Explore Mexico in Spanish

Quick Answer

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

• use common verbs in the preterite to talk about the past

• talk about tourist activities

• ask and answer questions about past actions

Vocabulary

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

Adjectives

Spanish	English
ambicioso	ambitious
azteca	Aztec

examples
Fue un viaje muy ambicioso. It was a very ambitious trip.
Vimos las pirámides aztecas. We saw the Aztec pyramids.

Nouns

Spanish	English
la Ciudad de México	Mexico City
la horchata	horchata
la lengua	tongue
Miami	Miami
el paisaje	landscape
el sope	sope
el submarinismo	scuba diving
el tour	tour
la villa	villa

Culinary Tips

• Sopes are made with a thick base of fried corn dough that's topped with beans, cream, lettuce, and cheese.

• Horchata is a beverage made with rice or almonds and sweetened with sugar. It's often garnished with cinnamon and sometimes includes fruit chunks!

examples
Comimos tacos de lengua. We ate beef tongue tacos.
Vi paisajes bonitos. I saw beautiful landscapes.
Hicimos submarinismo. We did scuba diving.

Pronunciation

When speaking Spanish, try to pronounce Miami, tour, and villa with Spanish sounds, not English ones! Listen to the following sentences to learn how to say these words in Spanish.

examples
Salí desde Miami. I left from Miami.
¿Hiciste un tour de las pirámides? Did you do a tour of the pyramids?
Alquilé una villa. I rented a villa.

Noun Phrase

Spanish	English
el pan dulce	pastry

examples
Probamos el pan dulce. We tried the pastry.

Let Them Eat Pan Dulce

Pan dulce is something of an institution in Mexico, so be sure to try some if you ever get the chance to visit an authentic Mexican bakery! Some of the most popular types of pan dulce are cuernitos(croissants), conchas(sweet rolls resembling mollusc shells), and puerquitos/marranitos(literally, little pigs, these pig-shaped cookies are made with sugar and spice...and boy are they nice!).

Prepositional Phrase

Spanish	English
con escala	with a layover

examples
Tomamos un vuelo con escala. We took a flight with a layover.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs in the preterite!

Alquilar

Alquilar(to rent) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	alquilé	I rented
tú	alquilaste	you rented	informal singular you
vos	alquilaste	you rented	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	alquiló	he, she rented
usted	alquiló	you rented	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	alquilamos	we rented
vosotros, vosotras	alquilasteis	you rented	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	alquilaron	they rented
ustedes	alquilaron	you rented	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Comer

Comer(to eat) is an -er verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	comí	I ate
tú	comiste	you ate	informal singular you
vos	comiste	you ate	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	comió	he, she ate
usted	comió	you ate	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	comimos	we ate
vosotros, vosotras	comisteis	you ate	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	comieron	they ate
ustedes	comieron	you ate	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Hacer

Hacer(to do, to make) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," ha, changes to hi in all forms.

In the él, ella and usted forms of hacer in the preterite, the c changes to a z.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	hice	I made, did
tú	hiciste	you made, did	informal singular you
vos	hiciste	you made, did	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	hizo	he, she made, did
usted	hizo	you made, did	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	hicimos	we made, did
vosotros, vosotras	hicisteis	you made, did	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	hicieron	they made, did
ustedes	hicieron	you made, did	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

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

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.

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)

Regresar

Regresar(to get back) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	regresé	I got back
tú	regresaste	you got back	informal singular you
vos	regresaste	you got back	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	regresó	he, she got back
usted	regresó	you got back	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	regresamos	we got back
vosotros, vosotras	regresasteis	you got back	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	regresaron	they got back
ustedes	regresaron	you got back	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Salir

Salir(to leave) is an -ir verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	salí	I left
tú	saliste	you left	informal singular you
vos	saliste	you left	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	salió	he, she left
usted	salió	you left	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	salimos	we left
vosotros, vosotras	salisteis	you left	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	salieron	they left
ustedes	salieron	you left	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Ser

Ser(to be) is an irregular verb in the preterite.

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

No, we didn’t make a mistake and yes, you’re seeing that right. Ser and ir are conjugated the same way in the preterite!

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

Tomar

Tomar(to take) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	tomé	I took
tú	tomaste	you took	informal singular you
vos	tomaste	you took	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	tomó	he, she took
usted	tomó	you took	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	tomamos	we took
vosotros, vosotras	tomasteis	you took	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	tomaron	they took
ustedes	tomaron	you took	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

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.

Visitar

Visitar(to visit) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	visité	I visited
tú	visitaste	you visited	informal singular you
vos	visitaste	you visited	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	visitó	he, she visited
usted	visitó	you visited	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	visitamos	we visited
vosotros, vosotras	visitasteis	you visited	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	visitaron	they visited
ustedes	visitaron	you visited	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

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

Note that some verbs, like ir, ser, and ver are completely irregular in the preterite!

When Do We Use the Preterite?

We use the preterite to describe actions started and completed at a point in the past. Some common words that signal that we need to use the preterite are el mes pasado (last month) and anoche (last night).

Phrases

Here are some of the phrases used in these lessons!

Spanish	English
el mes pasado	last month

Culture: Taco Time!

You learned about two different types of tacos in this lesson: tacos de nopal and tacos de lengua. Did these ingredients surprise you? Mexican tacos are not like the tacos we know in other parts of the world! To start with, Mexican tacos traditionally come with cilantro(cilantro), cebolla blanca(white onion), and salsa casera(homemade salsa). They tend to come on soft tortillas, which are often made from corn instead of wheat. As for their meat filling, Mexican tacos are often prepared with carne guisada(stewed beef), carne frita(fried beef), or carne a la plancha(grilled beef). Here are a few more typical types of tacos:

Spanish	English
tacos al pastor	marinated-pork tacos
tacos de birria	stewed-goat tacos
tacos de cabeza	tacos with braised or steamed meat from the head of a cow
tacos de carne asada	grilled-steak tacos
tacos de carnitas	braised-pork tacos
tacos de cochinita	slow-roasted pork tacos
tacos de longaniza	spicy pork-sausage tacos

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.

Valentina:

¡Mateo! ¡Hola! Fui de vacaciones a México. Tu madre vive allí, ¿no?

Mateo! Hi! I went to Mexico on vacation. Your mom lives there, doesn’t she?

Mateo:

¡Sí! Vive en Cholula. ¿Dónde fuiste? ¿Cuándo fuiste? ¿Fuiste a la playa?

Yes! She lives in Cholula. Where did you go? When did you go? Did you go to the beach?

Valentina:

Sí, y visité varias ciudades. Visité Cancun y la Ciudad de México. Fue un viaje muy ambicioso. Fui con Patricia, mi amiga.

Yes, and I visited several cities. I visited Cancun and Mexico city. It was a very ambitious trip. I went with Patricia, my friend.

Mateo:

¿Y la comida? ¿Comieron tacos?

And the food? Did you eat tacos?

Valentina:

Me gusta mucho la comida mexicana. Comimos tacos de nopal y tacos de lengua. También probé los sopes.

I really like Mexican food. We ate prickly pear tacos and beef tongue tacos. I also tried sopes.

Mateo:

¿Cuándo regresaron de México?

When did you get back from Mexico?

Want to learn more about how to explore Mexico in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• Sound Like a Local in Mexico

• Let's Taco 'Bout Tacos and Tamales

• Mexican Tacos vs. American Tacos