Healthy Living: Vocabulary and Estar for States
Talk about healthy living in Spanish. Learn the words for food, sport and health, and how to say how you feel using estar, such as estoy cansado for I am tired.
Practise it before the paper, not after
Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
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Talking about health in Spanish
This module builds your Spanish for a healthy lifestyle: the words for food, sport and health, and how to say how you feel. You will also meet a key piece of grammar. To say how you feel or the state you are in, Spanish uses the verb estar.
Words for healthy living
Start with four core words. Each Spanish word is shown with its English meaning.
Healthy or unhealthy?
It helps to sort the words into healthy choices and unhealthy ones.
Match the Spanish to the English
- ejercicio
- deporte
- fruta
- verdura
- Exercise
- Sport
- Fruit
- Vegetable
The Spanish word for health
Which Spanish word means health?
- salud
- ejercicio
- fruta
- deporte
How do you feel? Use estar
To say how you feel or the state you are in, Spanish uses the verb estar. estoy means I am. So you say estoy cansado for I am tired, estoy enfermo for I am ill, estoy en forma for I am fit, and estoy estresado for I am stressed. Use estar for these temporary states.
Which state is this
- estoy cansado
- estoy enfermo
- estoy en forma
- estoy estresado
- You slept badly and can hardly keep your eyes open in class
- You have a temperature and are staying at home today
- You train four times a week and can run for an hour
- You have three deadlines this week and cannot switch off
Healthy choices
Select the TWO words that are healthy choices.
- fruta
- nadar
- fumar
- azúcar
A healthy day
Put the steps of a healthy day in order.
- Get up in the morning
- Eat a healthy breakfast with fruta
- Do deporte or go to the gimnasio
- Go to bed and sleep well
Health words in Spanish
In Spanish, health is _____ and healthy is _____. Fruit is _____. To say I am tired, you say estoy _____. To smoke is _____.
Spot the estar phrases
Tap the TWO phrases that use estar to say how you feel.
- estoy cansado
- estoy en forma
- el ejercicio
- la salud
Spanish builds the sentence its own way
Spanish has two verbs for "to be", and this module is about the difference. Use es for what something simply is, and estoy for how you are right now: - La dieta es importante = "diet is important". es comes from ser, used for a lasting quality. Being important is not a passing state, so ser is the right choice. - Estoy sano porque hago ejercicio = "I am healthy because I do exercise". estoy comes from estar, used for a state you are in. porque then joins the reason, which is what lifts the mark.
Spanish has two verbs for "to be"
Spanish has two verbs for "to be". Which of these says "I am healthy because I do exercise"?
- Estoy sano porque hago ejercicio
- Soy sano porque hago ejercicio
- Estoy sano
- La dieta es importante
Say how you feel
How do you say I am tired in Spanish?
- estoy cansado
- estoy enfermo
- estoy en forma
- estoy estresado
Which estar phrase?
For each situation, choose the correct estar phrase.
- You have run a long way and have no energy left. What do you say?
- You train every day and feel strong and fit. What do you say?
- You have a cold and a fever and feel unwell. What do you say?
Your turn: write in Spanish
Write two or three sentences IN SPANISH about a healthy lifestyle, using the estar phrases this module taught you.
- Say how you feel with the module's own estar phrases: estoy cansado (I am tired), estoy enfermo (I am ill), estoy estresado (I am stressed) or estoy en forma (I am fit)
- Name something healthy: el ejercicio (exercise), el deporte (sport), la fruta (fruit) or la verdura (vegetables)
- Name something to avoid: fumar (to smoke) or el azúcar (sugar)
- Use one of the health words: sano (healthy), la dieta (diet) or la salud (health)