Did you hear the news?
¿Has oído las noticias?
- Discuss what you saw on television or heard on the radio.
- Time expressions for recent events.
- Get to know the popular media stations in your host country.
- The simple past: Regular verbs
- The simple past: irregular verbs
This lesson introduces A2-level learners to discussing Spanish news events using the pretérito indefinido, covering regular and irregular verb conjugations. It includes dialogues about listening to and commenting on news broadcasts from various Spanish media outlets, useful vocabulary like 'huelga' and 'reportaje,' and explanations of typical conversation phrases. Students practice telling what they heard and saw, enhancing their ability to narrate past completed actions naturally and confidently.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (13) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Las noticias actuales
The current news
2
El presentador
The presenter
3
Dejar un mensaje
Leave a message
4
Ver un programa de televisión
To watch a television programme
5
El reportero
The reporter
Ejercicio 2: Conversation exercise
Instrucción:
- Describe what happened on the news. (Describe what happened on the news.)
- Describe the different media types you see. (Describe the different media types you see.)
- Do you read or watch the news regularly? (Do you read or watch the news regularly?)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
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En Luxemburgo, el gobierno tuvo una reunión. Una mujer dio un discurso. In Luxembourg, the government had a meeting. A woman gave a speech. |
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Hubo una gran protesta en París. Autobuses y coches no podían circular más. There was a big protest in Paris. Busses and cars could not drive anmore. |
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Veo vídeos cortos e imágenes sobre las noticias en las redes sociales. I see short videos and pictures about the news on social media. |
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Veo las noticias en la televisión. I see the news on the television. |
|
Leí las noticias en un sitio web. I read the news on a website. |
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Veo las noticias todas las noches. I watch the news every night. |
| ... |
Exercise 3: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 4: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Ayer ______ un reportaje muy interesante en la televisión.
(Yesterday ______ a very interesting report on television.)2. Después ______ por teléfono a un amigo para comentarlo.
(Later ______ a friend on the phone to discuss it.)3. Él me ______ que también había visto las noticias actuales esa semana.
(He ______ me that he had also seen the current news that week.)4. Nosotros ______ al presentador sobre el programa después de terminar.
(We ______ the presenter about the program after finishing.)Exercise 5: Did you hear the news?
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Ver - See
Pretérito indefinido
- yo vi
- tú viste
- él/ella vio
- nosotros/as vimos
- vosotros/as visteis
- ellos/ellas vieron
Presentar - Host
Pretérito indefinido
- yo presenté
- tú presentaste
- él/ella presentó
- nosotros/as presentamos
- vosotros/as presentasteis
- ellos/ellas presentaron
Preguntar - Ask
Pretérito indefinido
- yo pregunté
- tú preguntaste
- él/ella preguntó
- nosotros/as preguntamos
- vosotros/as preguntasteis
- ellos/ellas preguntaron
Oír - Hear
Pretérito indefinido
- yo oí
- tú oíste
- él/ella oyó
- nosotros/as oímos
- vosotros/as oísteis
- ellos/ellas oyeron
Recibir - Receive
Pretérito indefinido
- yo recibí
- tú recibiste
- él/ella recibió
- nosotros/as recibimos
- vosotros/as recibisteis
- ellos/ellas recibieron
Llamar - Call
Pretérito indefinido
- yo llamé
- tú llamaste
- él/ella llamó
- nosotros/as llamamos
- vosotros/as llamasteis
- ellos/ellas llamaron
Exercise 6: El pretérito indefinido: Los verbos regulares
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The simple past: Regular verbs
Show translation Show answerspregunté, navegamos, preguntasteis, volvió, volvimos, vieron, volviste, reaccionamos
Exercise 7: El pretérito indefinido: Los verbos irregulares
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The simple past: irregular verbs
Show translation Show answersdio, fuiste, navegó, quise, supimos, tuvimos, fue
Grammar Share Copied!
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Preguntar to ask Share Copied!
Pretérito indefinido
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) pretérito indefinido (indicativo) | I asked |
| (tú) pregunté | You asked |
| (él/ella) preguntaste | he/she asked |
| (nosotros/nosotras) preguntó | we asked |
| (vosotros/vosotras) preguntamos | You asked |
| (ellos/ellas) preguntasteis | they asked |
Ver to see Share Copied!
Pretérito indefinido
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) vi | I saw |
| (tú) viste | You saw |
| (él/ella) vio | He/she saw |
| (nosotros/nosotras) vimos | we saw |
| (vosotros/vosotras) visteis | You saw |
| (ellos/ellas) vieron | they saw |
Oír to hear Share Copied!
Pretérito indefinido
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) oí | I heard |
| (tú) oíste | You heard |
| (él/ella) oyó | he/she heard |
| (nosotros/nosotras) oímos | we heard |
| (vosotros/vosotras) oísteis | You heard |
| (ellos/ellas) oyeron | they heard |
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Lesson Overview: Spanish News and Past Tenses
This lesson explores how Spaniards discuss news events using the pretérito indefinido, focusing on both regular and irregular verbs. You will practice understanding and speaking about recent events as reported on various news channels in Spain, such as TVE, Antena 3, and radio stations like Cadena SER.
Key Grammar: Pretérito Indefinido
The pretérito indefinido is used to talk about completed actions in the past, which makes it essential for narrating news and past events. This lesson covers conjugation patterns for regular verbs (e.g., preguntar, llamar) and irregular verbs (e.g., ver, oír). For example, "Ayer vi un reportaje" means "Yesterday I saw a report." Understanding these forms will help you describe and discuss past occurrences confidently.
Practical Speaking and Listening
You will engage in dialogues like "En la sala de descanso" where classmates discuss news heard on the radio or TV, practicing how to report what was said using the past tense. This includes useful questions like "¿Oíste las noticias ayer en la radio?" and responses incorporating the pretérito indefinido.
Cultural and Language Insights
Spanish news programs often mix formal and informal language and provide regional differences in reporting style. Comparing phrases like "Escuché en la Cadena SER" with their English equivalents helps learners grasp nuances. For instance, the verb oír (to hear) is common in spoken Spanish news discussions, whereas English often prefers "listen to" for similar contexts.
Essential Vocabulary and Expressions
- Huelga – strike (as in transport strike)
- Informativo – news program
- Reportaje – report or news segment
- Emitir – to broadcast
- Presentador – news presenter
Remember, the focus is on narrating completed past actions with accuracy and natural expression. The lesson also highlights polite and casual conversation structures for talking about current events and media content.
Differences From English Structure
Unlike English, which often uses the past simple tense without additional markers, Spanish differentiates past tenses with forms like the pretérito indefinido to specify completed actions. Also, Spanish news discussions frequently use verbs like oír (to hear) instead of "listen to," reflecting subtle nuances in perception versus active listening. Phrases such as "¿Oíste las noticias ayer?" are common and natural in Spanish conversation. Learners should note these distinctions to express themselves more like native speakers.
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