses with the indicative and the subjunctive and position of adjectives.
  • Canción "Como yo" de Tonina Saputo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Pronombre de complemento directo Órdenes y peticiones El Imperativo Infinitivo Music Listen to this poetic and rather melancholy song to practise cuando followed by the subjunctive and como vs cómo (with and without written accent).
  • Canción de primavera Gerundio/Spanish present participle Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre de complemento indirecto Pronombre de complemento directo Adjetivo posesivo Music This B2 exercise about Spanish poet and singer-songwriter, Joaquín Sabina, can help you practise El Imperfecto vs El indefinido.
  • Carlos Ruiz Zafón Preposición El Pretérito Indefinido Adjetivo Verbe irrégulier Pronombre Literature, Poetry, Theatre On Friday 19th June 2020, the Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, best known for the novel La Sombra del Viento, passed away. We pay homage with this bilingual reader.
  • Carlos Vives - Cumbiana Pronombre de complemento directo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Presente Adverbio interrogativo Written accents in Spanish Music Listen to this song by Carlos Vives where he celebrates the cumbia musical genre as well as promoting the biodiversity of the swamps and rivers of Colombia. This exercise can help you practise El Futuro Simple, using ya, and the difference between decir and contar.
  • Chefs Estrella Damm 2021 Gerundio/Spanish present participle Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Verbo irregular Written accents in Spanish Perífrasis verbal Food & Drink Watch this video where Spanish chefs have collaborated with a well-known Spanish brand of beer to boost their sector, hard-hit by the pandemic in 2021. This exercise can help you practise El Futuro Simple and different uses of the gerund.
  • Coco (movie trailer) Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Modo subjuntivo Verbo irregular El Pretérito Indefinido El Imperativo Film & TV Step into the vibrant world of 'Coco', where music and family intertwine on the magical journey of Día de Muertos. This exercise can help you practise using the infinitive after prepositions, impersonal statements followed by the infinitive/subjunctive with que, and El Futuro Simple.
  • Confesiones de una enamorada Oración subordinada temporal Modo subjuntivo Modo indicativo Preposición Oración subordinada condicional Family & Relationships Practise subordinate clauses while listening to the confessions of a girl in love.
  • De crucero por España 1 Verbe irrégulier Pronombre relativo Preposición Adverbio interrogativo Written accents in Spanish Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Family & Relationships Meet Daniel, he's just found out that he's been hired as a lifeguard on a cruise ship! This exercise can help you practise El Futuro Perfecto and El Infinitivo Compuesto. (Part 1 of 5)
  • De crucero por España 2 El Presente de Subjuntivo Modo subjuntivo Adjetivo El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Family & Relationships It's Daniel's first day at work on the cruise ship and he's a bit nervous. This exercise can help you practise the position of adjectives and El Presente de Subjuntivo. (Part 2 of 5)
  • De crucero por España 4 Adjetivo Verbo irregular El Futuro Simple Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Oración impersonal Monuments, Tourism & Vacations The ship makes a stop in Valencia and the police call with some news! This exercise can help you practise past participles as adjectives, the position of pronouns with conjugated verbs and El Futuro Simple. (Part 4 of 5)
  • De crucero por España 5 Infinitivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Participio Pronombre de complemento indirecto Pronombre de complemento directo Family & Relationships Here's the final part of our summer series! Sofia is in police custody. How will this end? This xercise can help you practise past participles as adjectives, the position of pronouns with conjugated verbs and El Subjuntivo. (Part 5 of 5)
  • Desde mi balcón Adjetivo Pronombre relativo El Presente de Subjuntivo Conjunción subordinante Verbo irregular Art & Design instead of being a physical event, 2020's PhotoEspaña will be an online event. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Subjuntivo.
  • Despacito El Presente Verbo irregular Adjetivo El Presente de Subjuntivo Verbos con cambio ortográfico e > ie (presente) Music Despacito by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee was one of the hot hits of 2017 and the first Youtube video to get more than 4 billion views! Both artists are from Puerto Rico.
  • Día del Idioma Español y Día Internacional del Libro Modo subjuntivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Written accents in Spanish Verbe irrégulier Infinitivo Famous People Language & Education Literature, Poetry, Theatre 23 April book lovers is International Book Day and also United Nations Spanish Language Day
  • Día Internacional de la lengua materna Pronombre relativo Pronombre Expressing ability (poder, saber) Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adverbio interrogativo Language & Education Practise relative pronouns while learning about International Mother Tongue Day.
  • Disfraz de Calavera Mexicana para Halloween Modo subjuntivo Participe passé El Presente de Subjuntivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Adverbio Celebrations & Important Dates This reading and listening exercise shows you how to recreate the make-up for the Mexican Day of the Dead skull, also known as Catrina. It can help you practise relative clauses with the Indicative and the Subjunctive.
  • El Carnaval de la Amistad Adjetivo Modo subjuntivo Infinitivo Verbos pronominales Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Celebrations & Important Dates Discover this colorful event that takes place every year in Honduras to celebrate the patron saint of La Ceiba. This exercise can help you practise the passive voice, impersonal statements and using se debe/se puede.
  • El cuento de mi abuelo para el día de Reyes El Pretérito Imperfecto El Pretérito Indefinido Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Written accents in Spanish Conjunción subordinante Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships This B1 online reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Indefinido and El Pretérito Imperfecto.
  • El Dos de Mayo de Goya El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adjetivo El Presente de Subjuntivo Art & Design Discover the history behind this famous painting by Francisco Goya, one of Spain's most important artists of the turn of the 18th century. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise different uses of the subjunctive, and using the imperfect vs the preterite.
  • El entretenido juego del parchís Modo subjuntivo Verbe irrégulier Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Infinitivo Participio Sports & Leisure If you love traditional board games then you have probably played a version of known in the Spanish-speaking world as parchís. This B2 exercise can help you practise si clauses, relative clauses with indicative and subjunctive and al + infinitive.
  • El Peine del Viento Written accents in Spanish Participio Tilde diacrítica Pronombre relativo Adjetivo Art & Design Monuments, Tourism & Vacations B2 Spanish interactive reading article
  • El presidente Nayib Bukele le promete a El Salvador una Ciudad Bitcoin Modo subjuntivo El Condicional Simple Adjetivo Verbe irrégulier El Presente de Subjuntivo Technology & Science Discover the ambitious plans Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, has for his country’s future. This B2 exercise can help you practise relative clauses with the subjunctive, the position of adjectives, and uses of the conditional.
  • El sistema sanitario en España Pronombre relativo Verbo modal Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Voz pasiva Adjetivo Technology & Science This exercise can help you practise how to use cualquiera to express “any”, relative pronouns after prepositions and impersonal sentences followed by the infinitive or by the subjunctive with que.
  • El sueño de Juan cargado de música El Pretérito Imperfecto El Pretérito Indefinido Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Oración subordinada temporal Adjetivo Music Live the dream of becoming a famous musician with Juan! This exercise can help you practise the imperfect vs the preterite, expressions with the verbs cargar, hacer and tirar.
  • En Guinea Ecuatorial se habla español Written accents in Spanish Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Voz pasiva Conjunción Tilde diacrítica Language & Education There's a country in Africa that counts Spanish as one of its official languages: Equatorial Guinea. Discover the historical reasons for this with our bilingual reader. This exercise can help you practise the passive and the preterite.
  • Feria de Cuenca, Ecuador Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Gerundio/Spanish present participle Adjetivo Perífrasis verbal Género Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Celebrations & Important Dates Read about the craft fairs that take place in Cuenca for its Independence Day celebrations, it's a city in Equador and a UNESCO World Heritage site. This B2 exercise can help you practise using the infinitive after prepositions and la pasiva refleja.
  • Fiesta Nacional de la Manzana Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adjetivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Verbos pronominales Oración subordinada relativa Food & Drink Celebrations & Important Dates Discover this Argentinian celebration of the apple! This exercise can help you practise la pasiva refleja, conjunction al + infinitive/perfect infinitive, relative pronouns, and position of adjectives.
  • Galicia, un paraíso en el noroeste Written accents in Spanish Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Gerundio/Spanish present participle Oración condicional con si Pronombre de complemento directo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Discover Galicia with this exercise which can help you practise the pasiva refleja and also indicative and subjunctive clauses.
  • Guillermo, el trapecista de circo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Written accents in Spanish Adjetivo Language & Education Enjoy a night out at the circus and meet Guillermo, a talented young trapeze artist! This B2 exercise can help you learn Spanish idiomatic expressions using the word boca, practise past tenses generally, pronominal verbs, and subordinate clauses with El Imperfecto de Subjuntivo.
  • Hamburguesas veganas de avena Pronombre de complemento directo El Imperativo Órdenes y peticiones Oración negativa Verbos pronominales Food & Drink Learn how to make these vegan burgers and practise El Futuro Simple.
  • Historia de España: expansión de Castilla y Aragón El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre relativo Pronombre Politics, History & Economics This exercise can help you practise prepositions with relative pronouns, using the imperfect vs. the preterite, and the position of adjectives.
  • Huevos de Pascua de foamy moldeable Adjetivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Infinitivo El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Art & Design This reading and listening exercise can help you practise para que followed by the present subjunctive (purpose subordinate clauses), el Futuro Simple and using the infinitive after prepositions (not present participle).
  • Inspiración otoñal Le Futur Simple (Indicatif) Verbo irregular Modo subjuntivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Presente de Subjuntivo Celebrations & Important Dates In the northern hemisphere the leaves are changing colour to accompany the changing season. This B2 exercise can help you practise El Futuro, El Condicional and El Subjuntivo.
  • Jorge Drexler - Hermana duda Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre Gerundio/Spanish present participle Pronombre de complemento directo El Presente de Subjuntivo Music Meet Academy Award winner Jorge Drexler, Uruguayan musician, actor and doctor. This B2 exercise can help you practise relative clauses using the infinitive and seguir + present participle.
  • La Alhambra de Granada Verbos pronominales Nombre Written accents in Spanish Gerundio/Spanish present participle Tilde diacrítica Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Step into a world of enchantment and history as you explore the mesmerizing beauty of La Alhambra de Granada in Spain. This exercise can help you practise the position of pronouns with conjugated verbs, the position of adjectives, El Futuro Simple and verbos pronominales.
  • La Familia Addams Le Présent (Indicatif) Verbe irrégulier Adjetivo El Pretérito Perfecto Modo subjuntivo Music There's a lot of spooky excitement in Madrid right now because of the new Addams Family musical! Practise your Spanish with this video filmed after the premiere.
  • La Gritería Written accents in Spanish Gerundio/Spanish present participle Pronombre relativo Verbe irrégulier El Presente de Subjuntivo Celebrations & Important Dates Every year on December 8, Nicaragua celebrates the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary with La Gritería. This B2 exercise can help you practise using seguir/continuar + present participle, decir vs contar, and the imperfect vs the preterite.
  • La herencia árabe en España Adjetivo Plural Verbo irregular Nombre Singular Art & Design Politics, History & Economics This exercise is about the influence of Arabic culture on Spain and the Spanish language.
  • La Inquisición Española Jerga/ Expresión idiomática L'Imparfait (Indicatif) El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Conjunción Pronombre relativo Politics, History & Economics Numerous atrocities were committed during the Spanish Inquisition several centuries ago in the name of Catholicism
  • La lucha contra el acoso escolar Modo subjuntivo El Presente de Subjuntivo Modo indicativo Oración subordinada temporal Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Language & Education School bullying can cause mental health problems and very low self-esteem.
  • La monarquía española Modo subjuntivo Infinitivo Conjunción subordinante Oración subordinada modal Conjunción coordinante Politics, History & Economics Immigration & Citizenship Learn about the current Spanish monarchy and its recent history. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise the passive se with modal verbs deber/poder, relative pronouns, using the infinitive after prepositions, and how to use Roman numerals in Spanish.
  • La vuelta al cole Adverbio Modo subjuntivo El Infinitivo Compuesto Written accents in Spanish Tilde diacrítica Language & Education Family & Relationships This exercise can help you practise clauses using El inidicativo and El subjuntivo.
  • La vuelta al cole con Kwiziq Modo subjuntivo Verbo irregular Participio Pronombre relativo El Pretérito Indefinido Language & Education Let's catch up with Laura, the American studying to be a doctor whom we met for the first time in "Mejorando mi español con Kwiziq" (A2). This exercise can help you practise "cuando" with past tenses, "seguir/continuar" + gerund and pronominal verbs.
  • Los caballos de Sanlúcar de Barrameda El Presente de Subjuntivo Modo subjuntivo Adjetivo Pronombre de complemento indirecto Voz pasiva Sports & Leisure B2 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Los Novios 2: Alfredo desconfía Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adjetivo El Pretérito Indefinido Pronombre El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Family & Relationships More from the "will they-won't they" couple Susana and Alfredo. Let's just say things are getting complicated.
  • Los Novios 3: malentendidos Preposición El Pretérito Imperfecto El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Pronombre Pronombre relativo Family & Relationships Part 3 of the "will they-won't they" couple Susana and Alfredo. There seems to have been some kind of terrible misunderstanding.
  • Maradona - Song by Andrés Calamaro Pronombre de complemento directo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Adjetivo Apócope Modo imperativo Music This tribute to Maradona can help you practise. using cualquier/cualquiera, el Presente de Subjuntivo and using the infinitive after prepositions.
  • Mediterráneo - Los Rebeldes El Presente Written accents in Spanish Verbe irrégulier Pronombre relativo Pronombre de complemento directo Music This song, Mediterráneo, appeared on the best-selling album of Spanish rockabilly band Los Rebeldes and was the 1988 hit song of the summer.
  • Mi fiesta de quinceañera Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adjetivo Infinitivo Verbo irregular El Futuro Simple Celebrations & Important Dates Join this young girl as she describes the special party that will take place to mark her fifteenth birthday, a milestone that marks the passage from childhood to womanhood that is celebrated in many Latin American countries. This exercise can help you practise the position of adjectives, the present perfect subjunctive and using the imperfect vs the preterite.
  • Mi príncipe azul Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Modo subjuntivo Infinitivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Oración subordinada temporal Language & Education This B2 exercise can help you practise idioms related to colours and also has instances of the letter d being omitted in colloquial Spanish.
  • Mi rutina durante el Ramadán Adjetivo Infinitivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Gerundio/Spanish present participle Adverbio Celebrations & Important Dates Have a look at what a typical day during Ramadan is like. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise using cualquier/a to express any, Para que followed by El Presente de Subjuntivo and the position of pronouns with conjugated verbs.
  • Miguel Delibes El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Preposición Verbo irregular Pronombre Literature, Poetry, Theatre As well as being a famous author, Miguel Delibes was a journalist and newspaper editor. Discover more about his life with this bilingual article. This B2 exercise can help you practise El Pretérito indefinido and El Pretérito Imperfecto
  • Mis aventuras por España 3 Pronombre de complemento indirecto Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adjetivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Modo subjuntivo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Laura's time in Spain is coming to an end. Part 3 of a 3 part series. This B1 exercise can help you practise past tenses generally, Impersonal sentences using the "ellos" form, prepositions followed by infinitives and repetition of indirect objects.
  • Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Presente Gerundio/Spanish present participle Modo subjuntivo Pronombre de complemento indirecto Language & Education B2 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Operación Salida y Retorno en España Verbos pronominales El Presente de Subjuntivo Modo subjuntivo Pronombre relativo Infinitivo Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Every summer, millions of Spaniards face the "Operación Salida" and "Operación Retorno," periods of intense traffic at the beginning and end of the holidays.
  • Otoño romántico Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre relativo Pronombre Written accents in Spanish Pronombre indefinido Family & Relationships B2 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Quesos españoles Voz pasiva Verbo modal Pronombre de complemento directo Participio Adjetivo Food & Drink Did you know that there are more than 100 varieties of cheese in Spain?
  • Refranes de Octubre Written accents in Spanish Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adverbio Adverbio interrogativo El Imperativo Language & Education Discover a few Spanish proverbs and sayings about autumn in this bilingual reader.
  • Regalos invisibles Adjetivo El Pretérito Imperfecto Written accents in Spanish Pronombre de complemento indirecto Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships What is the true spirit of Christmas? This exercise can help you practise El Imperfecto vs El indefinido and the position of pronouns with conjugated verbs.
  • Resistiré El Presente de Subjuntivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Oración negativa Conjunción Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Music During the 2020 pandemic lockdown people started playing this song by the Dúo Dinámico from their balconies so much that it has become an literal song of resistance
  • Rosalía cantante revelación Infinitivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Gerundio/Spanish present participle Pronombre relativo Pronombre de complemento indirecto Famous People Music Learn about the young Spanish singer called Rosalía Vila Tobella whose modern take on flamenco music led her to fame.
  • Semana Santa Adjetivo El Presente Verbo irregular Plural Modo subjuntivo Celebrations & Important Dates Like many Catholic countries, Easter is a very special celebration in Spain; it's not just a holiday weekend, it's called Semana Santa - Holy Week. This reader has a particular focus on the use of the passive voice.
  • Solicitando un trabajo Gerundio/Spanish present participle El Condicional Simple Pronombre de complemento indirecto Pronombre de complemento directo Adjetivo Employment Read and listen to this text describing how to write a formal email for a job application.
  • Un crimen perfecto 1 El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Infinitivo Pronombre de complemento directo Expressing ability (poder, saber) Literature, Poetry, Theatre Meet Ramón who thinks he's just going to have breakfast and ends up witnessing a horrible crime!
  • Un crimen perfecto 2 El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Pronombre indefinido Pronombre de complemento directo Pronombre relativo Literature, Poetry, Theatre The police investigate and think there's more to this than meets the eye.
  • Un crimen perfecto 3 El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Pronombre Adverbio interrogativo Written accents in Spanish Literature, Poetry, Theatre The police have new suspects!
  • Un crimen perfecto 4 Pronombre Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Condicional Simple Pronombre relativo Pronombre indefinido Literature, Poetry, Theatre Get closer to finding out who the killer is while practising El Condicional Simple.
  • Un crimen perfecto 5 Verbo irregular Participio El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Perfecto Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Literature, Poetry, Theatre Here's the final installment where we finally find out who really killed Pablo and why.
  • Un hotel que sea céntrico Pronombre de complemento indirecto Adverbio Palabras agudas Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Oración subordinada relativa Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Set in Salamanca, this exercise can help you practise El Subjuntivo.
  • Un nuevo hogar en España Written accents in Spanish El Condicional Simple Adjetivo El Imperativo Le Présent (Indicatif) Immigration & Citizenship Sam is looking for a new place to live in Spain and has decided to use the services of a real estate agent to help him with the paperwork and finding the right place. This exercise can help you practise El Condicional Simple, El Futuro Simple, impersonal statements with the infinitive/subjunctive + que and using the infinitive after prepositions.
  • Un sueño de Navidad Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre Adjetivo Infinitivo Modo subjuntivo Celebrations & Important Dates Ever had a weird dream that you nevertheless wished was real? This exercise can help you practise relative clauses, and El Imperfecto de Subjuntivo
  • Una sesión de belleza Verbe irrégulier El Futuro Simple El Presente de Subjuntivo Participe passé Adjetivo Sports & Leisure This reading and listening exercise can help you practise how to say “to have something done” in a beauty and treatment context.
  • Una sorpresa inesperada Modo subjuntivo Participio Pronombre de complemento directo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Infinitivo Language & Education This reading and listening exercise can help you practise false friends.
  • Videomatón de Isabel Allende Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre de complemento indirecto Pronombre reflexivo Verbos pronominales Pronombre relativo Literature, Poetry, Theatre Isabel Allende is a Chilean writer, her best known novel is "La casa de los espíritus" (1982) which was turned into an English-language film in 1993 with a star-studded cast. This B2 exercise can help you practise different uses of se: pronominal verbs, dativo de interés, pronouns le / les become se when used with lo, la, los, las.
  • Ya es Navidad Pronombre Voz pasiva Pronombre relativo Conjunción subordinante Conjunción Celebrations & Important Dates Ventino is a girl band from Colombia. This B2 exercise can help you practise forming the Spanish passive with se and using ya/ya no.

C1: Advanced Spanish reading exercises

  • ¡Está como una cabra! Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Infinitivo Oración negativa Oración subordinada concesiva Conjunción Language & Education This C1 reading and listening exercise can help you practise idioms with animals.
  • ¡Somos la leche! El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Written accents in Spanish Tilde diacrítica Adverbio Verbos pronominales Language & Education What if your best friend was also your sibling? This C1 exercise can help you practise idioms related to food.
  • ¿Cuál es la capital de Bolivia? Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Verbos pronominales Conjunción coordinante Voz pasiva Written accents in Spanish Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Politics, History & Economics Do you know which city is the capital of Bolivia? Not as simple a question as you might think! This exercise can help you practise la pasiva de estado, por mí que vs para mí que, using ni... ni... and subordinate causal clauses.
  • ¿De dónde vienen los deliciosos burritos? Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Pretérito Imperfecto El Pretérito Indefinido Adjetivo Oración subordinada modal Food & Drink Have you ever wondered who invented burritos? This C1 exercise can help you practise the imperfect vs the preterite, using the imperative of mirar/oír with specific meanings and repetition to give emphasis.
  • ¿Qué tipo de viajero eres? Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Perífrasis verbal Artículo neutro Verbos pronominales Voz pasiva Monuments, Tourism & Vacations This C1 exercise can help you practise pronominal verbs, relative pronouns and the general use of idiomatic expressions.
  • Alquilando un piso Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Perífrasis verbal Verbos pronominales Conjunción subordinante Oración subordinada modal Sports & Leisure This reading and listening exercise can help you practise pronominal verbs, verbal periphrasis and subordinate clauses.
  • Cartagena Pronombre relativo Pronombre Oración subordinada causal Infinitivo Written accents in Spanish Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Discover the beautiful city of Cartagena, in the province of Murcia, Spain. This reading and listening exercise can help you review relative pronouns.
  • Celebrando la música Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre Modo subjuntivo Participio Perífrasis verbal Music We'd like to highlight how important music is in everyone's lives, both in big celebrations and also in little moments in our daily life. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise the subjunctive in different scenarios like "como si", "ya sea" and "cuando" among others.
  • Coincidencias - Mundial Qatar 2022 El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre de complemento indirecto Pronombre Sports & Leisure Check out this clever video comparing what's happening in 2022 to what happened in 1986, which was the last time Argentina won the World Cup. This C1 exercise can help you practise using the Preterite, repetition of indirect object pronouns and you will also hear the very characteristic voseo and yeísmo rehilado present in Argentinian Spanish.
  • Comiendo pipas Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Infinitivo Oración subordinada causal Conjunción Perífrasis verbal Food & Drink Family & Relationships Read and listen to this C1-level story with an unexpected protagonist who learns to love pipas.
  • Cómo distinguir acentos y expresiones de distintos países de Centroamérica Pronombre de complemento indirecto Pronombre relativo Pronombre Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Conjunción coordinante Language & Education Could you identify which Central American country someone came from just from their accent? Watch this video to discover what the giveaway clues for each country are! This C1 exercise can help you practise Latin American colloquial expressions, pronominal verbs, relative pronouns, use of the dieresis in Spanish, omission of the letter d in colloquial spoken Spanish, Latin America Spanish generally.
  • Cotilleo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Modo subjuntivo El Presente de Subjuntivo Infinitivo Oración subordinada causal Family & Relationships When you're stuck at home with a broken leg everyone else's life seems much more interesting! This reading and listening exercise can help you practise the "se" aspectual, andar + gerundio, and expressions with the verb echar.
  • Día de Pachamama Pronombre Modo subjuntivo El Futuro Perfecto El Condicional Simple Participio Celebrations & Important Dates Discover the indiginous Latin American celebration of Pachamama and practise using El Futuro Simple when narrating past actions.
  • Diferentes formas de llamar a la comida Gerundio/Spanish present participle Pronombre Pronombre de complemento directo El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Modo subjuntivo Food & Drink Language & Education Discover just a few of the many foodstuffs that have different names depending on which country you are from! This B2 exercise can help you practise the differences in food vocabulary between different Spanish-speaking countries, the use of cualquier, the position of pronouns, impersonal sentences with se, the passive se and the use of the apóstrofo.
  • El Amazonas y el Orinoco: guardianes de la biodiversidad Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Infinitivo Written accents in Spanish Adjetivo Artículo definido Politics, History & Economics Discover two mighty South American rivers and their respective ecosystems. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise subordinate relative clauses, relative adjectives and encontrar vs encontrarse.
  • El arte inigualable del colombiano Fernando Botero Participio Pronombre Modo subjuntivo Voz pasiva Written accents in Spanish Art & Design The Colombian artist Fernando Botero passed away 15 September 2023, leaving us with an extraordinary legacy of paintings and sculptures in his exuberant and instantly recognisable style that has come to be known as Boterismo. Learn more about his life and work.
  • El desorden que dejas Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre relativo Pronombre Oración subordinada modal El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Film & TV View the trailer of the Netflix series is El desorden que dejas, known in English as "The Mess You Leave Behind". This C1 exercise can help you practise idiomatic expressions.
  • El Día de la Independencia de Argentina Adjetivo Infinitivo El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Oración subordinada causal Politics, History & Economics This exercise can help you practise using el imperfecto vs el indefinido, using dicho, dicha, dichos and dichas to say this/these (formal demonstrative adjectives) and using de lo más + adj to emphasise a quality or defect of someone/something (neutral article).
  • El español en Filipinas Participio El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo Adjetivo El Pretérito Perfecto Subjuntivo Verbos regulares -er (presente) Politics, History & Economics Language & Education This reading and listening exercise can help you practise the passive voice, El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo and using cuyo, cuya, cuyos, cuyas.
  • El Guernica, símbolo de una historia Adjetivo Oración subordinada relativa Pronombre relativo Participio Modo subjuntivo Art & Design Politics, History & Economics Pablo Ruiz Picasso is probably Spain's best-known artist and 2023 is the 50th anniversary of his death. To participate in this special moment, we look more closely at one of his most emblematic and political works, the massive painting of Guernica. This exercise can help you practise forming the passive voice with ser + participle, using the present to narrate past events and using the gerund to say “by doing something”.
  • El mensaje de Margarita Salas para las niñas que quieren ser científicas Gerundio/Spanish present participle Infinitivo Adjetivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Modo subjuntivo Technology & Science Read and listen to this interview with Margarita Salas, a renowned Spanish scientist and advocate for women in science.
  • El origen del Black Friday Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Pretérito Imperfecto Modo indicativo Pronombre relativo Modo subjuntivo Celebrations & Important Dates Black Friday has become a date to watch for many bargain-hunters around the world. But what's the origin of this mega-shopping day? This C1 exercise can help you practise passive voice with ser + participle and idiomatic expressions.
  • El Valle del Jerte y la Picota: una cereza única Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Written accents in Spanish Adjetivo Género femenino Infinitivo Food & Drink There is an area in Spain that grows a very special kind of cherry. This C1 exercise can help you practise la pasiva refleja, the position of adjectives, and verbal structures and relative pronouns using the subjunctive or the indicative.
  • El veraneo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Perífrasis verbal Infinitivo Verbos pronominales Artículo neutro Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Have you ever wondered how the concept of summer holidays came about? This exercise can help you practise idiomatic expressions.
  • Ensalada de verano Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Infinitivo Oración subordinada causal Written accents in Spanish Oración impersonal Food & Drink Enjoy a refreshing and unusual salad while practising using cuyo, cuya, cuyos, cuyas and relative clauses.
  • Felipe II El Pretérito Imperfecto El Pretérito Indefinido Verbo irregular Participio Adjetivo Politics, History & Economics Practise El Presente Historico.
  • Flotadores muy originales Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Por or Para? Órdenes y peticiones El Presente de Subjuntivo Conjunción Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Practise using El Pluscuamperfecto Subjuntivo in hypothetical clauses, idioms with ser, and relatives.
  • Janucá El Presente de Subjuntivo Modo subjuntivo El Pretérito Indefinido Verbo modal Perífrasis verbal Celebrations & Important Dates Hanukkah Sameach! This reading and listening exercise discusses the story behind the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah.
  • La Constitución española de 1978 Pronombre relativo El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Pronombre Gerundio/Spanish present participle Politics, History & Economics Immigration & Citizenship Learn about how the Spanish Constitution was established in 1978 following the transition to democracy after years of dictatorship. This C1 exercise can help you practise legal vocabulary, relative pronouns and passive forms.
  • La declaración de la renta en España Written accents in Spanish Modo subjuntivo Infinitivo Voz pasiva Gerundio/Spanish present participle Politics, History & Economics Immigration & Citizenship Every year, typically between April and June, Spanish taxpayers are required to provide details about all forms of income received during the previous year.
  • La Erizada Verbo modal Pronombre relativo Verbos pronominales El Futuro Simple Oración subordinada relativa Food & Drink Sea urchins are an important part of the carnival celebrations of Cádiz and they play the starring role in the gastronomic feast known as La Erizada.
  • La guía definitiva para salir de cañas por España Pronombre Pronombre relativo Infinitivo Modo subjuntivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Food & Drink Ever been confused about how to order a beer in Spain? This exercise can help you practise using the "se aspectual" and "lo" + possessive pronouns.
  • La nacionalidad española por residencia Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre relativo Pronombre de complemento indirecto Perífrasis verbal Gerundio/Spanish present participle Immigration & Citizenship Discover how long you need to be resident in Spain before you can apply for Spanish nationality. This reading and listening exercise can help you practise the different uses of the verb quedar, llevar with past participle, llevar with present participle, and the construction al + infinitive.
  • La Pepa Nombre Plural Verbo irregular Adjetivo El Presente Politics, History & Economics On 6 December Spain celebrates El Día de la Constitución. This reading and listening exercise discusses the Spanish constitution and explains why it is fondly referred to as La Pepa. You will also practise passive progressive tenses.
  • Las posadas Participe passé Adjetivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Voz pasiva Pronombre de complemento indirecto Celebrations & Important Dates Learn about these traditional Christmas parties that are celebrated throughout Latin America from the 16th till the 24th of December. This C1 exercise can help you practise the pasiva refleja and El Imperfecto vs El indefinido.
  • Las rebajas de enero Voz pasiva Participio El Pretérito Perfecto Subjuntivo Verbos regulares -er (presente) Oración subordinada temporal Celebrations & Important Dates The January sales have started! This C1 reading and listening exercise can help you practise the passive voice in both simple and compound tenses.
  • Los antiguos viajes a la playa - Eva Hache Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Verbos pronominales Perífrasis verbal El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Conjunción Film & TV This reading and listening exercise is suitable for level C1 Spanish students because of the pace of speech and the number of idiomatic expressions.
  • Los otros héroes Verbos pronominales Infinitivo Conjunción subordinante Adjetivo Pronombre tónico Family & Relationships A look at the ordinary people making sure that there is food on the shelves, cleaning the streets and collenting the trash during the pandemic lockdown.
  • Los zumos - Eva Hache El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Participio Gerundio/Spanish present participle Oración negativa Film & TV This reading and listening exercise can help you practise idiomatic expressions with "ni" and "ya". It is suitable for level C1 Spanish students because of the pace of speech and the number of idiomatic expressions.
  • Lucha contra el cáncer Oración subordinada modal Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Verbos pronominales Conjunción subordinante Oración subordinada temporal Technology & Science In the fight against cancer, February becomes a beacon of resilience. This exercise can help you practise verbos pronominales, using the infinitive after prepositions (not present participle) and relative clauses with the indicative and the subjunctive (subordinate relative clauses).
  • Más vale sola que mal acompañada Modo subjuntivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Written accents in Spanish Palabras agudas El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Family & Relationships When your love life is in tatters, who are you gonna call? Your best friend of course! This exercise can help you practise using "se aspectual", "if" clauses and adverbial clauses.
  • México lindo y querido El Presente de Subjuntivo Conjunción Pronombre de complemento indirecto Modo subjuntivo Verbos con cambio ortográfico e>ie (presente subjuntivo) Music Alejandro Fernández is a Mexican singer and a best-selling Latin music artist; study one of his songs and practise "que + El Presente de Subjuntivo" to express a wish/command.
  • Miguel de Cervantes Pronombre El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Pronombre relativo Infinitivo Language & Education Literature, Poetry, Theatre This exercise can help you practise the present to narrate past events, the position of adjectives, using the imperfect vs the preterite and the incorrect use of pronouns (leísmo, laísmo and loísmo).
  • Mujeres Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Perífrasis verbal Por or Para? Expressing need and obligation (deber, tener que, haber que, necesitar [que]) Pronombre de complemento directo Celebrations & Important Dates Every year on 8 March we celebrate International Women’s Day. This C1 reading and listening exercise can help you practise relative pronouns and idiomatic expressions.
  • Museo del Prado El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Adjetivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Voz pasiva Art & Design El Museo Nacional del Prado, located in Madrid, is Spain's most important museum with a magnificent collection of European art. This C1 exercise can help you practise using El Presente to narrate past events, the passive voice and past tenses generally.
  • Noche en vela by Guaraná Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre Conjunción Written accents in Spanish Significados de "que" Music Guaraná are a Spanish pop group, originally formed in Alicante in 2000, who went from busking in the Madrid metro to chart success. This exercise can help you practise using haber de + infinitive, using por si/por si acaso to say "in case" and there's and example of colloquial omission of the letter D.
  • Pajarillo Written accents in Spanish Adverbio interrogativo Modo subjuntivo El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Pronombre tónico Music The traditional Venezuelan song "Pajarillo" is a "joropo", a typically Venezuelan style of music and dance. This exercise can help you practise particularly poetic uses of El Imperfecto Subjuntivo.
  • Pase lo que pase, yo estoy a tu lado Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Verbos pronominales Modo subjuntivo Film & TV Sometimes when things go wrong pizza is the only answer! Practise using ir + y to introduce something unexpected and sudden, special uses of the conjunction "que" and El Presente to make requests.
  • Poema XX: Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche Modo subjuntivo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Pretérito Imperfecto Modo indicativo Infinitivo Literature, Poetry, Theatre The poem was published when Pablo Neruda was just 19 years old. This C1 exercise can help you practise the perfect infinitive, using el de/la de/los de/las de and using Qué + noun/adjective/adverb + que + subjunctive to express feelings.
  • Preparando la Nochevieja Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Verbos pronominales Adverbio Artículo neutro Oración subordinada causal Celebrations & Important Dates Having guests over for New Year's Eve can be rather stressful. Catch up with our host as she prepares for the big night when everyone eats 12 grapes at midnight! This C1 exercise can help you practise idioms with the word uva, pronominal verbs and pensar + infinitive to express intention.
  • Preparativos y tradiciones de mi Nochevieja colombiana Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Perífrasis verbal Pronombre de complemento indirecto Pronombre Modo subjuntivo Food & Drink Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships In Bogotá, Andrea is ready to host this year's New Year's Eve with her family.
  • Productos de exportación mexicanos Adjetivo Participio Voz pasiva Conjunción Pronombre relativo Politics, History & Economics Mexico is one of the main trading partners of the United States, standing out for exporting a wide variety of products thanks to its geographical proximity and economic strength.
  • Ropa de invierno Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Perífrasis verbal Conjunción subordinante Participio Conjunción coordinante Sports & Leisure C1 Spanish interactive reading article
  • Rosalía, song by Juan Luis Guerra Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Pretérito Imperfecto Subjuntivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Expressing desire (querer, gustar) Formal Music Juan Luis Guerra is a best-selling singer-songwriter from the Dominican Republic. This C1 exercise can help you practise using El Imperfecto vs El indefinido, subordinate clauses with para que, uses of mira/oye and the position of pronouns.
  • SEMINCI: Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid Modo subjuntivo Verbos pronominales Perífrasis verbal Oración subordinada temporal Modo indicativo Film & TV This week-long film festival held in Valladolid every year is considered by many as the most important festival for independent cinema.
  • Signos de interrogación y de exclamación Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Pretérito Imperfecto El Pretérito Indefinido Pronombre relativo El Presente de Subjuntivo Language & Education ¿Have you ever wondered about the upside-down punctuation marks used in Spanish? ¡Watch this video and read the transcript to learn more! This reading and listening exercise can help you practise El Pretérito Indefinido, El Pretérito Imperfecto, forming the imperative for usted/ustedes/nosotros/nosotras, time clauses.
  • T-MEC: clave para el futuro del comercio en América del Norte Adjetivo Infinitivo Adverbio Verbo transitivo Pronombre impersonal Politics, History & Economics This exercise can help you practise verbos pronominales, using the infinitive after prepositions and impersonal sentences followed by the infinitive or by the subjunctive with que.
  • Tacones rojos - Sebastián Yatra Pronombre Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Gerundio/Spanish present participle Infinitivo Pronombre de complemento directo Music Sebastián Yatra is a Colombian singer-songwriter originally known for his ballads but with a breakout success in fusion reggaeton. This C1 exercise can help you practise relative pronouns, se aspectual, use of the apostrophe and omission of the final -s in plural words.
  • Teotihuacán vive el equinoccio de primavera Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adverbio interrogativo Written accents in Spanish Pronombre relativo Oración impersonal Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Celebrations & Important Dates Not far from Mexico City is the important Aztec site of Teotihuacán.
  • Trabajos de voluntariado Pronombre relativo Pronombre Artículo neutro Por or Para? Employment Practise relative pronouns while learning about volunteer work.
  • Un mal amigo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática El Condicional Perfecto El Pretérito Indefinido El Pretérito Imperfecto Modo subjuntivo Language & Education Family & Relationships What would you do if you discovered your best friend was deceiving you? This C1 reading and listening exercise can help you practise idioms with the word mano.
  • Un viaje a la España despoblada Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Pronombre El Presente de Subjuntivo Modo subjuntivo Perífrasis verbal Politics, History & Economics This C1 reading and listening exercise can help you practise the repetition of words to give emphasis and difference between "por mí" and "para mí."
  • Una fiesta en Algemesí Verbos pronominales Adjetivo Gerundio/Spanish present participle Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Adverbio Celebrations & Important Dates Learn about the fabulous fiesta of La Mare de Déu de la Salut that takes place every year in Algemesí, in Valencia, Spain. This C1 exercise can help you practise pronominal verbs, the passive voice and position of adjectives for emphasis.
  • Yeísmo Jerga/ Expresión idiomática Gerundio/Spanish present participle Infinitivo Adjetivo Verbos pronominales Language & Education Watch this video and read the transcript to understand more about the unique way Argentinos and Uruguayos pronounce the letters "y" and "ll".

In this section

  • Improve Your Spanish Reading Skills
  • Spanish Glossary and Jargon Buster

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52 Spanish Essay Phrases for Your AP Exam

In order to do well on the AP Spanish exam’s   free-response  section, you must be able to write a persuasive essay based on three Spanish-language sources.

Here we’ve put together a list of 52 vocabulary words and essays phrases that will come in handy for making and supporting arguments in your AP Spanish essays.

Handy Essay Phrases for Writing a Strong Spanish AP Composition

Starting your essay, agreeing and disagreeing, stating an opinion, supporting an opinion, contrasting (or comparing), transitional phrases, changing topics, concluding your essay, how to prepare for the ap spanish essay, what are the details of the ap spanish essay, and one more thing….

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Para empezar – To begin with

Hoy en día – Nowadays…

Hoy en día, las personas están en Internet hasta ocho horas por día. (Nowadays, people are on the Internet up to eight hours per day.)

A manera de introducción – We can start by saying…

Como punto de partida – As a starting point

Al principio – At the beginning… 

En primer lugar  – To start… 

Empecemos por considerar – Let’s begin by considering…

Estoy de acuerdo/No estoy de acuerdo — I agree/I disagree

Estoy de acuerdo con lo que dice el autor. (I agree with what the author says.)

No estoy de acuerdo con la idea principal de la fuente número dos . (I disagree with the main idea of source number two.)

En mi opinión — In my opinion

En mi opinión, los jóvenes deberían comer más sano. (In my opinion, young people should eat healthier.)

La verdad es   — The truth is

La verdad es que todavía hay mucha desigualdad en los Estados Unidos . (The truth is there is still a lot of inequality in the United States.)

Es verdad  — It’s true

Es verdad que las redes sociales pueden ser peligrosas . (It’s true that social media can be dangerous.)

Es falso   —   It’s false

Hay gente que dice que las redes sociales son peligrosas, pero esto es falso . (There are people who say that social media is dangerous, but this is false.)

Me parece/No me parece   —   It seems to me/It doesn’t seem to me

Me parece bien que los niños asistan a colegios bilingües . (I think it’s a good idea that children attend bilingual schools.)

No me parece bien que los niños asistan a colegios bilingües . (I don’t think it’s a good idea that children attend bilingual schools.)

Remember that since me parece implies an opinion or emotion, you must conjugate the verb in the subjunctive tense.

(Yo) pienso que   —   I think that

Yo pienso que no hay nada más importante que la familia . (I think that there is nothing more important than family.)

(Yo) creo que  — I believe that

Yo creo que todos los adolescentes deberían aprender a tocar un instrumento . (I believe that all adolescents should learn to play an instrument.)

The following phrases all have the same structure: Es  + adjective +  que .

This structure is similar to the English “It’s [adjective] that…” and is great for expressing and supporting opinions in a strong and confident manner. Here are some phrases that are especially useful when making and defending claims in a persuasive essay:

Es evidente que   —   It’s evident that

Es claro que   —   It’s clear that

Es cierto que  —   It’s certain that

Es obvio que   — It’s obvious that

Es importante que  — It’s important that

Es necesario que   — It’s necessary that

Es probable que   —   It’s probable that

Es dudoso que  — It’s doubtful that

For some of these phrases, the verb following the word que must be conjugated in the indicative, while others require the subjunctive . A good rule of thumb is that when implying that something is certain, use the indicative. When expressing doubt or expressing some other emotion, use the subjunctive.

On this list, evidente, claro, cierto  and obvio use indicative verbs, and importante, necesario, probable  and dudoso use subjunctive verbs.

Es cierto que nuestro clima está cambiando . (It is certain that our climate is changing.)

Es importante que la gente sepa hablar más de un idioma . (It’s important that people know how to speak more than one language.)

These words will help you refer to your three sources, which contain information that will help you support your argument. This section also contains transition words to connect one part of your argument to the next.

Según   — According to  

Según el autor… (according to the author…)

La fuente  —   The source

Según la fuente numero 1… (According to source number one…)

El tema   —   The theme/topic

Esto es un tema muy importante. (This is a very important topic.)

Mostrar   —   To show

La fuente muestra la importancia de la diversidad. (The source shows the importance of diversity.)

Remember, mostrar is an o-ue stem-changing verb—pay attention to conjugation!

Demostrar   —   To demonstrate

La tabla demuestra que muchos jóvenes en España juegan al fútbol. (The table demonstrates that many youths in Spain play football.)

Demostrar is also an o-ue stem changing verb. Luckily for you, it follows the exact same conjugation rules as mostrar !

Indicar   —   To indicate

La tabla indica que hay muchas familias pobres en ese barrio. (The table indicates that there are many poor families in that neighborhood.)

Apoyar   —   To support

Estos datos apoyan la idea de que el clima está cambiando. (This data supports the idea that the climate is changing)

Sin duda   — Without a doubt

Sin duda, el cambio climático es el problema más grave que enfrenta nuestra planeta. (Without a doubt, climate change is the most serious problem that our planet faces.)

Por otra parte   — On the other hand

Es importante que la economía crezca, pero por otra parte, tenemos que cuidar el medio ambiente. (It’s important that the economy grows, but on the other hand, we have to care for the environment.)

Aunque   — Even though/Although

Aunque is followed by an indicative verb when the outcome is known, but a subjunctive verb when the outcome is speculative.

Aunque cuesta mucho dinero, tenemos que buscar una solución. (Even though it costs a lot of money, we have to search for a solution.)

Aunque cueste mucho dinero, tenemos que buscar una solución . (Even though it may cost a lot of money, we have to search for a solution.)

Al igual que  —   Just like

Al igual que en los años 40, hoy en día hay mucha gente que no quiere ayudar a los refugiados de guerra . (Just like in the 40s, today there are many people who don’t want to help war refugees.)

Tanto… como… — … as well as…

Fill in this phrase with two nouns to emphasize that you’re talking equally about two different things.

Tanto chicos como chicas deberían aprender a cocinar, limpiar, coser y cuidar a los bebés. (Boys as well as girls ought to learn how to cook, clean, sew and care for babies.)  

Sino   —   But rather

Remember that Spanish has two translations for the English word “but.” The word sino is like the English phrase “but rather,” used to introduce an alternative.

En comparación  —   In comparison

En comparación, la fuente número 2 indica que hay más obesidad en Estados Unidos que en España . (In comparison, source number 2 indicates that there is more obesity in the United States than in Spain.)

Leer no es una pérdida de tiempo, sino una manera de aprender y de conocer otras culturas . (Reading isn’t a waste of time, but rather a way to learn and understand other cultures.)

Además  — Additionally

This word is usually seen at the beginning of a sentence, and it’s useful for transitioning from one idea or argument to another.

Además, es evidente que la tecnología nos ayuda mucho. (Additionally, it’s evident that technology helps us a lot.)

Sin embargo   —   However

This is another good transition word. In your essay, you may want to present an alternate argument and then explain why you disagree with it. Sin embargo is very helpful for this.

Obviamente, estudiar es muy importante. Sin embargo, es necesario que los adolescentes tengan tiempo para jugar con sus amigos . (Obviously, studying is very important. However, it’s necessary that teenagers have time to play with their friends.)

Por lo cual   —   For this reason/That’s why/Which is why

This phrase is used in the middle of a sentence to connect ideas.

La Amazonía tiene un alto nivel de biodiversidad, por lo cual la conservación de esta región debe ser una prioridad.  (The Amazon has a high level of biodiversity, which is why the conservation of this region must be a priority.)

Sobre un tema relacionado — On a related topic

Sobre un tema relacionado con la inteligencia artificial, se están llevando a cabo investigaciones para mejorar la capacidad de aprendizaje de los algoritmos de machine learning.  (Regarding a topic related to artificial intelligence, research is being conducted to enhance the learning capacity of machine learning algorithms.)

Cuando se trata de –  When it comes to

Relacionado con esta idea — Related to this idea

Una idea similar es — A similar idea is

Una idea similar es utilizar la realidad virtual como herramienta educativa para mejorar la experiencia de aprendizaje de los estudiantes. (A similar idea is to use virtual reality as an educational tool to enhance the learning experience of students.)

Ahora estoy pasando a  — Now moving onto

In your final paragraph, you’ll want to provide a summary of your main argument and your main supporting points. You can use the following helpful phrases:

En conclusión   —   In conclusion

En resumen   —   In summary

En fin   —   Finally

En conclusión,/En resumen,/En fin, las tres fuentes muestran que la contaminación del aire es un problema muy grave para todo el mundo . (In summary, the three sources show that air pollution is a very serious problem for the whole world.)

After summarizing your essay, you’ll want to restate your main argument in a succinct, strongly-worded sentence. Start with these phrases:

Por estas razones   —   For these reasons

Por eso  — That is why

Así que   —   Therefore

Entonces  — So

Por estas razones,/Por eso,/Así que/Entonces, afirmo que los adolescentes no deberían usar las redes sociales. (For these reasons, I affirm that teenagers should not use social media.)

In many ways, preparing for the free-response section is the same as preparing for the rest of the AP exam.

It involves studying grammar and vocabulary, and it also means immersing yourself in the Spanish language as much as possible.

There are also some targeted ways to practice for the free-response section.

  • Do practice exams and read sample essays. The College Board  has posted the full AP exams from the last several years. Try to read the sources and write the essay in the allotted 55 minutes. When you’re done, go back and slowly revise your essay for errors in grammar, spelling and logic. After that, you can also check out the grading rubric provided by the College Board and several sample persuasive essays . Try to compare your essay against the rubric and the samples to see how you can improve your writing.
  • Practice summarizing and analyzing Spanish-language sources. Remember all those great resources listed above? Well, it’s not enough to just read or listen to them. The whole point of the presentational essay is to measure your ability to summarize, synthesize and argue. So, after you read or listen to a Spanish-language source, take five minutes to summarize it—on paper. Identify the main argument, and then make a bulleted list of important points. Finally, write a few sentences summarizing your personal opinion.
  • Learn targeted vocabulary for talking about opinions and arguments. Is there anything more frustrating than knowing exactly what you want to say, but not having the vocabulary to say it? This article lists many crucial vocabulary words for expressing and supporting opinions in persuasive essays. Using these words and phrases will help make your writing flow more smoothly, and allow you to argue with more credibility.

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You can also find some great info on great news outlets , podcasts , YouTube channels  and blogs —all in Spanish. Even following some Spanish Twitter feeds or listening to Spanish music can be a great way to work a little language practice into your day.

The free-response section of the exam is meant to test your ability to communicate with others in spoken and written Spanish.

There are two essays in the free-response section. The interpersonal essay asks you to respond to an email. The presentational essay  tests how well you can draw information from Spanish-language sources, form an argument and write formally. This second essay is a little less straightforward, so we’ll walk you through it here.

So, how does it work?

The presentational essay is based on three sources . Two of them are written sources and one is an audio source.

These sources can be just about anything: Advertisements, articles, infographics, letters, maps, interviews, radio programs, podcasts and conversations are just some examples of the types of sources you may encounter.

You’ll have about 55 minutes to complete this particular essay. First, you’ll have six minutes to read the prompt and the two written sources, and then you’ll hear the audio source twice. Finally, you’ll have 40 minutes to plan and write your essay.

The essay is graded on the basis of Spanish language skills like reading, listening, writing and grammar—but it’s also based on your general ability to analyze the sources and make a strong, coherent argument.

Of course, learning vocabulary and essay phrases is just one way to prepare for the free-response section.

Remember to expose yourself to as many Spanish-language sources as you can before test day, and don’t forget to think critically about those sources as you read them!

If you've made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU .

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FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:

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FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.

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short essays in spanish

Snappy Spanish

Snappy Spanish

Spanish reading practice, short stories to learn spanish in 5 minutes a day.

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Beginner level Spanish stories

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Upper Intermediate Spanish Reading

Upper Intermediate stories are designed for learners who are confident in their Spanish ability and have reached the equivalent of a B2 Spanish level.

The vocabulary focuses on more difficult, uncommon words, and the verbs incorporate two new subjunctive tenses along with indirect speech.

The sentence structure is extended to allowing for long phrases that require a higher level of fluency to understand.

To allow for continued practice, the Upper Intermediate listening practice is recorded close to the speed of a native Spanish speaker.

Read Upper Intermediate Spanish Stories

short essays in spanish

The blog for language lovers | Lingopie.com

Top Spanish Short Stories for Beginners

Milena Andrade

Welcome to the captivating world of Spanish short stories! They offer a perfect mix of learning Spanish language and cultural insight, making it both enjoyable and effective as you gain proficiency in this wonderful language.

Key Takeaways

  • Discover Spanish through short stories for an immersive language learning experience
  • Short stories provide a fun and efficient way to explore Hispanic culture & hone language skills
  • Incorporate classic authors, multimedia resources, and Lingopie into your Spanish routine for improved fluency.

Discovering Spanish Through Short Stories

Illustration of a person reading a book with the title 'Spanish Short Stories' on it

Make your language learning journey an enjoyable one with Spanish short stories. These thrilling tales are a great way for beginner Spanish learners to get started, as they provide accessible reading practice and expose readers to the richness of Hispanic culture without feeling too intimidated by longer texts or books. Through immersing yourself in these narratives, you will be able to mark down unfamiliar words which can help expand your vocabulary over time while improving your reading skills along the way. Find specially curated short stories at varying proficiency levels that open up an exciting world of discovery through Spain’s amazing literature!

Beginner-Friendly Tales

As you take your first steps into the Spanish-speaking realm, let short stories like ‘La ratita presumida’ and ‘Ricitos de oro’, a version of the classic tale of Goldilocks and The Three Bears, offer you their warm welcome. Thoughtfully crafted by native speakers proficient in Spanish, they provide an ideal way for beginner students to learn essential Spanish vocabulary as well as grasp primary grammar concepts quickly.

In order to accurately express yourself fluently in this foreign tongue, it is important that one understands key elements such as gender roles used when nouns are applied or conjugating verbs correctly. Placing these rules within the story context makes them more comprehensible while also increasing the long term retention rate amongst learners immensely!

Why not kickstart your journey with beautiful tales created by expertly voiced-over native Spanish speakers? Doing so will enable you to really immerse yourself fully in all aspects of this delightful language.

Intermediate-Level Narratives

As you move forward in your Spanish language education, intermediate-level short stories offer a way to hone and build upon your skills. These narratives use more intricate terminology, expand vocabulary with complex grammar structures and idiomatic expressions, all of which are key for cultivating fluency.

Plus, these stories provide an entrée into the diverse Hispanic culture. Works such as Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s ‘Spanish Short Stories for Intermediate Level’ or Gabriel Garca Márquez’s ‘Intermediate Spanish Short Stories’ can bring us closer to Latin American mysteries and magic within our grasp!

Advanced Literary Works

For Spanish learners who have some experience, advanced works of literature provide a vast amount of linguistic complexity and variety. Authors like Julio Cortázar, Gabriel Garca Márquez and Jorge Luis Borges are acclaimed for their gripping plots in the world of short stories written in Spanish.

These tales explore topics such as ‘alienation’ that one may feel when they don’t fit into society. Readers can come across numerous narrative techniques including Garcia Marquez’s classic story-telling to Julia Cortazar’s meta fiction elements which demand great language understanding from users. By mastering difficult structures, these literary pieces help expand knowledge about using the language correctly while sharpening up your vocabulary at the same time!

The Magic of Storytelling: Why Short Stories Are Ideal for Language Learning

Photo of an open book with the title 'Spanish Short Stories' and a pair of glasses on top

Stories have the capability to transport us into a completely different world while helping learners in various ways, which language learning also offers. Thus, short stories are an ideal choice for individuals of any level as they grant benefits such as efficiency and ease when studying along with introducing cultural elements.

Reading and comprehension skills can be improved through shorter readings. This enables more efficient study plus enjoyable practice making it possible even for those with limited attention spans. Language students gain insight on Hispanic culture too just by examining small excerpts from narratives – providing a stimulating yet effective way to pick up new information quickly at one go!

Time-Efficient Learning

In this hectic lifestyle, the ability to learn quickly is of great advantage. Short stories have a unique power to grasp people’s attention while assisting in honing vocabulary and grammar as well as developing confidence when reading. These tales also offer context for practicing figurative language, which makes studying easier and more fun at the same time!

Cultural Exploration

Immerse yourself in the vibrant culture of Hispanic heritage by exploring Spanish short stories. These tales cover a wide range of topics such as: traditions, family values, language usage, food choices, music genres and folklores which will give you an insightful understanding of their rich cultural identity.

The stories offer accurate representations of linguistic proficiency to help bring comprehension through real-world scenarios while also creating connections that stimulate emotion when learning about this specific culture. With these captivating narratives one can access detailed information regarding the customs behind Spain’s major elements for better appreciation and education on its particular style.

Engaging Practice

Short stories can be a great aid in Spanish learning, offering an informal and enjoyable way to learn. Through them one is able to pick up on natural language usage, while also gaining contextual knowledge, all of which helps boost their linguistic ability when it comes time for practice.

Tips for Maximizing Your Spanish Short Story Experience

Illustration of a person using a dictionary while reading a Spanish short story

To ensure that you gain the most from a Spanish short story experience, it is essential to apply effective strategies. For instance, underlining unfamiliar words for focus and reference to dictionaries or writing down new terms regularly can help with better understanding of language use. Active reading such as noting keywords in a vocabulary notebook while summarizing what was read in your own words helps increase comprehension levels substantially when using audio recordings along stories which expand insight into pronunciation context among other benefits associated with multimedia applications like language learning apps.

Vocabulary Building Strategies

Gaining a vast vocabulary is crucial when learning another language and short stories are an ideal tool for this goal. Every new word encountered will contribute to your general comprehension of the language, helping you achieve fluency. To make the most out of using these stories in order to improve one’s wordsmithing skills:

  • Look up unfamiliar terms with a dictionary so that their meanings can be understood completely;
  • Make sure spellings as well as pronunciations are checked thoroughly. And the only thing they do is laugh.
  • Familiarise oneself with synonyms or opposites (antonyms)of newly encountered lexicons too – all together supporting better mastery over writing and communication abilities alike.. When keeping these ideas in mind, it’s possible to take advantage of short story readings towards developing diction prowess along with extra benefits such as honed rhetorical ability via improved verbal expression capabilities, go forth confidently!

short essays in spanish

Active Reading Techniques

Developing reading skills can be enhanced with the use of active reading techniques. Such tactics include highlighting significant passages, participating in tasks related to understanding content, talking about what is being read and pronouncing words aloud for fluency improvement. All these strategies help you get more out of a story or text by fostering deeper engagement and comprehension when applying them while studying something.

Learning increases as your involvement deepens, so if one wants to enhance their academic performance it’s necessary to spend enough time engaging actively with texts they are tackling instead of quickly glancing through pages without giving any attention to detail or its meaning. Therefore, apply suitable techniques depending on the topic. This way you’ll not only better understand what’s been read, but also increase your overall skill level regarding material assimilation.

Pairing Stories with Multimedia Resources

Multimedia resources in the digital age can be an amazing supplement to short stories written in Spanish. Platforms that have a vast variety of these multimedia tools are Open Educational Resources (OER) Commons, Espaol Abierto, Anki, Pequeocio and Epic. The utilization of such incredible sources makes learning enjoyable as well as promotes moral and educational values related to those particular pieces of spanish literature.

Classic Spanish Short Stories and Their Authors

Illustration of a classic Spanish short story being told by a storyteller

The Spanish-speaking world is home to some of the most renowned short stories, written by master authors such as Angélica Gorodischer, Horacio Quiroga, Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar. Their tales bring a unique flavor to traditional literature that reveals much about the history and culture of these countries.

Each classic story offers an in-depth view on language nuances within this environment while uncovering culturally relevant matters. Readers have ample opportunities for exploring numerous narrative styles as well without sacrificing any essential element present in each piece. In all cases, in all cases. It gives insight into Spanish society when at its most vivid, thus contributing heavily towards enriching cultural knowledge regarding our beloved spanish speaking cultures.

Online Resources for Finding Spanish Short Stories

Photo of a person browsing through Spanish short story e-books on a tablet

For Spanish learners of all levels, there are an abundance of short stories to choose from online. To help enhance your learning experience, some platforms like Snappy Spanish and LingQ offer additional features such as comprehension quizzes, recordings in different regional accents and downloadable PDFs. Resources including Cuentos Infantiles and The Spanish Experiment have a wide range of genres which span classic tales through contemporary works tailored to compliment spanish classes on conversational terms. With so many options available for those studying the language, it truly constitutes a treasure trove worthy of exploration!

Incorporating Short Stories into Your Spanish Learning Routine

For better Spanish language learning, make sure to include short stories in your routine. It’s proven that reading various stories frequently is a great way to enhance knowledge of the language. Attempting just two or three every week will be enough to witness remarkable progress in time!

Besides improving fluency and understanding, these kinds of readings are also valuable tools for enlarging vocabulary as they help understand how certain words or grammar structures can fit into context while being enjoyable at the same time.

Using Spanish Short Stories in the Classroom

Spanish short stories are a great way to add to any language lesson. These tales offer learners an interactive and fun approach of seeing how the concepts they learn can be used in practice. The ideal pieces should emphasize key linguistic principles which match with students’ level of knowledge.

Classroom sessions provide comprehensive, regular classes along with immediate guidance from knowledgeable instructors as well as opportunities for pupils to hone their speaking and listening abilities by talking among themselves – assets that are critical when developing language skills.

Learn Spanish With Lingopie

Lingopie provides a great way for learners to become proficient in Spanish. Through its interactive and immersive learning platform, you can develop your language skills with thousands of TV shows and movies that are specifically tailored to fit an individual’s vocabulary capabilities. As the user progresses, their instructors monitor engagement levels while verifying advancement - creating a fun environment where improving one’s Spanish abilities is incredibly effective. By utilizing Lingopie’s customized experiences, users have the opportunity to immerse themselves into popular films or television series all while honing their language skills!

short essays in spanish

Frequently Asked Questions

Where to read spanish short stories.

Experience the richness of Spanish short stories right away, available on any one of 10 different websites. Dive into language and culture through reading these captivating tales!

How to learn Spanish fast?

Take advantage of language learning apps, find an online tutor and read in Spanish as much as possible. Also, switch your phone’s language to Spanish and watch movies and TV shows in the language too. Make studying Spanish a habit and sing along to the music, read everything and even travel to a Spanish-speaking country for an immersive experience.

With some dedication and practice, you can learn Spanish fast!

How to learn Spanish reading?

Reading is a great way to improve your Spanish language skills! Choose material that motivates you, start small and make note of titles and captions. Utilize cognates and draw on previous knowledge of the topic to gain a better understanding of what you read.

Reading bilingual books can also help to further improve your reading comprehension in Spanish.

What is the Spanish word for story?

La palabra espaola para lo que se refiere a ‘story’ es historia. Esta ltima se utiliza como otra.

How can Spanish short stories help improve my vocabulary?

Studying Spanish short stories can be a fun way to expand your vocabulary, as they allow for plenty of practice and contextual understanding. Repeated readings are especially beneficial in mastering these tales, which offer great opportunities to refine language skills.

short essays in spanish

In summary, short stories in Spanish offer a great way to learn the language and culture of its speakers. At all levels – from beginner to expert, these tales provide an enjoyable educational experience which exposes learners to new words within appropriate contexts for practice purposes. This allows them both engage with their learning journey and acquire proficiency in speaking Spanish faster than other methods allow.

Whether starting out on this adventure or improving your current level, absorbing yourself in captivating storylines can be highly beneficial as you progress through discovering more about the language via short stories!

Milena Andrade

Milena Andrade

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Spanish Words to Use in an Essay

Are you writing an essay in Spanish and aren't sure of the best way to start the next paragraph? Or maybe you're trying to think of some connectors to make your essay flow better. Look no further! In this article, we've prepared a list of words that will help you write that Spanish essay without even breaking a sweat.

SpanishEnglish

Looking to learn more phrases in Spanish? Check these articles out!

  • Fundamental Spanish Phrases to Learn Right Away
  • Spanish Exclamatory Words and Expressions
  • Spanish Idioms
  • How to Say "I Don't Understand" in Spanish
  • How to Say “Good Morning” in Spanish
  • "Good Night" in Spanish
  • How to Say "I Speak a Little Spanish"
  • Words of Encouragement in Spanish
  • Common Mistakes in Spanish

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short essays in spanish

51 Spanish Phrases for Essays to Impress with Words

  • January 7, 2021

Joanna Lupa

Communicating in a foreign language is hard enough, even in everyday situations, when no sophisticated or academic vocabulary is needed. 

Being able to write an actual essay in Spanish requires you not only to have a solid grammar base but also be knowledgeable about specific phrases and words typically used in school and university writing. 

For those of you who study in one of the Spanish speaking countries or are toying with the idea of signing up for an exchange program, I have prepared a summary of useful Spanish phrases for essays. They are divided into the following categories:

  • Connectors (sequence, contrast, cause and effect, additional information, and conclusion)
  • Expressions to give your opinion, agree and disagree with a thesis
  • fancy academic expressions

Spanish Connectors to Use in Essays

Written language tends to be more formal than the spoken one. Ideas get explained in complex sentences showing how they relate to each other. A fantastic tool to achieve that is connectors.

What are some useful Spanish connectors for essays? Let’s have a look at the ten examples below:

  • 🇪🇸 primero – 🇬🇧 first
  • 🇪🇸 segundo – 🇬🇧 second
  • 🇪🇸 el siguiente argumento – 🇬🇧 the next argument
  • 🇪🇸 finalmente – 🇬🇧 finally, last but not least 
  • 🇪🇸 sin embargo – 🇬🇧 however, nevertheless, nonetheless
  • 🇪🇸 por lo tanto – 🇬🇧 therefore, thus
  • 🇪🇸 además – 🇬🇧 besides
  • 🇪🇸 por un lado….por el otro lado – 🇬🇧 on the one hand….on the other hand
  • 🇪🇸 a menos que – 🇬🇧 unless
  • 🇪🇸 a pesar de (algo) – 🇬🇧 despite / in spite of (something)
  • 🇪🇸 aunque / a pesar de que – 🇬🇧 although / even though
  • 🇪🇸 debido a – 🇬🇧 due to
  • 🇪🇸 puesto que / dado que – 🇬🇧 given that
  • 🇪🇸 ya que –  🇬🇧 since
  • 🇪🇸 mientras que – 🇬🇧 whereas
  • 🇪🇸 en conclusión – 🇬🇧 in conclusion
  • 🇪🇸 para concluir – 🇬🇧 to conclude

Do you think you would know how to use these connectors in an essay? Let’s suppose you are writing about ecology:

🇪🇸 Los paises han estado cambiando sus politicas. Sin embargo, aún queda mucho por hacer.  🇬🇧 Countries have been changing their policies. However, there is still a lot to do. 

🇪🇸 Una de las amenazas climáticas es el efecto invernadero. Además está la contaminación del agua que presenta un serio riesgo para la salud.  🇬🇧 One of the climate threats is the greenhouse effect. Besides, there is water pollution that presents a severe health hazard. 

🇪🇸 A pesar de los acuerdos internacionales, varios países no han mejorado sus normas ambientales.  🇬🇧 Despite international agreements, many countries haven’t yet improved their environmental standards. 

🇪🇸 Debido a la restricción en el uso de bolsas de plástico desechables, Chile ha podido reducir su huella de carbono.  🇬🇧 Due to the restrictions in the use of disposable plastic bags, Chile has been able to reduce its carbon print. 

Spanish Phrases to Express Your Opinion in Essays

Essay topics commonly require you to write what you think about something. Or whether you agree or disagree with an idea, a project, or someone’s views. 

The words below will allow you to express your opinion effortlessly and go beyond the typical “creo que ” – “ I think ”:

  • 🇪🇸 (yo) opino que – 🇬🇧 in my opinion
  • 🇪🇸 me parece que – 🇬🇧 it seems to me
  • 🇪🇸 desde mi punto de vista – 🇬🇧 from my point of view
  • 🇪🇸 (no) estoy convencido que  – 🇬🇧 I am (not) convinced that
  • 🇪🇸 no me cabe la menor duda – 🇬🇧 I have no doubt 
  • 🇪🇸 estoy seguro que – 🇬🇧 I’m sure
  • 🇪🇸 dudo que – 🇬🇧 I doubt
  • 🇪🇸 sospecho que – 🇬🇧 I suspect
  • 🇪🇸 asumo que – 🇬🇧 I assume
  • 🇪🇸 estoy (totalmente, parcialmente) de acuerdo – 🇬🇧 I (totally, partially) agree
  • 🇪🇸 no estoy de acuerdo en absoluto – 🇬🇧 I absolutely disagree
  • 🇪🇸 opino diferente – 🇬🇧 I have a different opinion
  • 🇪🇸 me niego a aceptar – 🇬🇧 I refuse to accept
  • 🇪🇸 estoy en contra / a favor de – 🇬🇧 I am against / in favor of
  • 🇪🇸 no podría estar más de acuerdo – 🇬🇧 I couldn’t agree more
  • 🇪🇸 encuentro absolutamente cierto / falso  – 🇬🇧 I find it absolutely correct / false

Phrases like these can really give shape to your essay and increase its formality level. This time, let’s verify it with views on education: 

🇪🇸 Opino que estudiando remotamente los jóvenes están perdiendo las habilidades sociales.  🇬🇧 In my opinion, remote schooling makes youngsters lose their social skills. 

🇪🇸 Dudo que esta decisión traiga verdaderos cambios para el sistema educacional en mi país.  🇬🇧 I doubt this change will bring any real changes to the educational system in my country. 

🇪🇸 Estoy totalmente de acuerdo con que todos deberían tener acceso a educación de calidad. 🇬🇧 I totally agree that everyone should have access to good quality education. 

🇪🇸 Estoy en contra de escuelas solo para niñas o solo para niños.  🇬🇧 I am against girls-only or boys-only schools. 

Pay attention to certain language differences between English and Spanish versions. The most common mistake that my students make is to say “ I am agree ” ❌ (direct translation from “ Estoy de acuerdo ”) instead of “ I agree ”✔️. 

Fancy Academic Verbs and Expressions for Essays in Spanish

Would you like to impress your professor with sophisticated academic vocabulary or get extra points on your DELE? Grab a pen and take notes:

  • 🇪🇸 afirmar  – 🇬🇧 to state
  • 🇪🇸 refutar – 🇬🇧 to refute, to reject
  • 🇪🇸 argumentar – 🇬🇧 to argue that
  • 🇪🇸 poner en duda  – 🇬🇧 to cast doubt
  • 🇪🇸 poner en evidencia – 🇬🇧 to shed light 
  • 🇪🇸 demostrar – 🇬🇧 to demonstrate
  • 🇪🇸 concentrarse en – 🇬🇧 to focus on
  • 🇪🇸 sostener – 🇬🇧 to sustain
  • 🇪🇸 reflejar – 🇬🇧 to reflect
  • 🇪🇸 considerando (que) – 🇬🇧 considering (that)
  • 🇪🇸 siendo realista – 🇬🇧 realistically speaking
  • 🇪🇸 de cierto modo – 🇬🇧 in a way
  • 🇪🇸 en lo que se refiere a – 🇬🇧 with regards to
  • 🇪🇸 en vista de – 🇬🇧 in view of
  • 🇪🇸 de acuerdo a – 🇬🇧 according to
  • 🇪🇸 no obstante – 🇬🇧 nevertheless

So many great words to work with! And some of them sound really similar to English, right? This is exactly why Spanish is such a good option when you want to learn a second language.

Let’s see how to make all these verbs and phrases work:

🇪🇸 Los resultados de los nuevos estudios ponen en duda la relación entre el consumo de huevos y altos niveles de colesterol.  🇬🇧 The recent study findings cast doubt on the relation between egg consumption and high cholesterol levels. 

🇪🇸 Los autores del estudio argumentan que los azucares y los carbohidratos juegan un rol importante en este asunto.  🇬🇧 The authors of the study argue that sugars and carbs play an important role in this topic. 

🇪🇸 En lo que se refiere al consumo de carne, este influye directamente los niveles de colesterol malo, sobre todo si es carne con mucha grasa. 🇬🇧 Regarding meat consumption, it directly influences the levels of “bad” cholesterol, especially in the case of greasy meat. 

Joanna Lupa

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101 Basic Sentences in Spanish Every Beginner Wants to Know

Knowing basic sentences in Spanish is essential for any amateur learner. 

Being able to start a conversation, answer simple questions, or provide information is key to building up confidence. Ultimately, if your goal is to be fluent and speak intuitively, becoming familiarized with basic sentences in Spanish is essential.

Join me in this entertaining blog post and discover 101 basic sentences in Spanish every beginner wants to know.

Basic Sentences in Spanish: Greetings

Use these basic sentences in Spanish as both formal and informal greetings. You can use them as introductions, when you arrive at a new place, or meet new people. 

1. ¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? Hi! How are you?

2. ¿Qué tal todo? How is everything?

3. ¿Cómo has estado? How have you been?

4. ¿Cómo te va? How are you doing?

5. Mucho gusto, mi nombre es… Nice to meet you, my name is…

6. Es un placer conocerte, ¿Cómo te llamas? It’s a pleasure to meet you, what’s your name?

7. ¡Buenos días! Good morning!

8. ¡Buenas tardes! Good afternoon!

9. ¡Buenas noches! Good evening!

10. ¿Qué onda? What ‘s up?

11. Que gusto saludarte. It’s nice to see you. 

12. ¡Bienvenido! Welcome!

13. Estoy bien, ¿Y tú? I am fine, and you?

14. Muy bien, ¿Y usted? Very well, and you?

15. ¿Cómo te llamas? What’s your name?

16. ¿Cual es tu nombre? What is your name?

Basic Sentences in Spanish: Polite Phrases 

Use these basic sentences in Spanish to show manners. Spanish speakers are naturally friendly and these polite phrases are guaranteed to create opportunities for small talk with native speakers.

17. ¡Muchas gracias! Thank you very much!

18. Disculpe señor, señora, señorita… Excuse me sir, mam, miss…

19. Mil disculpas. I’m really sorry.

20. Con permiso ¿Puedo pasar? Excuse me, can I come in?

21. Le agradezco mucho.  I really appreciate it. 

22. Disculpe; ¿me puede ayudar por favor? Excuse me, could you help me please?

23. Lo siento mucho. I’m very sorry.

24. Buen provecho. Enjoy your meal. 

25. Gracias por su ayuda. Thank you for your help. 

Basic Sentences in Spanish: Saying Goodbye

Spanish speakers have different ways of saying their goodbyes during an event, visit, or phone call. Use these basic sentences in Spanish for saying farewell to friends, acquaintances, or family. 

25. ¡Hasta pronto! See you soon!

26. Hasta mañana. See you tomorrow.

27. Te veo luego. I’ll see you later.

28. Que pases un lindo día. Have a nice day.

29. ¡Hasta luego! See you later!

30. Que te vaya bien. Have a good day.

31. Cuídate mucho. Take care.

32. Que todo te salga bien. Hope everything goes well. 

33. Nos vemos pronto. See you soon. 

34. Lamento interrumpir. I’m sorry to interrupt. 

Basic Sentences in Spanish: Questions

Every beginner Spanish learner needs to know how to ask questions. Among the types of basic sentences in Spanish, questions are essential for you to learn new information. Que (what), como (how), donde (where), por que (why), and quien (who) are the starting point for most Spanish questions. 

35. ¿Cuántos años tienes? How old are you?

36. ¿Dónde vives? Where do you live?

37. ¿De dónde eres? Where are you from?

38. ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? When’s your birthday?

39. ¿Quién eres? Who are you?

40. ¿Qué fecha es hoy? What is the date today?

41. ¿Qué es esto? What is this?

42. ¿Dónde queda? Where is it?

43. ¿Por qué te gusta? Why do you like it?

44. ¿Me puedes explicar esto? Can you explain this to me?

45. ¿Dónde está el baño? Where is the bathroom?

46. ¿Me entiendes? Can you understand me?

47. ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? How much is this?

48. ¿Qué edad tienes? How old are you?

49. ¿Cómo llego hasta allá? How do I get there?

50. ¿Puede hablar más despacio por favor? Can you talk slower, please?

51. ¿Quieres algo de comer? Do you want something to eat?

52. ¿Todo bien? Is everything okay?

53. ¿A dónde vamos? Where are we going?

54. ¿A dónde vamos a ir a comer? Where are we going to eat?

55. ¿Estoy equivocado? Am I wrong?

56. ¿Dónde puedo comprar esto? Where can I buy this?

57. ¿Tienes hermanos o hermanas? Do you have any brothers or sisters?

58. ¿Cómo es tu familiar? What’s your family like?

Basic Sentences in Spanish: Special Occasions, Exclamations, and Best Wishes

Spanish is a very emotional and joyful language. Basic sentences in Spanish are a must for expressing kind wishes, what you’re feeling, and for special occasions. 

59. ¡Muchas felicidades! Congratulations!

60. Que sigas mejor. Get well soon. 

61. Espero que te mejores pronto. I hope you feel better soon.

62. ¡Feliz cumpleaños! Happy birthday!

63. ¡Feliz aniversario! Happy anniversary!

64. Esto es impresionante. This is impressive.

65. Bien hecho. Well done.

66. Salud por eso. Cheers to that. 

67. ¡Felices fiestas! Happy holidays!

68. Que la pases muy bien. Have a wonderful time. 

69. ¡Todo listo!  Everything is ready!

70. Que tengas un buen viaje. Have a good trip. 

71. Te deseo todo lo mejor.  I wish you all the best. 

Basic Sentences in Spanish: Hobbies and Interests

Talking about your likes and dislikes leads to finding common ground with new friends and acquaintances. Sharing about yourself and your hobbies using basic sentences in Spanish, transforms a conversation, and allows it to flow smoothly. 

72. ¿Qué te gusta hacer? What do you like to do?

73. ¿Cual es tu pasatiempo? What is your hobby?

74. ¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre? What do you do in your spare time?

75. ¿Qué te gusta leer? What do you like to read?

76. Mi pasatiempo favorito es… cocinar, hacer ejercicio o viajar. My favorite pastime is… cooking, working out, or traveling. 

77. ¿En qué trabajas? What is your job?

78. ¿A qué te dedicas? What do you do for a living?

79. ¿Qué música te gusta? What music do you like?

80. En mi tiempo libre, me gusta… In my free time, I like to…

81. Yo trabajo en… I work in…

82. No me gusta… I don’t like…

83. Me encanta… I love…

84. Me apasiona… I am passionate about…

85. Soy un excelente cocinero. I’m an excellent cook.

86. Vamos al cine. Let’s go to the movies.

87. Acompáñame a tomar algo. Join me for a drink. 

88. ¿Te gustan los perros? Do you like dogs?

89. ¿Estás estudiando? Are you in school?

Learn in detail How to Talk About Your Hobbies and Pastimes in Spanish with this insightful blog post. 

Basic Sentences in Spanish: Idioms and Sayings

Spanish is a colorful language. It’s full of curious and quirky expressions unique to different countries and nationalities. Some basic sentences in Spanish that are own to native speakers will add spice to any conversation. They’ll also support you in sounding natural. 

90. ¡Qué buena onda! That’s awesome!

91. Hablando del rey de Roma… Speak of the devil…

92. Metí la pata. I messed up.

93. ¡Ponte las pilas! Look alive!

94. Échale ganas. Put some elbow grease on it. 

95. Tiré la casa por la ventana. I went above and beyond.

96. Estoy hasta las narices. I’m fed up. 

97. Dilo sin pelos en la lengua. Don’t sugarcoat it. 

98. Me dieron gato por liebre. I was tricked.

99. Esto es pan comido. This is a piece of cake.

100. Dale la vuelta a la tortilla. Turn the table. 

101. Lo hice al pie de la letra. I did it following instructions. 

Expand this lesson of basic sentences in Spanish with this curious list of 50 Spanish Idioms To Use in Your Everyday Conversations. 

Move From Basic Sentences in Spanish to Advanced Conversation

After covering this list of basic sentences in Spanish, you’re right on track towards fast-tracking your fluency. 

Take your Spanish skills to the next level and sign up for a free class with our certified teachers from Guatemala. They’ll teach you more basic sentences in Spanish and will give you the confidence for engaging in conversations with confidence.

According to The Economist, people who are bilingual access better and more competitive job opportunities. Spanish speakers are valuable to the workplace and earn attractive salaries. 

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to advance in your language skills and expand your communications possibilities to new horizons. 

Want more free Spanish lessons, fun content, and easy learning strategies? Check these out!

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short essays in spanish

short essays in spanish

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Other works by Vic Evora...

short essays in spanish

A love story such as theirs deserv… For they have met at the rock-bott… Out of the ruins of their experien… That fate is gentle and their good… Life wasn’t gracious and there hav…

short essays in spanish

warm water bubbled up the hot spring; as she minded wet clothes she hung on a string, between two poles wild flowers on her hair;

short essays in spanish

One clear night I gazed at the heavens Marveled at the stars The constellations The distant galaxies

short essays in spanish

Prelude They have met even before they wer… Far away in the spiral galaxies A remote corner of the cosmic cair… But born on earth, different centu…

short essays in spanish

center I see my father Every morning when I shave He speaks to me From beyond the grave…

short essays in spanish

The sky’s ablaze at sunset Orange yellow deepest red Illusory tongues of flame A virtual firestorm has spread But then it’s momentary

short essays in spanish

We’re the last persons we find at… That’s a fact; perhaps just human… The other parties are always in th… For we’re blameless and innocent a… Often, we’re in a pedestal others…

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The crimson sun winked at them pla… Then disappeared behind mist-cover… The silver moon arose e’er hastily To all, promising a bounty of thri… Shooting stars flashed across the…

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A Sonnet Perchance this is the last poem I… Without a doubt a sonnet it will b… One about nature’s grandeur and be… An enchanting universe with no bli…

short essays in spanish

center a deafening silence yet she hears a heartbeat from a great distance, a doe trying to be discreet.

short essays in spanish

For miles and miles ahead of me The fog so thick I couldn’t see Onward I go, trusting the Lord For every day, I heed His Word! ...

short essays in spanish

A New Way of Seeing It All In the dungeon, nothing but utter… That even without a blindfold, no… But in the upper room, we can see… The light exposes what is; and eve…

short essays in spanish

He woke up a little bit early His demeanor was rather surly Raining cats and dogs And out came the frogs He can’t face the world readily

short essays in spanish

Do you remember? The first day of school? You couldn’t wait to get home Tell all your experiences to mom How thrilled you were…

short essays in spanish

a love story serendipitously, they encountered each other in the afternoon of their earthly sabbatical

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  • The Berkshire Eagle

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The Berkshire Athenaeum and the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum are have announced the winners of the 46th annual Short Story Writing Contest for Children and the 27th annual Short Story Writing Contest for Young Adults.

Pittsfield: Athenaeum announces Short Story Contest winners

Jeannie Maschino

Jeannie Maschino

Community News Editor / Librarian

  • Author email
  • Sep 6, 2024
  • 1 min to read

PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Athenaeum and the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum are have announced the winners of the 46th annual Short Story Writing Contest for Children and the 27th annual Short Story Writing Contest for Young Adults.

Entries were combined into five age categories with a total of 28 submissions. A committee of judges read through the submissions and rated the entries on originality, appeal, writing style, and artwork, if applicable.

The 2024 winners follow: 

Age 6: First place: Sage Saldo; second, Evelyn Morin.

Ages 7-8: First, Hazel Rodd; second, Talia Crow and Maribella Morin; honorable mention, Chloe Mishk.

Ages 9-10: First, Bodhi Goodman-Wu; second, Lucy Simonelli; honorable mention, Sasha Hughes.

Ages 11-14: First, Suzy Schoeny; second, Nora Schoeny; honorable mention, Madeleine Love.

Ages 15-18: First, Olivia Caraccioli; second, Gloria Williams; honorable mention, Evelyn Rathbun.

All short story submissions are on display in the Children’s Library through Sept. 21. The winning submissions are also displayed on the library’s website,  pittsfieldlibrary.org .

Jeannie Maschino can be reached at 413-496-6256 or [email protected] .

  • Berkshire Athenaeum
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  • Short Story Writing Contest
  • Short Story Contest Winners
  • Evelyn Morin
  • Maribella Morin
  • Chloe Mishk
  • Bodhi Goodman-wu
  • Lucy Simonelli
  • Sasha Hughes
  • Suzy Schoeny
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    I began the podcast Simple Stories in Spanish in February 2020. The first season involves stories in the present tense that repeat important verbs such as hay (there is/are), es (is - followed by a description), está (is - followed by a feeling or location), tiene (has), va (goes), quiere (wants), le gusta (likes). These verbs are often referred to as the Super 7 as you can communicate quite ...

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    3. You learn more about any topic because writing often requires research and inspiration of diverse topics. 4. You feel more productive because writing in Spanish is a constant exercise for your brain that develops concentration. 5. You gain a broader understanding of social scenarios and situations in Spanish.

  13. How to Write in Spanish: Key Rules and Tips for Casual to Creative Writing

    In order to type the opening (inverted) question mark, press Shift and (=). The closing question mark can be typed by pressing Shift and (-). As for the exclamation marks, the opening one is very easy: just press the (=) key. The closing one can be typed by pressing Shift + 1, like on your normal keyboard.

  14. Beginner Spanish Short Stories

    Learn Spanish with Short Stories. Our beginner Spanish short stories are designed to be simple and are made for people who are new to learning Spanish. All it takes is 5 minutes to practice your listening and reading, improve your comprehension and grow your vocabulary. Select from one of the beginner stories below.

  15. Composing an Essay in Spanish: Strategies & Organization

    In Spanish, the word 'essay' is ensayo (ehn-SAH-yoh). An ensayo is a short piece of nonfiction, with two main types: research or personal, where you usually do not need to do research. Either way ...

  16. 52 Spanish Essay Phrases for Your AP Exam

    Learn these 52 persuasive AP Spanish essay phrases to help improve your writing for the exam. With phrases to agree and disagree, present an opinion, support this opinion and bring an essay to a conclusion, this guide can give your vocabulary a boost.

  17. Spanish Reading Practice

    Spanish Reading For Beginners. Beginner stories are designed for A1 level students who are new to learning Spanish. The stories focus on core vocabulary such as prepositions, days of the week and common phrases. The sentences are kept short for ease of understanding and the audio recordings are spoken clearly and slowly so you can hear the ...

  18. How to Write a Personal Narrative in Spanish

    A personal narrative is a true story about yourself. It recalls an event or experience that has personally happened to you, so it's typically written in the first person. A personal narrative should focus on a meaningful event that changed your life in some way or taught you a valuable lesson, such as the worst moment of your life, a personal ...

  19. Top Spanish Short Stories for Beginners

    Beginner-Friendly Tales. As you take your first steps into the Spanish-speaking realm, let short stories like 'La ratita presumida' and 'Ricitos de oro', a version of the classic tale of Goldilocks and The Three Bears, offer you their warm welcome. Thoughtfully crafted by native speakers proficient in Spanish, they provide an ideal way ...

  20. Spanish Words to Use In an Essay

    In this article, we've prepared a list of words that will help you write that Spanish essay without even breaking a sweat. Spanish. English. por lo tanto. therefore. sin embargo. however. rendimiento. performance.

  21. 51 Spanish Phrases for Essays to Impress with Words

    concentrarse en - to focus on. sostener - to sustain. reflejar - to reflect. considerando (que) - considering (that) siendo realista - realistically speaking. de cierto modo - in a way. en lo que se refiere a - with regards to. en vista de - in view of. de acuerdo a - according to.

  22. SpanishInput

    Sam, el gato que habla (Level 1 Fiction) A scientist claims to have found a way to teach Spanish to animals. After reading this, you'll be glad your cat can't talk. Classic short story by British author Saki (H. H. Munro).

  23. 101 Basic Sentences in Spanish Every Beginner Wants to Know

    Use these basic sentences in Spanish to show manners. Spanish speakers are naturally friendly and these polite phrases are guaranteed to create opportunities for small talk with native speakers. 17. ¡Muchas gracias! Thank you very much! 18. Disculpe señor, señora, señorita…. Excuse me sir, mam, miss…. 19.

  24. Truth-Seekers, by Vic Evora

    Just for Laughs... How I love to dance! To waltz the… To trot with the foxes, in steps s… A lift here, a swing there, and ma… Perhaps a dip, a sashay and a high…

  25. Pittsfield: Athenaeum announces Short Story Contest winners

    PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Athenaeum and the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum are have announced the winners of the 46th annual Short Story Writing Contest for Children and the 27th annual Short Story Writing Contest for Young Adults. Entries were combined into five age categories with a total of 28 submissions.