Where are you from?
¿De dónde eres?
- Ask somebody where they are from
- Say your nationality
- The articles in Spanish
- The gender of nouns
Learn to ask and answer "¿De dónde eres?" while practicing key vocabulary about countries (Alemania, España, Francia) and nationalities (alemán, español, francés). This lesson also covers usar los artículos and the present tense of vivir for everyday conversations.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (23) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Reorder sentences
Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.
Exercise 2: Match a word
Instruction: Match the translations
Exercise 3: Cluster the words
Instruction: Classify the words according to whether they are countries or nationalities to help you better understand their meaning.
Países
Nacionalidades
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Alemania
Germany
2
Finlandia
Finland
3
El país
The country
4
¿De dónde eres?
Where are you from?
5
La ciudad
The city
Ejercicio 5: Conversation exercise
Instrucción:
- Describe the nationality of each person. (Describe the nationality of each person.)
- Say where do they currently live. (Say where do they currently live.)
- Tell where you live. (Tell where you live.)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
|
Eero es de Francia. Eero is from France. |
|
Ola es de Polonia y vive en Londres. Ola comes from Poland and she lives in London. |
|
María es española. Maria is Spanish. |
|
Jan es de los Países Bajos. Jan is from the Netherlands. |
|
¿De dónde eres? Where are you from? |
|
¿Dónde vives? Where do you live? |
| ... |
Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 7: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. ¿De dónde _____ ahora?
(Where do you _____ now?)2. Yo _____ en Madrid, la capital de España.
(I _____ in Madrid, the capital of Spain.)3. ¿Y tus amigos, dónde _____?
(And your friends, where do they _____?)4. Mis amigos _____ en distintas ciudades de España.
(My friends _____ in different cities of Spain.)Exercise 8: Where are you from? Mini story to practice "living" in the present
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Vivir - Live
Presente
- yo vivo
- tú vives
- él/ella/Ud. vive
- nosotros/nosotras vivimos
- vosotros/vosotras vivís
- ellos/ellas/Uds. viven
Exercise 9: Los artículos en español
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The articles in Spanish
Show translation Show answersLa, Las, El, la, Los, Unas, el
Exercise 10: El género de los sustantivos
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The gender of nouns
Show translation Show answersEl, La
Grammar Share Copied!
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Vivir to live Share Copied!
Presente
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) vivo | I live |
| (tú) vives | You live |
| (él/ella) vive | he/she lives |
| (nosotros/nosotras) vivimos | we live |
| (vosotros/vosotras) vivís | You live |
| (ellos/ellas) viven | They live |
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Lesson Overview: Asking and Talking About Origins in Spanish
This lesson focuses on basic Spanish phrases and vocabulary related to asking about and talking about where someone is from. It covers typical questions like ¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?) and expressions to state your origin or nationality, such as Soy de España (I am from Spain) or ¿Cuál es tu nacionalidad? (What is your nationality?).
Key Language Points
- Questions about origin: ¿De dónde eres?, ¿Cuál es tu nacionalidad?
- Statements about location or origin: Soy de Francia., Vivo en la capital de Francia.
- Talking about nationality using adjectives: alemán, belga, español, italiano, francés
- Countries vocabulary: Alemania, Bélgica, España, Italia, Francia
Grammar Highlights
The lesson introduces the present tense of the verb vivir (to live), which is important when talking about where someone lives. For example, yo vivo (I live), tú vives (you live), and ellos viven (they live). The conjugation chart for the present tense of vivir is provided to help practice verb endings.
Practice Dialogues and Mini-Story
To support learning, the lesson includes short dialogues set in everyday situations like meeting a colleague or chatting in a café. These dialogues use natural phrases to introduce yourself and ask about others’ origins. A mini-story titled ¿De dónde eres? Mini history to practice "vivir" in the present tense offers contextualized examples to reinforce the verb conjugations and vocabulary.
Useful Vocabulary Clusters
Organizing vocabulary into clusters enhances understanding. This lesson groups words to distinguish countries from nationalities, for example:
- Countries: Alemania, Bélgica, España, Italia, Francia
- Nationalities: alemán, belga, español, italiano, francés
Differences and Useful Notes for English Speakers
Unlike English, Spanish uses two different words to distinguish “country” and “nationality,” often requiring gender agreement in adjectives like español (male form) and española (female form). Also, nationality adjectives in Spanish are typically written in lowercase, while country names are capitalized. Questions in Spanish use inverted question marks at the beginning of sentences, e.g., ¿De dónde eres?. Useful phrases to know include ¿De dónde eres? for "Where are you from?" and Soy de... to say "I am from...".
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