Home & Neighbourhood

Spanish Basic Conversation 2

Chapter 5 · Your Home & Neighbourhood

🏠 Your Home & Neighbourhood — Tu casa y tu barrio

This chapter covers describing where you live: the rooms and furniture in a flat, the shops and places in a neighbourhood, and the basics of renting. The new grammar is hay against estar, prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de, al lado de) and a first look at direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las). It adds vivir, alquilar and poner. Each dialog has a Hard words note; the respelling is in the tables.

① Where Do You Live? (formal) — ¿Dónde vive?

A: Perdone, ¿dónde vive usted? Excuse me, where do you live?

B: Vivo en un piso en el centro, cerca de la plaza Mayor. I live in a flat in the centre, near the Plaza Mayor.

A: ¿Cuántas habitaciones tiene? How many rooms does it have?

B: Tiene tres: dos dormitorios y un salón. También hay una cocina pequeña. It has three: two bedrooms and a living room. There's also a small kitchen.

Hard words: vivir (to live), el dormitorio (bedroom), el salón (living room), la cocina (kitchen), también (also).

② Your Flat (informal) — Mi piso nuevo

A: ¿Cómo es tu piso nuevo? What's your new flat like?

B: Es pequeño, pero tiene un balcón. Hay un parque muy cerca. It's small, but it has a balcony. There's a park very near.

A: ¿Y hay tiendas en el barrio? And are there shops in the neighbourhood?

B: Sí, hay un supermercado y una panadería. El metro está a cinco minutos. Yes, there's a supermarket and a bakery. The metro is five minutes away.

Hard words: el balcón, el barrio (neighbourhood), el supermercado, la panadería (bakery), a cinco minutos (five minutes away).

③ Where Is It? — Está al lado de…

A: ¿Dónde está el baño? Where is the bathroom?

B: Está al lado del dormitorio, enfrente de la cocina. It's next to the bedroom, opposite the kitchen.

A: ¿Y dónde está la lavadora? And where is the washing machine?

B: Está en la cocina, debajo de la ventana. It's in the kitchen, under the window.

Hard words: al lado de (next to), enfrente de (opposite), debajo de (under), la lavadora (washing machine), la ventana (window).

④ Furniture (informal) — ¿Dónde pongo la mesa?

A: ¿Dónde pongo la mesa? Where shall I put the table?

B: La pones aquí, delante de la ventana. You put it here, in front of the window.

A: ¿Y las sillas? And the chairs?

B: Las pones alrededor de la mesa. El sofá lo ponemos al fondo. You put them around the table. We put the sofa at the back.

Hard words: poner (to put), la mesa, las sillas (chairs), el sofá, delante de (in front of), alrededor de (around), al fondo (at the back).

⑤ Renting (formal) — El alquiler

A: Buenos días. Quisiera alquilar un piso de dos dormitorios. Good morning. I'd like to rent a two-bedroom flat.

B: Tenemos uno en el centro. Cuesta ochocientos euros al mes. We have one in the centre. It costs 800 euros a month.

A: ¿Están incluidos los gastos? Are the bills included?

B: No. Los gastos van aparte. No. The bills are separate.

Hard words: alquilar (to rent), el alquiler (the rent), al mes (a month), los gastos (bills, running costs), aparte (separate), van aparte (are charged separately; set phrase for now).

⑥ Flatmates (casual) — Compartimos piso

A: ¿Vives solo o compartes piso? Do you live alone or share a flat?

B: Comparto piso con dos compañeros. I share a flat with two flatmates.

A: ¿Y qué tal el barrio? And how's the neighbourhood?

B: Está genial. Hay bares y tiendas, pero es tranquilo. It's great. There are bars and shops, but it's quiet.

Hard words: compartir (to share), el compañero / la compañera de piso (flatmate), solo/a (alone), ¿qué tal? (how is it?).

🗣️ Key Phrases — Frases clave

English	Formal (usted)	Informal (tú)
Where do you live?	¿Dónde vive usted? DOHN-deh BEE-beh oos-TEHD	¿Dónde vives? DOHN-deh BEE-behs
I live in a flat in the centre.	Vivo en un piso en el centro. BEE-boh ehn oon PEE-soh ehn ehl THEHN-troh
Is there a park near here?	¿Hay un parque cerca de aquí? AY oon PAR-keh THEHR-kah deh ah-KEE
Where is the kitchen?	¿Dónde está la cocina? DOHN-deh ehs-TAH lah koh-THEE-nah
I'd like to rent a flat.	Quisiera alquilar un piso. kee-SYEH-rah ahl-kee-LAR oon PEE-soh

🛋️ Rooms, Furniture and the Neighbourhood

Rooms	Furniture and things	Neighbourhood
el salón ehl sah-LOHN (living room) la cocina lah koh-THEE-nah (kitchen) el dormitorio ehl dor-mee-TOH-ryoh (bedroom) el baño ehl BAH-nyoh (bathroom) el balcón ehl bahl-KOHN (balcony)	la mesa lah MEH-sah (table) la silla lah SEE-yah (chair) el sofá ehl soh-FAH (sofa) la cama lah KAH-mah (bed) el armario ehl ar-MAH-ryoh (wardrobe)	la calle lah KAH-yeh (street) la plaza lah PLAH-thah (square) el parque ehl PAR-keh (park) el supermercado ehl soo-pehr-mehr-KAH-doh (supermarket) la panadería lah pah-nah-deh-REE-ah (bakery)

📍 Hay or Estar? — Existence or Location

hay: something exists / is there	estar: where a known thing is
Hay un parque cerca. (There is a park near.) Hay dos dormitorios. (There are two bedrooms.) ¿Hay un supermercado aquí? (Is there a supermarket here?)	El parque está cerca. (The park is near.) Los dormitorios están al fondo. (The bedrooms are at the back.) ¿Dónde está el supermercado? (Where is the supermarket?)

Hay + a/some; Estar + the Hay introduces something new, with un, una, unos, unas, dos, mucho or no article: Hay una cocina grande. It never changes for plural (hay is the same for one or many). Estar says where something you already know about is, with el, la, los, las, a name or mi, tu: La cocina está al fondo. Quick test: a, some or a number → hay; the, my or a name → está. You first met this in Spanish Basic Conversation 1 10; the full contrast is in Spanish Grammar 2 4.

Prepositions of place

Spanish	Say it	English
en	ehn	in, on, at
encima de / debajo de	ehn-THEE-mah deh / deh-BAH-khoh deh	on top of / under
delante de / detrás de	deh-LAHN-teh deh / deh-TRAHS deh	in front of / behind
al lado de	ahl LAH-doh deh	next to
entre	EHN-treh	between
cerca de / lejos de	THEHR-kah deh / LEH-khohs deh	near / far from
enfrente de	ehn-FREHN-teh deh	opposite

Remember that de + el = del (al lado del banco) and a + el = al (Spanish Basic Conversation 1 10).

A first look at "it" and "them": lo, la, los, las

Instead of…	Use	Example
el sofá (masc. singular)	lo	El sofá lo ponemos al fondo. (We put the sofa at the back.)
la mesa (fem. singular)	la	La mesa la pones aquí. (You put the table here.)
los libros (masc. plural)	los	Los libros los pongo en el armario. (I put the books in the wardrobe.)
las sillas (fem. plural)	las	Las sillas las ponemos alrededor. (We put the chairs around.)

Lo, La, Los, Las: "It / Them" The words lo, la, los, las replace a thing already mentioned and match its gender and number. They go before the conjugated verb: La pones aquí, Lo quiero. In the dialogs the thing is repeated at the start for emphasis (La mesa la pones aquí); you may also hear just La pones aquí. You have already met the idea in Me lo llevo (Spanish Basic Conversation 1 9). The full system is in Spanish Grammar 2 9.

🔤 Verbs — Vivir, alquilar, poner

Vivir ("to live") is a regular -ir verb and alquilar ("to rent") a regular -ar verb (Spanish Basic Conversation 1 6). Poner ("to put, to place") is regular except for yo pongo.

	vivir (to live)	alquilar (to rent)	poner (to put)
yo (I)	vivo BEE-boh	alquilo ahl-KEE-loh	pongo POHN-goh
tú (you, informal)	vives BEE-behs	alquilas ahl-KEE-lahs	pones POH-nehs
él, ella, usted	vive BEE-beh	alquila ahl-KEE-lah	pone POH-neh
nosotros (we)	vivimos bee-BEE-mohs	alquilamos ahl-kee-LAH-mohs	ponemos poh-NEH-mohs
vosotros (Spain)	vivís bee-BEES	alquiláis ahl-kee-LAHYS	ponéis poh-NAYS
ellos, ellas, ustedes	viven BEE-behn	alquilan ahl-KEE-lahn	ponen POH-nehn

📖 Vocabulary — Vocabulario

20 key words. Read the Spanish first, then check the respelling (CAPITALS = the stressed syllable).

#	Spanish	Say it	English	Type
1	el piso	ehl PEE-soh	flat	noun
2	la casa	lah KAH-sah	house; home	noun
3	el barrio	ehl BAH-rryoh	neighbourhood	noun
4	el salón	ehl sah-LOHN	living room	noun
5	la cocina	lah koh-THEE-nah	kitchen	noun
6	el dormitorio	ehl dor-mee-TOH-ryoh	bedroom	noun
7	la ventana	lah behn-TAH-nah	window	noun
8	la mesa	lah MEH-sah	table	noun
9	la silla	lah SEE-yah	chair	noun
10	la cama	lah KAH-mah	bed	noun
11	el alquiler	ehl ahl-kee-LEHR	rent	noun
12	los gastos	lohs GAHS-tohs	bills, running costs	noun
13	el compañero de piso	ehl kohm-pah-NYEH-roh deh PEE-soh	flatmate	noun
14	vivir	bee-BEER	to live	verb
15	alquilar	ahl-kee-LAR	to rent	verb
16	poner	poh-NEHR	to put	verb
17	compartir	kohm-par-TEER	to share	verb
18	hay	AY	there is / there are	verb
19	encima de / debajo de	ehn-THEE-mah deh / deh-BAH-khoh deh	on top of / under	prep
20	al lado de / enfrente de	ahl LAH-doh deh / ehn-FREHN-teh deh	next to / opposite	prep

Renting in Spain: a Few Words El alquiler is the rent and the act of renting; alquilar is the verb. You will also hear el casero / la casera (landlord), el inquilino (tenant), la fianza (deposit) and los gastos (bills), and it is worth asking whether the bills are included (¿Están incluidos los gastos?). Sharing a flat (compartir piso) is common among students and young workers. Contracts and amounts vary, so this is only a vocabulary outline.

Habitación, Piso, Casa A piso is a flat in a building, a casa is a house (or "home": en casa), and a habitación can be any room or specifically a bedroom, so un piso de tres habitaciones is a flat with three rooms. Dormitorio is clearly "bedroom". In Spain the salón is the usual word for the living room.

Latin America Note For "flat" many Latin American countries say departamento or apartamento instead of piso, and sala is a common word for "living room" in some countries. Instead of vosotros, ¿Dónde viven? (ustedes) is used, and the words for furniture and rooms vary by country.

Grammar Pointer Hay against estar and the irregular yo forms (pongo) are explained in Spanish Grammar 2 4, lo, la, los, las in Spanish Grammar 2 9, and the prepositions of place in Spanish Grammar 2 10. Use them as a reference after this chapter.

✍️ Try It Yourself — Ejercicios

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Say: "I live in a small flat near the park. It has two bedrooms."

Show answer

Vivo en un piso pequeño cerca del parque. Tiene dos dormitorios. (de + el = del.)

2. Complete with hay or está: "___ una panadería en el barrio." · "La panadería ___ al lado del banco." · "¿___ un parque cerca?" · "¿Dónde ___ el baño?"

Show answer

Hay · está · Hay · está. (A, some or a question about existence: hay; "the" and where: está.)

3. Say where things are: the book is on the table; the bag is under the chair; the sofa is next to the window.

Show answer

El libro está encima de la mesa. El bolso está debajo de la silla. El sofá está al lado de la ventana. (En la mesa is also common for "on the table".)

4. Replace the noun with lo, la, los or las: "Pongo la mesa aquí." · "Ponemos el sofá allí." · "Pones las sillas allí."

Show answer

La pongo aquí. · Lo ponemos allí. · Las pones allí.

5. You want to rent a two-bedroom flat in the centre. Ask the price and whether the bills are included.

Show answer

Quisiera alquilar un piso de dos dormitorios en el centro. ¿Cuánto cuesta al mes? ¿Están incluidos los gastos?

6. Describe your home or your neighbourhood in three sentences, using hay, está and one preposition of place.

Show an example

Vivo en un piso en Edimburgo. Hay un salón, una cocina y dos dormitorios. El supermercado está al lado de mi casa.

Coming Up in Chapter 6 Weather and seasons: hace sol, hace frío, llueve, nieva, el tiempo, the seasons, regional climates, and por qué / porque.