The Sóller train: a wooden ride across Mallorca
A wooden train more than a hundred years old crosses Mallorca from Palma to Sóller. An A1 reading that practises poder in every person, and its negative.
El tren de Sóller: lo que puedes hacer a bordo
Reading for practice
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A narrator rides the old wooden train from Palma to Sóller in Mallorca with his family. The text covers the view from the window, the tunnels through the Serra de Tramuntana, the valley of orange trees and the tram that runs down to the sea.
Estoy en la estación de Palma con mis padres y mi hermana. Los vagones son antiguos, con madera oscura y ventanas grandes. El hombre de los billetes nos dice: «Podéis subir ya».
Yo no puedo estar quieto. Mi hermana puede leer durante el viaje, pero yo no. El tren no va rápido. Desde la ventana puedes ver los muros de piedra y los olivos del camino.
Después el tren entra en la Serra de Tramuntana, las montañas más altas de la isla. Aquí hay túneles largos y estrechos. Dentro de un túnel no puedes ver nada por la ventana. Solo puedes escuchar las ruedas.
Al final aparece el valle de Sóller. Hay muchos naranjos. Mi madre puede ver el pueblo entre los árboles.
En Sóller el viaje no termina. Los viajeros pueden bajar del tren y subir a un tranvía, también de madera. El tranvía llega hasta el Puerto de Sóller, al lado del mar.
El valle de Sóller es famoso por sus naranjas. En el pueblo puedes beber un zumo de naranja de la zona.
Por la tarde podemos volver a Palma en el mismo tren.
¿Hay trenes antiguos en tu país? ¿Puedes viajar en tren desde tu ciudad? ¿Qué puedes ver por la ventana?
About this article
What you'll learn
The verb poder in all six persons (puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden), the negative with «no», and travel vocabulary: billete, zumo, naranjo, muro, estrecho.
A narrator rides the old wooden train from Palma to Sóller in Mallorca with his family. The text covers the view from the window, the tunnels through the Serra de Tramuntana, the valley of orange trees and the tram that runs down to the sea.
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.
todavía funciona
newit still works, it still runs
«Todavía» means «still». Next to a present-tense verb it says the action continues today.
Lets you say that an old thing is still in use.
Al final
newin the end, finally
Here it marks time: after the long ride. It is not «at the end of» some object or place.
A neat way to signal the last step of a story.
al lado del mar
newright by the sea, next to the sea
«Al lado de» means «next to». Before «el» the preposition merges with the article: de + el = del.
A ready-made way to say where something sits.
de la zona
newlocal, from around here
Literally «from the area». Spanish puts this kind of description after the noun: un zumo de la zona.
This is how markets and cafés label local produce.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
quieto
quieto
still, motionless
A false friend: «quieto» is about movement, not sound. English «quiet» is «callado» or «en silencio».
Saves you from saying «still» when you mean «silent», and the other way round.
los billetes
los billetes
tickets
In Spain a travel ticket is «billete»; across most of Latin America it is «boleto». «Billete» also means banknote.
The word you need at any Spanish ticket window.
naranjos
naranjos
orange trees
«El naranjo» is the tree and «la naranja» is the fruit. The same pair shows up in «el manzano» and «la manzana».
A pattern that repeats with many fruit trees, though not with all of them.
estrechos
estrechos
narrow
The opposite of «ancho» (wide). It describes streets, corridors, tunnels and clothes.
Hard to describe an old town or a mountain road without it.
los muros de piedra
los muros de piedra
stone walls
«Muro» is usually a wall outdoors: a boundary, a terrace, a rampart. The wall of a room is normally «pared».
English uses one word where Spanish uses two.
zumo
zumo
juice
In Spain juice is «zumo»; in Latin America it is «jugo». Both are understood, but each belongs to its region.
The first word you need at a Spanish breakfast bar.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
no puedo
no puedo
I cannot, I can not
The «yo» form of «poder». The negative is simple: «no» goes in front of the verb and nothing else changes.
The form you reach for whenever you talk about yourself.
puede leer
puede leer
she can read
«Puede» is the form for «él, ella, usted». After «poder» the second verb always stays in the infinitive: leer, ver, bajar, volver.
This is how you describe what somebody else is able to do.
Puedes viajar
Puedes viajar
can you travel
«Puedes» is the «tú» form. This question keeps the same word order as the statement «Puedes viajar»; when you speak, your voice rises at the end, and when you write, you add ¿ and ?.
This is the form you use with a friend.
podemos volver
podemos volver
we can go back
The «nosotros» form. Here the stem o stays put: podemos, not «puedemos».
You need it every time you make a plan with other people.
pueden bajar
pueden bajar
they can get off
The form for «ellos, ellas, ustedes». The verb is plural because the subject is «los viajeros».
Notices and rules for passengers are written in exactly this form.
Podéis subir
Podéis subir
you can get on (to a group)
The «vosotros» form: informal «you» addressed to several people. Spain uses it; in Latin America the same sentence takes «pueden».
This text is set in Spain, and this is how people there speak to family and friends.
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