Recursio
Lesson 52. Where things are: al lado de
10 words in this lesson
Tap 🔊 and repeat out loud. These words come back in the dialogue and the exercises below.
al lado de, delante de, encima de…
Where? Estar + place
To say where something is, use estar (lesson 14): ¿Dónde está el banco? — Está enfrente del parque.
Words for place
| al lado de | next to |
| delante de | in front of |
| detrás de | behind |
| enfrente de | opposite, across from |
| encima de | on, on top of |
| debajo de | under |
| entre … y … | between … and … |
Almost all of them end in de, and de + el becomes del: enfrente del parque, al lado del banco. With la nothing merges: al lado de la cocina.
Entre has no de: entre la cocina y el dormitorio.
Delante de or enfrente de
Delante de means “in front of”: El coche está delante de la casa. Enfrente de often highlights that things face each other, for example across a street: El banco está enfrente del parque. The two expressions can overlap; the street and house examples help show the usual difference.
Rooms
la cocina — kitchen, el salón — living room, el dormitorio — bedroom, el baño — bathroom (lesson 42). In some Latin American countries the living room is la sala.
El baño está al lado de la cocina. — The bathroom is next to the kitchen.
Las llaves están encima de la mesa. — The keys are on the table.
El banco está enfrente del parque. — The bank is across from the park.
El coche está delante de la casa. — The car is in front of the house.
Las gafas están debajo de la mesa. — The glasses are under the table.
Dialogue
Listen to each line and repeat it. Try to understand it before you look at the translation.
Lucía Javier, estoy en tu casa. ¿Dónde pongo el paquete? Javier, I'm at your place. Where shall I put the parcel?
Javier En el salón, encima de la mesa. In the living room, on the table.
Lucía ¿El salón está al lado de la cocina? Is the living room next to the kitchen?
Javier Sí. Y el baño está entre la cocina y el dormitorio. Yes. And the bathroom is between the kitchen and the bedroom.
Lucía Muy bien. ¿Y las llaves? ¿Dónde las pongo? OK. And the keys? Where shall I put them?
Javier Hay una caja detrás de la puerta. There's a box behind the door.
Lucía ¿La caja azul? The blue box?
Javier Sí, esa. ¡Gracias, Lucía! Yes, that one. Thanks, Lucía!
Check yourself
Listen. What did you hear?
1. How do you say “The keys are on the table”?
2. How do you say “The bank is across from the park”?
3. How do you say “The car is in front of the house”?
4. How do you say “The bathroom is between the kitchen and the bedroom”?
Match each word with its translation
Build the sentence: “The bathroom is next to the kitchen”
Build the sentence: “The keys are on the table”
What you can do now
- Say where something is: Las llaves están encima de la mesa.
- Describe a home: El baño está al lado de la cocina.
- Describe a street: El banco está enfrente del parque.
- Say between: entre la cocina y el dormitorio
Key phrases of the lesson:
El baño está al lado de la cocina.
Las llaves están encima de la mesa.
El banco está enfrente del parque.
Day 52 of 100. Next up: the following lesson.
Lesson 53. Come here! Ven, mira →The course is the first step. Next comes the Recursio app: short daily practice with spaced review.