Levels
Two levels, each written for real.
Every story is written twice, at A1 and at B1 — not cut down from one to the other.
The levels come from the CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which runs from A1 (beginner) through A2, B1, B2 and C1 to C2 (mastery). LeftLingo publishes the two levels where reading does the most: A1, when every sentence is a small win, and B1, when you can follow a real story and want more of them.
A1
Just starting out- Short sentences — most a dozen words or fewer, one idea each.
- Everyday words, repeated on purpose so they stick.
- The present and one main past tense; no subjunctive.
- From a few sentences (news, satire) to about 200 words (travel, fiction).
B1
Comfortable with everyday topics- Longer sentences, around 15 to 18 words, joined with connectors.
- Richer vocabulary, still without rare idioms.
- More tenses, passives, relative clauses and the conditional.
- Up to about 300 words, with details the A1 version leaves out.
The same story, at both levels.
The opening of one story, in Italian.
- A1
- Il vincitore della maratona si è fermato due volte per un espresso.
- B1
- Il vincitore della maratona di Firenze di domenica si è fermato in due bar lungo il percorso, ha ordinato un espresso in ciascuno e ha comunque tagliato il traguardo per primo.
Which should I pick?
If you know a few hundred words and the present tense, start at A1. If you can read a short A1 story without opening the translation more than a few times, try B1.
You never have to choose for good. Every story switches level in place, so you can read the A1 version first and then the B1 version of the same story — the best way to see what the next level adds.
Each language at each level.
The grammar each level uses differs by language — the past tense an A1 Italian story uses is not the one an A1 Spanish story uses. Each language page says what to expect.