Healthy living — la vida sana
This topic covers diet, exercise, sleep and bad habits. Examiners love asking you to contrast what you do now with what you used to do (imperfect vs. present), or what you should do (conditional / hay que / se debe).
Core vocabulary — diet (la dieta)
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| a balanced diet | una dieta equilibrada / sana |
| fruit and vegetables | la fruta y las verduras |
| wholegrain bread | el pan integral |
| ready meals | los platos precocinados |
| sugary drinks | las bebidas azucaradas |
| junk food | la comida basura |
| to skip a meal | saltarse una comida |
| to put on weight | engordar / ganar peso |
| to lose weight | adelgazar / perder peso |
| organic | ecológico/a, orgánico/a |
| the Mediterranean diet | la dieta mediterránea |
Vocabulary — exercise and sleep
- hacer deporte / ejercicio — to do sport / exercise
- entrenarse — to train
- estar en forma — to be in shape
- descansar — to rest
- dormir suficiente — to sleep enough
- el insomnio — insomnia
- el estrés — stress
- agotado/a — exhausted
Vocabulary — bad habits
- fumar — to smoke
- beber alcohol — to drink alcohol
- drogarse — to take drugs
- ser adicto/a a — to be addicted to
- dejar de fumar — to quit smoking
- el tabaquismo — smoking (as a habit/problem)
Grammar focus — hay que / se debe + infinitive
Simple but high-scoring structures for "one must / you should":
- Hay que comer cinco porciones de fruta y verdura al día. — You must eat five a day.
- No hay que saltarse el desayuno. — You shouldn't skip breakfast.
- Se debe dormir al menos ocho horas por noche. — One should sleep at least eight hours a night.
For a more sophisticated tone, use the conditional:
| pronoun | deber (should) | poder (could) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | debería | podría |
| tú | deberías | podrías |
| él/ella/Ud. | debería | podría |
| nosotros | deberíamos | podríamos |
| vosotros | deberíais | podríais |
| ellos/Uds. | deberían | podrían |
Model phrases
- Intento comer de forma sana, pero admito que me encanta el chocolate. — I try to eat healthily, but I admit I love chocolate.
- Antes picaba entre horas; ahora bebo agua en su lugar. — Before, I used to snack between meals; now I drink water instead.
- Para mí, el deporte es esencial no solo para el cuerpo sino también para el estado de ánimo. — For me, sport is essential not just for the body but also for mental wellbeing.
- Muchos jóvenes no duermen suficiente por culpa de las pantallas. — Many young people don't sleep enough because of screens.
- Si hiciéramos más ejercicio, nos sentiríamos mejor. — If we did more exercise, we would feel better.
Cultural notes
Spain is famous for the dieta mediterránea — olive oil, fish, legumes, fresh vegetables, and moderate wine. UNESCO listed it as intangible cultural heritage in 2013. The siesta tradition, though declining in cities, reflects the Spanish approach to rest and recovery. Meal times differ dramatically from the UK: lunch (la comida) at 2–3 pm is the main meal; dinner (la cena) rarely before 9 pm.
⚠Common mistakes
- Saying estoy bien to mean "I am healthy" — use estoy en forma or me encuentro bien.
- Using comer sanamente — remember the -mente adverb ending.
- Forgetting that beber is regular but common errors occur in the preterite: bebí, bebiste, bebió.
- Using double negatives incorrectly — no fumo nunca and nunca fumo are both correct; do not write no fumo jamás without "no".
- Mistranslating "to feel" — use sentirse (reflexive), not sentir (to feel/smell something).
AI-generated · claude-opus-4-7 · v3-deep-spanish