English and the World · Spain · 4 · Granada · A1–C2 · A1–A2 free
White houses dug into a hillside, flamenco in a cave by candlelight, and a box of lead tablets that fooled a whole city for almost a century. Choose your level.
Sacromonte, Granada
Sacromonte is a hill next to the Albaicín, above the river Darro. Its name means “Holy Mountain”. Here, many houses are caves: people dug them into the soft hillside, and painted the fronts white.
A cave house is cool in summer and warm in winter. Inside, there are rooms, a kitchen and a chimney, and the walls are covered with copper pots and plates. For centuries, many Gitano (Roma) families lived here, and some still do.
Today you can visit a small museum of cave houses, and walk along the Camino del Sacromonte, with its views of the Alhambra.
A conversation
Lucía: Do you like dancing, Tom?
Tom: I love watching dancers, but I hate dancing myself!
Lucía: Then you’ll enjoy seeing a zambra. It’s a flamenco show in a cave.
Tom: In a cave? Is it big?
Lucía: No, it’s very small! The dancers are very close to you. They love clapping and stamping, and the guitarist plays very fast.
Tom: Do you like singing too?
Lucía: Yes, but I don’t like singing in front of people. Flamenco singers are amazing!
Lucía and Tom are invented for practice; the zambras of Sacromonte are real.
🦉 Want more? Sophia explains when we use -ing and when we use to in To Go, or Going (Philo & Sophia, Lesson 16).
Language: likes and dislikes + -ing
| How much? | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 😍 | love + -ing | I love watching dancers. |
| 🙂 | like / enjoy + -ing | You’ll enjoy seeing a zambra. |
| 😐 | don’t mind + -ing | I don’t mind walking up the hill. |
| 🙁 | don’t like + -ing | I don’t like singing in front of people. |
| 😖 | hate + -ing | I hate dancing myself! |
⚠️ Spelling: dance → dancing (no e), clap → clapping, sing → singing. And enjoy always takes -ing: I enjoy dancing, not ✗ I enjoy to dance.
Read the texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. What does “Sacromonte” mean?
2. Why is a cave house good to live in?
3. What is a zambra?
4. What does Tom think about dancing?
Write the verb with -ing.
5. I love (watch) the dancers.
6. Tom hates (dance).
7. The dancers love (clap) and stamping.
8. You’ll enjoy (see) a zambra.
Choose the best answer.
9. Which sentence is correct?
10. “I ___ walking up the hill. It’s OK.”
11. Which sentence is correct?
12. Which sentence is correct?
Go there!
How: walk up the Camino del Sacromonte from the Paseo de los Tristes, or take the small bus. Visit the cave museum in the afternoon, and book a zambra for the evening. Many shows include a bus back to the city centre. Wear good shoes: the paths are steep!
Your task: write six sentences about what you love, like, don’t mind, don’t like and hate doing at the weekend.
It tells the story of the “Holy Mountain”: the lead box in the old minaret, the lead tablets found in the caves in 1595, the abbey built for their relics, their condemnation in Rome as forgeries, the Moriscos who probably wrote them, and the caves, zambras and floods of later centuries, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.
It tells the story of the “Holy Mountain”: the lead box in the old minaret, the lead tablets found in the caves in 1595, the abbey built for their relics, their condemnation in Rome as forgeries, the Moriscos who probably wrote them, and the caves, zambras and floods of later centuries, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.