A1 Spanish Reading: A Note for Nochebuena
Read an A1 Spanish family scene about preparing a small dinner. Learn that Nochebuena is written with a capital letter when it names the holiday.
Una nota para Nochebuena
Reading for practice
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A child helps prepare a small family dinner, writes a card, and notices several states with estar. The text explains one narrow Spanish spelling fact about Nochebuena and ends with three personal questions.
Mi tía Elena prepara sopa de verduras. Mi padre trae pan. Yo llevo una tarjeta azul para la puerta. Mi prima Ana pone luces blancas en la mesa. Estamos ocupados, pero contentos.
En español, Nochebuena se escribe con mayúscula cuando es el nombre de la fiesta. Mi profesor nos explica que se prefiere escribir Nochebuena en una sola palabra. Escribo «Nochebuena» en mi tarjeta.
Mi hermano no quiere regalos grandes. Él prefiere un libro y una tarde tranquila. Yo quiero jugar con mis primos después de la cena. Cada persona tiene un plan diferente.
Antes de comer, mi tía mira la mesa. Dice: «La mesa está lista». Las luces están encendidas y la sopa está caliente. Todos estamos juntos en la cocina.
Después de la cena, cantamos una canción que conoce nuestra familia. No es una tradición de todas las personas. Es nuestra canción de este año. Luego recogemos la mesa.
Me gusta esta tarde porque hablamos y ayudamos. Mi tarjeta está en la puerta y dice «Feliz Nochebuena». Estoy cansado, pero feliz.
¿Cómo preparas una fiesta en tu casa?
¿Qué palabra escribirías en una tarjeta?
¿Con quién te gusta compartir una cena?
About this article
What you'll learn
Family-dinner vocabulary, present-tense forms of estar, preferences with prefiere, and the spelling of Nochebuena
A child helps prepare a small family dinner, writes a card, and notices several states with estar. The text explains one narrow Spanish spelling fact about Nochebuena and ends with three personal questions.
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.
cada persona trae una cosa para la mesa
neweach person brings one thing for the table
Trae means brings. It is the he, she, or it form of traer.
Use the phrase to describe how people share a simple task.
Estamos ocupados, pero contentos
newwe are busy, but happy
Estamos is the we form of estar. Here it describes the current state of a group.
The card shows how to describe the state of several people.
Nochebuena se escribe con mayúscula
newNochebuena is written with a capital letter
When Nochebuena names the holiday, Spanish writes it with an initial capital letter.
This is a specific spelling rule for a holiday name.
se prefiere escribir Nochebuena en una sola palabra
newNochebuena is preferably written as one word
The preferred spelling is Nochebuena as one word. Noche Buena, written as two words, is also accepted.
The card helps choose the recommended spelling of the holiday name.
Él prefiere un libro y una tarde tranquila
newhe prefers a book and a quiet afternoon
Prefiere is the he, she, or it form of preferir. The e changes to ie: preferir, prefiere.
Use the phrase to talk about another person's preference.
La mesa está lista
newthe table is ready
Está is the he, she, or it form of estar. Here it describes the table's state of readiness.
The phrase shows estar for the current state of an object.
Estoy cansado, pero feliz
newI am tired, but happy
Estoy is the I form of estar. In this sentence it describes the speaker's feelings and state.
Use the phrase to say how you feel now.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Card
tarjeta
a card
Tarjeta is a small card or greeting card.
The word is useful for short written greetings.
Capital letter
mayúscula
a capital letter
Mayúscula means a capital letter, such as N at the start of Nochebuena.
It is useful when talking about spelling.
Lights
luces
lights
Luces is the plural of luz, meaning light.
The word helps describe decorations and lighting.
Soup
sopa
soup
Sopa means soup.
It is a basic word for talking about food.
We clear the table
recogemos
we clear the table
Recogemos is the we form of recoger. Recoger la mesa means clearing the table after a meal.
The phrase is useful for chores after dinner.
Together
juntos
together
Juntos means together. It changes to juntas for a group made only of women or girls.
Use it to describe doing something as a group.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Prepara: she prepares
Mi tía Elena prepara sopa de verduras
she prepares vegetable soup
Prepara is the he, she, or it form of the regular verb preparar. The ending -a marks this form.
The card shows a useful form of a regular -ar verb.
Estamos: we are
Estamos ocupados, pero contentos
we are busy, but happy
Estamos is the we form of estar. It describes the group's current state.
In the text, estar describes a state, not a permanent trait.
Está: is
La mesa está lista
the table is ready
Está is the he, she, or it form of estar. It can describe an object's readiness or location.
This form shows the table's current state.
Estoy: I am
Estoy cansado, pero feliz
I am tired, but happy
Estoy is the I form of estar. It describes the speaker's current feelings or state.
It is useful for talking about your own state.
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