The Red Squirrel in the Irati Forest
Read about the life of the red squirrel in the Irati Forest. A present tense text to practice A1 level Spanish.
La ardilla roja en la Selva de Irati
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About this article
What you'll learn
The integrated use of the present tense to describe habits and habitats.
The article describes the life and routine of the red squirrel in the Irati Forest, a large forest in northern Spain. It explains where it lives, what it eats, and how it spends its day.
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.
por la mañana
newIn the morning
Por la mañana means in the morning — a common time marker for daily activities.
Useful for talking about morning routines.
por la tarde
newIn the afternoon
Por la tarde means in the afternoon — after lunch until evening.
For describing afternoon activities and routines.
se viste sola
newdresses herself
The reflexive phrase se viste sola means dresses herself. Vestirse (to get dressed) + se pronoun.
Reflexive verbs are essential at A1 level.
prepara el desayuno
newprepares breakfast
Prepara el desayuno — prepares breakfast. Verb preparar + noun desayuno.
Useful phrase for daily routine descriptions.
hace los deberes
newdoes homework
Hace los deberes — does homework. Verb hacer (to do) + los deberes (homework).
Typical phrase for describing school life.
pasea por el barrio
newwalks around the neighborhood
Pasea por el barrio — walks around the neighborhood. Verb pasear + por + el barrio.
Useful for describing leisure and family activities.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
the family
la familia
the family
La familia is a feminine noun meaning the family. Always used with article la.
Essential word for any family narrative.
the mother
la madre
the mother
La madre means the mother. Feminine form with feminine article.
For describing family and relationships.
the father
el padre
the father
El padre means the father. Masculine noun with masculine article el.
Basic word for describing the father in a family.
dinner/supper
la cena
dinner/supper
La cena means dinner/supper — the evening meal. Different from el almuerzo (lunch).
For describing daily meals and eating routines.
high school
el instituto
high school
El instituto is high school in Spain (ages 12-16). Different from la universidad.
For describing teenage school life.
routine
la rutina
routine
La rutina means routine. Often used with verb tener: tiene su rutina.
Useful for describing daily habits.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Reflexive pronoun se in verbs
se levanta
se + verb
The verb levantarse (to get up) uses reflexive pronoun se: se levanta = he/she gets up. Unlike levantar (to lift), levantarse means to get out of bed.
Reflexive verbs are a key A1 topic.
Present tense of -ar verbs
prepara
present -ar verbs
Preparar belongs to the first conjugation (-ar). It has regular conjugation: preparo, preparas, prepara, preparamos,正常人. In the text: Carmen prepara el desayuno — 3rd person singular.
-AR verbs are the foundation of Spanish present tense.
Days of the week without article
los martes
days of the week
In Spanish, days of the week are used without article for regular frequency: los martes = on Tuesdays (every Tuesday). Article los here means each.
Important for describing regular events.
Negation in present tense
No salen
present negatives
To negate a verb in present tense, place no before it: No salen = They dont go out. The negation comes before the verb.
Basic Spanish negation pattern.
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