Spanish Proficiency Exercises
Describe the environment you wish you would have been raised in.


Simplified and native speakers:

• Simplified example
• Ronald F.
• Oswaldo Z.
• Maripaz G.
• Javier E.
• Emilia A.

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• Simplified example
• Ronald F.
• Oswaldo Z.
• Maripaz G.
• Javier E.
• Emilia A.

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Key vocabulary for this task


Example phrases for this task


Grammar points for this task

Simplified Example
"Quisiera haber crecido en un ambiente rústico..."
Ronald F.
Venezuela, Mérida
"A mí me habría gustado haber crecido en un ambiente..."
Oswaldo Z.
México, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
"Bien, a mi me habría gustado nacer en esta misma época..."
Maripaz G.
España, Madrid
"Me gustó mucho donde crecí en Madrid en mi barrio..."
Javier E.
Ecuador, Azuay, Cuenca
"Bueno, el ambiente en el que me hubiese gustado crecer..."
Emilia A.
Argentina, Tucumán
"Bueno, yo fui criada en una ciudad muy urbana..."
 
acampar   to go camping
aire libre (m)   outdoors
ambiente rústico (m)   rustic atmosphere / environment
animal doméstico (m)   domestic animals
árbol (m)   tree
avances tecnológicos (m)   technological advancements
bosque (m)   forest
campo (m)   countryside
coger   to grab
comodidades (f)   comfortable things / conditions
 
crecer   to grow, to grow up
fruta (f)   fruit
lago (m)   lake
numeroso (adj)   flu
río (m)   river
gripe (m)   flu
sierra (f)   mountain range
trepar   to climb, to climb up
valle (m)   valley
A mí me hubiera gustado crecer en una gran ciudad, llena de vida y avances tecnológicos. I would have liked to grow up in a city, full of life and technological advances.
Yo habría preferido crecer en medio de la sierra, conviviendo con la naturaleza y sin recurrir a las comodidades del mundo moderno. I would have prefered to grow up in the moutains, living with nature and without having the comforts of the modern world.
A mí me fascinan las culturas asiáticas. Me hubiera gustado crecer en la India o en China. Asian cultures fascinate me. I would've liked to have grown up in India or China.
Me gustan mucho los países europeos. Haber crecido en cualquiera de ellos me habría hecho muy feliz. I really like European countries. It would've made me very happy to have grown up in any of them.
Creo que yo hubiera estado muy a gusto en un país de sudamérica como Brasil o Colombia. Me pasaría todo el día bailando y leyendo. I think I would've been content in a South American country like Brazil or Colombia. I would spend the entire day dancing and reading.
Quisiera haber sido Buda o aunque sea el Dalai Lama. I would have liked to have been the Buddha or even the Dali Lama.
Croe que haber sido de Uzbekistán me hubiera hecho inmensamente feliz. I think having been from Uzbekistan would've made me extremely happy.
Recorrer las montañas de San Cristóbal de las Casas a caballo ha sido siempre mi sueño imposible. Crossing the mountains of San Cristóbal de las Casas by horse has always been my unattainable dream.
Expressing wishes

There are many ways to express wishes in Spanish. Three common phrases are shown in the following examples:

Quisiera estar en algún país del mediterráneo. I wish I were in a Mediterranean country. / I would like to be in a...
  Ojalá fuera viernes. I wish it were Friday.
  Es tu cumpleaños, tienes que pedir un deseo. It's your birthday; you have to wish for something.

A very similar idea is "I would have liked to..." which can be expressed in Spanish in several different ways:

Me hubiera gustado haber crecido en el campo. I would have liked to have grown up in the country.
  Me habr’a gustado vivir al lado del mar. I would have liked to live next to the sea.
  Me gustaría haber crecido en una familia culturalmente mixta. I would like to have grown up in a culturally mixed family.

The first example uses the following formula:
Indirect object pronoun + hubiera + gustado + haber + past participle

The second example uses this formula:
Indirect object pronoun + habría + gustado + verb in infinitive form

The third example uses the following formula:
Indirect object pronoun + gustaría + haber + past participle