Absolute Beginner Spanish - The Paraguayan War
This absolute beginner Spanish story is about the Paraguayan War. In 1864, Paraguay went to war against Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, three countries against one. Children and the elderly fought, and by the end most of Paraguay's population had died.
Written for complete beginners, the story uses very short sentences, lots of repetition, and only three past-tense verbs.
Listen to the audio, follow the full transcript, and click any word for an instant translation. You can also download the full story as a free PDF to study offline.
The three verbs are:
empezó - started
lucharon - fought
terminó - ended
Transcript
Select a Spanish word or phrase for a translation.
La guerra del Paraguay
The Paraguayan War
In 1864, Brasil, Argentina and Uruguay went to war against Paraguay.
Children and elderly were forced to fight.
By the end of the war, most of Paraguay's population had died,
a country almost erased.
Vocabulary from the story
guerra - war
contra - against
ancianos - elderly people
hambre - hunger
miedo - fear
muerte - death
mayoría - majority or most
desaparecido - disappeared or vanished
Verbs from the story
empezó - started
la guerra de Paraguay empezó - the Paraguayan war started
lucharon - fought
niños y ancianos lucharon - children and elderly fought
terminó - ended
la guerra terminó - the war ended
Now, the story
La guerra de Paraguay
La guerra de Paraguay empezó en 1864.
Uruguay, Argentina y Brasil contra Paraguay.
Tres contra uno.
Niños y ancianos lucharon.
Hambre, miedo, familias destruidas.
La guerra terminó con la muerte de la mayoría de la población en Paraguay,
un país casi desaparecido.