Oct 10, 2026·1 min read·Graded Spanish · word-by-word audio
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Maricarmen Abascal tiene 87 años. Vive en Madrid. Un día, unas personas la sacan de su casa. Ella no quiere salir. Dos semanas después, Maricarmen muere en el hospital. Su muerte es muy triste. Muchas personas hablan de ella en la televisión y en los periódicos. Los políticos de izquierda y de derecha hablan mucho.
En la antigua Grecia, «apoteosis» significa convertir a un mortal en un dios. Pero los dioses no son humanos. Cuando convertimos a alguien en símbolo, le quitamos su humanidad. Los activistas no ven a la persona; ven solo su causa. Maricarmen no es una causa. Es una mujer de 87 años que murió.
El mejor homenaje a Maricarmen es devolverle su humanidad. No es un símbolo. No es un asesinato político. Es una persona que murió. Necesitamos aprender a parar y decir solo esto: «Ha muerto una persona.» Eso es suficiente. Eso es el respeto verdadero.
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Watch out, English speaker
Spanish present tense third-person singular verbs often correspond to English 'he/she/it' forms, but English speakers may forget that Spanish verbs change endings for each subject. For example, 'tiene' means 'he/she/it has', not 'I have' or 'you have'. Always match the verb ending to the subject.
Third-person plural verbs in Spanish end in -en for -er/-ir verbs and -an for -ar verbs, unlike English which uses 'they' with the base verb. For instance, 'dicen' means 'they say', but English speakers might mistakenly use the singular form 'dice' when talking about multiple people. Pay attention to plural subjects.
Spanish present tense can describe both current facts and habitual actions, similar to English simple present. However, English speakers might overuse the progressive (-ing) form when Spanish simply uses present tense. For example, 'Vive en Madrid' means 'She lives in Madrid', not necessarily 'She is living'.
Key vocabulary
muertef.
death
“Su muerte es muy triste.”— Her death is very sad.
Pattern la muerte de alguien: someone's death
Compare fallecimiento: passing away
Plural: muertes
💡 From Latin mors, cognate with English mortal.
asesinatom.
murder, assassination
“No es una muerte, es un asesinato.”— It is not a death, it is a murder.
Pattern cometer un asesinato: to commit a murder
Compare crimen: crime
Plural: asesinatos
💡 From asesinar (to murder), root related to Arabic hashshashin.
símbolom.
symbol
“Maricarmen es ahora un símbolo, no una persona.”— Maricarmen is now a symbol, not a person.
Pattern convertirse en símbolo: to become a symbol
Compare signo: sign
Plural: símbolos
💡 From Greek symbolon, meaning 'mark'.
humanidadf.
humanity, human nature
“El mejor homenaje es devolverle su humanidad.”— The best tribute is to give her back her humanity.
Pattern devolver la humanidad: to give back humanity
Compare naturaleza humana: human nature
Plural: humanidades
💡 From Latin humanitas, root humano (human).
políticom./adj.
politician; political
“Los políticos de izquierda y de derecha hablan mucho.”— Left-wing and right-wing politicians talk a lot.
Pattern partido político: political party
Compare gobernante: ruler
Plural: políticos; feminine: política
💡 From Greek polis (city-state), cognate with política (politics).
usarv.
to use
“Los dos lados usan su muerte para ganar votos.”— Both sides use her death to win votes.
Pattern usar algo para: to use something to...
Compare utilizar: to utilize
Present: uso, usas, usa, usamos, usáis, usan
💡 From Latin usus, cognate with English use.
personaf.
person
“Maricarmen es ahora un símbolo, no una persona.”— Maricarmen is now a symbol, not a person.
Pattern una persona: a person
Compare individuo: individual
Plural: personas
💡 From Latin persona, originally referring to a theatrical mask.
respetom.
respect
“Eso es el respeto verdadero.”— That is true respect.
Pattern el respeto verdadero: true respect
Compare consideración: consideration
Plural: respetos
💡 From Latin respectus, meaning 'looking back', extended to respect.
Grammar spotlight
Present tense: third person singular/plural
A1
The Spanish present tense is used to describe current facts or habits. The third person singular (he/she/it) and plural (they) have different verb endings. For example: tiene (he/she has), vive (he/she lives), dicen (they say).
“Maricarmen Abascal tiene 87 años. Vive en Madrid.”— Maricarmen Abascal is 87 years old. She lives in Madrid.
⚠️ Don't forget the third person plural ending, e.g., dicen not dice.
Sentence patterns to steal
Maricarmen es ahora un símbolo, no una persona.
Maricarmen is now a symbol, not a person.
X es ahora un símbolo, no una persona.X can be replaced with any person's name or thing.
El mejor homenaje a Maricarmen es devolverle su humanidad.
The best tribute to Maricarmen is to give her back her humanity.
El mejor homenaje a [person] es [infinitive phrase].[person] and [infinitive phrase] can be replaced.
Necesitamos aprender a parar y decir solo esto: «Ha muerto una persona.»
We need to learn to stop and say only this: "A person has died."
Necesitamos aprender a [infinitive] y [infinitive].The two infinitives can be replaced with other actions.
Spain's Housing Crisis and Evictions
In recent years, Spain has faced a serious housing problem, with rising rents forcing many elderly people to leave their homes. The case of Maricarmen Abascal sparked a national debate on eviction policies, with both left-wing and right-wing parties using the event to express their positions.
Source: Based on a report by El Mundo, Spain, October 2026