Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Alisha: Hi everybody, this is Alisha.
Fernando: Hola amigos, soy Fernando.
Alisha: Going Shopping in Mexico!
Fernando: In this lesson you will learn how to buy something using Mexican Spanish.
Alisha: You will learn how to ask for prices, count money, haggle, and order things in Spanish.
Fernando: The conversation takes place at a market stand and is between Ashley and the stand attendant.
Alisha: The conversation is between a seller and a customer, so they will be speaking formal Spanish.
Fernando: Let’s listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation

Ashley: Buenas tardes. ¿Cuánto cuesta el aguacate?
Merchant: A sesenta pesos el kilo.
Ashley: ¿Y cuánto cuesta el limón?
Merchant: A cincuenta el kilo.
Ashley: Dos kilos por favor.
Merchant: Aquí tiene.
Alisha: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Ashley: Buenas tardes. ¿Cuánto cuesta el aguacate?
Merchant: A sesenta pesos el kilo.
Ashley: ¿Y cuánto cuesta el limón?
Merchant: A cincuenta el kilo.
Ashley: Dos kilos por favor.
Merchant: Aquí tiene.
Alisha: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Ashley: Buenas tardes. ¿Cuánto cuesta el aguacate?
Alisha: Good afternoon. How much is the avocado?
Merchant: A sesenta pesos el kilo.
Alisha: Sixty pesos per kilo.
Ashley: ¿Y cuánto cuesta el limón?
Alisha: And how much is the lemon?
Merchant: A cincuenta el kilo.
Alisha: Fifty per kilo.
Ashley: Dos kilos por favor.
Alisha: Two kilos please.
Merchant: Aquí tiene.
Alisha: Here you are.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Fernando: Ok, so we are at a market in Mexico City…
Alisha: One of those street markets that open once in a week?
Fernando: Exactly. The classical farmers market.
Alisha: Oh, I love those. So, if you see something you’re interested in buying… what do you say?
Fernando: Simple. You start by asking the price.
Alisha: Asking the price?
Fernando: Yes, you ask cuánto cuesta and that’s it. It’s just basic haggling techniques. The seller will then offer you a price.
Alisha: I see. And if you don’t like it, you can ask for a lower price?
Fernando: Right. That’s where the haggling process begins.
Alisha: I imagine you can get pretty good deals doing this.
Fernando: Definitely, so don’t be afraid to give it a try.
Alisha: Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Alisha: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Fernando: buenas tardes [natural native speed]
Alisha: good afternoon
Fernando: buenas tardes [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Fernando: buenas tardes [natural native speed]
Next:
Fernando: cuánto [natural native speed]
Alisha: how much
Fernando: cuánto [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Fernando: cuánto [natural native speed]
Next:
Fernando: costar [natural native speed]
Alisha: to cost
Fernando: costar [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Fernando: costar [natural native speed]
Next:
Fernando: sesenta [natural native speed]
Alisha: sixty
Fernando: sesenta [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Fernando: sesenta [natural native speed]
Next:
Fernando: peso [natural native speed]
Alisha: peso (Mexican currency)
Fernando: peso [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Fernando: peso [natural native speed]
Next:
Fernando: cincuenta [natural native speed]
Alisha: fifty
Fernando: cincuenta [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Fernando: cincuenta [natural native speed]
Next:
Fernando: dos [natural native speed]
Alisha: two
Fernando: dos [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Fernando: dos [natural native speed]
Next:
Fernando: por favor [natural native speed]
Alisha: please
Fernando: por favor [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Fernando: por favor [natural native speed]
Next:
Fernando: aquí [natural native speed]
Alisha: here
Fernando: aquí [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Fernando: aquí [natural native speed]
Next:
Fernando: tener [natural native speed]
Alisha: to have
Fernando: tener [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Fernando: tener [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Alisha: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Fernando: The first word we’ll look at is....
Fernando: Por favor
Alisha: Please
Fernando: Make sure you add this phrase to the end or at the beginning of all your requests.
Alisha: Is it used in the same way as please in English?
Fernando: Exactly in the same way. But in extremely casual conversations, it is more common to say the short version “por fa”.
Alisha: And to sound more formal?
Fernando: Por favor señor. Or por favor señora. Literally it means “as a favor.”
Alisha: After asking the price of the lemons, Ashley asked the merchant to please give her two kilos of lemon. What did she say?
Fernando: Dos kilos por favor.
Alisha: “Two kilos, please.” Let’s repeat, everyone!
Fernando: Dos kilos, por favor [pause]
Alisha: So you always add this phrase por favor to show respect, right?
Fernando: Yes, you can add it at the end or at the beginning of a sentence to underline your request.
Alisha: And is that what people use in everyday life?
Fernando: Yes, that’s what we typically use,
Alisha: So it’s just shortened?
Fernando: Right. Por fa.
Alisha: Our second phrase is aquí tiene.
Fernando: This means “Here you are”. Once more, Aqui tiene.
Alisha: What does it mean?
Fernando: It is used to bring attention to the fact that I am giving something to someone.
Alisha: What is the verb here?
Fernando: The verb is tener, “to have”. The literal translation is here you have.
Alisha: Let’s repeat that part of the dialogue where Ashley is asking the merchant. Repeat after Fernando - “two kilos please.”
Fernando: Dos kilos por favor [pause]
Alisha: Here you are.
Fernando: Aquí tiene [pause]
Alisha: Great! Now let’s move onto the grammar.

Lesson focus

Alisha: So the purpose here is to learn how to ask how much something costs. What’s the phrase Fernando?
Fernando: ¿Cuánto cuesta, plus the item you’re asking about. Cuánto means “how much”, and cuesta means “it costs”.
Alisha: It’s the conjugation of the verb “to cost”, right?
Fernando: Yes, the verb “to cost”, or costar, is conjugated in third person to mean “it costs”. In other words, how much does it cost.
Alisha: So please say “How much does the lemon cost?”
Fernando: Repeat after me - ¿Cuánto cuesta el limón? [pause]
Alisha: And now “how much does the avocado cost?”
Fernando: Repeat ¿Cuánto cuesta el aguacate? [pause]
Alisha: Here we were using the singular forms of the nouns “lemon” and “avocado”..Now let’s use the plural forms “lemons” and “avocados”.
Fernando: What’s important to know is that the verb changes slightly… from cuesta to cuestaN.
Alisha: So when talking about more than one item, an N is added to the end of the verb.
Fernando: Right. For example… ¿Cuánto cuestan los limones?
Alisha: How much are the lemons?
Fernando: ¿Cuánto cuestan los aguacates?
Alisha: How much are the avocados?
Alisha: And just to finish here, Fernando, what is a typical answer to a merchant once you have agreed on the price?
Fernando: You must order the product. So you say “give me a kilo please” or whatever.
Alisha: And how do you say that, again?
Fernando: You just need to mention the name of the product with its corresponding article. If it’s lemons, unos limones and don’t forget to add “please”, por favor.
Alisha: Unos limones, por favor…
Fernando: Repeat after me - unos limones por favor [pause]
Alisha: What if you are counting by units, such as kilos?
Fernando: Then you say “two kilos, please.” Dos kilos, por favor. Or three kilos, tres kilos por favor.
Alisha: Lets repeat everyone
Fernando: Dos kilos por favor. [pause].

Outro

Alisha: Ok, I think we’ve covered our lesson here. Don’t forget to check the lesson notes to find more examples using cuánto cuesta…
Fernando: See you in our next lesson! por favor…
Alisha: Bye everyone!!

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