The sea, the river and the land
Spain has mountains, forests and beaches — and a lot of coast. Three new nouns describe the landscape: el mar (the sea), el río (the river) and la tierra (the land, the soil). A city on the sea usually has un puerto (a port).
| The sea is very cold today. | El mar está muy frío hoy. |
| The village has a very pretty river. | El pueblo tiene un río muy bonito. |
| I work at the port. | Trabajo en el puerto. |
The capital
La capital is the capital city. To say the capital of a country, use de:
| Madrid is the capital of Spain. | Madrid es la capital de España. |
| What is the capital of France? | ¿Cuál es la capital de Francia? |
North, south, east and west
The four points of the compass are masculine nouns and always take el:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el norte | the north |
| el sur | the south |
| el este | the east |
| el oeste | the west |
To say where something is, use estar en el + the compass point. To name the part of a country, add de: el norte de España.
| The city is in the east. | La ciudad está en el este. |
| The north of Spain is very green. | El norte de España es muy verde. |
| Do you live in the east or in the west? | ¿Vives en el este o en el oeste? |
Notice that en el never contracts — only a + el (al) and de + el (del) do:
| My grandmother lives in the north. | Mi abuela vive en el norte. |
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