A personal account tells the reader when and where something happened, then follows the events.

The idea

Set the scene, move through events with primero and después, and close with al final.

Examples

  • El sábado pasado visité un mercado con mi hermana.Last Saturday I visited a market with my sister.
  • Primero buscamos fruta para la cena.First we looked for fruit for dinner.
  • Después probamos un queso que vendía una vecina.Then we tried a cheese a neighbor was selling.
  • Más tarde empezó a llover y entramos en una cafetería.Later it began to rain and we went into a café.
  • Al final, volvimos a casa con una bolsa de manzanas.In the end, we went home with a bag of apples.
  • Al día siguiente, mi vecino contó su primer viaje en tren.The next day, my neighbor talked about his first train trip.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Spanish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not use al final for the first event: it signals the conclusion, not the beginning.

Try it yourself

  1. To begin the story: ___ preparé la mochila. (Primero / Al final)

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    Primero

    Primero introduces the first action, packing the bag.

  2. After boarding the bus: ___ llegué al museo. (Después / Primero)

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    Después

    Después places arrival after boarding the bus.

  3. To end the story: ___ regresamos a casa. (Al final / Primero)

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    Al final

    Al final makes the return home the conclusion.

Use it today

Write about an outing: introduce it, describe two events in order and add an ending.