July 2nd, 2007
CoffeeBreakSpanish.com
Lesson 31
Notes
In this edition:
review of
previously
learned
language
through tests.
Estamos en el avión
Lesson 31
Programme Notes
Welcome to Coffee Break Spanish, the podcast
aimed at independent learners of Spanish. In
Coffee Break Spanish we’ll be guiding you
through the basics of the Spanish language and
helping you to learn to communicate in Spain
and Spanish-speaking countries.
This week’s lesson marks the start of unit 4
which will allow listeners to review the language
covered in the previous units through dialogues
recorded in Spain. The lesson was a review of
previously covered material and featured a
conversation between Mark and Kara recorded
during their flight to Spain.
From lesson 31 onwards, the pdf guide will take
a slightly different form. The dialogues included
in the lesson will be given and a list of words and
phrases used will be provided, along with an
explanation of any language points.
In the case of lesson 31, there was no dialogue.
The notes which follow refer to the various words
and phrases used in Mark and Kara’s review
discussion.
Language Notes
estamos en el avión
we are in the plane
Note the use of the verb estar
because it’s a temporary
situation.
vamos a España
we are going to Spain
The word vamos means “we are
going”. It comes from the verb
ir, meaning “to go”, and it’s an
irregular verb.
¿quién está con nosotros?
who is with us
Again, note the use of estar
tu madre está con nosotros
your mother us with us
The word nosotros means “us”.
no habla español
she doesn’t speak Spanish
There’s no word for “she” - it’s
obvious who we’re talking
about.
tratar de + infinitive
to try to do something
eg. trato de hablar español - I’m
trying to speak Spanish.
¿estás listo/a?
are you ready?
listo for masculine and lista for
feminine
empecemos
let’s begin
¿dónde está...?
where is
parar
to stop
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 31
page 1
Language Notes
la parada de autobuses
the bus stop
está a la derecha
it’s on the right
está a la izquierda
it’s on the left
cerca de
near to
lejos de
far from
¿está cerca de aquí?
is it near here?
¿el hotel está lejos de aquí?
is the hotel far from here?
Note that el hotel comes first.
¡por favor!
lit. “please”
used to attract the attention of
the waiter / waitress
¡oiga!
lit. “listen!”
used in some Spanish-speaking
countries in a cafe/bar situation
una cerveza
a beer
una caña
a glass of draught beer
un café con leche
a white coffee
un (café) cortado
a coffee with a dash of milk
la cuenta, por favor
the bill, please
Note that the singular of
autobuses is autobús, with an
accent. The plural version
doesn’t need an accent because
it automatically has the stress on
the second-last syllable.
¿nos trae la cuenta, por favor? can you bring us the bill please
Note that you have to raise your
voice at the end of this phrase:
otherwise it means “someone is
bringing us the bill”.
¡tráiganos la cuenta!
bring us the bill
This is the command form. It’s
still polite, and is used as an
alternative to ¿nos trae la
cuenta?
el café
the cafe
el restaurante
the restaurant
la oficina de turismo
the tourist information office
la farmacia
the chemist’s / pharmacy
el estanco
tobacconist’s
una tarjeta postal
a postcard
un sello
a stamp
¿en qué puedo ayudarle?
how can I help you?
lit. “In what can I help you?”
Note that if talking to more than
one person, the shop assistant
will say ¿en qué puedo
ayudarles?
¿en qué puedo servirle?
how can I help you?
lit. “In what can I serve you?”.
Again, this would become ¿en
qué puedo servirles? if more
than one person is involved.
¿algo más?
anything else? / something else? The word más means “more”.
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 31
This is where you would buy
cigarettes, tobacco, and also
stamps, particularly in Spain.
page 2
Language Notes
¿necesita algo más?
do you need anything else?
¿quiere algo más?
do you want anything else?
¿quisiera algo más?
would you like anything else?
gracias
thank you
muchas gracias
thank you very much
muchísimas gracias
“very many thanks”
de nada
not at all / don’t mention it
nada literally means “nothing”
no hay de qué
not at all / don’t mention it
used in same way as de nada as
a response to gracias
buenos días
good morning / good day
buenas tardes
good afternoon / good evening
buenas noches
good night
¡buenas!
general daytime greeting
note that gracias literally is
feminine plural, hence muchas
gracias. It’s important to note
that it’s not muchos gracias*
shortened form, common when
eg. entering a shop
In future lessons we will include the dialogue associated with the lesson in these notes.
CoffeeBreakSpanish.com
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Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 31
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