The Spanish reading room
One sentence of «La tortuga gigante»
Había también agarrado vivas muchas víboras venenosas, y las llevaba dentro de un gran mate, porque allá hay mates tan grandes como una lata de kerosene.
He had also caught many venomous snakes alive, and carried them inside a great gourd, because out there the gourds are as big as a kerosene tin.
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
Había hecho un atado con los cueros de los animales, y lo llevaba al hombro.
He had made a bundle of the animals' hides, and carried it on his shoulder.
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Había | haber | to have (auxiliary); hay — there is, there are (v.) |
| también | también | also, too (adv.) |
| agarrado | agarrar | to grab, seize (v.) |
| vivas | vivo | alive; lively (adj.) |
| muchas | mucho | much, many; a lot (adj./adv.) |
| víboras | víbora | snake, viper (n., f.) |
| venenosas | venenoso | poisonous (adj.) |
| y | y | and (conj.) |
| las | el | them (f., object pron.) |
| llevaba | llevar | to carry, take; to wear (v.) |
| dentro | dentro | inside, within (adv.) |
| de | de | of, from (prep.) |
| un | un | a, an, one (indef. art.) |
| gran | grande | big, great (adj.) |
| mate | mate | mate gourd, calabash (n., m., River Plate) — also a form of matar, to kill |
| porque | porque | because (conj.) |
| allá | allá | over there (adv.) |
| hay | haber | there is, there are (v.) |
| tan | tan | so, as (adv.) |
| como | como | as, like; since (conj./adv.) |
| lata | lata | tin, can (n., f.) |
| kerosene | kerosene | kerosene, paraffin (n., m.) |
Read «La tortuga gigante» in the room Every word glossed where it stands, the English a tap away. This scene asks for no account.