Spanish: Exploring the town

When getting out and about it’s important to know the places around the town.

To describe where you are going you can use the verb ir.

This is an irregular verb, which means when talking in different tenses or about yourself it can look different.

To say ‘I go’ in Spanish using the verb ir you say Voy (I go), for example:

• Voy a casa - I am going home

• Voy al colegio - I am going to school

• Voy al cine - I am going to the cinema

Here are some of the places you may find familiar in your town:

Did you know?

You might have noticed some of the sentences above either have 'al' or 'a la'.

You use 'al' for masculine nouns such as el colegio and el cine. It means 'to the'.

You use 'a la' for feminine nouns like la casa and las tiendas. It also means 'to the'.

Transport

As well as knowing some of the places around the town, you can also describe how you get there:

The ‘v’ sound

In Spanish, the ‘v’ sound is pronounced exactly the same as a ‘b’ sound only softer:

• Voy - I go

• vacaciones - holiday

Practise

Now try putting some of the vocabulary together to make sentences like this:

• Voy al colegio en tren - I go to school by train

• Voy a las tiendas en coche - I go to the shops by car