Celebrate Carnival in Colombia in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to celebrate carnival in Colombia in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• use vocabulary related to carnival celebrations

• use the preterite to talk about a trip

• understand a common festival in the Spanish-speaking world

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Adjectives

Spanish	English
mayor	older
menor	younger

examples
Mi hermano mayor probó el sancocho. My older brother tried sancocho.
Mi hermano menor leyó todo sobre la batalla de flores. My younger brother read everything about the battle of the flowers.

Adverbs

Spanish	English
afortunadamente	fortunately
especialmente	especially

examples
Afortunadamente, fuimos el febrero pasado. Fortunately, we went last February.
Nos gustó especialmente la coronación de la reina. We especially liked the crowning of the queen.

Nouns

Spanish	English
el bailarín	dancer
Barranquilla	Barranquilla
la batalla	battle
el carnaval	carnival
Colombia	Colombia
el desfile	parade
el sancocho	sancocho
el símbolo	symbol
el toro	bull

examples
Vi cuatrocientos bailarines. I saw four hundred dancers.
Mi hermano menor leyó todo sobre la batalla de flores. My younger brother read everything about the battle of the flowers.
Me dijeron que el símbolo del carnaval es un toro. They told me that the symbol of the carnival is a bull.

Sancocho

Have you ever tried sancocho before? Colombian sancocho is essentially a meat and vegetable stew. While recipes can vary, it often contains chicken, ribs, corn, yucca, onion, garlic, and potatoes.

Carnaval in the Spanish-Speaking World

Carnaval is a popular time to party in the Spanish-speaking world! Just before Lent, this festival can last from just a few days to well over a week. The way to celebrate varies depending on the area. Some places have parades and other organized events, while in others, people simply go out and party.

Noun Phrases

Spanish	English
la agrupación folclórica	traditional group
la coronación de la reina	crowning of the queen

examples
Vimos muchas agrupaciones folclóricas. We saw lots of traditional groups.
Nos gustó especialmente la coronación de la reina. We especially liked the crowning of the queen.

Numbers

Spanish	English
cuatrocientos	four hundred
quinientos	five hundred

examples
Vi cuatrocientos bailarines. I saw four hundred dancers.
Vimos quinientos disfraces. We saw five hundred costumes.

Relative Pronouns

Spanish	English
que	that

examples
Es un plato que tiene carne. It's a dish that has meat.

Relative Pronouns: Que

Relative pronouns are often used to connect sentences or phrases.

Que can refer to a person, place, or thing and means that, which, who, or whom.

Que, the shortest relative pronoun, is used when the relative pronoun comes immediately after the antecedent. Nothing separates the relative pronoun from the antecedent, not even a comma. Que can also be used after a very short separation from the antecedent when referring to places or things. However, if the relative pronoun follows a preposition and refers to a person, you must use quien.

Learn more about relative pronouns in this article.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Caerse

Caerse(to fall) is a stem-changing pronominal verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," cae, changes to caí in the yo, tú, vos, nosotros and vosotros forms, and cay in the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	caí	I fell
tú	caíste	you fell	informal singular you
vos	caíste	you fell	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	cayó	he, she fell
usted	cayó	you fell	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	caímos	we fell
vosotros, vosotras	caísteis	you fell	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	cayeron	they fell
ustedes	cayeron	you fell	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Dar

Dar(to give) is an irregular verb in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	di	I gave
tú	diste	you gave	informal singular you
vos	diste	you gave	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	dio	he, she gave
usted	dio	you gave	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	dimos	we gave
vosotros, vosotras	disteis	you gave	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	dieron	they gave
ustedes	dieron	you gave	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Decir

Decir(to tell, to say) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," dec, changes to dij in all forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	dije	I told
tú	dijiste	you told	informal singular you
vos	dijiste	you told	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	dijo	he, she told
usted	dijo	you told	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	dijimos	we told
vosotros, vosotras	dijisteis	you told	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	dijieron	they told
ustedes	dijieron	you told	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that the yo and él, ella, usted forms of decir in the preterite do not have accent marks.

Disfrazarse

Disfrazarse(to dress up) is an -ar pronominal verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me disfracé	I dressed up
tú	te disfrazaste	you dressed up	informal singular you
vos	te disfrazaste	you dressed up	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se disfrazó	he, she dressed up
usted	se disfrazó	you dressed up	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos disfrazamos	we dressed up
vosotros, vosotras	os disfrazasteis	you dressed up	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se disfrazaron	they dressed up
ustedes	se disfrazaron	you dressed up	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Encantar

Encantar(to love) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.
Note that when we use encantar to mean to love, it behaves like gustar.

With verbs like gustar, the subject of the sentence is the thing being liked, while the thing doing the liking is expressed via an indirect object.

This table refers to loving a singular thing. If the thing that you loved was plural, use encantaron.

Conjugation	Translation	Notes
me encantó	I loved
te encantó	you loved	informal singular you
le encantó	he/she loved
le encantó	you loved	formal singular you
nos encantó	we loved
os encantó	you loved	informal plural you (in Spain)
les encantó	they loved
les encantó	you loved	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Estar

Estar(to be) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," esta, changes to estuv in all forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	estuve	I was
tú	estuviste	you were	informal singular you
vos	estuviste	you were	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	estuvo	he, she was
usted	estuvo	you were	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	estuvimos	we were
vosotros, vosotras	estuvisteis	you were	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	estuvieron	they were
ustedes	estuvieron	you were	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Gustar

Gustar(to like) is an irregular verb in the preterite.

With verbs like gustar, the subject of the sentence is the thing being liked, while the thing doing the liking is expressed via an indirect object.

This table refers to liking a singular thing. If the thing that was liked was plural, use gustaron.

Conjugation	Translation	Notes
me gustó	I liked
te gustó	you liked	informal singular you
le gustó	he, she liked
le gustó	you liked	formal singular you
nos gustó	we liked
os gustó	you liked	informal plural you (in Spain)
les gustó	they liked
les gustó	you liked	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Ir

Ir(to go) is an irregular verb in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	fui	I went
tú	fuiste	you went	informal singular you
vos	fuiste	you went	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	fue	he, she went
usted	fue	you went	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	fuimos	we went
vosotros, vosotras	fuisteis	you went	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	fueron	they went
ustedes	fueron	you went	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that none of the forms of the verb ir take an accent in the preterite.

Leer

Leer(to read) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," lee, changes to leí in the tú, vos, nosotros and vosotros forms. In the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms, the stem lee changes to ley.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	leí	I read
tú	leíste	you read	informal singular you
vos	leíste	you read	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	leyó	he, she read
usted	leyó	you read	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	leímos	we read
vosotros, vosotras	leísteis	you read	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	leyeron	they read
ustedes	leyeron	you read	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Llegar

Llegar(to arrive) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	llegué	I arrived
tú	llegaste	you arrived	informal singular you
vos	llegaste	you arrived	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	llegó	he, she arrived
usted	llegó	you arrived	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	llegamos	we arrived
vosotros, vosotras	llegasteis	you arrived	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	llegaron	they arrived
ustedes	llegaron	you arrived	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Oír

Oír(to hear) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," oí, changes to oy in the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	oí	I heard
tú	oíste	you heard	informal singular you
vos	oíste	you heard	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	oyó	he, she heard
usted	oyó	you heard	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	oímos	we heard
vosotros, vosotras	oísteis	you heard	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	oyeron	they heard
ustedes	oyeron	you heard	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Probar

Probar(to try) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	probé	I tried
tú	probaste	you tried	informal singular you
vos	probaste	you tried	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	probó	he, she tried
usted	probó	you tried	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	probamos	we tried
vosotros, vosotras	probasteis	you tried	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	probaron	they tried
ustedes	probaron	you tried	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Querer

Querer(to want) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," que, changes to quis in all forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	quise	I wanted
tú	quisiste	you wanted	informal singular you
vos	quisiste	you wanted	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	quiso	he, she wanted
usted	quiso	you wanted	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	quisimos	we wanted
vosotros, vosotras	quisisteis	you wanted	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	quisieron	they wanted
ustedes	quisieron	you wanted	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that the yo and él, ella, usted forms of querer in the preterite do not have accent marks.

Reírse

Reírse(to laugh) is a stem-changing pronominal -ir verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," reí, changes to ri in the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me reí	I laughed
tú	te reíste	you laughed	informal singular you
vos	te reíste	you laughed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se rio	he, she laughed
usted	se rio	you laughed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos reímos	we laughed
vosotros, vosotras	os reísteis	you laughed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se rieron	they laughed
ustedes	se rieron	you laughed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that the él, ella, usted forms of reírse in the preterite do not have accent marks.

Ver

Ver(to see) is an irregular verb in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	vi	I saw
tú	viste	you saw	informal singular you
vos	viste	you saw	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	vio	he, she saw
usted	vio	you saw	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	vimos	we saw
vosotros, vosotras	visteis	you saw	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	vieron	they saw
ustedes	vieron	you saw	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that none of the forms of the verb ver take an accent in the preterite.

Verb Phrase

In this skill, you learn the following verb phrase!

Estar A Punto De

Estar a punto de(to be about to) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," esta, changes to estuv in all forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	estuve a punto de	I was about to
tú	estuviste a punto de	you were about to	informal singular you
vos	estuviste a punto de	you were about to	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	estuvo a punto de	he, she was about to
usted	estuvo a punto de	you were about to	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	estuvimos a punto de	we were about to
vosotros, vosotras	estuvisteis a punto de	you were	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	estuvieron a punto de	they were about to
ustedes	estuvieron a punto de	you were about to	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that estar a punto de is followed by an infintive verb.

examples
Estuve a punto de ir hace dos años. I was about to go two years ago.

The Preterite

Regular Spanish Preterite Forms

There are only two sets of endings for regular preterite verbs, one for -ar verbs and one for both -er and -ir verbs. To conjugate a regular verb in the preterite tense, simply remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and add the preterite ending that matches the subject. Check out the table of regular preterite endings below.

Subject	-ar Verbs	-er and -ir Verbs
yo	-é	-í
tú	-aste	-iste
él, ella, usted	-ó	-ió
nosotros	-amos	-imos
vosotros	-asteis	-isteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes	-aron	-ieron

Irregular and Stem-Changing Verbs in the Preterite

Note that some verbs, like many of those we saw in this lesson, are irregular or stem-changing in the preterite! Learn more about irregular verbs, spelling changes, and stem-changing preterite verbs in this article.

When Do We Use the Preterite?

Specific Times in the Past

We use the preterite to describe actions completed at a point in the past, especially those that occurred on specific days or dates, at specific times, and during specific time periods. For example, we often use the preterite with the following phrases:

• antes de + infintive verb

• el + month + pasado

• hace + number + años

• unos días antes que yo

Events in a sequence

We also use the preterite to talk about events in a sequence in the past. For example:

examples
Mis hermanos se rieron mucho de mí. Pero después, ellos también se cayeron. My brothers laughed at me a lot. But afterward, they fell down too.

Here, the después indicates a sequence of events.

Phrases

Here are some of the phrases used in these lessons!

Spanish	English
qué bien	that’s great
qué mala suerte	what bad luck

Quiz Yourself!

Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!

Spanish Conversation

Fantastic! Let's put the grammar and vocab from above to the test in the following example of a conversation in Spanish.

Pedro:

¿Cuándo fuiste a Colombia, Lucía?

When did you go to Colombia, Lucía?

Lucía:

Estuve a punto de ir hace dos años. Afortunadamente, fuimos el febrero pasado. ¡Mis hermanos quisieron venir conmigo!

I was about to go two years ago. Fortunately, we went last February. My brothers wanted to come with me.

Pedro:

¡Qué bien!

That's great!

Lucía:

Fuimos juntos al Carnaval de Barranquilla. Es un festival que me encantó.

We went together to the Carnival of Barranquilla. It's a festival that I loved.

Pedro:

Antes de ir, ¿leíste sobre el carnaval?

Before going, did you read about the carnival?

Lucía:

Sí, pero mis hermanos leyeron más que yo. Mi hermano menor leyó todo sobre la batalla de flores.

Yes, but my brothers read more than me. My younger brother read everything about the battle of the flowers.

Want to learn more about how to celebrate carnival in Colombia in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• A Year of Celebrations in Spanish-Speaking Countries

• Easter in the Spanish-Speaking World

• Days in Spanish