2.4 Talk about your life

Vocab test

  1. ¿Dónde vives? – Where do you live? (Informal)
  2. Una casa grande – A big house
  3. Una oficina – An office
  4. ¿Dónde trabajas? – Where do you work? (Informal)
  5. Una fábrica – A factory
  6. ¿Quién? – Who?
  7. ¿Cuándo? – When?
  8. Yo no como carne – I don’t eat meat
  9. Yo no bebo leche – I don’t drink milk
  10. Estudiar más – To study more

Verb of the day

Conjugate the verb QUERER (to want) in the present tense.

YoNosotros
Vosotros
Él/ Ella/ UstedEllos/ Ellas/ Ustedes

Questions to answer

Translation tool

1. ¿Quién habla español?

2. ¿Quieres vivir en México?

3. ¿Estudias hoy?

4. ¿Dónde trabaja usted?

5. ¿Dónde vives?

6. ¿Comes carne?

7. ¿Tú hablas francés?

8. ¿Quién trabaja en una fábrica?

A simple dialogue

Use the Spanish phrases to translate the English dialogue.  Write it out and perform it.

  • What is your name?
  • I am called Regina Phalange.
  • Where do you live?
  • I live in my grandmother’s apartment.
  • Where do you work?
  • I work in a massage parlor and I sing in a café.
  • What do you want to eat?
  • I want a stir fry with tofu.
  • What do you want to drink?
  • I would like a coffee.
  • What do you study?
  • I am studying a course on astrology.
  • Do you speak Spanish? When I need to.

Use these phrases to translate the dialogue.

¿Cómo te llamas?

¿Dónde trabajas?

¿Dónde vives?

¿Hablas español?

¿Qué estudias?

¿Qué quieres beber?

¿Qué quieres comer?

Cuando lo necesito.

Estoy estudiando un curso de astrología.

Me gustaría un café.

Me llamo Regina Phalange.

Quiero un salteado con tofu.

Trabajo en un salón de masajes y canto en una cafetería. Vivo en el apartamento de mi abuela.

Choose from a range of voices to read your dialogue here.

Grammar notes

* Read this information, then use it to quiz a friend.

USING TWO VERBS

In Spanish, it’s common to use two verbs together to express wants, needs, or intentions.  Typically, the first verb is conjugated, and the second verb remains in the infinitive form (estudiar, trabajar, etc.).

Conjugated verb + Infinitive verb

Verbs like querer (to want), necesitar (to need), and preferir (to prefer) are commonly used in this way.

  • Quiero estudiar español. – I want to study Spanish.
  • Necesitas trabajar más. – You need to work more.
  • Prefiero beber agua. – I prefer to drink water.

In these sentences, quiero, necesitas, and prefiero are conjugated in the present tense, while estudiar, trabajar, and beber are in the infinitive form.

PRONUNCIATION AND WORD STRESS

In Spanish, word stress is important for meaning, understanding and natural pronunciation.

Words ending in a vowel, -n, or -s: the stress falls on the second-to-last syllable.

Fruta, FRUta, fruitVive, VIve, he lives
Carne, CARne, meatTrabajas, traBAjas, you work
Quieres, QUIEres, you wantNecesitan, neceSItan, they need

Words ending in any other consonant other than -n or -s: the stress falls on the last syllable.  This includes infinitive verbs, as well as lots of other words you will encounter.

Trabajar, trabaJAR, to workBeber , beBER, to drink
Estudiar, estuDIAR, to studyHablar, haBLAR, to speak or to talk
Español, espaÑOL, SpanishHotel, hoTEL, hotel

Exceptions: If a word breaks these rules, an accent is placed over the stressed syllable to indicate where the stress should fall.

Estás, esTÁS, you areAquí, aQUÍ, here
Fábrica, brica, factoryFrancés, franCÉS, French
Sábado, bado, SaturdayMiércoles, MIÉRcoles, Wednesday

Suggested grammar lesson.

Journal prompts

Write short sentences.  Keep them as simple as you can.

Use a translation tool to put them into Spanish.

Write them out, then check them with your teacher.  Present them to a friend, teaching your friend any new Spanish, and making sure they learn it!

When do you work? Where do you work? When do you visit your friends? What do you want to do this week?¿Cuándo trabajas? ¿Dónde trabajas? ¿Cuándo visitas a tus amigos? ¿Qué quieres hacer esta semana?

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Key features

  • Photocopiable habit tracker
  • List of vocabulary items to learn for each unit
  • Space to note Duolingo phrases
  • A conjugated verb for each unit
  • Duolingo inspired questions to answer with the help of AI
  • A simple on-theme dialogue for each unit
  • Grammar explanations for each unit
  • Suggested websites for further study
  • Fully backed up with a YouTube lesson for each chapter, presented by the author
  • Journal prompts to encourage the Spanish journaling habit
  • Teaching notes and ideas