Local facilities and services — CIE IGCSE Spanish Revision Notes

What you'll learn

This revision guide covers the essential vocabulary, phrases and grammatical structures you need to discuss local facilities and services in Spanish for CIE IGCSE examinations. You'll learn how to describe places in your town, give directions, express opinions about facilities, and discuss what services are available or missing in your local area — all core components of the Area A: Everyday activities topic.

Key terms and definitions

Las instalaciones — facilities or amenities available in a town or neighbourhood (sports centres, libraries, parks)

Los servicios — services provided to the community (public transport, healthcare, emergency services)

El centro comercial — shopping centre or mall, a key facility term frequently tested in reading and listening papers

La comisaría — police station, part of essential emergency services vocabulary

El ayuntamiento — town hall or council building, important for civic facilities

El barrio — neighbourhood or district, used when describing local areas

Las afueras — outskirts or suburbs, useful for describing location of facilities

El transporte público — public transport, critical for discussing accessibility of services

Core concepts

Types of local facilities

CIE IGCSE requires you to know a comprehensive range of facilities across several categories. Organise your revision by grouping related vocabulary:

Shopping facilities:

el mercado (market)
la tienda (shop)
el supermercado (supermarket)
la panadería (bakery)
la carnicería (butcher's)
la pescadería (fishmonger's)
la farmacia (pharmacy)
el estanco (tobacconist's/kiosk)

Leisure and cultural facilities:

el cine (cinema)
el teatro (theatre)
el museo (museum)
la biblioteca (library)
el polideportivo (sports centre)
la piscina (swimming pool)
el parque (park)
el campo de fútbol (football pitch)
la bolera (bowling alley)

Essential services:

el hospital (hospital)
el centro de salud (health centre)
la comisaría (police station)
la estación de bomberos (fire station)
el banco (bank)
Correos / la oficina de correos (post office)
la estación de autobuses (bus station)
la estación de trenes (train station)

Religious and educational facilities:

la iglesia (church)
la mezquita (mosque)
la sinagoga (synagogue)
el colegio (school)
el instituto (secondary school)
la universidad (university)

Describing location and giving directions

The IGCSE specification requires you to give and understand directions. Master these essential phrases and prepositions:

Key prepositions of place:

en el centro (in the centre)
cerca de (near)
lejos de (far from)
al lado de (next to)
enfrente de (opposite)
detrás de (behind)
delante de (in front of)
entre (between)
en la esquina (on the corner)

Direction-giving verbs: Use the imperative form (command) or "tienes que" + infinitive:

seguir todo recto (continue straight on)
girar/doblar a la derecha (turn right)
girar/doblar a la izquierda (turn left)
cruzar (cross)
tomar la primera/segunda calle (take the first/second street)
pasar (pass)

Complete direction examples:

"Sigue todo recto y gira a la derecha en el semáforo" (Continue straight on and turn right at the traffic lights)
"Cruza la plaza y el banco está al lado del supermercado" (Cross the square and the bank is next to the supermarket)

Expressing opinions about facilities

IGCSE assessments require you to express and justify opinions. Use these structures to discuss local facilities:

Positive opinions:

Me gusta mucho (I really like)
Me encanta (I love)
Es/Son estupendo/a(s) (It's/They're great)
Es muy útil (It's very useful)
Es práctico/a (It's practical)
Está bien situado/a (It's well located)

Negative opinions:

No me gusta (I don't like)
Me parece mal (I think it's bad)
Es una pena que (It's a shame that)
Falta(n) (It's/They're missing/lacking)

Adding justifications:

porque (because)
ya que (since)
debido a que (due to the fact that)

Example combinations:

"Me encanta el polideportivo porque tiene instalaciones modernas" (I love the sports centre because it has modern facilities)
"Es una pena que no haya cine en mi pueblo porque hay que ir a la ciudad" (It's a shame there's no cinema in my town because you have to go to the city)

Discussing availability and frequency

You need to discuss what is or isn't available in your area, and how often you use facilities:

Talking about availability:

Hay (There is/There are)
No hay (There isn't/There aren't)
Tenemos (We have)
Falta(n) (It's/They're missing)
Existe(n) (There exist(s))
Se encuentra (It is found/located)

Frequency expressions:

todos los días (every day)
una vez/dos veces a la semana (once/twice a week)
los fines de semana (at weekends)
de vez en cuando (from time to time)
a menudo (often)
raramente (rarely)
nunca (never)

Transport and accessibility

This subtopic links facilities with how people access them:

Types of transport:

el autobús (bus)
el tren (train)
el metro (underground/metro)
el taxi (taxi)
el coche (car)
la bicicleta (bicycle)
a pie (on foot)

Useful phrases:

Para ir al centro, cojo el autobús (To go to the centre, I take the bus)
El transporte público es muy bueno/malo (Public transport is very good/bad)
Hay muchos/pocos autobuses (There are many/few buses)
Las instalaciones son accesibles (The facilities are accessible)

Comparing facilities (past, present, future)

IGCSE examinations often require you to use multiple time frames. Compare facilities using different tenses:

Past tense (talking about how things were):

Antes había (There used to be)
Cuando era pequeño/a (When I was young)
El año pasado visitaba (Last year I used to visit)

Present tense:

Ahora hay (Now there is/are)
En la actualidad (Currently)
Hoy en día (Nowadays)

Future tense:

Van a construir (They're going to build)
Habrá (There will be)
Espero que haya (I hope there will be)

Example: "Antes no había piscina en mi barrio pero ahora tenemos una muy moderna. En el futuro van a construir un polideportivo nuevo." (There didn't use to be a swimming pool in my neighbourhood but now we have a very modern one. In the future they're going to build a new sports centre.)

Worked examples

Example 1: Reading comprehension question

Question: Read this text and answer in Spanish.

"En mi ciudad hay muchas instalaciones deportivas. Tenemos dos polideportivos, una piscina cubierta y varios campos de fútbol. Lo que me gusta más es el nuevo centro de tenis que está cerca de mi casa. Sin embargo, es una pena que no tengamos bolera porque a mis amigos les encanta jugar a los bolos. Para ir al centro comercial, normalmente cojo el autobús número doce."

(a) ¿Qué instalación deportiva está cerca de la casa del autor? [1] (b) ¿Qué falta en la ciudad? [1] (c) ¿Cómo va el autor al centro comercial? [1]

Mark scheme answers: (a) El centro de tenis / Un centro de tenis [1 mark for correct facility] (b) Una bolera / No hay bolera [1 mark — accept "bolera" alone] (c) En autobús / Coge el autobús (número doce) [1 mark — "número doce" not required]

Example 2: Writing task

Question: Write approximately 80-90 words in Spanish about the facilities in your local area. You must write something about each of the four bullet points:

What facilities there are in your town
Which facility you use most often and why
What is missing in your area
What improvements you would like to see

Model answer (92 words):

"Vivo en una ciudad bastante grande donde hay muchas instalaciones. Tenemos un centro comercial enorme, varios cines, una biblioteca moderna y un polideportivo. La instalación que uso más a menudo es la piscina municipal porque me encanta nadar y está cerca de mi casa.

Desafortunadamente, no hay suficientes zonas verdes en el centro y es una pena que no tengamos un parque grande. En el futuro, me gustaría que construyeran más parques con árboles porque sería mejor para el medio ambiente. También necesitamos mejores conexiones de autobús."

Why this scores well:

Addresses all four bullet points clearly
Uses variety of facilities vocabulary
Includes opinions with justifications ("porque me encanta nadar")
Uses multiple time frames (present: "hay", "uso"; future: "me gustaría que construyeran")
Demonstrates range of structures (impersonal "hay", subjunctive after "es una pena que", conditional "sería")

Example 3: Speaking role play

Task: You are asking for directions to the sports centre. The teacher will play the role of a person in the street.

Sports centre — location? (ask question)
How long — walk? (ask question)
Other facilities — nearby? (ask question)
! (respond to something you have not prepared)

Model student responses:

"¿Dónde está el polideportivo, por favor?" / "Perdone, ¿puede decirme dónde está el polideportivo?"
"¿Cuánto tiempo se tarda a pie?" / "¿Cuánto se tarda andando?"
"¿Hay otras instalaciones cerca del polideportivo?" / "¿Qué otras instalaciones hay por allí?"
[Unpredictable — could be "¿A qué hora abre?" / "¿Cuánto cuesta la entrada?" / "Muchas gracias por su ayuda"]

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Confusing gender of facilities: "El piscina" is incorrect — it's "la piscina" (feminine). Learn nouns with their articles: "la biblioteca", "el museo", "la estación". Create flashcards with the article included.
Wrong verb with "hay": Never say "hay son" or "hay está". "Hay" already means "there is/are" — it stands alone. Correct: "Hay una biblioteca" not "Hay es una biblioteca".
Forgetting que after opinion phrases: After "es una pena", "me gusta", "espero", you need "que" before the next clause. Write: "Es una pena que no haya cine" not "Es una pena no hay cine".
Mixing up estar/ser with locations: Use "estar" for location ("El banco está en el centro"), not "ser". However, use "hay" for existence ("Hay un banco en el centro").
Overusing "muy": Vary your intensifiers. Instead of always saying "muy bueno", use "estupendo", "excelente", "fantástico", "fenomenal". Instead of "muy malo", try "horrible", "terrible", "pésimo".
Not using plural agreements: If discussing multiple facilities, make adjectives plural: "Las instalaciones son modernas" not "Las instalaciones son moderna". Remember that adjectives must agree in both gender and number.

Exam technique for "Local facilities and services"

Learn question words thoroughly: "¿Dónde?" (where), "¿Qué?" (what), "¿Cuándo?" (when), "¿Cómo?" (how), "¿Por qué?" (why). In reading/listening tasks, identifying the question word tells you exactly what information to extract — don't waste time translating everything.
For speaking/writing tasks, extend beyond listing: Don't just name facilities. Add opinions ("me gusta porque..."), frequency ("voy todos los sábados"), or comparisons ("es mejor que..."). A simple list might score 3-4 marks; developed responses score 8-10 marks.
Use connectives to boost marks: Link ideas with "sin embargo" (however), "además" (furthermore), "por otro lado" (on the other hand), "también" (also). These show sophistication and help you reach higher mark bands in speaking and writing.
Time management in writing: If asked about facilities (present), what was there before (past), and future improvements, divide your word count roughly equally. Don't spend 100 words on present facilities and rush the past/future sections — you'll miss marks for not addressing all bullet points adequately.

Quick revision summary

Master core facilities vocabulary organised by category (shopping, leisure, services). Learn location prepositions ("cerca de", "al lado de") and direction verbs (imperative forms). Express opinions with justifications using "porque", "ya que". Discuss availability with "hay/no hay" and use frequency expressions. Compare across time frames (past, present, future) for higher marks. Remember gender agreements, use "estar" for location, and extend answers beyond simple lists with opinions and connectives. Practice the subjunctive after opinion phrases like "es una pena que".