Spanish · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 12 of 12
A weekend away
Un fin de semana fuera
Review A2 Spanish: tell someone about a weekend trip with three past tenses, make plans, compare places and give recommendations.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Tell someone about a trip using the preterite, the imperfect and the present perfect
- Talk about future plans
- Recommend things to do with the imperative
- Compare places
Listen
On Monday morning in Madrid, Lola asks her colleague Martín about his weekend in Segovia with his partner. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Lola
Hola, Martín. ¿Qué tal el fin de semana? ¿Fuisteis a Segovia al final?
Hi, Martín. How was your weekend? Did you go to Segovia in the end?
Martín
Sí, fuimos el viernes por la tarde y volvimos anoche. Nos encantó.
Yes, we went on Friday afternoon and came back last night. We loved it.
Lola
¿Y qué hicisteis?
And what did you do?
Martín
El sábado vimos el acueducto y la catedral. Y comimos cochinillo, el plato típico de allí.
On Saturday we saw the aqueduct and the cathedral. And we had roast suckling pig, the typical local dish.
Lola
¿Y qué tal el tiempo?
And how was the weather?
Martín
Hacía mucho frío, pero no llovió. Segovia es mucho más tranquila que Madrid, y es preciosa.
It was very cold, but it didn't rain. Segovia is much quieter than Madrid, and it's beautiful.
Lola
Yo voy a ir el mes que viene con mi madre. ¿Qué me recomiendas?
I'm going to go next month with my mother. What do you recommend?
Martín
Visita el Alcázar por la mañana, porque hay menos gente. Y prueba el cochinillo, claro.
Visit the Alcázar in the morning, because there are fewer people. And try the roast suckling pig, of course.
Lola
¿Y dónde dormisteis?
And where did you stay?
Martín
En un hotel pequeño del centro. Era más barato que los grandes y muy bonito. Luego te envío el nombre.
In a small hotel in the centre. It was cheaper than the big ones and very nice. I'll send you the name later.
Lola
Genial, gracias. ¿Y hoy qué tal? ¿Has dormido bien?
Great, thanks. And how are you today? Did you sleep well?
Martín
Poco. Llegamos a casa muy tarde y hoy me he levantado a las siete.
Not much. We got home very late and today I got up at seven.
Understand
Three past tenses
In A2 you've learned three ways to talk about the past. Choose the tense by asking what you're describing: a finished event, a description or habit, or something that happened today.
A few more irregular preterites are worth learning: (, , ), (, ), (, ) and (, ). and are regular: (We loved it), (I liked the tapas).
| Tense | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Preterite () | finished events at a finished time: , , | |
| Imperfect () | descriptions, the weather, habits, background | / |
| Present perfect () | today, this week; , (in Spain) |
Talking about the future
For plans, use + infinitive: . For fixed arrangements, the present is enough: . For predictions, like the weather, use the future tense: .
- El mes que viene voy a ir a Segovia.Next month I'm going to go to Segovia.
- El sábado comemos con mis padres.On Saturday we're having lunch with my parents.
- Te encantará.You'll love it.
Recommending and comparing
To ask for advice, say (What do you recommend?). To recommend something to a friend, use the imperative (chapter 9): , , . With : , , .
Comparisons (chapter 4) help to explain why: (there are fewer people), …, …
- Visita el Alcázar por la mañana.Visit the Alcázar in the morning.
- Prueba el cochinillo.Try the roast suckling pig.
- Ve en tren. Es más rápido que el autobús.Go by train. It's faster than the bus.
More in the grammar: Comparisons: más… que, tan… como, mejor · The future: ir a and the future tense · The imperative: giving instructions · The imperfect: describing the past · The present perfect: he comido, has visto · The preterite: talking about the past
New words
- al finalin the end
- Nos encantó.We loved it. · preterite of
- el acueductoaqueduct · masculine
- el cochinilloroast suckling pig · masculine; a speciality of Segovia
- el platodish; plate · masculine
- típico / típicatypical, traditional
- precioso / preciosabeautiful, lovely
- el mes que vienenext month
- recomendarto recommend · , …
- visitarto visit
- la gentepeople · feminine singular:
- probarto try, to taste · , …; imperative:
- genialgreat
- llegarto arrive, to get (somewhere) · preterite: , …; : to arrive late
Practise
1.Complete: “El sábado … la catedral.” (we saw)
2.Complete with the imperfect of : “It was very cold.”
It was very cold.
3.Complete with the present perfect of : “Today I got up at seven.”
Today I got up at seven.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.The hotel was cheaper than the big ones.
5.Match the Spanish with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
6.Which sentence is a recommendation to a friend ()?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
El fin de semana pasado fui a Segovia.
Last weekend I went to Segovia.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.