Contos has 12 Spanish story series at A2, for learners who can follow simple present-tense Spanish and want more. Chapters run from 211 to 301 words, bring in the past tenses and far more dialogue, and are set in Spain, from Madrid to Salamanca and the Basque coast. Chapters 1 and 2 of every series are free.
- Series
- 12
- Chapters
- 74, of which 24 are free
- Chapter length
- 211–301 words (average 256)
- New at this level
- Past tenses, longer scenes, much more dialogue
- Settings
- Madrid, Salamanca, Hondarribia, the Basque hills, a Castilian village
- Spanish
- Spain Spanish
- A2El Edificio de la Calle SolThe Building on Calle Sol · Mystery, RomanceAlba entra en el portal con dos cajas. Tiene veintiséis años, los ojos curiosos, y acaba de mudarse al piso cuatro del edificio Flores. Carmen la ve desde la…
- A2El Gato de la Calle CervantesThe Cat of Cervantes Street · Comedy, MysteryMartes por la mañana. Doña Esperanza grita desde la cuarta planta: "¡Señor Whiskers! ¡Gato!" Nadie responde. El gato no está en la casa. Está en la calle, o en…
- A2Andén 6Platform 6 · RomanceEs lunes a las 8:17 de la mañana en la estación de Chamartín. El tren llega con su ruido habitual. Dentro, las mismas caras cansadas suben y bajan cada día. Marta…
- A2El Café de las Cartas PerdidasThe Café of Lost Letters · Romance, FamilyClara entra en el café a las ocho de la mañana. Hace frío. Las ventanas están sucias y todo huele a café antiguo y a tristeza. Su abuela Matilde murió hace dos…
- A2La Agencia de Don FermínDon Fermín's Agency · Crime, ComedyDon Fermín prepara el café en su pequeña oficina. Las paredes son grises. Hay una foto vieja de la Plaza Mayor en la pared. Abajo, en La Burbujeante, Rosario lava…
- A2La Voz de MañanaTomorrow's Voice · Sci-Fi, MysteryMiren abre la puerta del caserío y entra el aire fresco de agosto. El viejo casarón huele a madera y a leña. Unai corre hacia la ventana de la cocina.
- A2El Algoritmo del CorazónThe Algorithm of the Heart · Sci-Fi, RomanceLucía está sentada a su escritorio cuando suena su teléfono. No es una llamada. Es un mensaje. En la aplicación MiMatch. "Hola. Esto es extraño." Lucía respira…
- A2La Habitación 7Room 7 · Crime, MysteryMiren limpia las gafas y mira la pantalla del ordenador. Las dos de la mañana. Hondarribia duerme. Solo ella está en la recepción, como cada noche. De repente,…
- A2El Repartidor de MisteriosThe Delivery Mix-Up · Crime, ComedyMarcos pedalea rápido por las calles de Malasaña. Llueve un poco y tiene prisa. En la cesta de su bicicleta hay dos paquetes idénticos, los dos envueltos en papel…
- A2Las notas de la Librería Cuatro VientosThe Notes of the Four Winds Bookshop · Mystery, RomanceEra lunes por la mañana y la calle olía a pan caliente. Pilar Ortega abrió la librería Cuatro Vientos y el gato color naranja siguió dormido en la silla. Don…
- A2El Coro de la Casa del PuebloThe Choir of the Village Hall · Comedy, FamilyMarina llegó a la Casa del Pueblo a las seis en punto. Llevaba una carpeta llena de partituras y una sonrisa nerviosa. Pero la puerta estaba cerrada. Buscó la llave…
- A2El recetario de la panadería de la esquinaThe Recipe Book at the Corner Bakery · Crime, ComedySon las siete de la mañana en la Panadería Hermanos Villalba. El horno de leña huele a pan caliente y la plaza empieza a despertar. Lucía está muy cansada, pero…
What changes in Spanish at A2?
Mostly, time. A1 chapters stay in the present, but at A2 characters start talking about what has already happened, and some series tell the whole story in the past. Scenes get longer as well, and a bigger share of every chapter is people talking to each other.
Anoche dormiste mal. Es normal. Es un edificio antiguo. Hace ruidos.
You slept badly last night. It's normal. It's an old building. It makes noises.
El Edificio de la Calle Sol, A2 chapter 1. Carmen uses the preterite (dormiste) for one finished event, then drops straight back into the present.
Marina llegó a la Casa del Pueblo a las seis en punto. Llevaba una carpeta llena de partituras y una sonrisa nerviosa.
Marina arrived at the village hall at six o'clock sharp. She was carrying a folder full of sheet music and a nervous smile.
El Coro de la Casa del Pueblo, chapter 1, which is told in the past. Llegó (preterite) is the event; llevaba (imperfect) describes her as she arrives.
Two everyday shortcuts turn up constantly at this level. Acabar de plus a verb means "to have just done something": Alba introduces herself to her new neighbour with Acabo de llegar (I've just arrived). And ir a plus a verb is the future you will see most often. "Voy a investigar", says the retired policewoman in El Gato de la Calle Cervantes when her neighbour's cat goes missing.
Why does Spanish dialogue start with a dash?
Because Spanish novels set speech out differently from English ones, and A2 is where you start reading a lot of it. Instead of quotation marks, a long dash called la raya opens each spoken line, and a second dash separates what was said from who said it:
—¿No sabes nada? —dijo Pilar.
"You don't know anything?" said Pilar.
Las notas de la Librería Cuatro Vientos, chapter 1. The question is wrapped in ¿…?, so you know it is a question before you reach the end.
Not every series does it this way. Some use ordinary quotation marks or the angle quotes Spanish printers like (« »), and a few simply give each speaker a short line of their own with no marks at all. If a paragraph is one short line, someone is almost always speaking.
Which A2 Spanish story should I read first?
- For a mystery: El Gato de la Calle Cervantes, in which a cat vanishes from a Madrid block and a retired policewoman questions the neighbours, or La Habitación 7, set on the night shift of a small hotel in Hondarribia.
- For romance: Andén 6, which begins with a spilt coffee on the 8:17 from Chamartín, or El Algoritmo del Corazón, in which a dating app matches Lucía with her own boss.
- For comedy: El recetario de la panadería de la esquina, about notes in green ink that keep appearing in a bakery's recipe book, or El Coro de la Casa del Pueblo, about a village choir that must win a contest to keep its hall.
- For sci-fi: La Voz de Mañana, in which an old radio in a Basque farmhouse reads out tomorrow's news.
- For a family story: El Café de las Cartas Perdidas, in which Clara finds old love letters in a coffee tin in her late grandmother's café.
Not quite ready? Go back to the A1 Spanish stories for a few more weeks. Want longer chapters told in the past? Move on to the B1 Spanish stories, or browse every Spanish series.
Frequently asked questions
How much Spanish do I need for A2 stories?
Roughly what an A1 reader has: the present tense of common verbs, everyday nouns and the question words. The preterite and the perfect tense (ha desaparecido, has disappeared) appear here, often for the first time, and you can tap any form you don't recognise. Contos moves you up to A2 once you know 500 Spanish words.
How long are the A2 chapters?
Between 211 and 301 words in the free chapters, with an average of 256.
Are the A2 Spanish stories free?
Chapters 1 and 2 of all 12 A2 series are free, 24 chapters in all, in your browser or on iPhone and iPad. Chapters 3 onwards are part of Contos Premium.
Is the A2 Spanish from Spain?
Yes. The series are written in Spain Spanish and set mostly in Madrid, with others in Salamanca, Hondarribia, the Basque hills and a Castilian village. Expect vosotros in dialogue: "Perdonad, perdonad", says Paco the plumber, late for choir practice.