Basic home actions and choices | Learn Spanish in English

Spanish lesson set in a contemporary Madrid everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic home actions and choices..

EN → ES / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Basic home actions and choices to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Por favor, abre la puerta.

pohr fah-VOR, AH-breh lah PWEHR-tah. Please open the door.
B

Por favor, cierra la ventana.

pohr fah-VOR, SYEH-rrah lah behn-TAH-nah. Please close the window.
A

Por favor, enciéndelo.

pohr fah-VOR, en-SYEN-deh-loh. Please turn it on.
B

Por favor, apágalo.

pohr fah-VOR, ah-PAH-gah-loh. Please turn it off.
A

Por favor, dame esto.

pohr fah-VOR, DAH-meh ES-toh. Please give me this.
B

Tomaré esto.

toh-mah-REH ES-toh. I will take this.

Word by Word

Por favor “Por favor” means “please” and makes the request more polite. It is used as a whole expression; “por” and “favor” work together here rather than contributing separate meanings. Use it before a request, as in “Por favor, abre la puerta.”
abre In “abre”, the meaning is “open” as a request to one person. The citation form is abrir, and abre is the form used here to tell someone to open something. Use it with a direct object, as in “abre la puerta”.
la In “la puerta” and “la ventana”, la means “the” before the noun. It is part of the noun phrase and comes directly before the thing being referred to. Reuse it in a phrase such as “la puerta” when referring to a specific door.
puerta In “la puerta”, puerta means “door”, the object that should be opened. It is used after la in this noun phrase. Use it when asking about or referring to a door at home or elsewhere.
cierra In “cierra”, the meaning is “close” as a request to one person. The citation form is cerrar, and cierra is the form used here to tell someone to close something. Use it with an object such as “la ventana”.
ventana In “la ventana”, ventana means “window”, the object that should be closed. It follows la in the noun phrase. Use it when referring to a window in a home, room, or building.
enciéndelo In “enciéndelo”, the full form means “turn it on”: it asks one person to switch something on, and the final lo refers to the thing. Use it for a device, light, or other object when that object is already understood.
apágalo In “apágalo”, the full form means “turn it off”: it asks one person to switch something off, and the final lo refers to the thing. Use it for a device, light, or other object when that object is already understood.
dame In “dame”, the full form means “give me” and asks one person to give something to the speaker. The form combines the request to give with me as the recipient. Use it before the requested thing, as in “dame esto”.
esto In “dame esto” and “Tomaré esto”, esto means “this” and points to the item being discussed or selected. It can follow a verb when the speaker refers to a thing without naming it. Use it when the item is near, visible, or clear from the situation.
Tomaré In “Tomaré esto”, Tomaré means “I will take”, expressing the speaker’s decision or intention to take the item. The citation form is tomar, and Tomaré is the form used here for the speaker’s future action. A reusable pattern is “Tomaré” followed by the item being chosen.

Grammar Points

Imperativo afirmativo: verbo + pronombre

Enciéndelo, por favor.

en-SYEN-deh-loh, pohr fah-VOR.

Turn it on, please.

En los imperativos afirmativos, el pronombre puede unirse al final del verbo: enciende + lo = enciéndelo.

Futuro simple en primera persona: -é

Tomaré esto.

toh-mah-REH ES-toh.

I will take this.

La terminación -é indica futuro en primera persona: tomar + é = tomaré.

Spanish Vocabulary

abre verb
AH-breh open

Por favor, abre la puerta.

apágalo verb
ah-PAH-gah-loh turn it off

Por favor, apágalo.

cierra verb
SYEH-rrah close

Por favor, cierra la ventana.

dame verb
DAH-meh give me

Por favor, dame esto.

enciéndelo verb
en-SYEN-deh-loh turn it on

Por favor, enciéndelo.

esto pron
ES-toh this

Por favor, dame esto.

por favor phrase
pohr fah-VOR please

Por favor, abre la puerta.

puerta noun
PWEHR-tah door

Por favor, abre la puerta.

tomaré verb
toh-mah-REH I will take

Tomaré esto.

ventana noun
behn-TAH-nah window

Por favor, cierra la ventana.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Please open the door.

Show AnswerPor favor, abre la puerta.

Please close the window.

Show AnswerPor favor, cierra la ventana.

Please turn it on.

Show AnswerPor favor, enciéndelo.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

turn it on

Show Answerenciéndelo

window

Show Answerventana

open

Show Answerabre

give me

Show Answerdame