Visit the Panama Canal in Spanish

Quick Answer

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

• talk about the Panama Canal

• use vocabulary related to international trade and shipping

• use the passive voice and passive se

Vocabulary

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

Adjectives

Spanish	English
ambiental	environmental
estricto	strict
interesado	interested
marítimo	maritime
monumental	monumental

examples
Se implementaron medidas de conservación ambiental. Environmental conservation measures were implemented.
Se mantienen estrictas normas de seguridad. Strict safety rules are maintained.
Se ofrecen tours para visitantes interesados. Tours are offered for interested visitors.

Adverb

Spanish	English
meticulosamente	meticulously

examples
El canal de Panamá fue construido meticulosamente. The Panama Canal was meticulously built.

Nouns

Spanish	English
la ampliación	expansion
el aniversario	anniversary
el canal	canal
la distancia	distance
la esclusa	lock
la expansión	expansion
el flujo	flow
la ingeniería	engineering
el ingreso	revenue, income
la medida	measure

examples
La ampliación fue realizada recientemente. The expansion was carried out recently.
Se celebra su aniversario cada año. Its anniversary is celebrated every year.
Con él, se reducen distancias marítimas. With it, maritime distances are reduced.

Prepositional Phrase

Spanish	English
a través de	through

examples
Se unen océanos a través de este canal. Oceans are connected through this canal.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Spanish Infinitive	English	Past Participle
controlar	to control	controlado
emplear	to employ	empleado
generar	to generate	generado
reducir	to reduce	reducido
transferir	to transfer	transferido

The Passive Voice and the Passive Se in Spanish

• In sentences written in the active voice, the doer of an action is the subject.

• In sentences written in the passive voice, the receiver of an action is the subject.

In Spanish, the passive voice is generally used to talk about a person or object without making mention of whoever or whatever is performing the action on that person or object.

There are two ways of using the passive voice in Spanish: passive se constructions and—like in English—passives with ser(to be).

Passive se constructions are one way of using the passive voice in Spanish. Only transitive verbs (verbs that require a direct object) are used in passive se constructions.

Passive Voice Formula

In sentences in passive voice, the receiver of an action gets moved to the subject position. This is often done to move the focus from the doer to whatever it is that was done.

The following formulas are used to create the passive voice:

1. The Passive With Ser

The passive with ser is:

• ser + past participle (+ por[by] + agent)

Note that, like in English passives, we can mention who performed the action. To do so, we use the structure por + agent after the past participle.

For example:

examples
Las operaciones fueron modernizadas con tecnología. The operations were modernized with technology.
La expansión fue completada en 2016. The expansion was completed in 2016.

Gender and Number Agreement

The past participle in passive sentences must agree in gender and number with the subject of the passive sentence.

examples
Las operaciones fueron modernizadas con tecnología. The operations were modernized with technology.
La expansión fue completada en 2016. The expansion was completed in 2016.

2. Passive Se Formula

The passive se is always formed using the third person singular or plural of a verb. If whatever you're talking about is singular, the verb is singular; if whatever you're talking about is plural, the verb is plural:

• se + third person (singular/plural) verb + (singular/plural) noun

For example:

examples
Se implementaron medidas de conservación ambiental. Environmental conservation measures were implemented.
Se observan barcos de todo el mundo. Ships from around the world are seen.

You can learn more about the passive voice and passive se in these articles:

• Active vs. Passive Voice

• Passive "Se" in Spanish

Translation Alert

Note that both the passive voice and passive se are translated into English using the English passive voice. For example:

examples
Se preserva la biodiversidad en el área. The area's biodiversity is preserved.
La biodiversidad en el área es preservada. The area's biodiversity is preserved.
El control fue transferido a Panamá en 1999. Control was transferred to Panama in 1999.
Se transfirió el control a Panamá en 1999. Control was transferred to Panama in 1999.

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.

Isabella:

No sé mucho sobre el canal de Panamá. ¿Sabes algo de él?

I don't know much about the Panama Canal. Do you know anything about it?

Antonio:

Sí. Mi madre trabajó en la expansión. Es ingeniera. La expansión fue completada en 2016.

Yes. My mom worked on the expansion. She’s an engineer. The expansion was completed in 2016.

Isabella:

Interesante. ¿Qué se logró con el canal?

Interesting. What was achieved with the canal?

Antonio:

Bueno. El turismo fue fomentado por el canal y miles de panameños fueron empleados.

Well. Tourism was boosted by the canal, and thousands of Panamanians were employed.

Isabella:

Pero, es para barcos grandes, ¿verdad?

But it’s for big ships, isn’t it?

Antonio:

Sí, y las rutas comerciales fueron transformadas por él.

Yes, and trade routes were transformed by it.

Want to learn more about how to visit the Panamal Canal in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• Visit Panama City

• Passive "Se" in Spanish

• The Spookiest Latin American Monsters and Legends