King vs. Ceuta: Crisis & Defense in Spanish

Key vocabulary

• inmigrantem./f.

  immigrant

  “Miles de inmigrantes cruzaron la frontera.”— Thousands of immigrants crossed the border.

  Pattern inmigrante ilegal illegal immigrant

  Compare migrante migrant

  Plural inmigrantes

  💡 From Latin immigrare, in- (into) + migrare (to migrate), referring to a person who moves into another country.

• fronteraf.

  border, frontier

  “Cruzaron la frontera del Tarajal.”— They crossed the Tarajal border.

  Pattern cruzar la frontera to cross the border

  Compare límite boundary

  Plural fronteras

  💡 From Latin frons (forehead), originally meaning 'the front line facing the enemy', later extended to mean border.

• integridadf.

  integrity, completeness

  “Fue un ataque a la integridad territorial de España.”— It was an attack on Spain's territorial integrity.

  Pattern integridad territorial territorial integrity

  Compare totalidad entirety

  Plural integridades

  💡 From Latin integer (whole), cognate with English integrity.

• ocultarv.

  to hide, conceal

  “El Gobierno había ocultado esta información.”— The Government had hidden this information.

  Pattern ocultar información to conceal information

  Compare esconder to hide

  Past perfect había ocultado; Present oculto

  💡 From Latin occultare, cognate with English occult (mysterious).

• incursiónf.

  incursion, raid

  “El Rey fue informado de la incursión marroquí.”— The King was informed of the Moroccan incursion.

  Pattern incursión militar military incursion

  Compare invasión invasion

  Plural incursiones

  💡 From Latin incurrere (to run into), in- (into) + currere (to run).

• comprometersev.

  to commit, promise

  “El Rey se comprometió a visitar Ceuta.”— The King promised to visit Ceuta.

  Pattern comprometerse a hacer algo to commit to doing something

  Compare prometer to promise

  Simple past se comprometió

  💡 From compromiso (commitment), com- (together) + promittere (to promise).

• cúpulaf.

  leadership, top brass

  “Citó en Zarzuela a la cúpula militar.”— He summoned the military leadership to Zarzuela.

  Pattern cúpula militar military leadership

  Compare dirigencia leadership

  Plural cúpulas

  💡 Originally meaning 'dome', extended to mean 'top level, upper echelon', as in cúpula empresarial (corporate leadership).

• desplegarv.

  to deploy, display

  “Hay más de tres mil soldados desplegados.”— There are more than three thousand soldiers deployed.

  Pattern desplegar tropas to deploy troops

  Compare colocar to place

  Past participle desplegado; Present despliego

  💡 des- (unfold) + plegar (to fold), originally meaning 'to unfold something folded'.

• vecindadf.

  neighborhood, proximity

  “España quiere una buena vecindad.”— Spain wants good neighborly relations.

  Pattern buena vecindad good neighborliness

  Compare proximidad proximity

  Plural vecindades

  💡 From vecino (neighbor), Latin vicinus.

• soberaníaf.

  sovereignty

  “La violación de la soberanía nacional por parte de Marruecos.”— The violation of national sovereignty by Morocco.

  Pattern soberanía nacional national sovereignty

  Compare autonomía autonomy

  Plural soberanías

  💡 From soberano (sovereign), Latin superanus (above).

• mandatom.

  mandate, command

  “Sin salirse de su mandato constitucional.”— Without exceeding its constitutional mandate.

  Pattern mandato constitucional constitutional mandate

  Compare orden order

  Plural mandatos

  💡 From Latin mandatum (command), cognate with English mandate.

• amenazarv.

  to threaten

  “Marruecos amenazó la integridad territorial española.”— Morocco threatened Spain's territorial integrity.

  Pattern amenazar con hacer algo to threaten to do something

  Compare intimidar to intimidate

  Simple past amenazó; Present amenazo

  💡 From Latin minacia (threat), cognate with English menace.

Grammar spotlight

Sentence patterns to steal

• No fue solo una crisis migratoria, sino una violación de la frontera y un ataque a la integridad territorial.

  It was not only a migration crisis, but a violation of the border and an attack on territorial integrity.

  No fue solo + A, sino + BA and B can be replaced with any contrasting noun phrases.

• España quiere una buena vecindad, pero necesita un socio leal.

  Spain wants good neighborly relations, but it needs a loyal partner.

  Sujeto + quiere + A, pero necesita + BA and B can be replaced with any contrast between a wish and a condition.

• Con la Constitución como guía, el Rey ha dado un paso al frente por España.

  With the Constitution as a guide, the King has taken a step forward for Spain.

  Con + noun + como guía, + main clauseThe noun can be replaced with any guiding principle, such as la experiencia.

• A diferencia de su padre, Felipe VI no comparte valores con el monarca alauita.

  Unlike his father, Felipe VI does not share values with the Alawite monarch.

  A diferencia de + noun, + main clauseThe noun can be replaced with any person or thing to express a contrast.