Fechas, horas y planes del día
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Say and ask the day of the week, the date, and the month.
- Tell time in Spanish and ask what time something happens, using a for clock time.
- Conjugate and use regular -ar verbs in the present tense to describe everyday actions.
- Talk about a daily or weekly schedule using time expressions and frequency words.
- Ask and answer information questions that combine dates, times, and activities.
- Write a short schedule or plan with correct accent marks, punctuation, and capitalization.
Communication Scenario
Marisol, Marcos, and their new classmates are organizing their week at the language program. Marisol wants to plan a study group, Marcos needs to know when his classes meet, and everyone is trying to coordinate a weekend activity. To do this, they need to talk about days, dates, and times, and describe what they usually do and when.
- You will ask and say what day, date, and time it is.
- You will describe a weekly schedule using regular -ar verbs and time expressions.
Core Vocabulary
The vocabulary below is new productive material for this chapter. It builds directly on the identity, description, and family vocabulary consolidated in Chapter 5.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| lunes, martes, miércoles | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday |
| jueves, viernes | Thursday, Friday |
| sábado, domingo | Saturday, Sunday |
| hoy, mañana, el fin de semana | today, tomorrow, the weekend |
Days of the week are not capitalized in Spanish. Most take a masculine singular article, el lunes, and a plural form for repeated events, los lunes.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| enero, febrero, marzo, abril | January, February, March, April |
| mayo, junio, julio, agosto | May, June, July, August |
| septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre | September, October, November, December |
| ¿Qué fecha es hoy? / Hoy es el 6 de octubre. | What is today's date? / Today is October 6th. |
Months, like days, are lowercase in Spanish. Dates are expressed with el + number + de + month.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué hora es? / Es la una. / Son las dos. | What time is it? / It's one o'clock. / It's two o'clock. |
| ¿A qué hora...? / A las tres. | At what time...? / At three o'clock. |
| y cuarto, y media, menos cuarto | quarter past, half past, quarter to |
| de la mañana, de la tarde, de la noche | in the morning, in the afternoon, at night |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| estudiar, trabajar, tomar (una clase) | to study, to work, to take (a class) |
| llegar, terminar, empezar | to arrive, to finish, to begin |
| hablar, escuchar, mirar, practicar | to speak, to listen, to watch, to practice |
| siempre, a veces, nunca, todos los días | always, sometimes, never, every day |
Empezar and terminar require review in later chapters for stem changes; in this chapter they appear only in their regular yo/tú/usted forms shown in the model dialogue.
Pronunciation and Orthography Focus
Regular -ar verb endings follow the natural Spanish stress pattern: stress falls on the next-to-last syllable in most present-tense forms, so no written accent is needed.
- estudio, estudias, estudia, estudiamos, estudian — stress moves naturally with the ending; none of these forms carries a written accent.
- Keep the vowel sounds of -o, -as, and -amos short and clear; do not glide them the way English speakers glide unstressed vowels.
- Numbers used for dates and times, such as dieciséis and veintidós, keep their required accent marks.
- Open every question with ¿, including short questions like ¿Qué hora es? and ¿A qué hora?
Grammar: Dates, Time, and Regular -ar Verbs
Purpose: give learners the tools to talk about when things happen and to describe habitual actions using the first full regular verb conjugation of the course.
6.1 Regular -ar verbs in the present tense
Every regular -ar verb uses the same set of endings: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (usted / él / ella), -amos (nosotros/nosotras), and -an (ustedes / ellos / ellas). Once you know one regular -ar verb, you can conjugate hundreds of others the same way.
- ¿Trabajas los sábados? Do you work on Saturdays?
- Marcos y Tomás escuchan música por la noche. Marcos and Tomás listen to music at night.
6.2 Days, dates, and months
Use el before a day to talk about a specific occurrence, and los to talk about something that repeats: el lunes (this Monday) versus los lunes (on Mondays, every Monday). Dates follow the pattern el + number + de + month, and, when needed, + de + year.
- Hoy es martes, el 14 de octubre. Today is Tuesday, October 14th.
- Los sábados, Marisol no trabaja. On Saturdays, Marisol doesn't work.
6.3 Telling time and using a for clock time
- ¿A qué hora terminas hoy? What time do you finish today?
- Llego a la universidad a las ocho de la mañana. I arrive at the university at eight in the morning.
6.4 Asking information questions about schedules
Chapter 2 introduced question words such as qué, cuándo, and dónde. This chapter adds ¿a qué hora? and ¿qué día? as fixed patterns for scheduling questions, and recycles ¿cuántos/as? for counting classes or activities.
- ¿Qué día practicas español? What day do you practice Spanish?
- ¿Cuántas clases tomas este semestre? How many classes are you taking this semester?
This chapter does not introduce -er or -ir verbs, reflexive routines, or the preterite. Those systems are activated in Chapters 7 and 19.
Model Dialogue: ¿A qué hora empezamos?
Context: Marisol and Marcos are planning a study group after class.
Marcos checks his phone calendar.
Notice how the dialogue moves from asking about days, to schedules with regular -ar verbs, to specific times with a, and finally to a full date — the same sequence used in this chapter's tasks.
Listening Practice
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text-to-speech tool to read the script below aloud, or read it aloud to yourself slowly.
- Listen for which days Elena works.
- Listen for what time she arrives and finishes on Mondays.
- Listen for what class she takes on Wednesdays and at what time.
- Listen for what she does on weekends.
Speaking Practice
Práctica controlada — Controlled practice: Mi horario
Say four sentences about your own schedule using regular -ar verbs: one about studying, one about working, one about arriving somewhere, and one about a leisure activity, each with a day or time.
Tarea comunicativa — Communicative task: Organizar un grupo de estudio
With a partner, compare your weekly schedules and agree on a day and time to study together, following the model dialogue. Ask each other at least three questions with ¿qué día? or ¿a qué hora?
Práctica independiente — Solo alternative
Record or say aloud a short description of your typical week, including at least three activities, the days you do them, and the times, using regular -ar verbs.
Reading Practice
El horario de Valentina — Valentina's schedule
Me llamo Valentina y estudio en la universidad. Los lunes y los miércoles tomo una clase de historia a las nueve de la mañana. Los martes y los jueves trabajo en la biblioteca; llego a las diez y termino a la una. Los viernes no trabajo ni estudio; practico español con mi amiga Sofía a las cuatro de la tarde. Los sábados descanso, y los domingos siempre hablo por teléfono con mi familia.
Tarea de lectura — Reading task:
- What class does Valentina take, and on which days and at what time?
- What time does Valentina start and finish work at the library?
- What does Valentina do on Fridays and on Sundays?
Writing Workshop
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order. Together they form your written weekly schedule for this project.
Tarea 1 — Mis actividades: Write four short sentences using four different regular -ar verbs to describe things you do.
Tarea 2 — Completar el horario: Fill in the blanks below to build a short schedule description.
Tarea 3 — Horario completo: Combine your sentences from Tareas 1 and 2 into one short paragraph of five to seven sentences describing your weekly schedule, including at least one date and one question you would ask a classmate about their schedule.
- Write your four activity sentences first. This reviews regular -ar verb endings.
- Complete the fill-in-the-blank schedule description. Check that every verb ending matches its subject.
- Combine your sentences into one paragraph. Add a date using el + number + de + month, and a closing question.
- Read your paragraph aloud once. Listen for correct stress on -ar verb forms and smooth linking before numbers.
- Check every accent mark, capitalization choice, and inverted question mark. Confirm that days and months are lowercase.
Lista de revisión — Editing checklist:
- Every regular -ar verb ending matches its subject.
- A, not a form of ser, introduces the time something happens.
- Es is used only for one o'clock; son is used for all other hours.
- Days and months are written in lowercase.
- Question words carry the correct written accent, and questions open with ¿.
- No vocabulary or grammar from outside Chapters 1–6 has been used.
Culture and Communication
Work and class schedules, typical start times, and the length of the midday break vary widely across Spanish-speaking countries, institutions, and individual workplaces. The schedule in this chapter reflects one plausible student routine, not a fixed pattern for every setting.
Written schedules, tickets, and official documents in many Spanish-speaking countries use the 24-hour clock, for example las 15:00 instead of las tres de la tarde. This course models everyday spoken time; learners will recognize the 24-hour format receptively when they encounter it on schedules and signs.
Common Mistakes
Error: Saying Es a las tres or dropping a entirely, saying Termino las tres.
Correction: Use a to say at what time something happens: Termino a las tres.
Error: Saying Son la una or Es las cuatro.
Correction: Use es only for one o'clock and son for all other hours: Es la una. Son las cuatro.
Error: Writing Lunes or Octubre with a capital letter, following English capitalization.
Correction: Days and months are lowercase in Spanish unless they begin a sentence: lunes, octubre.
Chapter Review
Parte A — Comprensión (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- What days does Marcos practice Spanish, and at what time does he study?
- What day and date do Marisol and Marcos agree to start studying together?
Parte B — Escritura (Writing)
1. Conjugate the verb trabajar in all five productive forms used in this course.
2. Write one sentence telling time and one sentence saying at what time an activity happens.
Parte C — Lectura (Reading)
1. Return to "El horario de Valentina," and list her activities together with the day and time for each.
Parte D — Habla (Speaking)
1. Tell a partner your schedule for one day this week, then ask your partner two questions about their schedule.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 6 Practical Check
Planificar mi semana — Planning my week
Complete the following connected tasks, in order, to plan and present a realistic weekly schedule.
- Read the model dialogue and the reading passage. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- Say your schedule aloud. Include at least three activities with regular -ar verbs, days, and times.
- State one full date. Use the pattern el + number + de + month.
- Ask a partner, instructor, or yourself at least two scheduling questions using ¿qué día? and ¿a qué hora?
- Write your full weekly schedule paragraph. Apply the editing checklist from the Writing Workshop.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Regular -ar verb accuracy | The learner conjugates regular -ar verbs correctly for the intended subject. |
| Time accuracy | The learner tells time correctly and uses a for clock time. |
| Date accuracy | The learner states a date using the correct pattern and lowercase day/month names. |
| Question formation | The learner forms and answers scheduling questions accurately. |
| Vocabulary control | The learner uses chapter vocabulary for days, months, time, and frequency appropriately. |
| Orthography and pronunciation | The learner uses accent marks, inverted punctuation, and natural stress on -ar verb forms. |
This checkpoint uses material introduced through Chapter 6. No item on this rubric requires a system that has not yet been taught.
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Marcos practices Spanish on Tuesdays and Thursdays (los martes y los jueves), and he studies in the afternoon (por la tarde).
- They agree to start on Thursday, October 16th (el jueves, el 16 de octubre).
Escritura
- trabajo, trabajas, trabaja, trabajamos, trabajan.
- Sample answers: Son las siete. / Llego a la clase a las nueve. (Other accurate sentences are acceptable.)
Lectura
- Historia (lunes y miércoles, 9:00 a.m.); trabaja en la biblioteca (martes y jueves, de 10:00 a 1:00); practica español los viernes a las 4:00; descansa los sábados; habla con su familia los domingos.
Looking Ahead
Lo que ya sabes hacer — What you can do now
You can say and ask the day, date, and time; use a for clock time; conjugate regular -ar verbs to describe habitual actions; and ask and answer scheduling questions — all with correct orthography and stress.