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Special occasions and celebrations

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Talk about birthdays, weddings and festivals, give dates and describe a celebration in the past.

Occasions

el cumpleaños (birthday), la boda (wedding), la Navidad (Christmas), la Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), la Nochevieja (New Year's Eve), la Semana Santa (Easter week).
¡Feliz cumpleaños! ¡Feliz Navidad! ¡Enhorabuena! (Congratulations!)

Describing a celebration

Para mi cumpleaños hice una fiesta. Invité a mis amigos.
Mis padres me regalaron un móvil. (My parents gave me a phone as a present.)
Comimos una tarta. Lo pasamos muy bien. (We had a great time.)

Dates

¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? Es el doce de mayo.
Pattern: el + number + de + month. Months have no capital letter: enero, febrero, marzo...
The first of the month: el uno (or el primero) de junio.
Worked example

Translate: My birthday is on the 3rd of June.

  1. My birthday = mi cumpleaños
  2. on the 3rd of June = el tres de junio (no capital)

Answer: Mi cumpleaños es el tres de junio.

Key idea

Dates: el + number + de + month, with no capital letter. Lo pasamos muy bien = we had a great time. Regalar = to give as a present. La boda = wedding.

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