Beginner Spanish - The Paraguayan War
This beginner Spanish story is about the Paraguayan War. In 1864, Paraguay went to war against three countries: Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Its leader was Francisco Solano López, and its army was small. Children and the elderly fought, and by 1870 much of Paraguay's population had died.
Written for beginners, the story uses short sentences and six 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 six verbs are:
empezó - started
lucharon - fought
terminó - ended
era - was
había - there was or there were
murieron - died
Transcript
Select a Spanish word or phrase for a translation.
La guerra de Paraguay
The Paraguayan war
In 1864, the triple alliance of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay declared war on Paraguay.
Francisco Solano López led Paraguay alone against three nations.
Children and the elderly were sent to fight.
By 1870, most of Paraguayan's population was dead.
Vocabulary from the story
ejército - army
países - countries
pequeño - small
todos - everyone
1864 - 1864
Verbs from the story
empezó - started
la guerra empezó - the war started
lucharon - fought
todos lucharon por Paraguay - everyone fought for Paraguay
terminó - ended
la guerra terminó en 1870 - the war ended in 1870
era - was
el ejército de Paraguay era pequeño - the army of Paraguay was small
había - there was or there were
había niños en el ejército - there were children in the army
murieron - died
murieron hombres, murieron niños - men died, children died
Now, the story
La guerra de Paraguay
En 1864 la guerra empezó.
Era una guerra entre Paraguay y tres países - Uruguay, Argentina y Brasil.
El líder de Paraguay era Francisco Solano López.
El ejército de Paraguay era pequeño.
Era un problema grande.
Había niños en el ejército.
Había ancianos en el ejército.
Todos lucharon por Paraguay.
Lucharon con hambre y con miedo.
Murieron hombres, murieron niños.
Muchos paraguayos murieron.
La guerra terminó en 1870,
un país casi desaparecido.