Spanish Proficiency Exercises
Talk about when you were the coldest you have ever been.


Simplified and native speakers:

• Simplified example
• Libia J.
• Joel C.
• Carlos G.
• Andrés A.
• María J.

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

• Simplified example
• Libia J.
• Joel C.
• Carlos G.
• Andrés A.
• María J.

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Key vocabulary for this task


Example phrases for this task


Grammar points for this task

Simplified Example
"Nunca tuve tanto frío como cuando hicimos una excursión en la Sierra Nevada..."
Libia J.
México, D.F.
"A mí el frío no me gusta..."
Joel C.
México, D.F.
"Bien, yo tenía unos 13 años..."
Carlos G.
México, Delicias, Chihuahua
"El día que más frío tuve..."
Andrés A.
Perú, Lima
"En una oportunidad, yendo para la sierra..."
María J.
Chile, Santiago
"Bueno, el frío más grande que he tenido..."
acampar   to camp
calentarse   to get warm
carpa (f), tienda (f)   tent
chamarra (f)   thick jacket
congelarse   to freeze
escalar   to rock climb
fogata (f)   campfire
friolento (adj)   someone who gets cold easily
lana (f)   wool
lona (f)   tarp
Saco de dormir (m), "sleeping" (m)   sleeping bag
soplar   to blow
suéter (m)   sweater
temblar   to tremble, shake
ventilador (m)   fan
viento (m)   wind
El viento soplaba tan fuerte que derribó nuestra tienda. The wind blew so hard that it knocked our tent over.
Si vas a acampar hay que tener una fogata para calentarse. If you're going camping you have to have a camp fire to keep warm.
Tengo un buen saco de dormir. I have a good sleeping bag.
Siempre uso un suéter de lana. I always wear a wool sweater.
Nos congelamos en Alaska pero fue divertido de todos modos. We froze in Alaska but it was fun anyways.
Mi esposa es muy friolenta, no soporta el frío para nada. My wife isn't thick skinned, she can't stand the cold at all.
Hace mucho frío en el norte, pero por lo menos se usa la calefacción. It's cold up north, but at least they use heaters.
Me congelé tanto que quemaba. I got so cold that it burned.
¿Has nadado en agua bien fría? Have you ever swam in really cold water?
Es mejor usar una chamarra cuando vas a la sierra. It's best to wear a thick jacket when you go to the mountains.
Imperfect tense

One of the two simple past tenses in Spanish is the imperfect. Regular verbs follow this pattern:
[missing text?]

The preterite for regular verbs is formed in the following manner:

-ar verbs
  hablar: hablaba, hablabas, hablaba, hablábamos, hablábais, hablaban
 
  -er/-ir verbs
  querer: quería, querías, quería, queríamos, queríais, querían

Since the first and third person singular forms are identical, it is necessary to use the subject pronoun unless the context makes the subject clear. There is no stem change or irregular yo forms in any verb. There are only three verbs that are irregular in the Spanish imperfect:

ser: era, eras, era, éramos, érais, eran
  ir: iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban
  ver: veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían

The imperfect tense is used to describe actions or situations that were incomplete or in progress at the point of time in the past that is being described. It is also used for ongoing conditions and repeated occurrences in the past. Let's look at some examples:

Yo siempre andaba en bicicleta cuando era joven. I always used to ride bike when I was young.
  Eran las nueve de la mañana. It was nine in the morning.
  Visitábamos mi abuela cada verano. We would visit my grandmother every summer.
  Mi primer carro no tenía radio y no se podía manejarlo más rápido que 50 millas por hora. My first car didn't have a radio and you couldn't drive it faster than 50 miles an hour.
  Hace 100 años todavía no existía el carro, la computadora, ni la radio. One hundred years ago the car, computer and the radio didn't exist yet.