Free-time activities — las actividades de tiempo libre
This topic covers hobbies, sports, music, film and TV. Examiners reward opinions, reasons and a range of leisure vocabulary alongside frequency adverbs and time expressions.
Core vocabulary — hobbies and leisure
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| hobby | el pasatiempo / la afición |
| to go out | salir |
| to stay at home | quedarse en casa |
| to go shopping | ir de compras / hacer las compras |
| to go to the cinema | ir al cine |
| to hang out with friends | quedar con amigos |
| to play a sport | practicar un deporte |
| to play an instrument | tocar un instrumento |
| to read | leer |
| to draw / paint | dibujar / pintar |
| to cook | cocinar |
| to surf the net | navegar por Internet |
| to listen to music | escuchar música |
| to watch TV | ver la tele |
Sports vocabulary
- el fútbol — football (king sport in Spain)
- la natación — swimming
- el ciclismo — cycling
- el baloncesto — basketball
- el tenis — tennis
- el atletismo — athletics
- el senderismo — hiking
- montar en bicicleta — to ride a bike
Music genres
- el reggaetón — hugely popular among Hispanic youth (Bad Bunny, J Balvin)
- el flamenco — traditional Andalusian art form (UNESCO heritage)
- el pop en español — Spanish-language pop
- el rock — rock
Grammar focus — gustar-type verbs
These verbs work "backwards" — the subject is the thing liked, and me/te/le/nos/os/les show who likes it:
| singular thing | plural thing | |
|---|---|---|
| me (I) | me gusta | me gustan |
| te (you) | te gusta | te gustan |
| le (he/she) | le gusta | le gustan |
| nos (we) | nos gusta | nos gustan |
| os (you pl.) | os gusta | os gustan |
| les (they) | les gusta | les gustan |
Other gustar-type verbs: encantar (love), interesar (interest), molestar (bother), apetecer (fancy), odiar (hate — regular verb, not gustar-type, but common in this topic).
Model: Me encanta el flamenco porque es muy emotivo. — I love flamenco because it's very moving.
Frequency adverbs
- todos los días — every day
- a menudo / con frecuencia — often
- de vez en cuando — from time to time
- rara vez — rarely
- nunca — never
- los fines de semana — at weekends
Model phrases
- En mi tiempo libre, me gusta quedar con mis amigos y charlar. — In my free time, I like to hang out with my friends and chat.
- Soy aficionado/a al fútbol desde que era pequeño/a. — I have been a football fan since I was little.
- Prefiero las películas de acción a las comedias porque son más emocionantes. — I prefer action films to comedies because they are more exciting.
- Tocar la guitarra me relaja después de un día estresante. — Playing the guitar relaxes me after a stressful day.
- Antes veía más la tele, pero ahora prefiero leer. — I used to watch more TV, but now I prefer reading.
Cultural notes
El fútbol dominates Spanish leisure culture — Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are global brands. La liga is one of the world's top football leagues. Flamenco, originating in Andalusia, blends singing (el cante), guitar (el toque) and dance (el baile). El reggaetón and Latin trap from Puerto Rico and Colombia dominate youth music tastes across Spain and Latin America. Cinema: Pedro Almodóvar is the most internationally recognised Spanish director.
⚠Common mistakes
- Writing me gusta los deportes — must be me gustan (plural subject).
- Using jugar for all sports — use practicar for sports in general and jugar a + sport for specific games: juego al fútbol.
- Confusing tocar (to play an instrument) with jugar (to play a game/sport).
- Saying me gusta mucho de — gustar takes a direct object, no preposition: me gusta mucho el tenis.
- Overusing bien — vary with genial, estupendo, fantástico, increíble.
AI-generated · claude-opus-4-7 · v3-deep-spanish