Spanish Proficiency Exercises
Describe your house.


Simplified and native speakers:

• Simplified example
• Libia J.
• Roxana B.
• Carmen V.
• Cristina C.
• Luis A.

.m4v (iPod) downloads
Click red links to download .m4v files for use in iPod:

• Simplified example
• Libia J.
• Roxana B.
• Carmen V.
• Cristina C.
• Luis A.

Subscribe to iTunes podcast: adv07
Subscribe to podcast: adv07


Key vocabulary for this task


Example phrases for this task


Grammar points for this task

Simplified Example
"Nuestra casa es algo grande. Tiene una sala-comedor muy amplia..."
Libia J.
México, D.F.
"Mi casa es muy chiquita. Tiene una sala comedor muy pequeña"
Roxana B.
Chile, Santiago
"Bueno, mi casa tiene un patio en la entrada..."
Carmen V.
Perú, Lima
"Mi casa está en Miraflores que es uno de los distritos residenciales de Lima..."
Cristina C.
España, El Puerto de Santa María
"Hola de nuevo, soy Cristina, y os voy a hablar de mi casa..."
Luis A.
Costa Rica, San José
"OK. Nosotros, mi familia y yo, vivimos en un apartamento..."
armario (m)   closet
baño (m)   bathroom
cocina (f)   kitchen
comedor (m)   dining room
escaleras (f)   staircase
estudio (m)   den
estufa (f)   stove
garaje (m)   garage
habitación/recámara (f)   bedroom
horno (m)   oven
patio (m)   yard
piso (m)   floor
refrigerador (m)   refrigerator
sala (f)   living room
sótano (m)   basement
techo (m)   roof/ceiling
ventana (f)   window
En la planta baja hay la cocina, el comedor y la sala. Downstairs there is a kitchen, a dinning room and a living room.
La casa tiene una cocina moderna con nevera, estufa y microondas. The house has a modern kitchen with a freezer, store and microwave.
Mis padres duermen en el dormitorio principal en el primer piso. My parents sleep in the master bedroom on the first floor.
Al lado del comedor está el salón. The living room is next to the dining room.
Las ventanas traseras tienen vista al patio. The back windows have a view of the yard.
Tenemos una piscina en el patio trasero que se usa muy poco. We have a pool in the backyard that doesn't get used much.
Añadimos un estudio para mi padre. We added a den for my father.
En el jardín de frente tengo un Chevy Vega sin llantas que voy a arreglar un día de estos. In the garden out front I have a Chevy Vega without tires that I'm going to fix one of these days.
La mayoría de la casa está alfombrada pero la cocina y el comedor tienen el piso de madera. Most of the house is carpeted but the kitchen and dining room have hard wood floors.
A veces cenamos en el balcón. Sometimes we eat dinner on the deck.
Comparisons and expressions of equality

One way to make a comparison is with expressions of equality. For example, you might say that your new apartment is just as spacious as your previous one. Or that your new car is just as slow as your old one. This idea can be expressed in Spanish by using the construction, tan+adjective/adverb+como. When using an adjective you need to be sure it agrees with the first noun mentioned. For example:

El pollo es tan sabroso como la carne. Chicken is as tasty as meat.
  La carne es tan sabrosa como el pollo. Meat is as tasty as chicken.

Adverbs do not show agreement:

La carne se prepara tan rápido como el pollo. Meat is prepared as quickly as chicken (is).

When nouns are involved the construction is slightly different:
tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas+noun+como.

Tanto agrees with the noun in number and gender:

Tienes tantos libros como una biblioteca. You have as many books as a library (does).
  Nosotros necesitamos tanta atención como ellos. We need as much attention as they do.

And with verbs the construction is: verb+tanto como. Expressions with verbs show no agreement:

Mi hermanita nada tanto como un pez. My little sister swims as much as a fish.
  Juan trabaja tanto como yo. Juan Works as much as I do.