Any of these types of information could be used by someone providing basic information about themselves so in situations such as introductions to other people you need to get ready to listen to relevant language in those areas.
The correct matches are:
Edad
Tengo… años
Nacionalidad
Soy…
Lugar de origen
Nací en…
Nombre
Me llamo…
Profesión
Trabajo de/en…
Lugar de residencia
Vivo en…
Lugar de origen ➜ Nací en… (‘Soy de… ’ is another way to express origin)
Nombre ➜ Me llamo… (‘Mi nombre es…’ is another way to express your name)
Profesión ➜ Trabajo de/en… (‘Soy …’ is another way to express profession)
Nombre | Edad | Lugar de origen (país) | Lugar de residencia |
---|---|---|---|
Manuel Rivero | 55 años | Santander (en el norte de España) | |
Paloma Zancajo | 50 años | Madrid | Madrid |
Celia Sánchez Ramos | 56 años | Zaragoza (noroeste de España) | |
Antonio Feal Dopico | 64 años | La Coruña (España) | |
Amalia Schubert Arévalo(s) | 29 años | Santa Rosa del Aguaray | |
Andrés Ponga Colina | 34 años | Santander, (capital de Cantabria | Ajo |
These are the names you heard:
Steven Spielberg
Scarlett Johansson
Harry Styles
Whitney Houston
Buckingham
Stonehenge
Stratford
Hollywood
Notice how the native speaker of Spanish tends to adapt the English pronunciation of ‘h’ and ‘s’ to fit the Spanish sound system. ‘H’ sounds like the Spanish ‘j’. Words beginning with ‘sc’, ‘sl’, ‘sm’, ‘sn’, ‘sp’ and ‘st’ have an ‘e’ added to them.
Español | English cognate |
---|---|
Actor | Actor |
Arte | Art |
Banco | Bank |
Concierto | Concert |
Cultura | Culture |
Memoria | Memory |
Problema | Problem |
Romántico | Romantic |
Tráfico | Traffic |
Verbo | Verb |
Violencia | Violence |
Right:
no
family
honesty
justice
liberty
persons
Wrong:
abundance
associated
curiosity
elegance
ideal
magic
Paloma uses the following words:
Even though the word 'persons' is not commonly used in English, an awareness of the cognate can help you pick up on more details in an authentic conversation.
Notice that some words are not spelt exactly the same in Spanish and English, but are quite similar, so we can work out what they might mean.
Right:
la libertad
la justicia
la honestidad
Wrong:
la sinceridad
la solidaridad
el respeto
el amor
la tolerancia
Note how Paloma uses the term ‘deformación profesional’ in order to distinguish patience acquired as part of the job from a more innate patience.
Just by looking at the visual clues in the video, you can see that Andrés lives in a village, in the countryside. You will have guessed that he is a farmer looking after his cattle and working in the fields. We see him having lunch with his family. These visual clues can lead us to believe that Andrés is likely to be talking about his family, his work and his animals, and that these are the things that make him happy.
For Andrés it is important in life is to have some tranquillity, peace (tranquilidad), to be happy (felicidad), the support of your family (familia que te apoye) and have a partner. For him, the thing that makes him happy is his family (familia).
Your answer will be individual to you, but here is an example:
Para mí las cosas importantes en la vida son la familia, la salud y la seguridad financiera.
A mí lo que me hace más feliz es estar con mi familia y disfrutar de una comida juntos.
The correct matches are:
“Mi padre y un tío”
Cabeza
“Cuando les hablas de la money”
Dedos
“Ves, hacerse, sí lo hacemos”
Dedo índice
“Coges la puerta de tu casa”
Manos en puño
“Siendo un poquito manitas”
Palma de las manos
“Compramos la pizza, llegamos a casa, abrimos el microondas”
Brazos
“No lo comparemos con el cocido”
Cabeza y brazos
“Estoy superorgulloso de ser carpintero”
Cara
“Yo tengo una hija y él tiene dos”
Cabeza, dedos y brazos
Note that cocido is a Spanish stew. Javier is comparing the difference between microwave meals and home-cooked food to explain the difference between pre-fabricated and artisanal furniture.
You might choose subtitles in your own language for a variety of reasons:
You might choose subtitles in Spanish for these sort of reasons:
The correct matches are:
First:
La amistad
Second:
Hacer agradable la vida de mi entorno
Third:
Sentirme bien conmigo misma
Fourth:
Poner objetivos a corto plazo y a medio plazo
Fifth:
Ilusionarme con nuevas metas
Sixth:
La automotivación
You may have noted some of these words.
New word or phrase | English | Spanish definition |
---|---|---|
de trato fácil | easy going | persona flexible, agradable, positiva y servicial |
entorno | environment, context | círculo(s) donde se vive o se mueve una persona, por ejemplo el trabajo, el hogar, etc. |
buen humor | Good humoured | Tendencia alegre de una persona |
sentirme bien conmigo misma | Feeling good about myself | (Note that misma is feminine and a male would say: mismo) |
a corto plazo | Short term | Dentro de un periodo breve |
Nuevas metas | New goals | Fin a que se dirigen las acciones o deseos |
Falta de miedo | Lack of fear | Sin angustias o aprensiones |
The correct matches are:
1
Datos personales
2
Trabajo
3
Personalidad
4
Idiomas
5
Cambios en su vida
In this context, these are the ways in which these words would be interpreted.
I retired 4 years ago | Me jubilé hace 4 años |
I perform the functions | Desempeño las funciones como |
I fundamentally value affection | Fundamentalmente valoro el cariño |
…gathered around a table | Reunidos en torno a una mesa |
I have a gift for languages | Tengo facilidad para los idiomas |
I am determined to learn Chinese right now | Estoy empeñado en aprender chino ahora mismo |
To be born again | Volver a nacer |
For a change! | ¡Por variar! |
Right:
Emigrating to Spain from Paraguay.
Wrong:
Her experience of living in Ajo.
Travelling to different countries.
Her family holidays.
You may not have heard or understood all the characteristics of Amalia’s personality but by imagining them in advance, you may have been able to anticipate some of the adjectives she uses to describe herself. Amalia uses the following:
alegre (happy)
simpática (friendly)
abierta (extrovert)
buena persona (a good person)
trabajadora (hard working)
divertida (fun)
She also explains that she get angry quite quickly. For this final trait she uses a colloquial expression
“me enfado con una rapidez que no veas” which means “you wouldn’t believe how quickly I get angry”.
You may have identified these examples in Amalia’s speech. You will see that they are no obstacle for understanding of the information she provides. With practice you will be able to recognise these techniques among the important content of someone’s message.
Technique | Examples |
---|---|
Repetition | Lo más importante… lo más importante |
Correction | con mi… conmigo |
Addition | y |
Reformulation |
lo básico, lo más importante cuando voy a mi… a ver a |
Omission | es lo más… [importante] |