English and the World · Spain · 38 · Algarve, Portugal · A1–C2 · A1–A2 free
High cliffs at the end of Europe, a prince who sent ships into the unknown, a harbour where the age of exploration began, and the darker story it also tells. Choose your level.
Sagres and Cape St Vincent
Cape St Vincent is the south-west corner of Europe. Its cliffs are about 75 metres high, and the wind is very strong. For the Romans, this was the end of the world. There is a big lighthouse, and every evening people come to watch the sun go down into the ocean.
Near the cape is Sagres, with an old fortress on a rocky point. Prince Henry of Portugal, called “Henry the Navigator”, lived near here in the 15th century. He sent ships south along the coast of Africa, into seas that no European sailor knew.
Lagos
Many of Henry’s ships left from Lagos, a town with a big bay. Today Lagos is famous for its beautiful rocks and caves at Ponta da Piedade. But it has a sad story too: in 1444 ships brought African people here, and they were sold as slaves. A small museum in the town tells their story.
Visiting? You should bring a jacket to Cape St Vincent, because it’s windy. You should see the caves from a small boat. And you shouldn’t go too near the edge of the cliffs!
🦉 Want more? Sophia explains should and the other modal verbs in How Sure, How Allowed, How Obliged (Philo & Sophia, Lesson 6).
Language: should for advice
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| advice: a good idea | should + verb | You should bring a jacket. |
| advice: a bad idea | shouldn’t + verb | You shouldn’t go near the edge. |
| asking for advice | Should I / we + verb? | Should we take a boat? |
| giving a reason | … because … | You should go early, because it gets busy. |
⚠️ No to and no -s after should: He should go, not ✗ He should to go or ✗ He should goes.
Read the texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. What is Cape St Vincent?
2. What did Prince Henry do?
3. What is Ponta da Piedade famous for?
4. What sad event happened in Lagos in 1444?
Write should or shouldn’t.
5. It’s windy at the cape. You bring a jacket.
6. It’s dangerous. You go near the edge.
7. The caves are beautiful. You see them from a boat.
8. The sun is strong. You forget your hat.
Write the missing word.
9. we go to the cape at sunset? Yes, it’s beautiful.
10. He should the museum in Lagos. (visit / visits / to visit)
11. You should go early, it gets very busy.
12. Should I a boat to the caves? (take / takes / to take)
Go there!
Visit: the fortress of Sagres and the lighthouse of Cape St Vincent at sunset. In Lagos, take a boat to the caves of Ponta da Piedade, walk on the old town walls, and visit the museum of the slave market.
Your task: write six pieces of advice for a visitor to your town, with should and shouldn’t.
It tells how a windswept cape at the edge of Europe became the starting point of the age of exploration, what Prince Henry really did and did not do, how sailors from Lagos passed Cape Bojador, and why the same harbour is also remembered for the first slave market in Europe, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.
It tells how a windswept cape at the edge of Europe became the starting point of the age of exploration, what Prince Henry really did and did not do, how sailors from Lagos passed Cape Bojador, and why the same harbour is also remembered for the first slave market in Europe, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.