How well do you know your movies — and your Spanish vocabulary? In this reading comprehension challenge, we've taken five popular films and rewritten their plots in Spanish, leaving out the title, of course! Your job is to read each summary, review the key vocabulary terms, and use the hint so you can try to guess the movie before checking the answer at the end. Ready to put your Spanish skills to the test?
Un hombre con un coeficiente intelectual por debajo del promedio vive una vida llena de momentos históricos casi por accidente. A pesar de las dificultades, su lealtad, su inocencia y su gran corazón lo llevan a convertirse en un atleta talentoso, un héroe de guerra y un exitoso hombre de negocios. Sin embargo, lo único que realmente le importa es volver a estar junto a la mujer que ama desde la infancia.
Key terms:
coeficiente intelectual (IQ)
momentos históricos (historical moments)
lealtad (loyalty)
convertirse (to become)
la mujer que ama (the woman he loves)
Este es el primer paso para convertirse en la persona feliz y superficial que me comentaba.
This is the first step to becoming the happy and superficial person you were telling me about.
Captions 33-34, Cortometraje Triunfadores - Part 3
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📌 Hint: It's a name — two words.
Un programador descubre que el mundo en el que vive no es real, sino una simulación creada por máquinas para mantener a los humanos bajo control. Guiado por un grupo de rebeldes, debe elegir entre seguir viviendo en la ignorancia o conocer la verdad y luchar para liberar a la humanidad.
Key terms:
simulación (simulation)
bajo control (under control)
rebeldes (rebels)
ignorancia (ignorance)
liberar (to free/liberate)
pero antes tengo que liberar a Willy, ¿cierto, jefecito?
but before I have to free Willy, right, dear boss?
Caption 46, Kikirikí Animales - Part 5
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📌 Hint: Sigue al conejo blanco 🐇
Un hombre adulto que vive con su madre sueña con ser comediante y se gana la vida como payaso haciendo publicidad. Un día se cansa de ser humillado y cambia radicalmente su vida, convirtiéndose en un asesino.
Key terms:
payaso (clown)
se cansa de ser humillado (gets tired of being humiliated)
asesino (murderer)
he hecho de payaso también.
I've been a clown as well.
Caption 12, Circo Berlín José Romero - Part 2
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📌 Hint: It's one word.
Una mujer se casa con un hombre por conveniencia, para ayudarlo a obtener la residencia legal y para que ella pueda alquilar un apartamento que solo acepta parejas casadas. Cuando las autoridades sospechan que el matrimonio es falso, ambos deben fingir que están realmente enamorados.
Key terms:
conveniencia (convenience)
parejas casadas (married couples)
sospechar (to suspect)
fingir (to pretend)
pero también debemos mencionar la conveniencia.
but we should also mention convenience.
Caption 20, Fermín y Manuel Los móviles - Part 1
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📌 Hint: Monticello
Un profesor y su alumna descubren que un evento catastrófico amenaza con destruir a toda la humanidad. Sin embargo, sus advertencias se encuentran con una sociedad más interesada en la política, la fama y las redes sociales que en enfrentar la inminente catástrofe.
Key terms:
evento catastrófico (catastrophic event)
advertencias (warnings)
inminente (imminent)
para evitar una catástrofe.
to avoid a catastrophe.
Caption 51, Vocabulario de noticias Política internacional - Part 3
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📌 Hint: Es una orden, en forma de título (It's a command, in the form of a title).
The answer is Forrest Gump (1994) — in Spanish, the title stays the same: Forrest Gump. Despite having a below-average IQ, Forrest experiences countless historical moments almost by accident. His unwavering loyalty and good heart help him become a war hero, a champion runner, and a successful businessman — though all he really wants is to be with the woman he loves, Jenny, the love of his life.
Vocabulary recap: coeficiente intelectual (IQ), momentos históricos (historical moments), lealtad (loyalty), convertirse (to become), la mujer que ama (the woman he loves)
The answer is The Matrix (1999) — known in Spanish-speaking countries simply as Matrix. A programmer discovers that the world he lives in is actually a simulation kept under control by machines. Guided by a group of rebels, he must choose between living in ignorance or learning the truth and fighting to free humanity. As for the hint, Sigue al conejo blanco (Follow the white rabbit) is the famous phrase that first leads Neo down the path to discovering the truth.
Vocabulary recap: simulación (simulation), bajo control (under control), rebeldes (rebels), ignorancia (ignorance), liberar (to free/liberate)
The answer is Joker (2019) — in Spanish, the title stays the same: Joker. A man who makes a living as a clown dreams of becoming a comedian, but one day gets tired of being humiliated and radically transforms his life, becoming a murderer.
Vocabulary recap: payaso (clown), se cansa de ser humillado (gets tired of being humiliated), asesino (murderer)
The answer is Green Card (1990) — in Spanish, often known as Matrimonio de conveniencia. A woman marries a man out of convenience so he can get legal residency and she can rent an apartment that only accepts married couples. When authorities suspect the marriage is fake, both must pretend to be truly in love. As for the hint, "Monticello" refers to the face cream brand the couple must memorize details about to convince immigration officials their marriage is real.
Vocabulary recap: conveniencia (convenience), parejas casadas (married couples), sospechar (to suspect), fingir (to pretend)
The answer is Don't Look Up (2021) — known in Spanish as No mires arriba. A professor and his student discover that a catastrophic event threatens to destroy all of humanity, but their warnings are met with a society more interested in politics, fame, and social media than in facing the imminent threat. As for the hint, Es una orden, en forma de título — the movie's title, No mires arriba / Don't Look Up, is literally a command.
Vocabulary recap: evento catastrófico (catastrophic event), advertencias (warnings), inminente (imminent)
Well, that's our movie lineup for today. Whether you nailed all five or only recognized one from its hint or key terms, we hope this challenge gave you a fun new way to practice Spanish vocabulary while flexing your movie trivia knowledge. Keep an eye out for future rounds with new films and new words to discover — and if you have a favorite movie you'd love to see turned into a quiz, we'd love to hear about it. Send us your guesses, your suggestions, and any questions along the way!
¡Hasta la próxima!
Although the preposition ante is not as "popular" as some others, such as the preposition a or the preposition en, it is still very useful. In fact, this lesson will explain 3 different ideas that the preposition ante can express. Let's get started!
One of the most common uses of the preposition ante is to mean "before" or "in front of." This includes physical position or location. Let's see a couple of examples from our library:
Hoy la luna pálida aparece ante mis ojos
Today the pale moon appears before my eyes
Caption 1, Festivaliando Mono Núñez - Part 17
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y ya a la edad de cinco años tocaba piano ante el público y daba conciertos.
and at the age of five was already playing piano in front of an audience and putting on concerts.
Captions 26-27, Hispanoamericanos en Berlín Mauricio y el maestro Arrau
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In addition to describing literal location, the preposition ante can also figuratively mean "before," particularly when used with nouns, verbs, and adjectives that entail a particular stance on something, or call to or withdrawal from action. In these cases, it is often translated with the less formal "to." Let's take a look:
Lo que usted tiene que hacer es quejarse ante una asociación protectora de animales.
What you have to do is complain to an animal protective association.
Captions 26-27, Kikirikí Animales - Part 5
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Sus llamativos trajes y su manera de bailar reflejan la resistencia ante la conquista española.
Their striking costumes and their manner of dancing reflect the resistance to the Spanish conquest.
Captions 17-18, Música andina Ritmos andinos con violín
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De ceder ante tu llanto No pienso abrir las heridas de haberte querido tanto
Of giving in to your crying I do not plan to open the wounds of having loved you so much
Captions 21-22, No te va a gustar Chau
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The preposition ante can also be used as the equivalent of English expressions like "in the face of," "in the presence of," or "faced with." Let's take a look at two examples, including one from our popular series Confidencial: Asesino al Volante:
Sabias palabras del padre Sarmiento ante la inmisericorde caza de brujas que se ha desatado en contra del Señor Jorge Castellanos.
Wise words from Father Sarmiento in the face of the merciless witch hunt that has been unleashed against Mister Jorge Castellanos.
Captions 60-62, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 4 - Part 1
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y, ante el temor de la mujer por un viaje tan largo a un lugar tan desconocido, la consoló con la promesa de regresar lo antes posible
and, faced with the wife's fear of such a long trip to such an unknown place, he consoled her with the promise of returning as soon as possible
Captions 11-13, Cleer El espejo de Matsuyama
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The preposition ante can also be used like the English "(as) compared to" or "next to," as in the following examples:
Ante la belleza de su hermana mayor, la chica se creía muy ordinaria.
Compared to her older sister's beauty, the girl believed she was very ordinary.
Ante la personalidad exigente de su jefe previo, su jefe nuevo parecía muy tranquilo.
Next to her former boss' demanding personality, her new boss seemed very mellow.
You might also hear the Spanish preposition ante in idiomatic expressions, such as ante ello ("in light of that" or "considering that"), ante la duda ("in case of doubt" or "when in doubt"), ante todo ("above all" or "first of all"), and many more. Let's hear two of these in action:
Y ante todo sos una chica que tenés derecho a soñar con todo lo que quieras.
And above all you're a girl who has the right to dream about everything you want.
Caption 13, Muñeca Brava 44 El encuentro - Part 7
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Ante la duda... -Ninguna. -que no se coma.
In case of doubt... -None. -don't eat it.
Captions 85-86, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 11
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That's all for this lesson. As you can see, there are many ways to use the preposition ante, and we encourage you to try to write some additional sentences with each one of these uses. And, of course, don't forget to send us your questions and comments.
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