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Illustration for “By car around Spain”

Spanish story with translation · B1 · 18 lines

En coche por España By car around Spain

Comic · 12 panels

Panel 1 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: Tomorrow we're leaving on a trip in a rental car: Lucía, Sergio and me. Sergio is driving, and I'll ride next to him with the GPS.

  1. Mañana salimos de viaje en un coche de alquiler: Lucía, Sergio y yo.

    Tomorrow we're leaving on a trip in a rental car: Lucía, Sergio and me.

  2. Conduce Sergio, y yo iré a su lado con el navegador.

    Sergio is driving, and I'll ride next to him with the GPS.

Panel 2 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: I don't know what rules there are here, so last night I asked him about everything. First, speed. On the highway you can go 120 kilometers per hour; on regular roads, 90; and in…

  1. No sé qué normas hay aquí, así que anoche le pregunté todo.

    I don't know what rules there are here, so last night I asked him about everything.

  2. Primero, la velocidad. En autopista se puede ir a 120 kilómetros por hora; en carretera, a 90, y en ciudad, a 30 o a 50.

    First, speed. On the highway you can go 120 kilometers per hour; on regular roads, 90; and in town, 30 or 50.

Panel 3 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: There are speed cameras everywhere. If you go faster, the fine goes to the rental company, and you're the one who pays it. On some highways you pay a toll, by card or in cash.

  1. Hay radares por todas partes. Si vas más rápido, la multa llega a la empresa de alquiler y la pagas tú.

    There are speed cameras everywhere. If you go faster, the fine goes to the rental company, and you're the one who pays it.

  2. En algunas autopistas se paga peaje, con tarjeta o en efectivo.

    On some highways you pay a toll, by card or in cash.

Panel 4 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: The seat belt is mandatory for everyone, in the back too. Using your phone at the wheel is prohibited. You're not even allowed to hold it in your hand at a traffic light: the…

  1. El cinturón de seguridad es obligatorio para todos, también detrás.

    The seat belt is mandatory for everyone, in the back too.

  2. Está prohibido usar el móvil al volante. Ni siquiera se permite tenerlo en la mano en un semáforo: son 200 euros de multa.

    Using your phone at the wheel is prohibited. You're not even allowed to hold it in your hand at a traffic light: the fine is 200 euros.

Panel 5 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: You always pass on the left, just like in my country.

  1. Se adelanta siempre por la izquierda, igual que en mi país.

    You always pass on the left, just like in my country.

Panel 6 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: It's hard to park downtown. In the blue zone, you pay at a machine, and you can only leave the car for two hours.

  1. En el centro es difícil aparcar. En la zona azul se paga en una máquina y solo se puede dejar el coche dos horas.

    It's hard to park downtown. In the blue zone, you pay at a machine, and you can only leave the car for two hours.

Panel 7 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: At some gas stations there's no one: first you pay at a machine, and then you put in the gas yourself.

  1. En algunas gasolineras no hay nadie: primero se paga en una máquina y después tú mismo pones la gasolina.

    At some gas stations there's no one: first you pay at a machine, and then you put in the gas yourself.

Panel 8 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: Sometimes there are Guardia Civil checkpoints. They ask for the vehicle's documents and check if the driver has been drinking.

  1. A veces hay controles de la Guardia Civil. Se piden los documentos del vehículo y se comprueba si el conductor ha bebido.

    Sometimes there are Guardia Civil checkpoints. They ask for the vehicle's documents and check if the driver has been drinking.

Panel 9 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: The driver's license has a points system: with every serious fine, you lose points.

  1. El carné de conducir tiene un sistema de puntos: con cada multa grave se pierden puntos.

    The driver's license has a points system: with every serious fine, you lose points.

Panel 10 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: Our car isn't automatic: it has five gears. As a rule, in the mountains, going downhill, you don't use the brake all the time: you go down in a low gear, and the engine brakes…

  1. Nuestro coche no es automático: tiene cinco marchas.

    Our car isn't automatic: it has five gears.

  2. Por lo general, en la montaña, al bajar, no se usa el freno todo el tiempo: se baja en una marcha corta y el motor frena solo.

    As a rule, in the mountains, going downhill, you don't use the brake all the time: you go down in a low gear, and the engine brakes by itself.

Panel 11 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: And before setting off, you check the tires.

  1. Y antes de salir se revisan las ruedas.

    And before setting off, you check the tires.

Panel 12 of 12 for “By car around Spain”: In the end I asked him: "And do you know how to get to the highway?" "No idea," he told me. "That's what you've got the GPS for."

  1. Al final le pregunté: «¿Y sabes cómo se va a la autopista?»

    In the end I asked him: "And do you know how to get to the highway?"

  2. «Ni idea —me dijo—. Para eso llevas tú el navegador».

    "No idea," he told me. "That's what you've got the GPS for."

Grammar for this text

Impersonal se holds the whole text together: it's how people talk about rules. Se paga peaje — "you pay a toll", se adelanta por la izquierda — "you pass on the left", se puede ir a 120 — "you can go 120". With several things, the verb is plural: se revisan las ruedas, se pierden puntos.

¿Cómo se va a…? — "how do you get to…?". Here se va is the impersonal "you go", not irse ("to leave").

Questions inside a sentence. No sé qué normas hay — "I don't know what rules there are"; se comprueba si el conductor ha bebido — "they check if the driver has been drinking" (si — "if, whether").

Small points. La pagas tú — "you're the one who pays it": la is la multa. Al bajar — "going downhill", word for word "when going down". Marcha corta — a low gear (first or second). En ciudad, a 30 o a 50: 30 km/h on streets with one lane in each direction, 50 on wider ones. Zona azul — paid street parking marked in blue. Guardia Civil — the police force that patrols the roads outside cities.

Words and grammar of the unit: Rent a car and drive in Spain.

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