Key points about describing healthy living and lifestyle
Use the A verb that describes an action that is happening now or that happens regularly, eg I eat breakfast. to talk about what you currently do to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Modal verbs can be used to say what you should, could or must do to live healthily.
Vocabulary – Describing a healthy lifestyle
Useful verbs for describing a healthy lifestyle include:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| recomendar | to recommend |
| beber | to drink |
| comer | to eat |
| dormir | to sleep |
| estar en forma | to be fit |
| evitar | to avoid |
| mantenerse en forma | to keep fit |
| ir al gimnasio | to go to the gym |
| correr | to run |
Useful nouns and adjectives for describing a healthy lifestyle include:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el consejo | piece of advice |
| el régimen/ la dieta | diet |
| una dieta equilibrada | balanced diet |
| el corazón | heart |
| el ejercicio físico | physical exercise |
| el peso | weight |
| la salud, saludable | health, healthy |
| sano/a | healthy, wholesome |
| una vida sana | a healthy life |
For example:
Se recomienda tener una dieta sana si quieres evitar la obesidad. - It is recommended to have a healthy diet if you want to avoid obesity.
Si quieres mantenerse en forma es importante hacer ejercicio físico. - If you want to stay fit, it is important to exercise.
Para una vida sana, los médicos recomiendan dormir ocho horas cada noche. – For a healthy life doctors recommend sleeping eight hours each night.
Grammar – Regular verbs in the present tense
All Spanish verbs end in either ar,er or ir. This form of the verb is called the Form of the verb that has not been conjugated. Usually translated with 'to' in English, eg to play..
For example:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to talk
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to eat
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to live
When using verbs, you will need to be able to conjugate them. Conjugating a verb means changing the infinitive ending to match the Replaces a noun that is the subject of the verb. (yo, tú, él, ella etc).
Remember
In Spanish there is a unique verb ending for each subject pronoun, so the verb ending tells you who is doing the action.
For this reason, you don’t always need to use subject pronouns in Spanish.
Conjugating regular ‘ar’, ‘er’ and ‘ir’ verbs in Spanish
To conjugate regular verbs, remove the ar, er or ir ending from the infinitive and add the unique ending that goes with each subject pronoun to the stem.
Click or tap on Show more to see how to conjugate the regular verbs in Spanish.
Regular ar verb – cambiar
| Subject Pronoun | Stem | Ending | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | cambi | o | (yo) cambio | I change |
| tú | cambi | as | (tú) cambias | you (informal) change |
| él/ella/usted | cambi | a | (él/ella/ usted) cambia | he/she/ changes, you (formal) change |
| nosotros/as | cambi | amos | (nosotros/as) cambiamos | we change |
| vosotros/as | cambi | áis | (vosotros/as) cambiáis | you (plural informal) change |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cambi | an | (ellos/ellas/ ustedes) cambian | they/you (formal) change |
For example:
(Yo) cambio el tipo de comida que tomo. - I change the type of food that I have.
Other common regular ar verbs include:
nadar - to swim
cocinar - to cook
odiar - to hate
For example:
Nado tres veces a la semana. - I swim three times a week.
¿Cocinas para tu familia? - Do you cook for your family?
María odia las verduras. - María hates vegetables.
Regular er verb – comer
| Subject Pronoun | Stem | Ending | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | com | o | (yo) como | I eat |
| tú | com | es | (tú) comes | you (informal) eat |
| él/ella/usted | com | e | (él/ella/ usted) come | he/she eats, you (formal) eat |
| nosotros/as | com | emos | (nosotros/as) comemos | we eat |
| vosotros/as | com | éis | (vosotros/as) coméis | you (plural informal) eat |
| ellos/ellas/ ustedes | com | en | (ellos/ellas/ ustedes) comen | they/you (formal) eat |
For example:
Ella come cereales y tú comes tostadas. - She eats cereal and you eat toast.
Other common regular er verbs include:
beber - to drink
correr - to run
For example:
Bebes mucho agua. - You drink a lot of water.
Corro en mi barrio. - I run in my neighbourhood.
Regular ir verb – vivir
| Subject Pronoun | Stem | Ending | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | viv | o | (yo) vivo | I live |
| tú | viv | es | (tú) vives | you (informal) live |
| él/ella/usted | viv | e | (él/ella/ usted) vive | he/she lives, /you (formal) live |
| nosotros/as | viv | emos | (nosotros/as) vivimos | we live |
| vosotros/as | viv | éis | (vosotros/as) vivís | you (plural informal) live |
| ellos/ellas/ ustedes | viv | en | (ellos/ellas/ ustedes) viven | they/you (formal) live |
For example:
Yo vivo en Mánchester pero tú vives en Birmingham. - I live in Manchester but you live in Birmingham.
Other common regular ir verbs include:
permitir - to allow
decidir - to decide.
For example:
Mis padres me permiten ir al colegio en bici. - My parents allow me to go to school by bike.
Decide hacer más ejercicio. - She decides to do more exercise.
Regular verbs in the present tense – Mini quiz
Complete the following sentences in Spanish.
________ comida fresca.
We cook fresh food.
cocinar = to cook
Cocinamos comida fresca.
Cocin is the stem and amos is the ‘we’ ending of this regular ar verb.
¿________ cada día?
Do you swim every day?
nadar = to swim
¿Nadas cada día?
Nad is the stem and -as is the you singular informal ending of this regular ar verb.
________ tres veces a la semana.
She runs three times a week.
correr = to run
Corre tres veces a la semana.
Corr is the stem and e is the ‘she’ ending of this regular er verb.
___________ lo que como.
I decide what I eat.
decidir = to decide
Decido lo que como.
Decid is the stem and o is the ‘I’ ending of this regular ir verb.
Find out more about about using the regular verbs in the Present tense of regular verbs guide.
Listening practice
Listen to two people talk about healthy living and answer the questions.
Mario is talking about what he does to keep fit and healthy.
Write down one thing that Mario does to stay healthy and one thing that he would like to do.
Mario tries to eat a balanced diet, or he always eats five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
He says intento llevar una dieta equilibrada y siempre como cinco raciones de fruta y verduras al día (I try to eat a balanced diet and I always eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day).
He would like to buy organic products.
He says si tuviera más dinero, compraría productos orgánicos (if I had more money, I would buy organic products).
Transcript
Creo que es esencial mantenerse en forma. Intento llevar una dieta equilibrada y siempre como cinco raciones de fruta y verduras al día. Si tuviera más dinero, compraría productos orgánicos.
Translation
I think it's essential to stay in shape. I try to eat a balanced diet and I always eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. If I had more money, I would buy organic products.
Now listen to Nadia.
Write down one thing that Nadia does to stay healthy and one thing that she should do.
She has a good breakfast, or she never misses meals.
She says siempre tomo un buen desayuno y nunca me salto ninguna comida (I always have a good breakfast and I never miss any meals).
She should drink less caffeine, or she should go to bed earlier.
Transcript
Siempre tomo un buen desayuno y nunca me salto ninguna comida. Por otro lado, debería beber menos cafeína y acostarme más temprano.
Translation
I always have a good breakfast and I never miss any meals. On the other hand, I should drink less caffeine and go to bed earlier.
Vocabulary – Describing health problems
Useful nouns and verbs to describe health problems include:
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | addiction | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | to injure, harm |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | drug | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | obesity |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | danger | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | risk |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | problem | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | lack of |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | stress | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | sleep |
For example:
La obesidad puede hacer daño a su corazón. - Obesity can harm your heart.
La falta de una dieta equilabrada puede llegar a un riesgo de enfermedades. - The lack of a balanced diet can lead to a risk of illnesses.
Useful adjectives include:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| estresado/a | stressed |
| malsano/a | unhealthy |
| preocupado/a | worried |
| peligroso/a | dangerous |
All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.
Grammar – Modal verbs and infinitives
Examples of modal verbs in English are ‘can’, ‘must’ or ‘want’.
In Spanish modal verbs express ability, permission, obligation or desire (things you want to do). Key modal verbs in Spanish include:
tener - to want
poder - to be able to, can
querer – to want to
deber - to have to, must
Modal verbs can work on their own, or with another verb that is always in the infinitive.
For example:
Tengo que llevar una vida más sana. - I have to live a healthier life.
No puedo hacer mucho ejercicio. - I can’t do much sport.
Quiero comer menos azúcar pero es difícil. - I want to eat less sugar but it’s difficult.
Se debe comer sano. - One/you must eat healthily.
Click or tap on Show more to see how to conjugate these four key modal verbs.
Tener que - to have to
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| tengo que | I have to |
| tienes que | you (singular informal) have to |
| tiene que | he/she/it/one has to |
Poder - to be able to/can
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| puedo | I can |
| puedes | You (singular informal) can |
| puede | he/she/it can |
Querer - to want
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| quiero | I want |
| quieres | You (singular informal) want |
| quiere | he/she/it wants |
Deber - must
This table shows some different parts of this modal verb, deber that you can use with infinitives.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| debo | I must |
| debes | You (singular informal) must |
| debe | he/she/it must |
The impersonal se with a modal verb like se puede can also be used with an infinitive, meaning ‘one can’.
For example:
En mi colegio se puede hacer muchos deportes diferentes. - In my school you can do lots of different sports.
Modal verbs – Mini quiz
Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the modal verb.
_________ más agua.
I have to drink more water.
tener que = to have to
Tengo que beber más agua.
Tengo que means ‘I have to’.
Beber is the infinitive meaning ‘to drink’.
_______ menos azúcar.
He can eat less sugar.
poder = to be able to/can
Puede comer menos azúcar.
Puede is the ‘he’ form of poder and means ‘he can’.
Comer is the infinitive meaning ‘to eat’.
_______ conmigo?
Do you (singular informal) want to swim with me?
querer = to want
¿Quieres nadar conmigo?
Quieres is the ‘you’ singular informal form of querer meaning ‘you want’. It means ‘do you want’ when it is in a question form.
Nadar is the infinitive form of ‘to swim’.
Mi madre ________ menos chocolate.
My mother must eat less chocolate.
deber = must
Mi madre debe comer menos chocolate.
Debe is the ‘she’ form of the verb deber, meaning 'must'.
Comer is the infinitive verb meaning ‘to eat’.
Find out more about modal verbs and the infinitive in the Infinitives in Spanish guide.
Reading practice
Read the following extracts about health matters and decide which medical problems are being discussed.
Choose from the following list:
| A. | Lack of sleep |
| B. | An unhealthy diet |
| C. | Lack of exercise |
1. Aunque soy bastante delgado, creo que no como muy sano. No me gustan nada las frutas ni las legumbres y sé que como demasiadas hamburguesas y patatas fritas y otros alimentos que contienen mucha grasa.
The answer is C.
He says he doesn't eat fruit and vegetables but he does eat burgers, chips and fatty foods, which suggests an unhealthy diet.
Translation
Although I'm quite slim, I don't think I eat very healthily. I don't like fruit or vegetables at all and I know I eat too many hamburgers and chips and other foods which contain a lot of fat.
2. Tengo un problema con mi hijo - pasa todo el tiempo que no está trabajando sentado en el sofá viendo la tele u oyendo música. Nunca sale con sus amigos a jugar al fútbol como lo hacía antes.
The answer is D.
The fact that the woman's son spends his entire time sitting watching TV or listening to music suggests that his problem is lack of exercise.
Translation
I've got a problem with my son - he spends all the time when he's not working sitting on the sofa watching TV or listening to music. He never goes out with his friends to play football like he used to do before.
Vocabulary sheet
Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when describing healthy living and lifestyle.
Now you have practised the key vocabulary and grammar needed for talking about healthy living and lifestyle, why not have a look at the Talking about different sports in Spanish guide?
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