You speak so fast!

Post 3 of 365
Do you have your Spanish Blog 365 dedicated Notebook and a pen handy? You’ll want it for today’s Post!

We learn Spanish because we want to speak Spanish with the people we meet along the way.
We want our conversations to be deep and flowing from the start, however, that’s not how it works out.
We stumble around the language and speak in 1 to 3 word sentences for awhile…

Then the deep flowing conversations come! 😉

Anyway, it’s about communicating.
Even if you’re just starting, you have to start somewhere. Use the Spanish you do know.

__________________________
Today, we’ll learn some Spanish that’ll help you keep a conversation going.
If you don’t understand, use your Spanish to let the other person know.

-No entiendo – I don’t understand
-No comprendo – I don’t understand. 

¡Con cuidado! -be careful!
You may have heard ‘No comprende’, but the “e” at the end here means “you“, as in ‘You don’t understand’. Be sure to get the –‘o’ on the end!! No entiendo.

Note: You can use ‘¿Entiende?‘ to verify that your partner understands. ‘Do you understand?‘ = ¿Entiende?
Just remember that when you talk about yourself use the “o” at the end.  No entiendo or No comprendo.

Add:
– Repita, por favor.- Repeat it again, please.
– Hable más despacio, por favor. – Speak a little slower, please.

You can use these phrases alone or string them together.
– No entiendo, repita, por favor.
– Repita un poco más despacio, por favor  –  Say that again a little slower, please.
– No entiendo. Repita más despacio, por favor.

Note: ‘lento’ (see photo above) is the same as ‘despacio’.  Hable más lento o Hable más despacio = Speaker slower, please

To say excuse me, say… Perdón or Disculpe. Perhaps follow it with…Tengo una pregunta. – I have a question.

Perdón, tengo una pregunta.

¿Cómo se dice ________ en español?  – How do you say ________ in Spanish?
The response would be: Se dice _______. – You say ___________.

Por ejemplo:
‘Tengo una pregunta. ¿Cómo se dice ‘notebook‘ en español?’
‘Se dice ‘cuaderno’.

Your Spanish-speaking friend who is learning English, may ask you,  ¿Cómo se dice libro en inglés?, to which you’d respond…Se dice book. or simply book.

Challenge:
¿Cómo se dice…? is a great phrase that helps you be proactive building the vocabulary you need for your work or other situations.
Challenge yourself to ask the Spanish-speakers around you, ¿Cómo se dice_________?
Try to learn at least 10 new words a week by using this phrase.

Without the above phrases, a conversation might shut down right away.
Use these phrases to help move a conversation further along. You’ll be using your Spanish and giving yourself important practice on the path to fluency!

Extra, Extra
Coming back to the word “tengo.”  It’s pronounced like the Argentinean dance the tango, but it means I have.
Notice the “o” on the end of Tengo – “o” means yo! (I)
Remember:  Quiero and No comprendo or No entiendo? “o” means yo!

‘Tengo’  is a very high-frequency word. Tengo – I have.  We’ll be using it a lot!

(No) tengo un gato – I (don’t) have a cat
Tengo un perro – I have a dog
Tengo 5 minutos – I have 5 minutes
Tengo una pluma – I have a pen

Action Step: Go back and make the above negative by adding the word “no”.

Here’s to your Spanish conversational success!

Gracias y hasta la próxima publicación,
Carolina