Home & Local Area
La casa y mi zona
⏱ 45-60 minWhat you'll learn
- ✓ Describe your home and its rooms
- ✓ Talk about your local area and what there is to do
- ✓ Use hay (there is/are) and estar for locations
- ✓ Express opinions about where you live
- ✓ Compare life in the city vs countryside
Grammar Focus
Essential grammar for this topic with exam tips and links to full explanations.
Hay vs Estar for location
Use "hay" (there is/are) to say something exists. Use "estar" to say where something specific is located.
Examples:
Hay un parque cerca
There is a park nearby
En mi barrio hay muchas tiendas
In my neighbourhood there are many shops
El banco está en la plaza
The bank is in the square
Mi casa está en las afueras
My house is on the outskirts
⚠️Exam tip: Hay = existence (a/some), Estar = specific location (the/my)
Learn more about Ser Vs Estar →Prepositions of place
Use these to describe where things are located.
Examples:
al lado de / junto a
next to
enfrente de / delante de
opposite / in front of
detrás de
behind
entre... y...
between... and...
cerca de / lejos de
near / far from
⚠️Exam tip: Remember: de + el = del (cerca DEL parque, not "de el")
Lo bueno/malo es que...
HigherUse this structure to give balanced opinions about your area.
Examples:
Lo bueno es que hay mucho que hacer
The good thing is there's lots to do
Lo malo es que es muy ruidoso
The bad thing is it's very noisy
Lo mejor de mi barrio es el parque
The best thing about my area is the park
Lo peor es la contaminación
The worst thing is the pollution
⚠️Exam tip: Using "lo bueno/malo/mejor/peor" shows sophisticated opinion structure!
Imperfect for describing childhood home
HigherUse imperfect to describe what your home or area was like in the past.
Examples:
Antes vivía en un piso pequeño
I used to live in a small flat
Mi habitación era muy pequeña
My room was very small
Había más tiendas
There used to be more shops
⚠️Exam tip: Mixing present and imperfect shows you can use multiple tenses!
Learn more about Imperfect Tense →🔗 Key Verbs for this Topic
Quick Reference
Hay vs Estar
Use hay for existence (there is/are), use estar for specific locations of known things.
Hay un parque cerca de mi casaThere is a park near my house
El parque está al lado del colegioThe park is next to the school
Verb Conjugation Tables
vivir
| yo | vivo |
| tú | vives |
| él/ella | vive |
| nosotros | vivimos |
| vosotros | vivís |
| ellos/ellas | viven |
estar
| yo | estoy |
| tú | estás |
| él/ella | está |
| nosotros | estamos |
| vosotros | estáis |
| ellos/ellas | están |