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.
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¿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 🧭
An interactive activity.
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 ✍️
An interactive activity.