¡Hola! Welcome! Today we will learn how to read and understand short stories in Spanish by looking for clues.
Reading in a new language is like being a detective. You do not need to know every single word to understand the main story.
First, look for cognates, which are words that look and mean the same in both languages. For example, 'perfecto (perfect)' and 'familia (family)' are easy clues.
Next, use the context of the sentence to guess new words. If a character is eating 'una manzana (an apple)', the verb 'comer (to eat)' makes perfect sense.
✏️ Worked example
Read this short passage and find out what Sofia is doing on Sunday: 'El domingo (Sunday), Sofía camina en el parque (park) con su perro (dog) blanco. Ella está muy feliz (happy).'
Identify the time word: 'El domingo' means Sunday.
Look for cognates: 'parque' looks like park, and 'Sofía' is a name.
Find the action verb: 'camina' comes from 'caminar', which means to walk.
Identify the companion: 'con su perro blanco' means with her white dog.
Combine your clues: Sofia is walking in the park with her white dog on Sunday.
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