The human body: a drawing that can run (A1)
Nuria draws her cousin Diego running. She places the heart and lungs, counts five fingers, and learns that the knee has to bend.
El cuerpo humano
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About this article
What you'll learn
Present tense and body words: cabeza, cerebro, corazón, pulmones, costillas, rodilla, codo and dedos.
Nuria wants a drawing of Diego running. She draws the head, eyes, nose, mouth and ears, and remembers that the brain is inside. In the trunk she places the heart, the lungs, the ribs and the stomach. Each arm has an elbow and a hand with five fingers. Straight legs do not let Diego run, so she draws bent knees and five toes. He puts the picture on his door and runs to the park.
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.
trabajan juntas
newwork together
"Juntas" agrees with "partes" in feminine plural.
Shows how body parts cooperate naturally.
nos ayudan a respirar
newhelp us breathe
"Ayudar a + infinitive" is a standard pattern: "help to do something".
Useful pattern for describing organ functions.
Con las manos podemos
newwith our hands we can
"Con + noun" means "using/with". "Podemos" is from "poder" (to be able to).
Learn to express abilities.
Es importante cuidar
newit is important to take care
Es importante + infinitive is a common pattern: It is important to do something.
Express the importance of actions.
nos sentimos fuertes y felices
newwe feel strong and happy
Nos sentimos uses reflexive pronoun nos. Adjectives are feminine plural to match we (nosotras).
Learn to describe how you feel.
cada día
newevery day
Cada always goes with a singular noun. Never cada días.
Common frequency expression for daily routines.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
the body
el cuerpo
the body
El cuerpo is masculine. Use el when treating the body as a whole concept.
Core word for the entire topic.
the heart
el corazón
the heart
Masculine gender, even though it ends in -ón (usually feminine). An exception.
Important organ, very common word.
the lungs
los pulmones
the lungs
Los pulmones is plural masculine. Each lung is el pulmón.
Pair of organs, so plural is natural.
the stomach
el estómago
the stomach
Masculine, like most organs. El estómago is the stomach as an organ.
Central digestive organ.
the knee
la rodilla
the knee
Feminine gender, despite ending in -a which is usually masculine. From Latin rotella (small wheel).
Part of the leg, easy to point to.
the nails
las uñas
the nails
Las uñas is feminine plural. One nail is la uña. They protect fingertips.
Part of the hand, easy to show.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Definite article with organs
El corazón
definite article with organs
El corazón uses the definite article el. In Spanish, body parts generally take the definite article when describing their function.
Articles are key to Spanish grammar.
Feminine gender: la + noun
la cabeza
feminine gender la + noun
La cabeza is feminine. Most words ending in -a are feminine, with exceptions. Adjectives agree: la parte superior (feminine).
Learn to match gender between words.
Cada + singular noun
cada día
cada + singular noun
Cada always takes a singular noun: cada día (every day), cada pierna (each leg). Never cada days. This is a common learner mistake.
Cada is essential for daily routines.
Infinitive after verb
nos ayudan a respirar
infinitive after verb
Pattern verb + a + infinitive: ayudan a respirar, podemos agarrar. The infinitive does not conjugate, it stays in its base form.
Useful pattern for describing what we can or need to do.
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