A1. Lesson 22: Free Time, Preferences & Common Verbs

🎯 Goal: Today, you’ll learn how to talk about what you like and love using me gusta and me encanta, share your hobbies and free time activities, and make plans with voy a. You’ll also master the verbs ir vs. irse and llevar vs. llevarse.

🧠 Grammar Explanation: Expressing Preferences

In Spanish, me gusta and me encanta are used to express likes and loves. They can be followed by an infinitive verb (to describe activities) or a noun (to describe things).

“Me encanta” is a stronger expression of admiration than “me gusta”.

• Me gusta + infinitive: “I like to…”
  Example: Me gusta bailar. – I like to dance.
• Me gusta + noun: “I like [noun].”
  Example: Me gusta el cine. – I like the cinema.
• Me encanta + infinitive: “I love to…”
  Example: Me encanta viajar. – I love to travel.
• Me encanta + noun: “I love [noun].”
  Example: Me encanta esta fiesta. – I love this party.

📝 Note: Use me gustan and me encantan for plural nouns (Me gustan los libros. – I like the books.). To ask about preferences, use ¿Te gusta…? or ¿Te encanta…?.

📝 Examples:

• Me gusta la pizza italiana. – I like Italian pizza.
• Me gustan los videojuegos de aventura. – I like adventure video games.
• Me encanta el chocolate caliente. – I love hot chocolate.
• Me encantan las montañas nevadas. – I love snowy mountains.

🧩 Grammar Quiz: Me Gusta/Me Encanta

Test your understanding of me gusta and me encanta with this quiz.

🔤 Vocabulary: Places and Time Expressions

Learn these new words to talk about your hobbies and free time activities. These are fresh additions, not used in previous lessons.

Add these new words for places and time expressions, plus review hobbies and places from previous lessons.

↩️ Flashcard: Places and Time Expressions

Master new words with these flashcards. Click to flip!

Say the Spanish phrase out loud and see if you can remember what it means in English. If you can’t remember, turn the card over to see the answer. Keep practicing until you know it perfectly!

🧩 Activity: Vocabulary Quiz

Match these hobbies to images.

1.

cantar bailar pintar

2.

el parque el museo la tienda

3.

nadar tomar charlar

4.

el zapato la mochila el estadio

5.

pintar bailar jugar

6.

la bicicleta el coche la cama

7.

cocinar dormir cantar

8.

el teatro la cocina el bosque

9.

correr costar charlar

10.

la estación la piscina la parada

Complete Quiz

Quiz Results:

Total Correct Answers:

🧠 Grammar Explanation: Ir vs. Irse

The verbs ir and irse both relate to movement but have different meanings.

Ir: “To go” (to a destination). Use this verb when you talk about going somewhere.

📝 Example: 

• Voy al cine. – I go to the cinema.
• Yo voy al trabajo en metro. – I go to work by subway.
• Nosotros vamos al cine esta noche. – We are going to the movies tonight.

Irse: “To leave” or “go away” (from a place), reflexive. Use this verb when you leave a place or go away from somewhere.

📝 Example: 

• Me voy de la casa. – I leave the house.
• Ella se va de la fiesta temprano. – She leaves the party early.
• Ellos se van de vacaciones mañana. – They are leaving for vacation tomorrow.

📝 Note: Use ir with destinations (*al parque*), irse to emphasize leaving a place (*de la casa*).

🧠 Grammar Explanation: Llevar vs. Llevarse

The verbs llevar and llevarse both involve taking or carrying but differ in usage.

Llevar: “To carry,” “to wear,” or “to bring” (an object/person). Use this verb when talking about carrying something somewhere or wearing something.

• Llevo una mochila. – I carry a backpack.
• Llevo una camiseta nueva. – I wear a new shirt.
• Tú llevas una camisa azul. – You are wearing a blue shirt.
• Él lleva los libros a la biblioteca. – He carries the books to the library.

Llevarse: “To take something with you” (reflexive). Use this verb when you take something with you or remove it from a place.

• Me llevo el libro. – I take the book with me.
• Yo me llevo el paraguas por si llueve. – I’m taking the umbrella in case it rains.
• Los ladrones se llevan el dinero del banco. – The thieves take the money from the bank.

✅ Key difference: Llevar → to bring/carry to a place. Llevarse → to take away, to take with you.

📝 Note: Llevarse can also mean “to get along” (*Me llevo bien con Ana*), but we’ll focus on “taking” for A1.

✔️ Summary Table

🎯Grammar Quiz: Llevar(se) and Ir(se)

Choose the correct form of ir / irse, llevar / llevarse.

✅ Test 1: ir o irse?

✅ Test 2: llevar o llevarse?

📚 Reading: Weekend Plans

Read this dialogue about weekend plans, using me gusta, voy a, and conjunctions.

Text:

(M): Hola, Ana. ¿Te gusta bailar?

(A): Hola, Martín. Sí, me encanta bailar. También me gusta la música latina. 

(M): ¿A dónde vas el fin de semana? 

(A): Voy al parque porque hace buen tiempo. Quiero nadar en la piscina. 

(M): ¡Qué bien! Me gusta tomar fotos de la naturaleza. Voy a llevar mi cámara. 

(A): Perfecto, yo me llevo una mochila con agua y algo para comer.

🔎 Note: “Llevar” vs. “Llevarse”

These two sentences use similar verbs but have slightly different meanings and focus:

1. Voy a llevar mi cámara. – I’m going to take my camera.
→ The verb llevar means to take or to carry something somewhere.
The focus is on the action of bringing or transporting an item. → 🔺Focus: transportation.

2. Yo me llevo una mochila con agua y algo para comer. – I’m taking a backpack with water and some food.
→ The verb llevarse (reflexive) implies taking something with you, often for your own use or when leaving a place. The focus is more personal, like “I’m grabbing this for myself before I go”. → 🔺Focus: personal action, removal.

In our dialogue: backpack with food – personal supplies for yourself (llevarse); camera – a tool for taking photographs (llevar)

🔍Quiz: Fill in the Missing Words

Fill in the gaps in the text using words from the list.

🧠 Key Expressions: Making Plans

Use these expressions to talk about your plans and obligations.

1. Voy a + infinitive: “I’m going to..” (future plans)

• Voy a viajar el fin de semana. – I’m going to travel this weekend.
• Voy a estudiar español mañana. – I’m going to study Spanish tomorrow.

2. Quiero + infinitive: “I want to…”

• Quiero cantar por la tarde. – I want to sing in the afternoon.
• Quiero nadar en la piscina. – I want to swim in the pool.

3. Tengo que + infinitive: “I have to…”

• Tengo que cocinar esta tarde. – I have to cook this afternoon.
• Tengo que trabajar el lunes. – I have to work on Monday.

📌Time Expressions:

a veces (sometimes):

• A veces voy al cine con mis amigos. – Sometimes I go to the movies with my friends.
• Mi hermana a veces cocina para toda la familia. – My sister sometimes cooks for the whole family.

siempre (always):

• Siempre desayuno antes de ir al trabajo. – I always have breakfast before going to work.
• Mis padres siempre nos ayudan con la tarea. – My parents always help us with homework.

nunca (never):

• Nunca como comida picante. – I never eat spicy food.
• Él nunca llega tarde a clase. – He never arrives late to class.

todos los días (every day):

• Estudio español todos los días. – I study Spanish every day.
• Mi abuela camina en el parque todos los días. – My grandmother walks in the park every day.

cada semana (every week):

• Vamos al supermercado cada semana. – We go to the supermarket every week.
• Llamo a mis abuelos cada semana. – I call my grandparents every week.

los lunes (on Mondays):

• Los lunes tengo clase de matemáticas. – On Mondays I have math class.
• No me gusta trabajar los lunes. – I don’t like working on Mondays.

los fines de semana (on weekends):

• Me gusta leer los fines de semana. – I like to read on weekends.
• Voy al parque los fines de semana. – I go to the park on weekends.

por la tarde (in the afternoon):

• Voy al gimnasio por la tarde. – I go to the gym in the afternoon.
• Tengo que estudiar por la tarde. – I have to study in the afternoon.

en mi tiempo libre (in my free time):

• Quiero tocar guitarra en mi tiempo libre. – I want to play guitar in my free time.
• Me encanta bailar en mi tiempo libre. – I love to dance in my free time.

🎧Listening: Hobbies and Plans

Listen to this short audio about someone’s free time and plans.

✏️ Listening Practice: Complete the Sentences

Listen and complete the sentences by typing the missing words.

🗣️ Shadowing: Repeat After the Audio

Practice pronunciation with these 10 sentences. Listen and repeat each sentence during the pause. Practice 2-3 times.

🧩 Fill in the Blanks: Mixed Practice

Choose the correct option to complete each sentence.

🔍Quiz: Fill in the Missing Words

Fill in the gaps in the conversation using words from the list.

↩️ Flashcard: Making Plans

Strengthen your word knowledge with these vocabulary flashcards. Focus on memorizing each term and its correct translation.