The Spanish reading room
One sentence of «Las medias de los flamencos»
Hoy es el gran baile de las víboras, y si nos ponemos esas medias, las víboras de coral se van a enamorar de nosotros.
Today is the snakes' great ball, and if we put on those stockings, the coral snakes will fall in love with us.”
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
—¡Buenas noches, lechuza!
“Good evening, owl!
Venimos a pedirte las medias coloradas, blancas y negras.
We have come to ask you for the red, white and black stockings.
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Hoy | hoy | today (adv.) |
| es | ser | to be — what a thing IS, against estar, how it is right now (v.) |
| el | el | the (def. art., m.) |
| gran | grande | big, great (adj.) |
| baile | baile | dance, ball (n., m.) |
| de | de | of, from (prep.) |
| víboras | víbora | snake, viper (n., f.) |
| y | y | and (conj.) |
| si | si | if (conj.) |
| nos | nos | us, to us (pron.) |
| ponemos | poner | to put, place; ponerse — to put on, become (v.) |
| esas | ese | that, that one (dem. adj./pron.) |
| medias | media | stocking (n., f.) |
| coral | coral | coral; víbora de coral — coral snake (n., m.) |
| se | se | himself, herself, themselves (reflexive); stands in for le before lo/la (se la dieron — they gave it to her); one, people (se ve — one sees) (pron.) |
| van | ir | to go (v.) — its preterite fue, fui, fueron is shared with ser, to be, so «se fue» is «he went» and «fue una noche larga» is «it was a long night» |
| a | a | to; at; on (prep.) |
| enamorar | enamorar | to fall in love (v.) |
| nosotros | nosotros | we, us (pron.) |
Read «Las medias de los flamencos» in the room Every word glossed where it stands, the English a tap away. The whole tale is free and asks for no account.