Spanish Proficiency Exercises
Talk about your hobbies or special interests in detail.


Simplified and native speakers:

• Simplified example
• José A.
• Ronald F.
• Patricio A.
• Ana R.
• Karla G.

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

• Simplified example
• José A.
• Ronald F.
• Patricio A.
• Ana R.
• Karla G.

Subscribe to iTunes podcast: adv13
Subscribe to podcast: adv13


Key vocabulary for this task


Example phrases for this task


Grammar points for this task

Simplified Example
"Me gusta mucho andar en bicicleta de montaña..."
José A.
México, D.F.
"Me gusta jugar un poco el sábado. Jugar Jai Alai..."
Ronald F.
Venezuela, Mérida
"Generalmente yo suelo tocar la guitarra. Ese es mi hobby principal..."
Patricio A.
Chile, Santiago
"Hola, sigo hablando yo Patricio..."
Ana R.
Chile, Santiago
"Yo le quisiera contar que tengo un taller con mis hermanas..."
Karla G.
México, San Luis Potosí, Xilitla
"Desde muy pequeña percibí que tenía unos gustos muy afines..."
andar en bicicleta   to ride a bycicle
artesanías (f)   crafts
bajo (m)   bass guitar
batería   drums (drum set)
béisbol (m)   baseball
ciclismo (m)   cycling
cine (m)   cinema, film
deportista (m)   athlete
flauta (f)   flute
fotografía (f)   photography, photograph
fútbol americano (m)   (American) football
fútbol (m)   soccer
guitarra (f)   guitar
ocio (m)   leisure, idleness
pasatiempo (m)   hobby
pintar   to paint
practicar un deporte   to play a particular sport
tambor (m)   drum
tiempo libre (m)   free time
tocar un instrumento   to play an instrument
trompeta (f)   trumpet
vacaciones (f.pl.)   vacation
videojuego (m)   video game
Me gusta mucho practicar los deportes. I really like to play sports.
Nos interesa el cine de América Latina. We're intertested in Latin American film.
A mi hermano le encanta pescar, jugar videojuegos, y ver el fútbol americano en la televisión. My brother loves to fish, play videogames and watch football on television.
El único pasatiempo que tengo es la fotografía. The only hobby that I have is photography.
Mi padre está interesado en el ciclismo. My father is interested in cycling.
¿Les gustan las artesanías? Do you like crafts?
Si yo pudiera tocar cualquier instrumento escogería la guitarra. If I could play any instrument I'd choose the guitar.
Quisiera tocar la trompeta como Miles Davis. I wish I could play the trumpet like Miles Davis.
Mi hermano mayor es muy deportista, siempre está jugando algún deporte. My older brother is very athletic; he's always playing some sport.
A mi me gusta leer novelas rusas y bailar salsa. I like to read Russian novels and to dance salsa.
Gustar and Interesar

In order to talk about your hobbies you will need to use several verbs, like gustar and interesar, which differ from most verbs in their form. Unlike most verbs which are conjugated according to the subject (e.g. yo hablo, tœ hablas etc.) these verbs use an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les) and the verb which is usually in singular (gusta) or plural form (gustan). For example:

Me gustan los deportes. I like sports.
  No me gusta nadar. I don't like to swim.
  Me interesan los idiomas. I am interested in languages.

These types of verbs also have a different form in the perfect tenses. For example, the present perfect tense:

Siempre me ha gustado el fútbol. I have always liked soccer.
  Nunca me han interesado los deportes. Sports have never interested me.

In the past perfect tense:

Nunca me habían gustado los mariscos hasta mudarnos a la costa. I had never liked seafood until we moved to the coast.