Sand on the Beach | Spanish A1
Tomás wants to fill a jar with the golden sand of the shore for his sister. He learns what the grains are made of and why other beaches have another color.
Arena en la playa
Tap any word to see its translation
. . . . , . . , . . . , .
. . : , . .
. . . . , . , . . .
. . , . , . . . .
. , . . . . .
Keep reading with translations
Create a free account: 7 days of Pro, then 20 word translations a day or a paid plan.
About this article
What you'll learn
Present tense, describing a material, and words such as grano, ola and playa
Tomás fills a jar with golden sand for his sister. His mother explains that many grains come from rocks, that white sand can come from shells or coral, and that black sand can come from volcanic rock. He closes the jar when it is full.
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.
bajo los pies
newunder the feet
Bajo los pies means under the feet — describes a physical sensation.
Useful for describing textures and physical sensations at A1 level.
construyen castillos
newbuild castles
Construyen castillos — the verb construir (to build) in 3rd person plural present tense.
Building sandcastles is a classic beach activity you can describe.
El viento y el agua rompen las rocas
newwind and water break rocks
Rompen — the verb romper (to break) in present tense. Wind and water are two natural agents.
Shows how natural forces work at A1 level.
La arena está hecha de muchos granos pequeños
newsand is made of small grains
The structure estar hecho de means to be made of — a passive material composition.
Learn to describe what things are made of in Spanish.
La arena se mueve todo el tiempo
newsand moves all the time
Se mueve — the reflexive form of mover (to move). The se pronoun makes it a self-action verb.
Learn to use se as a reflexive pronoun for self-action verbs.
Cada día la playa es un poco diferente
neweach day the beach is a little different
Cada día = each day. Useful expression for describing regular changes.
Useful for describing daily changes and routines.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Sand
la arena
sand
La arena is feminine in Spanish (el/la rules: arena starts with stressed a sound, so uses la).
Essential word for beach and nature descriptions.
Beach
la playa
beach
La playa is feminine. Important: in Spanish playa is always feminine despite the -a ending.
Central topic of the article.
Grains
los granos
grains
Los granos — plural of grano. Grano can mean grain, kernel, or small particle.
Sand is made of small grains — key idea of the article.
Rocks
las rocas
rocks
Las rocas — plural of roca (rock). Hard natural objects.
Origin of sand — from ancient rocks.
Waves
las olas
waves
Las olas — waves in the sea. The verb subir y bajar describes their movement.
Waves shape the beach — important ecological idea.
Coral
el coral
coral
El coral is masculine. Source of white sand on some beaches along with seashells.
Coral and shells create white sand — a geographical fact.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
To be made of (estar hecho de)
La arena está hecha de muchos granos pequeños
material composition
The structure estar + hecho + de means to be made of a material. It describes a state, not a process.
Enables describing what things are made of: glass from sand, houses from cement.
Present tense -er/-ir verbs: rompen
El viento y el agua rompen las rocas
regular present tense
Rompen — the verb romper (to break) in present tense, 3rd person plural. Formation: romper → rompen.
-ER and -IR verbs conjugate the same way in present tense.
Reflexive pronoun se
La arena se mueve todo el tiempo
reflexive verb
Se mueve — mover-se (to move oneself). Se indicates the action is directed at the doer.
Se frequently appears in Spanish sentences for reflexive actions.
Read a book in Spanish
All A1 books
Comments
Log in to leave a comment
LoginNo comments yet. Be the first!