Travel and Tourism - Vocabulary and the Preterite Tense
Talk about your past holidays in Spanish. Build your Travel and Tourism vocabulary and master the preterite tense (el preterito) - the regular endings and the key irregular fui.
Practise it before the paper, not after
Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
¡Bienvenido de vacaciones!
Examiners love hearing about your holidays - especially in the past. This module builds your Spanish Travel and Tourism vocabulary and teaches el pretérito, the tense you need to say what you DID on holiday. (A native speaker should review this module before launch.)
El vocabulario: viajes
Learn these travel words with their articles - the article tells you the gender.
Match the Spanish to the English
- el hotel
- la playa
- la montaña
- la maleta
- the hotel
- the beach
- the mountain
- the suitcase
La palabra correcta
Which Spanish word means 'the beach'?
- la playa
- la montaña
- la maleta
- el hotel
El pretérito: la regla
To talk about completed past actions, use el pretérito. The "yo" (I) endings are: - -ar verbs: -é -> visité (I visited), viajé (I travelled) - -er / -ir verbs: -í -> comí (I ate), salí (I went out) Watch the accent on the final letter! One key irregular verb: ir/ser -> fui (I went).
La forma "yo"
Complete: 'Yo ___ el museo' (I visited the museum). 'visitar' is an -ar verb. Which is the correct preterite?
- visité
- visito
- visitaré
- visitando
-ar vs -er / -ir
The preterite endings depend on the verb group. Learn both patterns.
Verbos en pretérito
Select the TWO verbs that are in the preterite (past) tense. (visité, fue, visito and voy mean I visited, he/she went, I visit and I go.)
- visité
- fue
- visito
- voy
Completa las frases
El verano pasado fui de _____ a la _____. Me alojé en un _____. Viajé en _____ y llevé una _____ grande.
Match the infinitive to its "yo" preterite
- visitar
- viajar
- comer
- ir
- visité
- viajé
- comí
- fui
Forma el pretérito
To form the "yo" preterite: -ar verbs take the ending _____ (viajar -> viajé). -er and -ir verbs take _____ (comer -> comí). The verb ir is irregular: yo _____ (I went). The preterite describes a _____ action, and you must keep the _____ on the final vowel.
Present opinion against finished past
The preterite is the tense for something that finished. Compare a present opinion with a finished past action: - Me gusta la playa = "I like the beach". A present opinion. Me gusta is literally "it is pleasing to me", and la stays in front of playa where English drops it. - Fui a la playa porque hay sol = "I went to the beach because it is sunny". fui is the preterite of ir - one finished trip, not something you do generally. porque then joins the reason.
The preterite is for a finished action
The preterite is for a finished action. Which of these says "I went to the beach because it is sunny"?
- Fui a la playa porque hay sol
- Voy a la playa porque hay sol
- Fui a la playa
- Me gusta la playa
Construye la frase
Put the words in order to make: 'Last year I went on holiday to Spain by plane'.
- El año pasado
- fui
- de vacaciones
- a España
- en avión
Las vacaciones pasadas
You are describing your last holiday in Spanish. Choose the correct sentence each time.
- You want to say 'I went to Spain.' Which is correct?
- You want to say 'I visited the museum.' Which is correct?
- You want to say 'I ate paella.' Which is correct?
Get the preterite endings right
Three habits win marks in the preterite. First, get the endings right: -ar verbs take -é (visité), -er and -ir verbs take -í (comí, salí). Second, learn the key irregular: ir/ser -> fui (I went). Third - and easily missed - keep the accent on the final vowel: visité, viajó, comió. Endings, irregulars, accents.