Study in Salamanca in Spanish

Quick Answer

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

• Use the vosotros form in the preterite

• Discuss a study abroad experience

• Talk about activities that are typical in Salamanca, Spain

Vocabulary

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

Adjectives

Spanish	English
estudiantil	student, college
europeo	European
peatonal	pedestrian

examples
¿Os pareció Salamanca una ciudad estudiantil? Did Salamanca seem like a college town to you?
Viajasteis a otros países europeos. You traveled to other European countries.
¿Caminasteis por las calles peatonales? Did you walk along the pedestrian streets?

Estudiantil is typically translated as student. However, in other contexts, it makes more sense to translate it as college! For example, in ¿Os pareció Salamanca una ciudad estudiantil?, you wouldn’t call Salamanca a student town in English, but rather a college town! Don’t forget that context is key when you are translating.

Remember that we do not capitalize the following in Spanish:

days of the week

months

languages

nationalities

examples
Viajasteis a otros países europeos. You traveled to other European countries.

examples

Viajasteis a otros países europeos.

You traveled to other European countries.

Nouns

Spanish	English
la asignatura	subject
el, la astronauta	astronaut
la castañuela	castanet
la catedral	cathedral
la croqueta	croquette
la experiencia	experience
Madrid	Madrid
la rana	frog
la residencia	dorm
Salamanca	Salamanca
Segovia	Segovia
el semestre	semester
la terraza	terrace
el transporte	transportation

examples
¿Qué asignaturas os gustaron más? What subjects did you like most?
¿Visitasteis la catedral? Did you visit the cathedral?
¿Probasteis las croquetas? Did you try the croquettes?

Where are Salamanca and Segovia?

Salamanca and Segovia are small cities located two hours apart in central-west Spain. They are both very popular with tourists from around the world—for good reason! Both are breathtakingly beautiful and full of history.

Noun Phrases

Spanish	English
la academia de idiomas	language school
la biblioteca pública	public library
la familia de acogida	host family
la plaza mayor	main square
el puente romano	Roman bridge

examples
¿Fuisteis a una academia de idiomas? Did you go to a language school?
¿Estuvisteis en alguna biblioteca pública? Were you in any public libraries?
¿Qué hicisteis con la familia de acogida? What did you do with the host family?

Prepositional Phrase

Spanish	English
a pie	on foot

examples
Recorristeis la ciudad a pie. You traveled around the city on foot.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Alojarse

Alojarse(to stay) is an -ar pronominal verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me alojé	I stayed
tú	te alojaste	you stayed	informal singular you
vos	te alojaste	you stayed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se alojó	he, she stayed
usted	se alojó	you stayed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos alojamos	we stayed
vosotros, vosotras	os alojasteis	you stayed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se alojaron	they stayed
ustedes	se alojaron	you stayed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

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)

Aprender

Aprender(to learn) is an -er verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	aprendí	I learned
tú	aprendiste	you learned	informal singular you
vos	aprendiste	you learned	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	aprendió	he, she learned
usted	aprendió	you learned	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	aprendimos	we learned
vosotros, vosotras	aprendisteis	you learned	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	aprendieron	they learned
ustedes	aprendieron	you learned	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Aprovechar

Aprovechar(to take advantage of) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	aproveché	I took advantage of
tú	aprovechaste	you took advantage of	informal singular you
vos	aprovechaste	you took advantage of	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	aprovechó	he, she took advantage of
usted	aprovechó	you took advantage of	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	aprovechamos	we took advantage of
vosotros, vosotras	aprovechasteis	you took advantage of	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	aprovecharon	they took advantage of
ustedes	aprovecharon	you took advantage of	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Caminar

Caminar(to walk) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	caminé	I walked
tú	caminaste	you walked	informal singular you
vos	caminaste	you walked	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	caminó	he, she walked
usted	caminó	you walked	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	caminamos	we walked
vosotros, vosotras	caminasteis	you walked	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	caminaron	they walked
ustedes	caminaron	you walked	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Coger

Coger(to take) is an -er verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	cogí	I took
tú	cogiste	you took	informal singular you
vos	cogiste	you took	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	cogió	he, she took
usted	cogió	you took	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	cogimos	we took
vosotros, vosotras	cogisteis	you took	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	cogieron	they took
ustedes	cogieron	you took	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Elegir

Elegir(to choose) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," ele, changes to eli in the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	elegí	I chose
tú	elegiste	you chose	informal singular you
vos	elegiste	you chose	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	eligió	he, she chose
usted	eligió	you chose	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	elegimos	we chose
vosotros, vosotras	elegisteis	you chose	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	eligieron	they chose
ustedes	eligieron	you chose	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Encontrar

Encontrar(to find) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	encontré	I found
tú	encontraste	you found	informal singular you
vos	encontraste	you found	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	encontró	he, she found
usted	encontró	you found	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	encontramos	we found
vosotros, vosotras	encontrasteis	you found	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	encontraron	they found
ustedes	encontraron	you found	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)

Estudiar

Estudiar(to study) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	estudié	I studied
tú	estudiaste	you studied	informal singular you
vos	estudiaste	you studied	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	estudió	he, she studied
usted	estudió	you studied	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	estudiamos	we studied
vosotros, vosotras	estudiasteis	you studied	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	estudiaron	they studied
ustedes	estudiaron	you studied	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 is plural, use gustaron.

Conjugation	Translation	Notes
me gustó	I liked
te gustó	you liked	informal singular you
te gustó	you liked	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
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)

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.

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)

Llevar

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

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	llevé	I took
tú	llevaste	you took	informal singular you
vos	llevaste	you took	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	llevó	he, she took
usted	llevó	you took	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	llevamos	we took
vosotros, vosotras	llevasteis	you took	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	llevaron	they took
ustedes	llevaron	you took	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Matricularse

Matricularse(to sign up for) is an -ar pronominal verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me matriculé	I signed up for
tú	te matriculaste	you signed up for	informal singular you
vos	te matriculaste	you signed up for	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se matriculó	he, she signed up for
usted	se matriculó	you signed up for	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos matriculamos	we signed up for
vosotros, vosotras	os matriculasteis	you signed up for	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se matricularon	they signed up for
ustedes	se matricularon	you signed up for	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Parecer

Parecer(to seem) is an -er verb that is regular in the preterite.

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

In this case, of course, the subject is the thing that you’re considering, while the person thinking about the thing is expressed via indirect object.

This table refers to considering a singular thing. If the thing that is being referred to is plural, use parecieron.

Conjugation	Translation	Notes
me pareció	it seemed…to me
te pareció	it seemed…to you	informal singular you
te pareció	it seemed…to you	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
le pareció	it seemed…to him/her
le pareció	it seemed…to you	formal singular you
nos pareció	it seemed…to us
os pareció	it seemed…to you	informal plural you (in Spain)
les pareció	it seemed...to them
les pareció	it seemed…to you	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Pasar

Pasar(to spend [time]) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	pasé	I spent
tú	pasaste	you spent	informal singular you
vos	pasaste	you spent	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	pasó	he, she spent
usted	pasó	you spent	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	pasamos	we spent
vosotros, vosotras	pasasteis	you spent	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	pasaron	they spent
ustedes	pasaron	you spent	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)

Quedar

Quedar(to meet [up with]) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	quedé	I met up with
tú	quedaste	you met up with	informal singular you
vos	quedaste	you met up with	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	quedó	he, she met up with
usted	quedó	you met up with	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	quedamos	we met up with
vosotros, vosotras	quedasteis	you met up with	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	quedaron	they met up with
ustedes	quedaron	you met up with	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Recorrer

Recorrer(to travel around) is an -er verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	recorrí	I traveled around
tú	recorriste	you traveled around	informal singular you
vos	recorriste	you traveled around	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	recorrió	he, she traveled around
usted	recorrió	you traveled around	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	recorrimos	we traveled around
vosotros, vosotras	recorristeis	you traveled around	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	recorrieron	they traveled around
ustedes	recorrieron	you traveled around	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Sorprender

Sorprender(to surprise) is an -er verb that is regular in the preterite.

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

In this case, of course, the subject is the thing that surprises you, while the person that is surprised is expressed via indirect object.

This table refers to being surprised by a singular thing. If the thing that is being referred to is plural, use sorprendieron.

Conjugation	Translation	Notes
me sorprendió	it surprised me
te sorprendió	it surprised you	informal singular you
te sorprendió	it surprised you	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
le sorprendió	it surprised him/her
le sorprendió	it surprised you	formal singular you
nos sorprendió	it surprised us
os sorprendió	it surprised you	informal plural you (in Spain)
les sorprendió	it surprised them
les sorprendió	it surprised you	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Tener

Tener(to have) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," te, changes to tuv in all forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	tuve	I had
tú	tuviste	you had	informal singular you
vos	tuviste	you had	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	tuvo	he, she had
usted	tuvo	you had	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	tuvimos	we had
vosotros, vosotras	tuvisteis	you had	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	tuvieron	they had
ustedes	tuvieron	you had	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

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

Tocar

Tocar(to play [an instrument]) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	toqué	I played
tú	tocaste	you played	informal singular you
vos	tocaste	you played	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	tocó	he, she played
usted	tocó	you played	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	tocamos	we played
vosotros, vosotras	tocasteis	you played	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	tocaron	they played
ustedes	tocaron	you played	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Tocar also means to touch. It’s important to remember that, in Spanish, you don’t jugar an instrument—you tocar an instrument!

Tomar

Tomar(to have [a food or drink]) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

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

Volar

Volar(to fly) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	volé	I flew
tú	volaste	you flew	informal singular you
vos	volaste	you flew	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	voló	he, she flew
usted	voló	you flew	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	volamos	we flew
vosotros, vosotras	volasteis	you flew	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	volaron	they flew
ustedes	volaron	you flew	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

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: