Spanish Unit 7 Vocab Guide

Learning objectives

By the end of this guide you will be able to:

• Translate every Unit 7 word in both directions, English to Spanish and Spanish to English
• Spot a sentence and instantly know whether it wants the imperfect or the preterite
• Conjugate any regular verb in the imperfect, plus the three irregulars (ser, ir, ver)
• Apply the right spelling change to preterite yo forms of buscar, tocar, sacar, llegar, gozar, leer, caer, oír, construir
• Apply the e→i and o→u stem change to the third-person preterite of dormir, pedir, sentirse, reírse, mentir

TL;DR

Unit 7 is La Niñez (childhood). You need to memorize 36 vocabulary words split into four groups (time markers, nouns, adjectives, verbs), plus three grammar patterns (imperfect endings, preterite spelling changes, preterite stem changes). Every quiz question, flashcard, and self-test in this guide is English prompt → Spanish answer, so you practice the harder direction.

Unit overview

Time markers for the imperfect

The imperfect tense (full grammar in §8) describes habitual or repeated actions in the past. These 12 phrases are the giveaway that a sentence wants the imperfect.

English	Spanish
many times	muchas veces
always	siempre
on Mondays	los lunes
on Saturday nights	los sábados por la noche
on weekends	los fines de semana
every day	cada día / todos los días
sometimes	algunas veces
once in a while	de vez en cuando
frequently, often	a menudo
rarely	rara vez
generally	por lo general / generalmente
while	mientras

Order these from least to most often

Shuffle Check

Drag to put them in order, rarest at top.

• a menudo
• rara vez
• de vez en cuando
• siempre
• algunas veces

Match each English phrase to its Spanish 0 / 5 matched

Terms

whileon weekendsrarelyonce in a whileevery day

Definitions

los fines de semanatodos los díasmientrasrara vezde vez en cuando

Palabras de la niñez

The 8 nouns. Note the article: every Spanish noun has a gender. Memorize the el or la with the word, not separately.

English	Spanish
childhood	la infancia / la niñez
toy	el juguete
action figure / doll	el muñeco / la muñeca
playground	el patio de recreo
neighborhood	el vecindario / el barrio
cartoons	los dibujos animados
story	el cuento
nap	la siesta

Match the English noun to its Spanish 0 / 5 matched

Terms

napcartoonsstoryneighborhoodplayground

Definitions

el vecindariola siestael patio de recreolos dibujos animadosel cuento

Adjectives

The 10 personality adjectives. Most end in -o/a and must agree with the noun’s gender. A few end in -e or a consonant and don’t change.

English	Spanish	Agreement
mischievous	travieso/a	-o/-a
obedient	obediente	unchanged
disobedient	desobediente	unchanged
spoiled	consentido/a, mimado/a	-o/-a
shy	tímido/a	-o/-a
sociable	sociable	unchanged
affectionate	cariñoso/a	-o/-a
curious	curioso/a	-o/-a
well-behaved	bien educado/a	-o/-a
rude	maleducado/a	-o/-a

Match the English adjective to its Spanish 0 / 5 matched

Terms

well-behavedaffectionaterudeshymischievous

Definitions

tímidocariñosomaleducadobien educadotravieso

Verbs

The 6 main verbs from this unit.

English	Spanish	Notes
to obey	obedecer	regular -er
to bother	molestar	conjugates like gustar (see callout below)
to fight	pelearse	reflexive
to behave well/badly	portarse bien/mal	reflexive, takes bien or mal
to enjoy	disfrutar	regular -ar
to collect	coleccionar	regular -ar

Grammar 1: The imperfect tense

Use the imperfect when something happened repeatedly, was ongoing, or sets the scene in the past. Translation hints: “used to ___,” “would ___,” “was ___-ing.”

Cuando era niño, jugaba con mis muñecos todos los días. When I was a child, I used to play with my dolls every day.

Regular -ar endings

Pronoun	Ending	jugar (to play)
yo	-aba	jugaba
tú	-abas	jugabas
él / ella / usted	-aba	jugaba
nosotros	-ábamos	jugábamos
vosotros	-abais	jugabais
ellos / ustedes	-aban	jugaban

Regular -er and -ir endings (identical to each other)

Pronoun	Ending	comer (to eat)
yo	-ía	comía
tú	-ías	comías
él / ella / usted	-ía	comía
nosotros	-íamos	comíamos
vosotros	-íais	comíais
ellos / ustedes	-ían	comían

Back

Next

Grammar 2: Spelling-change preterite verbs (yo form)

Nine verbs from the unit change only in the yo form of the preterite, to keep the original sound.

Verb	Change	yo form
buscar (to look for)	c → qu	busqué
tocar (to play instrument)	c → qu	toqué
sacar (to take out / get a grade)	c → qu	saqué
llegar (to arrive)	g → gu	llegué
gozar (to enjoy)	z → c	gocé
leer (to read)	i → y in 3rd person	leí, leyó, leyeron
caer (to fall)	i → y in 3rd person	caí, cayó, cayeron
oír (to hear)	i → y in 3rd person	oí, oyó, oyeron
construir (to build)	i → y in 3rd person	construí, construyó, construyeron

Back

Next

Grammar 3: Stem-changing preterite verbs (3rd person)

Five verbs from the unit change their stem vowel in the third-person singular and plural of the preterite.

Verb	Stem change	él / ella / usted	ellos / ustedes
dormir (to sleep)	o → u	durmió	durmieron
pedir (to ask for)	e → i	pidió	pidieron
sentirse (to feel)	e → i	se sintió	se sintieron
reírse (to laugh)	e → i	se rió	se rieron
mentir (to lie)	e → i	mintió	mintieron

Practice problems

Q Translate to Spanish: 'I used to play with my dolls every day.'

Yo jugaba con mis muñecas todos los días.

• “used to play” → jugaba (imperfect, repeated childhood action)
• “every day” → todos los días (a giveaway time marker for imperfect)
• “dolls” → muñecas (feminine plural)

Q Conjugate ser in the imperfect (all six forms).

era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran

Ser is one of only three irregular verbs in the imperfect (the others are ir and ver).

Q What spelling change does buscar undergo in the preterite yo form, and why?

c → qu, giving busqué.

Without the change, buscé would be pronounced “boos-SAY” (soft c before e). Changing to qu keeps the original “k” sound of buscar.

Q Translate to Spanish: 'He fell from the tree.'

Él se cayó del árbol.

Caer is reflexive when describing accidental falls (caerse), and the third-person preterite of caer is cayó (i→y change).

Q Why is molestar grammatically weird?

It conjugates like gustar. The thing that’s bothering is the subject; the person being bothered is the indirect object.

• Me molesta el ruido. = The noise bothers me. (literally: “to me, it bothers, the noise”)
• A mi hermano le molestan los lunes. = Mondays bother my brother.

The verb agrees with the THING, so it’s molesta for one thing or molestan for several.

Q Imperfect or preterite? 'Mientras yo leía, mi hermano dormía la siesta.'

Both verbs are imperfect (leía, dormía).

Mientras (while) is one of the unit’s imperfect time markers. Both actions are ongoing in the past, neither has a defined endpoint, so both stay imperfect.

Self-quiz

Fifteen English-prompt questions where you pick the correct Spanish answer.

Q

Self-quiz

0 of 15 answered

Reset

1. 01

   How do you say 'mischievous' (masculine)?

   A tímido B travieso C consentido D obediente
   Why: Travieso/a means mischievous. Tímido is shy, consentido is spoiled, obediente is obedient.
2. 02

   How do you say 'playground' in Spanish?

   A el barrio B el vecindario C el patio de recreo D los dibujos animados
   Why: El patio de recreo is playground. El barrio and el vecindario both mean neighborhood. Los dibujos animados are cartoons.
3. 03

   How do you say 'cartoons'?

   A los cuentos B los dibujos animados C los juguetes D las siestas
   Why: Los dibujos animados, literally 'the animated drawings.' Always plural.
4. 04

   What does 'maleducado' mean?

   A mischievous B shy C rude D spoiled
   Why: Maleducado/a means rude. The opposite of bien educado (well-behaved).
5. 05

   What does 'el vecindario' mean?

   A story B playground C neighborhood D neighbor
   Why: El vecindario is neighborhood. El barrio means the same thing.
6. 06

   What does 'cariñoso' mean?

   A curious B shy C spoiled D affectionate
   Why: Cariñoso/a means affectionate.
7. 07

   Which of these is feminine?

   A el cuento B el barrio C la siesta D el juguete
   Why: La siesta is feminine. The other three are masculine.
8. 08

   Pick the correct verb form: 'Yo ___ a menudo cuando era niño.' (jugar)

   A jugué B jugaba C juego D juegué
   Why: Jugaba (imperfect). The phrase 'a menudo' is an imperfect time marker, so the verb must be imperfect.
9. 09

   Pick the correct verb form: 'Ayer mi hermano ___ con sus juguetes.' (jugar)

   A jugaba B jugó C jugué D juegó
   Why: Jugó (preterite). 'Ayer' (yesterday) is a one-time, completed action, so the verb is preterite. There's no spelling change in the él form, only in yo: jugué.
10. 10

    What's the imperfect 'we' form (nosotros) of 'comer'?

    A comimos B comíamos C comemos D comieramos
    Why: Comíamos (note the accent on the í). The -er and -ir imperfect endings are -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.
11. 11

    What's the imperfect 'I' form of 'ser'?

    A fui B soy C era D iba
    Why: Era. Ser is one of the three irregulars in the imperfect: era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran. (Iba is the imperfect of ir.)
12. 12

    What's the yo form of 'tocar' in the preterite?

    A toqué B tocé C tocí D toco
    Why: Toqué. The c changes to qu before é to keep the hard 'k' sound.
13. 13

    What's the yo form of 'llegar' in the preterite?

    A llegé B lleggué C llegué D lleguí
    Why: Llegué. The g changes to gu before é to keep the hard 'g' sound.
14. 14

    What's the él/ella form of 'dormir' in the preterite?

    A dormió B durmió C dormí D duermió
    Why: Durmió. In the third person preterite of dormir, the o in the stem becomes u: durmió, durmieron.
15. 15

    What's the ellos form of 'pedir' in the preterite?

    A pedieron B pidieron C pidaron D pidiaron
    Why: Pidieron. The e becomes i in the third person preterite of pedir (and sentirse, reírse, mentir).

Vocab typing quiz

The English word appears, you type the Spanish. The quiz grades you, points out which letters were wrong, and shows the proper accents. Use the buttons under the input to type á é í ó ú ñ ü. Take it as many times as you want.

⌨ Unit 7 typing quiz (30 words) Q 1 / 30 Score 0

Type the Spanish for

...

Accents á é í ó ú ñ ü ¿ ¡ Clear

I don't know Submit (Enter)

Next →

Quiz complete

0 / 0

Try again (all) Drill the misses only

Flashcards

A 50-card deck. Front is English, back is Spanish, so you practice the harder direction. Sign in to drill with spaced repetition.

F

Unit 7 vocabulary deck

1 / 50 · browse mode

Sign up to save progress Shuffle

Front

many times

Back

muchas veces

Prev Click card to flip · ←/→ navigate Next

Again

<1m

Hard

1d

Good

3d

Easy

7d

Ratings schedule next review · view all due cards

Mnemonics

“SIV” for the three irregulars in the imperfect: Ser, Ir, Ver. Every other Spanish verb is regular in the imperfect.

“Hard sounds want hard friends” for spelling-change preterites:

• C wants to stay hard “k”, so before -é it becomes qu (toqué, busqué, saqué)
• G wants to stay hard “g”, so before -é it becomes gu (llegué)
• Z can never sit before -e, so it becomes c (gocé)

“OUI” for stem-change preterites:

• O becomes U (dormir → durmió)
• E becomes I (pedir → pidió, sentirse → sintió, reírse → rió, mentir → mintió)

Only the third person changes. yo/tú/nosotros stay the same.

Common pitfalls

• Forgetting the accent on -íamos / -íais. The imperfect of comer (we form) is comíamos, not “comiamos.” The accent flips the stress to the í.
• Picking preterite when the time marker says imperfect. “Cada día” or “siempre” or “mientras” almost always means imperfect, even if the action seems “completed.”
• Treating molestar like other -ar verbs. It’s gustar’s twin. “I bother him” = Le molesto a él is wrong. Correct: A él le molesto.
• Saying muñeca for action figure. La muñeca is a girl’s doll. El muñeco is what you use for action figures or boy dolls.
• Spelling dibujos animado (singular). Always plural: dibujos animados.
• Adjective agreement for plural feminine. Las niñas son cariñosas (not cariñoso). The adjective takes -a AND -s.
• Confusing leyó with leía. Leyó is preterite (he read, one time). Leía is imperfect (he used to read / was reading).

Cheat sheet

Time markers (imperfect signals)

Spanish	English
muchas veces	many times
siempre	always
los lunes / los sábados por la noche / los fines de semana	on Mondays / Saturday nights / weekends
cada día / todos los días	every day
algunas veces	sometimes
de vez en cuando	once in a while
a menudo	frequently
rara vez	rarely
por lo general / generalmente	generally
mientras	while

Childhood nouns

Spanish	English
la infancia / la niñez	childhood
el juguete	toy
el muñeco / la muñeca	action figure / doll
el patio de recreo	playground
el vecindario / el barrio	neighborhood
los dibujos animados	cartoons
el cuento	story
la siesta	nap

Adjectives

Spanish	English
travieso/a	mischievous
obediente / desobediente	obedient / disobedient
consentido/a, mimado/a	spoiled
tímido/a	shy
sociable	sociable
cariñoso/a	affectionate
curioso/a	curious
bien educado/a	well-behaved
maleducado/a	rude

Verbs

Spanish	English
obedecer	to obey
molestar (gustar pattern)	to bother
pelearse	to fight
portarse bien/mal	to behave well/badly
disfrutar	to enjoy
coleccionar	to collect

Imperfect endings (memorize)

	-ar	-er / -ir
yo	-aba	-ía
tú	-abas	-ías
él/ella/usted	-aba	-ía
nosotros	-ábamos	-íamos
vosotros	-abais	-íais
ellos/ustedes	-aban	-ían

Irregulars: ser (era…), ir (iba…), ver (veía…).

Preterite spelling changes (yo form)

Verb	Change	yo
buscar, tocar, sacar	c → qu	busqué, toqué, saqué
llegar	g → gu	llegué
gozar	z → c	gocé
leer, caer, oír, construir	i → y in 3rd person	leyó, cayó, oyó, construyó

Preterite stem changes (3rd person only)

Verb	Change	él/ella	ellos
dormir	o → u	durmió	durmieron
pedir, sentirse, reírse, mentir	e → i	pidió, sintió, rió, mintió	pidieron, sintieron, rieron, mintieron

Study session

Use the floating timer in the bottom-left of the page. Twenty-five minute blocks work well for vocabulary: drill the flashcards in one block, then take the quiz in another, then review what you missed.

¡Buena suerte!

---