After the plastic
Rafa leaves the Roquetas greenhouse before the truck arrives. His daughter Nuria is waiting by Santa Ana castle, and he walks into the sea in his work shirt.
Después del plástico
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About this article
What you'll learn
One afternoon in Roquetas de Mar: the plastic, the beach, the castle, and a child who will not keep waiting.
At half past four Rafa is still among the tomatoes. The five o'clock truck has not come, but Nuria is waiting on the beach. He leaves, walks to Santa Ana castle, and steps into the water in his greenhouse clothes.
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.
Roquetas de Mar está en el sur de España
newRoquetas de Mar is in the south of Spain
Está expresses location. El sur de España means the south of the country.
Core phrase for saying where a place is.
Es una ciudad con mucho sol
newit is a town with a lot of sun
Ciudad means town or city. Con mucho sol describes the climate.
Useful for describing the weather and the feel of a place.
playas muy grandes y bonitas
newvery big and beautiful beaches
Grandes and bonitas agree with playas (feminine plural).
Typical beach description in travel texts.
El mar es tranquilo
newthe sea is calm
Tranquilo describes the state of the sea.
Important for beach safety descriptions.
Hay barcos de pesca
newthere are fishing boats
Hay means there is or there are. Barcos de pesca are fishing vessels.
Phrase from the port description.
Hay un paseo marítimo muy largo
newthere is a very long seafront promenade
Paseo marítimo is a walkway along the sea. Muy largo means very long.
Useful for talking about walking, running and cycling by the sea.
es muy amable y acogedora
newvery friendly and welcoming
Amable means kind, acogedora means welcoming. Both are feminine singular because la gente is a feminine singular noun.
Describes how locals treat visitors.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Beach
playa
beach
Playa is where you swim, sunbathe and play in the sand.
Central word in this seaside article.
Lighthouse
faro
lighthouse
Faro is a tall building by the sea. At night its light helps the boats.
Landmark of the port and the seafront.
Castle
castillo
castle
Castillo antiguo is an old castle. This coast is full of towers and castles built against pirates, and this one now holds exhibitions and concerts.
Word from the Castillo de Santa Ana section.
Seafood
marisco
seafood, shellfish
Marisco covers shellfish and crustaceans. It usually appears next to pescado, which is fish.
Typical food in a coastal town, and the word you need to order it.
Rico: delicious
rico
delicious, tasty (about food)
Rico normally means rich or wealthy, but with food it means delicious. ¡Todo es muy rico! is about taste, not money.
The everyday way to praise food in Spain, and a trap if you only know the meaning rich.
Arena: sand
arena
sand
Arena means sand, not an arena or a stadium. Jugar en la arena is to play in the sand.
A classic false friend: the English word arena sends you the wrong way.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Estar: where things are
El puerto está al lado de la playa
the port is next to the beach
Estar, not ser, says where something is. The question is ¿Dónde está...? for one thing and ¿Dónde están...? for several.
The verb you need to ask for and give directions.
Hay or está
También hay muchos restaurantes y cafeterías
there are also many restaurants and cafés
Hay introduces something new: hay muchos restaurantes. Está locates something the reader already knows: el puerto está al lado de la playa. Hay never changes for the plural.
The two are easy to confuse, and this text uses both several times.
Ser: description
es un castillo antiguo
it is an old castle
Ser + adjective describes what something is like as a lasting quality (antiguo).
Shows ser for defining and describing things, next to estar for location.
Gustar: likes
Si te gusta el sol
if you like the sun
Te gusta + a singular noun. The thing liked (el sol) is the subject, so literally the sun is pleasing to you.
The pattern you need to say what you like, and the closing questions use it again.
Poder: puedes + infinitive
puedes ver muchos barcos
you can see many boats
Poder changes its stem o to ue: puedo, puedes, puede, pueden. Only podemos and podéis keep the o. A plain infinitive follows: puedes ver, puedes comer, puedes caminar.
Puedes appears four times in this text, and podemos looks nothing like it, so the infinitive poder alone will not help you recognise the forms.
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