Discussing Home and Work in Spanish - Exercises

Lesson Transcript

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Vivo en una casa (pause with a tap of the finger) al parque.

frente

Vivo en una casa frente al parque.

"I live in a house in front of the park."

We use frente here. It's part of the phrase frente a, which means 'in front of'. Since 'the park' is el parque, the words a and el combine to form the contraction al. So, the full phrase is frente al parque."

Porque means "because" and does not describe a place.

Más means "more" and doesn't indicate position or location.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Trabajo en una librería (pause with a tap of the finger) de la estación.

cerca

Trabajo en una librería cerca de la estación.

"I work at a bookstore near the station."

We use cerca here because it means "near" and is commonly paired with de to indicate proximity to a place.

Cuando means "when" and is not used for describing a place.

Rápido means "fast," which does not relate to location.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Resido en un apartamento en el (pause with a tap of the finger) histórico.

centro

Resido en un apartamento en el centro histórico.

"I reside in an apartment in the historic center."

We use centro here because it refers to the central part of a city—el centro histórico is a fixed phrase meaning "the historic center."

Comer means "to eat" and is a verb, not a place.

Verde means "green" and does not describe a location.

Unscramble the words to make a sentence.

Ready?

Vivo

Vivo en

Vivo en las

Vivo en las afueras,

Vivo en las afueras, lejos

Vivo en las afueras, lejos del

Vivo en las afueras, lejos del bullicio.

"I live on the outskirts, far from the noise."

Vivo en las afueras, lejos del bullicio.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Trabajo en una escuela (frente or grande) a una plaza.

frente

Trabajo en una escuela frente a una plaza.

"I work at a school in front of a plaza."

We use frente here because it completes the phrase frente a, which means 'in front of'. This phrase correctly connects the location of the school to the plaza.

Grande means "big" and is an adjective. It doesn't fit here because we need a preposition, not a descriptive word.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Resido en una zona tranquila (mejor or cerca) de la montaña.

cerca

Resido en una zona tranquila cerca de la montaña.

"I reside in a quiet area near the mountain."

We use cerca here because it means "near" and it's followed by de to show proximity to the mountain. It fits the pattern for describing location relative to another landmark.

Mejor means "better" and is a comparative adjective. It doesn't relate to physical position and doesn't work in this sentence structure.

Let's translate some sentences into Spanish.

Translate "I work at a restaurant downtown." into Spanish.

Trabajo, the first-person singular of trabajar, meaning "I work,"

followed by

en, a preposition meaning "in,"

un restaurante, meaning "a restaurant,"

followed by

en el centro, which means "downtown" or "in the center."

This sentence tells us where the speaker works, using trabajo en + place followed by a specific location.

Trabajo en un restaurante en el centro.

"I work at a restaurant downtown."

Translate "I live in a building in front of the supermarket." into Spanish.

Vivo, the first-person singular of vivir, meaning "I live,"

followed by

en, a preposition meaning "in,"

un edificio, meaning "a building,"

followed by

frente al supermercado, a phrase that means "in front of the supermarket."

This sentence uses vivo en + place and adds frente a to show the relative location.

Vivo en un edificio frente al supermercado.

"I live in a building in front of the supermarket."

Translate "I reside in a house far from the university." into Spanish.

Resido, the first-person singular of residir, a more formal verb meaning "I reside,"

followed by

en, meaning "in,"

una casa, meaning "a house,"

followed by

lejos de la universidad, meaning "far from the university."

This sentence uses resido en + place with lejos de to describe distance from a key location.

Resido en una casa lejos de la universidad.

"I reside in a house far from the university."

Listen to me as I speak. Which preposition is used in the sentences?

Vivo en una casa frente al parque.

Let's listen one more time.

Vivo en una casa frente al parque.

Did you hear frente al?

This phrase is made of frente a ('in front of') followed by el ('the'). In Spanish, when a and el are next to each other, they must combine to form the contraction al.

How about...?

Vivo en las afueras, lejos del bullicio.

Let's listen one more time.

Vivo en las afueras, lejos del bullicio.

Did you hear lejos del?

This phrase is made of lejos de ('far from') followed by el ('the'). In Spanish, when de and el are next to each other, they must combine to form the contraction del.

Next…

Resido en una zona tranquila cerca de la montaña.

One more time.

Resido en una zona tranquila cerca de la montaña.

Did you hear cerca de?

Cerca, meaning "near," and de, meaning "of" or "from."

We use cerca de to show closeness to a location — here, the mountain.

And...

Trabajo en un restaurante en el centro.

One more time.

Trabajo en un restaurante en el centro.

Did you hear en?

En is a preposition meaning "in" or "at," and it's used twice — once before restaurante and again before centro, showing where the speaker works.

Thank you for watching.

Now you know how to talk about where you live and work in Spanish.

...and now you can move on to the next lesson in the pathway.

Nos vemos.

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