English and the World · Spain · 8 · Granada · A1–C2 · A1–A2 free
White villages with flat grey roofs on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada, water channels a thousand years old, the Morisco revolt of 1568, and the English writers who came to stay. Choose your level.
The south side of the Sierra Nevada
The Alpujarras are a group of valleys and villages on the south side of the Sierra Nevada, about an hour and a half from Granada. The villages are white, and the houses have flat roofs of grey clay and round chimneys with little hats.
The streets are very narrow and steep: they are too narrow for big cars, and some are too steep for bicycles. In Trevélez, one of the highest villages in Spain, the air is cold and dry, so it is cold enough to dry hams. Trevélez ham is famous!
In winter it is too cold to swim in the rivers, but in spring the valleys are green and full of flowers, and the water runs everywhere in old channels called acequias.
The Poqueira valley
Three white villages stand one above the other in the Poqueira valley: Pampaneira, Bubión and Capileira. You can walk from one to the next on old paths. The walk is not too hard, but you need enough water and good shoes.
In the shops you can buy colourful rugs called jarapas, honey and cheese. Above the villages is Mulhacén, the highest mountain in mainland Spain: 3,479 metres. It is high enough to have snow until June!
🦉 Want more? Sophia explains too, enough, very and other words of degree in Carefully, Rarely, Almost Never (Philo & Sophia, Lesson 10).
Language: too and enough
| What | How | Example |
|---|---|---|
| More than is good or possible | too + adjective (+ for / to) | The streets are too narrow for big cars. |
| The right amount | adjective + enough (+ to) | It is cold enough to dry hams. |
| Not the right amount | not + adjective + enough | It isn’t warm enough to swim. |
| With nouns | enough + noun / too much / too many + noun | You need enough water. There are too many cars. |
⚠️ enough goes after an adjective (high enough) but before a noun (enough water). And too is negative: too cold = so cold that it’s a problem; very cold is just a description.
Read the texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. Where are the Alpujarras?
2. What are the roofs of the houses like?
3. Why is Trevélez good for drying hams?
4. What is Mulhacén?
Write too or enough.
5. The streets are narrow for big cars.
6. It is cold to dry hams.
7. In winter it is cold to swim in the rivers.
8. Take water for the walk.
Choose the correct sentence.
9. Which sentence is correct?
10. Which sentence is correct?
11. Which sentence is correct?
12. “The water isn’t ___ to swim in.”
Go there!
How: buses go from Granada to the Alpujarras every day, but they are slow; a car is easier. Visit Lanjarón, famous for its water, Órgiva and its market, the three villages of the Poqueira valley, and Trevélez. Spring and autumn are the best times for walking. Bring warm clothes: it is cold at night, even in summer!
Your task: write six sentences about your town or region with too and enough: It is too … to … . It isn’t … enough to … .
It tells the story of the last refuge of al-Andalus: the revolt of Aben Humeya in 1568, the deportation of the Moriscos and the northern settlers who learned their irrigation, Gerald Brenan’s years in Yegen and South from Granada, and the newcomers of today, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.
It tells the story of the last refuge of al-Andalus: the revolt of Aben Humeya in 1568, the deportation of the Moriscos and the northern settlers who learned their irrigation, Gerald Brenan’s years in Yegen and South from Granada, and the newcomers of today, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.