📖LearnModule 3 · Lesson 18 of 30Basic User · CEFR A2, first halfUnit 4 · En la ciudad — in town
A la derecha, a la izquierda — directions
Module 3 of the free Spanish course (CEFR A2, first half), lesson 18 of 30: Three directions run every town: a la derecha (to the right), a la izquierda (to the left). On this page: 9 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
a la derecha
to the right
ah lah deh-REH-chah
a la izquierda
to the left
ah lah ees-KYEHR-dah
derecho
straight ahead
deh-REH-choh
siga derecho
go straight ahead (polite command)
SEE-gah deh-REH-choh
gire
turn (polite command)
HEE-reh
tome
take (polite command)
TOH-meh
la primera calle
the first street
lah pree-MEH-rah KAH-yeh
lejos
far
LEH-hohs
cerca
near
SEHR-kah
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Three directions run every town: a la derecha (to the right), a la izquierda (to the left), derecho (straight ahead). Derecho with no la is straight on; a la derecha with la is to the right — one word, two jobs.
Y también · And also
The polite commands, learned as fixed chunks for now: Gire a la izquierda. Siga derecho. Tome la primera calle a la derecha. Their full grammar belongs to the next band.
Ojo · Watch out
derecho (straight ahead) and a la derecha (to the right) are different directions: siga derecho, but gire a la derecha. The la makes the difference.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with a la derecha.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 18 in Module 3 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.