A2 · ElementaryAdapted from Expansión

Spain's Political Year: Spanish Words for Today's News

El año político: palabras para entender la actualidad

Aug 31, 20261 min readGraded Spanish · word-by-word audio

Read along

Free preview — playback stops here. Full audio comes with Plus.

Este año político es muy tenso. El presidente está débil y tiene muchos problemas. Hay una crisis en Ceuta y también incendios.

No hay presupuestos nuevos y llegan las elecciones. Los jueces también tienen mucho trabajo. Todo esto marca el final de la legislatura. Es un momento difícil para el gobierno.

La gente espera cambios. Los políticos hablan de crisis y de soluciones. Pero no es fácil encontrar un acuerdo. El próximo año será muy importante para España.

Go Plus

You've reached the end of the free preview.

Plus unlocks everything on SpanishReadingDaily:

Every article in full — no daily limit
Word-by-word audio read-along
Smart review that brings saved words back until you own them
Wordbook and streak on every device

Get Plus — $9.99/mo · $79/yr

Free full article every day — see today's. No card needed.

Have a Plus activation code?

Watch out, English speaker

English speakers often use 'ser' instead of 'estar' when describing temporary states, because English 'is' covers both. In Spanish, 'estar' is required for conditions like 'está débil' (he is weak) or 'está preocupada' (she is worried). Using 'ser' would imply these are inherent traits, not temporary states. English uses 'there is/are' for existence, but Spanish has 'hay' for both singular and plural. Learners might try to conjugate 'haber' like a regular verb or use 'es' instead. Remember: 'Hay una crisis' means 'There is a crisis'—no subject-verb agreement changes. Spanish adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun, unlike English. For example, 'preocupado' changes to 'preocupada' for feminine, and 'preocupados/as' for plural. English speakers often forget this agreement, leading to errors like 'ella está preocupado' instead of 'preocupada'.

Key vocabulary

tensoadj.
tense, strained
“El ambiente está tenso.”— The atmosphere is tense.
Pattern ambiente tenso (tense atmosphere); situación tensa (tense situation)
Compare nervioso (nervous); estresado (stressed)
Adjective, must agree with the noun in gender and number: tenso/tensa/tensos/tensas.
💡 Associate with English 'tense'; the prefix 'tens-' means to stretch tight.
presidentem./f.
president, chairperson
“El presidente habla hoy.”— The president speaks today.
Pattern presidente del gobierno (head of government); presidente de la república (president of the republic)
Compare mandatario (head of state); jefe de estado (head of state)
Common-gender noun, feminine form is presidenta.
💡 From the verb 'presidir' (to preside), the suffix -ente indicates a person.
débiladj.
weak, fragile
“El gobierno está débil.”— The government is weak.
Pattern gobierno débil (weak government); señal débil (weak signal)
Compare frágil (fragile); endeble (weak)
Adjective, singular/plural changes: débil/débiles, no gender change.
💡 Pay attention to the accent mark, avoid confusing with 'debil'.
crisisf.
crisis
“Hay una crisis económica.”— There is an economic crisis.
Pattern crisis económica (economic crisis); crisis política (political crisis)
Compare emergencia (emergency); recesión (recession)
Same form for singular and plural: la crisis / las crisis.
💡 From Greek, 'krisis' means decision or turning point.
incendiom.
fire, blaze
“El incendio es grande.”— The fire is big.
Pattern incendio forestal (forest fire); incendio provocado (arson)
Compare fuego (fire); siniestro (fire incident)
Regular noun, plural incendios.
💡 Associate with English 'incendiary' (related to arson).
preocupadoadj.
worried, concerned
“Estoy preocupado por ti.”— I am worried about you.
Pattern estar preocupado por (to be worried about); preocupado por el futuro (worried about the future)
Compare inquieto (uneasy); angustiado (anxious)
Adjective, gender and number changes: preocupado/preocupada/preocupados/preocupadas.
💡 Comes from the past participle of 'preocupar', often used with 'estar'.
presupuestom.
budget
“El presupuesto es limitado.”— The budget is limited.
Pattern presupuesto general (general budget); presupuesto familiar (family budget)
Compare estimación (estimate); cálculo (calculation)
Regular noun, plural presupuestos.
💡 Composed of 'pre' (pre-) + 'supuesto' (assumption), meaning a preliminary estimate.
eleccionesf. pl.
elections
“Las elecciones son en mayo.”— The elections are in May.
Pattern elecciones generales (general election); elecciones municipales (municipal elections)
Compare votaciones (voting); comicios (elections)
Usually used in plural, singular elección.
💡 From the verb 'elegir' (to choose), note the plural form.
legislaturaf.
legislature, term
“La legislatura termina pronto.”— The legislature ends soon.
Pattern legislatura actual (current term); fin de legislatura (end of term)
Compare mandato (term); período legislativo (legislative period)
Regular noun, plural legislaturas.
💡 From 'legislar' (to legislate), -ura indicates a period.
acuerdom.
agreement, deal
“Necesitamos un acuerdo.”— We need an agreement.
Pattern llegar a un acuerdo (to reach an agreement); acuerdo comercial (trade agreement)
Compare pacto (pact); convenio (agreement)
Regular noun, plural acuerdos.
💡 From 'acordar' (to agree), associate with English 'accord' (agreement).

Grammar spotlight

estar + adjective to describe states

Use 'estar' with an adjective to describe a temporary state or condition of a person or thing, such as 'está débil' (he is weak) or 'está preocupada' (she is worried).

“El presidente está débil.”— The president is weak.

⚠️ Don't use 'ser' instead of 'estar' to describe temporary states. For example, 'es débil' means inherently weak, while 'está débil' means temporarily weak.

hay to express existence

'Hay' is a form of 'haber' that means 'there is' or 'there are' and is used to describe the existence of something. For example, 'Hay una crisis' (There is a crisis).

“Hay una crisis en Ceuta.”— There is a crisis in Ceuta.

⚠️ 'Hay' does not change with the subject. Don't write 'han' or 'hayn'.

Sentence patterns to steal

Es un momento difícil para el gobierno.
It is a difficult moment for the government.
Es + un/una + noun + para + person/groupReplace 'momento difícil' with other nouns, such as 'oportunidad' (opportunity) or 'problema' (problem).
No es fácil encontrar un acuerdo.
It is not easy to reach an agreement.
No es + fácil/difícil + infinitiveReplace 'encontrar un acuerdo' with other verb phrases, such as 'aprender español' (to learn Spanish) or 'hacer amigos' (to make friends).
La gente está preocupada por el futuro.
People are worried about the future.
estar + preocupado + por + nounReplace 'el futuro' with other nouns, such as 'el examen' (the exam) or 'la economía' (the economy).
Todo esto marca el final de la legislatura.
All of this marks the end of the legislative term.
Todo esto marca + nounReplace 'el final de la legislatura' with other nouns, such as 'un cambio' (a change) or 'el inicio de una etapa' (the beginning of a stage).
El próximo año será muy importante para España.
Next year will be very important for Spain.
El próximo + noun + será + adjective + para + placeReplace 'año' with 'mes' (month) or 'semana' (week), and 'España' with another country or group.

Spain's Legislative Term and Political Cycle

In Spain, a legislative term usually lasts four years, but the prime minister can dissolve parliament early and call elections. When political tensions run high, the media often use 'fin de ciclo' (end of cycle) to describe a possible change of government. Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city in North Africa and often becomes a political issue.

Source: Wikipedia: Politics of Spain

Finish the story to log today's read

Discussion

Be kind, stay on topic, no ads or links. Community guidelines

No comments yet — be the first to share what you noticed in this article.