The Crystal Palace in the Retiro
After work, Carlos walks into the Retiro in Madrid. The big lake is full of people and rowboats, so he looks for a quiet bench by the Palacio de Cristal.
El Palacio de Cristal
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About this article
What you'll learn
Present-tense narration and park words: parque, estanque, barca, banco and cristal.
Carlos leaves work and walks to the Retiro. He passes the crowded lake and the rowboats, then reaches the Palacio de Cristal. He does not go inside. He sits on a bench where he can see the glass and hear fewer voices.
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.
después del trabajo
newafter work
Después de + noun marks that something happens after an activity.
Useful for talking about daily routines.
Es mi lugar favorito
newit is my favorite place
Es introduces a description of what the place is for the speaker.
Helps you talk simply about places you like.
cerca de mi casa
newnear my home
Cerca de shows that a place is close to another place.
Useful for describing places in a city.
en cinco minutos
newin five minutes
En + time says how long an action takes.
Good for describing short routes.
hechos a mano
newhandmade
Hechos a mano describes products made by a person, not a factory.
Useful for markets, souvenirs, and shopping.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Park
parque
park
Parque is the main place in the article.
Core word for city and nature topics.
Pond
estanque
pond
Estanque is a body of water in a park; here it is also a place name.
Helps describe parts of a park.
Rowboats
barcas de remos
rowboats
Barcas de remos are boats moved with oars.
Useful for activities on water.
Grass
hierba
grass
Hierba means the green grass in a park or garden.
Common word for describing nature.
Bench
banco
bench
Banco here means a place to sit in the park.
Useful for talking about resting outside.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Hay for Existence
Hay más de quince mil árboles
There are more than fifteen thousand trees
Hay says that something exists or is present in a place.
A core pattern for describing places.
Poder + Infinitive
Puedo ir caminando
I can go walking
Puedo + infinitive expresses ability or possibility.
Helps say what you can do.
Me gusta + Infinitive
Me gusta ver cómo juegan entre ellos
I like watching how they play with each other
Me gusta + infinitive says what someone likes doing.
Very common for talking about preferences.
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