🥘 ANTES
DURANTE
DESPUÉS
Tell a Story in Spanish
A paella is not just lunch. It has a before, a during and — if you've eaten far too much — a very important after.
Today we're going to use three simple Spanish words to turn isolated sentences into a story with a beginning, a middle and an end.
☀️ There is a paella coming...
Ian and Jill are having lunch with friends near the Mediterranean. The table is ready. The paellera paella pan is on the fire. And Ian has been asking the same question for twenty minutes:
😂 Perfect. We now have a timeline.
👀 Look at the three moments
Study the infographic. Don't translate the three words yet. Try to connect each one with a moment in the experience.
⏱️ Give your story a timeline
Something happens earlier.
Antes, preparamos los ingredientes.
Something happens within a period or event.
Durante la comida, hablamos mucho.
Something happens later.
Después, tomamos café.
🧩 Three patterns worth learning
Antes de la comida
Before the meal
Antes de comer
Before eating
Durante la comida
During the meal
Durante el viaje
During the journey
Después de la comida
After the meal
Después de comer
After eating
Notice the useful little word de with antes de and después de.
But when the words stand alone, we can simply say:
Antes... · Durante... · Después...
🎬 Three acts. One lunch.
Antes de comer, todos ayudan a preparar la mesa.
Jill corta el pan bread, Ian trae las bebidas drinks y alguien pone los cubiertos cutlery.
La paella todavía está en el fuego y huele de maravilla.
Ian intenta coger una gamba.
Jill sees him. The prawn survives.
Durante la comida, nadie tiene prisa.
Hablan, ríen y comparten la paella.
Ian pregunta:
— ¿Puedo repetir?
Then he repite has another helping.
And repeats again.
Jill begins to suspect that the afternoon walk is in danger.
Después de comer, llega el café.
Todos quieren dar un paseo junto al mar.
Todos excepto Ian.
Ian está lleno full, feliz y absolutamente inmóvil.
— Después de la paella, necesito una siesta.
And that, Ian, is excellent use of Spanish.
🧠 Three words can organise your memory
Beginners often try to tell a story as a collection of separate sentences:
Fuimos a la playa.
Comimos.
Hablamos.
Tomamos café.
Volvimos a casa.
All correct. But give your brain three temporal anchors:
ANTES → DURANTE → DESPUÉS
Now the events have somewhere to go.
This is useful not only for paella. You can use the same mental structure to describe a journey, a working day, a party, an appointment, a walk, a class or your weekend.
🎧 Hear the sequence
Listen first. Then repeat the complete sentence, not just the connector.
🌍 The same three words work everywhere
Antes del viaje, preparo la maleta.
Durante el viaje, hago muchas fotos.
Después del viaje, descanso.
Antes de trabajar, tomo café.
Durante el trabajo, hablo con mis compañeros.
Después de trabajar, vuelvo a casa.
Antes de ir a la playa, compro agua.
Durante la mañana, nado y leo.
Después de la playa, voy a comer.
Antes de la cita, preparo mis documentos.
Durante la consulta, explico el problema.
Después de la consulta, voy a la farmacia.
One structure. Hundreds of possible stories.
🔍 “de + el” becomes “del”
You'll often see:
después del viaje
antes del desayuno
That's simply:
de + el → del
So:
después de la comida
but
después del almuerzo
A small detail, but a very useful one when you start building your own sentences.
🎮 Where does each event belong?
✍️ Build a three-sentence story
Choose one experience:
🏖️ a day at the beach · 🚗 a journey · 🍽️ a meal · 🎉 a party · 💼 a working day · 🥾 a walk
Now complete:
Antes de ____________________, yo ____________________.
Durante ____________________, yo ____________________.
Después de ____________________, yo ____________________.
Congratulations: you've just built a tiny Spanish narrative.
📱 Turn your day into Spanish
Take — or choose — three photos from your day.
What happened first?
📷 PHOTO 2 · DURANTE
What happened in the middle?
📷 PHOTO 3 · DESPUÉS
What happened afterwards?
Write or say one Spanish sentence for each photo.
Three photos.
Three sentences.
One real story in Spanish.
⚡ Put life in order
Three words can turn sentences into a story.
Before, during and after. That's a meal. That's a journey. That's a day at work. That's a holiday. That's life.
ANTES → DURANTE → DESPUÉS
And once you can put your experiences in order... you can start telling your story in Spanish.
Neuro-Spanish for You!
