New here? This is lesson 173 of a free 238-lesson Spanish course.
Free Spanish CourseLesson 173 of 238
It didn't go as planned in Spanish
Amanda once took a trip that went sideways: lost on the road, no signal, no map.
In this lesson you'll learn to say a trip didn't go as planned, what happened on the way, and what you'd do differently next time.
These are the lines that make a good story out of a bad day.
By the end of this lesson
Say a trip went wrong and what you'd do next time.
- El viaje no salió como lo habíamos planeadoThe trip didn't go as planned
- En el camino, pasó ___On the way, ___ happened
- Me perdí, pero encontré el caminoI got lost, but I found the way back
- Fue más ___ de lo que esperabaIt was more ___ than I expected
- La próxima vez, ___Next time, I'd ___
- Nunca voy a olvidar el momento en que ___I'll never forget when ___
Scene — Amanda's old trip
Café Laurel, a slow Saturday afternoon. Amanda comes down from her apartment and sits with Justin and Yako.
She's in the mood to tell the messy middle of a trip she took years ago, and Justin is the one who gets to listen.
Learn — when plans fall apart
Six lines carry the whole messy middle of a story: the plan failing, the detour, getting lost, and the fix for next time.
Two of them are about you, the traveler, so mind the yo forms.
El viaje no salió como lo habíamos planeado
The trip didn't go as planned
When to use it: Say this to open the story of a trip that fell apart.
Habíamos is we had; salió is the preterite of salir.
En el camino, pasó ___
On the way, ___ happened
When to use it: Use this to introduce the thing that went wrong mid-journey.
Fill the blank with a thing: pasó algo raro, pasó una llanta.
Me perdí, pero encontré el camino
I got lost, but I found the way back
When to use it: Say this to admit you got lost and still made it.
Perdí and encontré are both preterite yo forms.
Say it: Perdí and encontré stress the last syllable.
Fue más ___ de lo que esperaba
It was more ___ than I expected
When to use it: Say this to rate the difficulty of something you lived through.
Drop in an adjective: difícil, caro, largo.
La próxima vez, ___
Next time, I'd ___
When to use it: Use this to say what you'd change on the next trip.
The conditional fits here: llevaría, saldría más temprano.
Nunca voy a olvidar el momento en que ___
I'll never forget when ___
When to use it: Say this right before the moment that stuck with you.
After en que, use a preterite: llegamos, vi la playa.
Story — lost and found
Amanda tells it like it happened: the plan, the detour, the lost hour. The highlighted lines are the ones you just learned.
Turn on Show English if the past tenses blur together.
- Amanda sits down with a glass of water and a faraway look.
AmandaFui a Oaxaca el año pasado con una amiga. ¿Te había contado?I went to Oaxaca last year with a friend. Had I told you?
JustinNo, cuéntame.No, tell me.- AmandaEl viaje no salió como lo habíamos planeado.The trip didn't go as planned.
Yako¿Qué pasó?What happened?- AmandaEn el camino, pasó algo raro: perdimos la señal.On the way, something strange happened: we lost the signal.
- AmandaY no llevábamos mapa, ni en papel.And we didn't have a map, not even on paper.
- AmandaMe perdí, pero encontré el camino.I got lost, but I found the way back.
- Justin¿Y cómo?And how?
- AmandaLe pregunté a un señor del pueblo.I asked a man from the village.
- AmandaFue más difícil de lo que esperaba.It was harder than I expected.
- YakoYo nunca me pierdo. Bueno, casi nunca.I never get lost. Well, almost never.
- Yako gestures at the two chairs he knows by heart.
- AmandaLa próxima vez, llevaría un mapa impreso.Next time, I'd bring a printed map.
- AmandaNunca voy a olvidar el momento en que llegué.I'll never forget the moment I arrived.
Michael¿Alguien quiere más agua?Does anyone want more water?- AmandaSí, gracias. Y luego te sigo contando.Yes, thanks. And then I'll keep telling you.
Practice — what went wrong
You'll listen, match, fill gaps, and rebuild these story lines until they come out on their own.
Watch the past-tense endings; that's where trips go wrong in Spanish too.
0 of 10 done
What did you hear?
What did you hear?
Match the pairs
Spanish
En el camino, pasó ___Drop the English hereMe perdí, pero encontré el caminoDrop the English hereLa próxima vez, ___Drop the English hereFui a ___ el año pasadoDrop the English hereEnglish
What do you say?
What do you say?
Your friend asks about the drive to the wedding. You took a wrong turn, but you still found the route and arrived.
Fill the gap
Fill the gap
I got lost, but I found the way back
Me perdí, pero encontré el ____
Pick the reply
Amanda says:
Pick the reply
El viaje no salió como lo habíamos planeado.
The trip didn't go as planned.
And you reply with:
Build the line
Build the line
The trip didn't go as planned
Tap the words in order.
Swap the word
Swap the word
Tell it about your trip: you got lost, but you found the way.
Me perdí, pero encontré ____
What does it mean?
What does it mean?
La próxima vez, ___
Fill the gap
Fill the gap
It was more ___ than I expected
Fue ____ ___ de lo que esperaba
What do you say?
What do you say?
You finally reached the beach after the long drive. That arrival is the part you'll always remember.
Say it — your turn to tell it
Now the story is yours. Amanda asks the questions, and you answer with the lines you learned.
Tap ▶ to hear the model line first if you like. Your recording stays on your device.
- Amanda leans in, ready to hear about a trip of yours.
- AmandaCuéntame de tu último viaje.Tell me about your last trip.
- Justin (you)Say the trip didn't go as planned.
Say the trip didn't go as planned.
El viaje no salió como lo habíamos planeado
The trip didn't go as planned
0 of 4 said
Recap — what you can say now
| Spanish | English | Play |
|---|---|---|
| El viaje no salió como lo habíamos planeado | The trip didn't go as planned | |
| En el camino, pasó ___ | On the way, ___ happened | |
| Me perdí, pero encontré el camino | I got lost, but I found the way back | |
| Fue más ___ de lo que esperaba | It was more ___ than I expected | |
| La próxima vez, ___ | Next time, I'd ___ | |
| Nunca voy a olvidar el momento en que ___ | I'll never forget when ___ |
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Keep your place in the course and see which lines you’ve learned.
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Keep practicing with Yak Cards
Want these trip-gone-wrong lines at hand? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.
One quick round with the Yak Cards a day keeps your preterites ready for the next detour.
Open Yak Cards