Al oír esto... Al salir ellos del agua... Al caer a tierra...

Upon hearing this... Upon getting out of the water... In falling to the ground...

These are my translations btw - I hope I've got it straight. I'm seeing this "Al + verb in the infinitive" often enough in reading but I don't remember seeing this construction in the course. Perhaps it's not used so much in conversation?
 

Hi Steven!

Your translations are correct :) You could also use "After hearing this" or "When they fell to ground"... Even though the verbs are not in the past tense, the word "al" may indicate that it was a past action, although it'd be better to have a context to confirm.

And yes, these are usually found in written material or literary works, not frequently in every-day conversation.

Regards!
 

Gracias, Marie.
 

It is always interesting to me when I read or hear that something is used more in written form than in daily conversation. My first thought is "why not equally in both." Then I think the same is probably true in English, it is just that I have seen English written and heard it spoken my entire life and never have to think about it.

Which, to me, is one of the side benefits to learning a new language: it makes me think more about my native language.