5.0 Las Vacaciones y los Viajes

Las Vacaciones y los Viajes: Vocabulary

This section covers essential vocabulary for discussing travel, transportation, and vacation planning.

Transport and Locations

el aeropuerto: airport
la estación de autobuses: bus station
la estación del metro: subway station
la estación del tren: train station
el mar: sea
el campo: countryside
la cabaña: cabin
la tienda de campaña: tent

Travel Documents and Personnel

el pasaporte: passport
el pasaje (de ida y vuelta): (round-trip) ticket
el/la inspector(a) de aduanas: customs officer
el viajero / la viajera: traveler

Travel Logistics

la llegada: arrival
la salida: departure; exit

¿Qué tiempo hace? (The Weather)

The following expressions and verbs are used to describe weather conditions and atmospheric states.

Common Weather Expressions

¿Qué tiempo hace?: How's the weather?
Hace buen/mal tiempo: The weather is nice/bad.
Está despejado: It's clear.
Está (muy) nublado: It's (very) cloudy.
Hace (mucho) calor: It's (very) hot.
Hace fresco: It's cool.
Hace (mucho) frío: It's (very) cold.
Hace (mucho) sol: It's (very) sunny.
Hace (mucho) viento: It's (very) windy.
Hay (mucha) niebla: It's (very) foggy.

Weather Verbs with Stem Changes

llover (o:ue): to rain
- Example: Llueve. (It's raining.)
nevar (e:ie): to snow
- Example: Nieva. (It's snowing.)

En el Hotel (At the Hotel)

Vocabulary related to accommodations and staying in a hotel.

General Accommodations

el alojamiento: lodging
el hotel: hotel
la pensión: boarding house
el/la huésped: guest
el/la empleado/a: employee

Hotel Facilities and Items

el ascensor: elevator
el piso: floor (of a building)
la planta baja: ground floor
la habitación: room
- individual: single room
- doble: double room
la cama: bed
el equipaje: luggage
la llave: key

Las Actividades (Vacation Activities)

Common verbs and phrases for vacation movements and leisure activities.

Travel and Planning

acampar: to camp
confirmar una reservación: to confirm a reservation
estar de vacaciones: to be on vacation
hacer las maletas: to pack (one's suitcases)
hacer un viaje: to take a trip
hacer una excursión: to go on a hike; to go on a tour
hacer turismo (m.): to go sightseeing
pasar por la aduana: to go through customs
sacar fotos (f. pl.): to take pictures

Leisure and Recreation

ir a la playa: to go to the beach
ir de vacaciones: to go on vacation
ir de pesca: to go fishing
pescar: to fish
montar a caballo: to ride a horse

Modes of Transportation (ir en…)

ir en autobús (m.): to go by bus
ir en auto(móvil) (m.): to go by car
ir en avión (m.): to go by plane
ir en barco (m.): to go by boat
ir en motocicleta (f.): to go by motorcycle
ir en taxi (m.): to go by taxi

Los Números Ordinales (Ordinal Numbers)

Ordinal numbers are used to indicate position or order. Note that $primer$ and $tercer$ are used before masculine singular nouns.

primer, primero/a: first
segundo/a: second
tercer, tercero/a: third
cuarto/a: fourth
quinto/a: fifth
sexto/a: sixth
séptimo/a: seventh
octavo/a: eighth
noveno/a: ninth
décimo/a: tenth

Las Estaciones y los Meses (Seasons and Months)

The Four Seasons

la primavera: spring
el verano: summer
el otoño: fall; autumn
el invierno: winter

The Twelve Months of the Year

enero: January
febrero: February
marzo: March
abril: April
mayo: May
junio: June
julio: July
agosto: August
septiembre: September
octubre: October
noviembre: November
diciembre: December

General Time Units

el año: year
el mes: month
la estación: season

Otras Palabras y Expresiones

ahora mismo: right now
todavía: yet; still
¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy?: What is today's date?
- Hoy es el primero de marzo: Today is March first. (Note: Only the first of the month uses the ordinal number $primero$ ).
- Hoy es el dos (tres, cuatro…) de marzo: Today is March second (third, fourth…).

Pronunciación: Spanish $b$ and $v$

In Spanish, there is no difference in pronunciation between the letters $b$ and $v$ . However, both can be pronounced in two different ways depending on their phonetic environment.

1. Hard Pronunciation ( $b$ and $v$ sounds like English hard $b$ )

This occurs when the letter appears in the following positions:

As the first letter of a word.
At the beginning of a phrase.
After the letters $m$ or $n$ .

Examples:

bueno
voleibol
biblioteca
vivir
bonito
viajar
también
investigar

2. Soft Pronunciation (The Soft $b$ )

The soft $b$ is a sound with no English equivalent. It is produced by keeping the lips slightly open and allowing friction of air between the two lips, rather than closing them tight as in the hard $b$ . The English $v$ sound (top teeth on lower lip) does not exist in Spanish.

This occurs:

In all other positions (e.g., between vowels).
When a word starting with $b$ or $v$ follows a word ending in a vowel or any consonant other than $m$ or $n$ .