Yesterday's Match: The Shot Past the Post
A Spanish A1 story. Someone arrives late from the dentist and wants to play before the end. The shot flies past, beside the post. Their father saw it from the gate.
El partido de ayer
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About this article
What you'll learn
Simple past for yesterday, the verb querer, and words for a neighborhood football match.
Yesterday the narrator wanted to get into the neighborhood match behind the school before the end, after arriving late from the dentist. The coach said to put on the blue shirt and enter. A pass came, the shot flew past the post, and the referee ended the match. The narrator's father was at the gate, said he saw the shot, and they walked home. At night the narrator still wants that goal.
After reading
Article learning block
Phrases, words, grammar, and quick practice from this text.
Phrases for training
Add useful phrases to SRS or mark them as already known.
fui al estadio
newwent to the stadium
Fui is the preterite of ir, so it means I went. Al is the contraction of a + el, and al estadio means to the stadium.
Opens the match-day story.
mi equipo favorito
newmy favorite team
Mi equipo favorito is mi + noun + adjective. In Spanish the adjective normally follows the noun.
Key phrase for talking about sports.
marcó el primer gol
newscored the first goal
Marcó is the preterite of marcar. Before a masculine singular noun primero shortens to primer, so it is el primer gol.
Describes a key match moment.
empató el partido
newtied the match
Empató is the preterite of empatar, to draw; the noun is un empate.
Typical phrase for a draw in football.
el gol de la victoria
newthe winning goal
El gol de la victoria is the fixed phrase for the decisive goal; Spanish links the two nouns with de where English uses an adjective.
Climax of the match in the text.
El estadio explotó de alegría
newthe stadium erupted with joy
Explotó de alegría literally means exploded with joy; de introduces the cause.
Emotional description after the win.
pasé tiempo con mi padre
newspent time with my father
The pattern is pasar + tiempo + con + a person; pasé is the preterite, I spent.
Personal takeaway from the story.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Ticket office
taquilla
ticket office
La taquilla is the window where tickets are sold; en la taquilla means at the ticket office.
You need this word at a stadium, a cinema or a station.
Tickets
entradas
tickets
Una entrada is a ticket for an event and the plural is entradas. The same word also means an entrance, so read it in context.
Essential word before entering a match.
Referee
árbitro
referee
El árbitro runs the match. The written accent marks the stress on AR-bi-tro, the third syllable from the end. Pitó means blew the whistle.
Key figure on the football pitch.
Forward
delantero
forward
El delantero is the attacking player who scores; the word comes from delante, in front.
Player position from the goal scene.
Penalty
penalti
penalty
A gol de penalti is a goal from the penalty spot. Spanish adapts the English word as penalti, and the plural is penaltis.
Explains how the visiting team tied the score.
Fans
aficionados
fans
Los aficionados are the supporters of a team; the word comes from afición, a passion for something.
Word for the crowd after the match.
Victory
victoria
victory
La victoria is the win itself; el gol de la victoria is the goal that brings it.
Summary word for a successful match.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Past marker: ayer
Ayer fui al estadio
yesterday I went to the stadium
Ayer plus the preterite (fui) marks one completed action in the past. Other markers of the same kind: anoche, el lunes, hace dos días.
Basic past-narrative pattern.
Imperfect: era
Era un día soleado
it was a sunny day
Era is the imperfect of ser. The imperfect paints the background: the weather, the setting, how things were.
Sets the scene before the match.
Preterite: marcó
nuestro delantero marcó el primer gol
our forward scored the first goal
Marcó is the regular preterite of marcar, an -ar verb: marqué, marcaste, marcó. Note the c to qu spelling change in marqué.
Describes a completed action during the match.
Imperfect: estábamos
Estábamos muy emocionados
we were very excited
Estábamos is the imperfect of estar and describes a state that lasted, not a single event.
Expresses emotion before the game starts.
Imperfect vs preterite
estaban cansados, pero no se rindieron
they were tired, but they did not give up
One sentence, two past tenses: estaban (imperfect) gives the state that lasted, se rindieron (preterite) reports the finished event. Spanish keeps these two jobs apart, so the choice of tense is never free.
This contrast is the hardest point in the text and the key to telling any story in Spanish.
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