Spanish Proficiency Exercises
Describe in detail your worst date ever.


Simplified and native speakers:

• Simplified example
• Carlos U.
• Andrés A.
• Mónica V.
• Hanevy S.
• Jorge G.

.m4v (iPod) downloads
Click red links to download .m4v files for use in iPod:

• Simplified example
• Carlos U.
• Andrés A.
• Mónica V.
• Hanevy S.
• Jorge G.

Subscribe to iTunes podcast: adv21
Subscribe to podcast: adv21


Key vocabulary for this task


Example phrases for this task


Grammar points for this task

Simplified Example
"La peor cita que he tenido fue hace unos dos años..."
Carlos U.
México, Xalapa, Veracruz
"Uno de los peores días que he tenido en mi vida..."
Andrés A.
Perú, Lima
"Para un mal día, saliendo con Juliana, intentamos ir al cine..."
Mónica V.
Bolivia, La Paz
"Mi peor cita fue mi primer año de universidad con un muchacho..."
Hanevy S.
México, Irapuato, Guanajuato
"Pues mi cita más avergonzosa fue un día cuando fui con un muchacho..."
Jorge G.
México, Xalapa, Veracruz
"Bueno, mi peor cita fue cuando tenía dieciseis años..."
abrazar   to hug
andar con alguien   to date someone
besar   to kiss
cine (m)   cinema, movie theater
cita (de novios) (f)   (romantic) date
cuenta (f)   bill
despedirse   to say goodbye
empeorarse   to get worse
estar celoso (m)   to be jealous
fracaso (m)   failure
huirse   to flee, to run away
llevarse bien/mal   to get along well/poorly
me cae bien   I like him/her
mesero, camarero (m)   waiter/waitress
novia (f)   girlfriend
novio (m)   boyfriend
pareja (f)   couple, partner
pesado (adj)   difficult, taxing
propina (f)   tip
rechazar   to reject
salir bien/mal   to turn out well/poorly
salir de noche   to go out at night
saludar   to greet
terminar   to end, to break up
toparse con alguien   to run into someone (fig.), to meet someone by chance
¿Vas a salir esta noche? Are you going out tonight?
¡Que día más pesado! Nada me salió bien. What a difficult day! Nothing went right.
Anduve con ella por seis meses pero luego decidimos terminar. I dated her for six months but then we decided to break up.
Intenté darle un beso pero me rechazó. I tried to give her a kiss but she turned me down.
Nos topamos con Juan y Diego en el supermercado. We ran into Juan and Diego at the supermarket.
María me cae bien. Es muy simpática. I like Maria. She's really nice.
La noche se empeoró cuando el mesero tardó una hora en traernos la cuenta y luego nos quería cobrar de más. The night got worse when the waiter took an hour to bring us the bill and then he tried to overcharge us.
Me parece que le caí mal. Me ignoraba casi toda la noche y cuando nos despedimos ni me quería abrazar. I don't think she liked me. She ignored me almost the entire night and when we said goodbye she didn't even want a hug.
Me llevo muy bien con la novia de Rodrigo pero él es muy celoso así que sería mejor ni hablar con ella. I get along very well with Rodrigo's girlfriend but he's really jealous so I'd better not talk to her.
En España la gente se saluda con dos besos, en la mayoría de América Latina se saluda con uno. In Spain people greet one another with two kisses, in most parts of Latin America they greet one another with one kiss.
Reflexive verbs

There are several ways to express the idea of "become" or "get" (e.g. become/get nervous) in Spanish. Some reflexive verbs can be used to express this idea. Generally, these verbs have to do with changes of attitudes or behavior. Here are some of the most common verbs used this way:

alegrarse to become happy
  animarse to become encouraged
  asustarse to become frightened
  atrasarse to get behind/delayed
  callarse to become quiet
  cansarse to get/become tired
  confundirse to get/become confused
  desesperarse to get/become disappointed
  emocionarse to get/become excited/emotional
  enamorarse to fall in love
  enfadarse to get/become angry
  enfermarse to get/become sick
  fastidiarse to get/become annoyed
  hartarse to get tired/sick of something
  irritarse to get/become irritated
  mejorarse to get better/ to improve
  molestarse to get/become upset
  nublarse to get/become cloudy
  ofenderse to get/become offended
  perderse to get lost
  secarse to get/become dry
  sorprenderse to get/become surprised

Here are some examples of these verbs used in sentences:

Nos perdemos en los mercados de Tepito. We got lost in the markets of Tepito.
  Su condición se ha mejorado desde ayer. His condition has gotten better since yesterday.
  Me harté de hacer la misma cosa todos los días. I got sick of doing the same thing everyday.

In addition to the use of the reflexive to express a change in one's nature, there are some fixed expressions that are quite common. For example:

hacerse rico/a to get/become rich
  ponerse rojo/a to turn red (can also be used with other colors)
  ponerse furioso/a to get/become furious
  volverse loco/a to go crazy