My Neighbourhood: Vocabulary and Prepositions of Place
English says "is" for both. Spanish makes you choose: hay for what exists, está for where it is. Plus the contraction that turns up in nearly every sentence.
Practise it, do not just read it
Free interactive practice you can do alone, with the answers checked as you go.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
¿Qué hay en tu barrio?
English uses one word for two different jobs. There is a park, and the park is near the station. English uses is for both, and Spanish does not. Spanish makes you choose: hay to say what exists, and está to say where something is. Get that choice right and a description of your area writes itself. Get it wrong and every sentence carries the same error.
En mi barrio
Learn each noun with its article, because the article carries the gender you will need later:
Match each place to its meaning
- el ayuntamiento
- la piscina
- la tienda
- la iglesia
- the town hall
- the swimming pool
- the shop
- the church
Los falsos amigos
Two words in this topic mean something other than they look like: • la biblioteca is a LIBRARY. A bookshop is la librería. • el campo is the COUNTRYSIDE or a field, not a camp. The good news is the other direction. el restaurante, el parque, el hotel, el supermercado and el cine mean exactly what you would guess. Learn those in one go and spend your revision on the words that do not give themselves away.
¿Adónde va?
Your Spanish friend says: "Voy a la biblioteca." Where are they going?
- To the library
- To the bookshop
- To a shop
- To the cinema
Hay o está
This is the decision that runs through the whole topic. Ask yourself one question: am I introducing something, or saying where a known thing is?
¿Cuál es correcto?
You want to say "In my neighbourhood there is a swimming pool". Which is right?
- En mi barrio hay una piscina.
- En mi barrio está la piscina.
- En mi barrio hay la piscina.
- En mi barrio están una piscina.
Completa las frases
En mi barrio _____ un mercado muy grande. La biblioteca _____ al lado de la iglesia. Las tiendas _____ en el centro.
Dónde está: las preposiciones
Most prepositions of place end in de, and Spanish contracts de + el = del and a + el = al. Only those two combinations contract, and only with el:
¿Qué frases son correctas?
Select the TWO sentences that are written correctly.
- El cine está enfrente del ayuntamiento.
- Los sábados voy al mercado.
- La piscina está cerca de el parque.
- La tienda está al lado del iglesia.
Match each preposition to its meaning
- cerca de
- lejos de
- al lado de
- enfrente de
- near, close to
- far from
- next to
- opposite, facing
Describe tu barrio
A Spanish friend asks about your area. Choose the right Spanish each time.
- First you want to tell them there is a market in your neighbourhood.
- Now you say where it is: opposite the town hall (el ayuntamiento).
- Finally you explain that to get there you have to take the bus.
El resumen
To say what exists you use _____, which never changes and takes an indefinite word like un or muchas. To say where a known thing is you use _____ for one thing and _____ for several. de + el contracts to _____, and a + el contracts to _____.
Mi barrio
Escribe cuatro o cinco frases en español sobre tu barrio. What is there, where the places are, and what you have to do to get around.
- Empieza con "Vivo en..." y di qué hay en tu barrio
- Use hay at least twice, each time with un, una or a number
- Use está or están at least once, to say where a specific place is
- Include one preposition of place that produces del or al
- Finish with hay que plus an infinitive, and one opinion with a reason: "Me gusta mi barrio porque..."