English and the World · Spain · 55 · Córdoba · A1–C2 · A1–A2 free
A forest of columns, red and white arches that go on and on, a golden doorway of mosaics, and a cathedral standing in the middle of a mosque. Choose your level.
A postcard from Córdoba
Dear Grandma, I’m writing to you from the Court of the Oranges, the big courtyard outside the Mezquita. The sun is shining, and some children are playing near a fountain. Lots of tourists are waiting in the queue, and a guide is talking about the history of the building.
The Mezquita was a mosque. The emirs and caliphs of Córdoba built it in four stages, from 785 to 987. In 1236 it became a cathedral, and it is still a cathedral today.
The forest of columns
Now I’m standing inside, and it’s dark and cool. There are hundreds of columns, and above them are arches with red and white stripes. People are taking photos, but everyone is speaking quietly.
At the end there is the mihrab, a small room with a golden doorway of mosaics. And in the centre of the old mosque, there is a big cathedral from the 1500s! A choir is singing there right now. I love you, see you soon! Lucía
🦉 Want more? Sophia explains the present simple and the present continuous in The Instant and the Standing Rule (Philo & Sophia, Lesson 1).
Language: the present continuous
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| happening now | am / is / are + verb-ing | The sun is shining. |
| negative | am not / isn’t / aren’t + -ing | People aren’t talking loudly. |
| question | Am / Is / Are + subject + -ing? | Is the choir singing? |
| spelling | write → writing; sit → sitting; lie → lying | I’m sitting by the fountain. |
⚠️ Don’t forget am / is / are: The children are playing, not ✗ The children playing. And for facts that are always true, use the present simple: It is a cathedral.
Read the texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. Where is Lucía when she starts her postcard?
2. When did the Mezquita become a cathedral?
3. What colour are the arches?
4. What is the mihrab?
Write am, is or are.
5. The guide talking about the history.
6. Lots of tourists waiting in the queue.
7. I standing inside the Mezquita.
8. A choir singing in the cathedral.
Write the verb in brackets in the present continuous (two words).
9. The sun . (shine)
10. We by the fountain. (sit)
11. People photos. (take)
12. Nobody is loud: the guide loudly. (not / speak)
Go there!
Visit: the Court of the Oranges is free to enter. Inside, walk slowly through the columns, find the mihrab, then look up at the cathedral in the centre. You can also climb the bell tower for a view over the city. Check the times before you go: the building is still used for Mass.
Your task: imagine you are in a famous place. Write a postcard of six sentences about what is happening around you now.
It tells how a mosque grew in four stages over two centuries, why its arches look the way they do, how an emperor’s mosaicist came from Constantinople, how a cathedral came to be built in its centre and what was said about it, and why the building’s name is still argued about, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.
It tells how a mosque grew in four stages over two centuries, why its arches look the way they do, how an emperor’s mosaicist came from Constantinople, how a cathedral came to be built in its centre and what was said about it, and why the building’s name is still argued about, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.