CEFR B1 in Spanish: what you can do

B1 is the intermediate level, and the point where many learners feel they can actually communicate. You can deal with most situations you meet while travelling, and you can speak about familiar topics, plans and experiences in connected sentences.

What you can do

• Deal with most situations during a trip: travel, accommodation, restaurants, and emergencies in simple terms.
• Describe experiences, feelings, dreams and hopes, and give reasons and short explanations for opinions and plans.
• Tell a story or describe a past event in some detail, linking events in time.
• Follow the main points of clear standard speech on familiar topics, such as work, school and leisure.
• Write simple connected texts on familiar topics, and personal letters describing experiences.

Typical grammar at B1

• The contrast between the preterite and the imperfect: Preterite vs imperfect.
• Por and para: Por vs para.
• The present subjunctive after simple triggers: quiero que vengas, espero que estés bien.
• The conditional for polite requests and advice: me gustaría, podrías, deberías.
• Relative pronouns que, donde, quien: la ciudad donde vivo.
• Present perfect for recent experience: he estado en Perú.

Vocabulary themes

Travel, work, education, feelings, health, the environment, media, and expressing opinions.

Example sentences at B1

• Si tuviera más tiempo, aprendería a tocar la guitarra.
• Quiero que mis amigos conozcan este restaurante.
• Cuando era niño, vivíamos cerca del mar.
• Me gustaría reservar una mesa para cuatro, por favor.

What comes next

At B2, you handle a wider range of subjects with more precision and spontaneity, and the subjunctive appears in most contexts. See the B2 guide.