Learn all about using the Spanish historical present to discuss past experiences as if they are happening right now
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Dylan: Hola, hola, a todos. Es Dylan. |
| Carlos: What’s going on Pod101 world? My name is Carlos - Spanish historical present, talking about close calls in Spanish. In this lesson, you will learn about the historical present. |
| Dylan: Do you know what that is? |
| Carlos: Not yet, but I know you’ll explain it. |
| Dylan: You bet. Who are we with today? |
| Carlos: Today we are still with Laura and Santiago. |
| Dylan: Are things still crazy at the restaurant? |
| Carlos: Well, they have calmed down a little bit. They’re done for the day. |
| Dylan: So the mood has become really informal. |
| Carlos: You know, Dylan, after a hard day’s work, who really wants formality? Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| LAURA: Santiago, ¡qué día! |
| SANTIAGO: Hoy, sí, me gané el salario. |
| LAURA: ¡Salud por eso, Santiago! |
| SANTIAGO: ¡Salud! No hay nada mejor como un mojito para terminar un día agotador. |
| LAURA: ¿Un mojito?... ¡Si llevamos cinco! |
| SANTIAGO: Hoy casi me corto un dedo. |
| LAURA: ¡Salud por eso! |
| SANTIAGO: Laura, mejor la llevo a su casa. |
| LAURA: Santi, what a day! |
| SANTIAGO: Today, I really earned my keep. |
| LAURA: Cheers to that, Santiago! |
| SANTIAGO: Cheers! There's nothing better than a Mojito to finish off a tiring day. |
| LAURA: A Mojito...? Yes...let’s take five! |
| SANTIAGO: Today, I almost cut my finger. |
| LAURA: Cheers to that! |
| SANTIAGO: Laura, I'd better take you home. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Dylan: The whole finger? |
| Carlos: Well, not the whole finger, just the tip. Well, just… not really the tip, just like right near my nail, like right here… |
| Dylan: Yeah, so you cut your nail. |
| Carlos: Not my nail, it was like right… I don't know what they call the area around the nail, but it hurt. |
| Dylan: Was there blood? |
| Carlos: No but it would’ve been if I would’ve cut… |
| Dylan: Carlos, that doesn’t count. |
| Carlos: No, but it was really close and I caught it right in time. |
| Dylan: That doesn’t count. That’s not cutting your finger. That’s like trimming your nails. |
| Carlos: Ok, if you want to look at it like that. But you know what we can also look at like that, Dylan? |
| Dylan: Let’s see. What? |
| Carlos: The vocabulary from this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Dylan: “Agotador”. |
| Carlos: “Exhausting.” |
| Dylan: “A-go-ta-dor”, “agotador”. |
| Carlos: And then? |
| Dylan: “Dedo”. |
| Carlos: “Finger.” |
| Dylan: “De-do”, “dedo”. “Compa”. |
| Carlos: “Buddy.” |
| Dylan: “Com-pa”, “compa”. “Salario”. |
| Carlos: “Wages”, “pay”. |
| Dylan: “Sa-la-rio”, “salario”. “Salud por eso”. |
| Carlos: “Cheers to that.” |
| Dylan: “Sa-lud por eso”, “salud por eso”. “Salud”. |
| Carlos: “Health”, “cheers.” |
| Dylan: “Sa-lud”. “Salud”. |
| Carlos: Ok, guys, let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Dylan: The first word we’ll look at is “salud”. |
| Carlos: “¡Salud!”, “Cheers!” You know, for a long time, Dylan, I thought it was “salud”. |
| Dylan: Well, your ears weren’t trained yet. |
| Carlos: No, no lo estaba. |
| Dylan: “Salud” does mean “cheers” as an interjection, but as a feminine noun it changes to… |
| Carlos: “Health”, which could also be “a good cheers”. |
| Dylan: Well, in today’s conversation it’s being used as an interjection. |
| Carlos: Sí, lo vimos tres veces. |
| Dylan: Escojamos uno. |
| Carlos: Ok, then the first one where Laura says “¡salud por eso, compa!”. |
| Dylan: “Cheers to that, buddy.” |
| Carlos: You know, I like that. I think I’ll use it a lot. You know, “¡salud por eso, compa!”. Dylan, I think I'm going native. |
| Dylan: Hold on there, you are not “tico” yet. |
| Carlos: I know, I know, I know, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, Dylan. |
| Dylan: Estoy segura de eso, Carlos. |
| Carlos: Now, we could provide you with a long and involved sample sentence but I think the word itself does it justice simply with “¡salud!”. |
| Dylan: ¡Salud, Carlos! |
| Carlos: Cheers, Dylan. Now I know a verb that is similar. |
| Dylan: I know what you’re thinking. “Saludar”. |
| Carlos: Correcto, es “saludar”. |
| Dylan: “Saludar” means “to greet”, “to say hello to” and “to salute”. |
| Carlos: Wait, don’t the British or Australians say “Cheers” as hello? |
| Dylan: No estoy segura. |
| Carlos: I know I'm not imagining that. I have to ask a friend of mine. |
| Dylan: Ok, well, while you think of that, let’s move on. |
| Carlos: “Seguro”, recuérdame nuestra próxima palabra. |
| Dylan: “Agotador”. |
| Carlos: “Agotador”. |
| Dylan: This adjective means “exhausting”. |
| Carlos: It has that sound about it, “agotador”. Like “¡qué agotador!”, “how exhausting!” |
| Dylan: Well, in the conversation we hear Santiago describe his day as such, “¡Salud! No hay nada mejor como un mojito para terminar un día agotador”. |
| Carlos: “Cheers! There’s nothing better than a mojito to finish off a tiring day.” |
| Dylan: I couldn’t agree with that more. |
| Carlos: Yo tampoco, Dylan. |
| Dylan: “Agotador” is a very strong word. And as it is a strong word, it deserves a strong verb as a related word, “agotarse”. |
| Carlos: “Agotarse”. And we know that we make a verb reflexive when we want to provide emphasis. |
| Dylan: Exactly. Now, Carlos, what’s the most common word for “tired”? |
| Carlos: Eso sería el adjetivo cansado/cansada. |
| Dylan: Now let’s move to our first noun of the day. |
| Carlos: And what’s that? |
| Dylan: “Dedo”. |
| Carlos: “Dedo”, “finger”. I know my body parts. |
| Dylan: Carlos, people could take that the wrong way. |
| Carlos: Yeah, you’re right. But the parts of the body are the ones of those kindergarten lessons for Spanish, you know? |
| Dylan: That doesn’t make it any less important. As a matter of fact, those foundations are extremely important. |
| Carlos: Yeah, actually I see the word “dedo” the most in restaurants. |
| Dylan: Ahh, ¿quieres decir “dedos de pollo”? “Chicken fingers”? “¿Dedos de pescado?” “Fish sticks”? |
| Carlos: Or if you hear someone in the restaurant say like Santiago does, “hoy casi me corto un dedo”. |
| Dylan: “Today I almost cut off my finger.” |
| Carlos: Can't you tell how many times it’s happened to me? |
| Dylan: Your restaurant days? |
| Carlos: Exactamente. |
| Dylan: But “dedo” can also be applied to another body part. |
| Carlos: ¿Cuál? |
| Dylan: “Mis dedos del pie”. |
| Carlos: “The fingers of my feet…” Oh, toes! |
| Dylan: Give the man a “¡salud!”. |
| Carlos: Thank you, Dylan. “¡Salud!” right back at you. |
| Dylan: But since you already talked about the parts of the body, maybe you can name some of the others. |
| Carlos: Sure. Can’t have “dedo” without “mano”, “hand”. Can’t have “mano” without “brazos”, “arm”. |
| Dylan: I'm just wondering how long it’s going to take you to break into the “The knee bone is connected to the thigh bone.” |
| Carlos: Trust me, Dylan, if I knew how to sing that in Spanish, I would. |
| Dylan: ¡Ay!, mejor no le damos tiempo para eso. Nuestra próxima palabra es una de las favoritas de Costa Rica. |
| Carlos: ¿Tuanis? |
| Dylan: No. |
| Carlos: ¿Pura vida? |
| Dylan: No. |
| Carlos: “Compa”. |
| Dylan: That’s it! |
| Carlos: Hey, it may have been some time, but I remember the Costa Rican series. |
| Dylan: Ok, then what does “compa” mean? |
| Carlos: Well, “compa” means “buddy”, “pal” or “friend”. It’s like a really friendly term. |
| Dylan: Which is why Laura says it to Santiago. You know you usually make friends with the people you work with. |
| Carlos: That is true. “¡Salud por eso, compa!” |
| Dylan: “Cheers to that, buddy!” You can also use “compa” in the diminutive. |
| Carlos: Right, “compita”. But you know what, that’s something for someone who’s a really, really close friend. |
| Dylan: Do you know what “compa” is short for? |
| Carlos: I'm taking a guess. “Compañero”, right? |
| Dylan: “Partner”, exactly. So let’s say you’re walking down the street and you see a close friend that you haven’t seen in a while, what would you say? |
| Carlos: “¡Hola compita! ¿Cómo está todo?”. “Hey, buddy! How’s everything?” |
| Dylan: We could also link the feminine noun “compañía” with that one. |
| Carlos: “Company”, “partner”, “friend”. You can see that progression pretty clearly. |
| Dylan: Ok, let’s move on to something that everybody loves. Well, loves and needs. |
| Carlos: ¿Y qué es eso? |
| Dylan: “Salario”. “Salary”, “wages”. |
| Carlos: Pretty much money, huh? |
| Dylan: Correcto. |
| Carlos: Pero espera, tengo una pregunta. |
| Dylan: ¿Qué es eso? |
| Carlos: Well, in our conversation Santiago says “hoy sí me gané el salario”. |
| Dylan: Aha. |
| Carlos: And it’s translated as “Today I really earned my keep”. |
| Dylan: “Salary”, “keep”, you could easily make that leap. |
| Carlos: No, no, you’re right, I could. |
| Dylan: If you want, we could translate it as “Today I really earned my salary.” |
| Carlos: You know, they must be in some other country. |
| Dylan: ¿Y por qué es eso? |
| Carlos: Because the salaries of waiters in the United States are horrible. I mean, Dylan, absolutely horrible. |
| Dylan: Right. You guys all work for tips. |
| Carlos: Yes, and our paychecks were a joke. |
| Dylan: ¿Su salario era por dos semanas? |
| Carlos: Yes, we got paid every two weeks. |
| Dylan: We have another word for “wage”. |
| Carlos: And what’s that? |
| Dylan: The masculine noun “sueldo”, which means “wage”. Last but certainly not least, we have a phrase… |
| Carlos: “Siempre es bueno saberlo”. |
| Dylan: We have a phrase that also includes one of our vocabulary words. |
| Carlos: Well, cheers to that! |
| Dylan: Exactly, ¡salud por eso!. |
| Carlos: “¡Salud por eso!”, “Cheers to that!” Dylan, would you say this phrase is commonly used? |
| Dylan: Yeah, all the time. “¡Salud!”, “¡salud por eso!”, “¡salud, compa!” |
| Carlos: We already heard the example from the conversation a couple of times. Dylan, what would be an example of this phrase being used in another context? |
| Dylan: Alright. “Hoy nació mi primer hijo. ¡Salud por eso!” |
| Carlos: “Today my first son was born. Cheers to that!” |
| Dylan: It’s just an overall, appreciative phrase. Something that we say when we’re happy. |
| Carlos: En Costa Rica tú dirías “¡qué dicha!”. |
| Dylan: Right, which means “I'm glad for you. That’s so nice.” Or we could also say “¡qué alegría!”, which is like “happiness” or “how great”. |
| Carlos: So all around like good vibe words. |
| Dylan: Today, for the grammar point, we’re going to look at something that is very common in spanish. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Carlos: ¿Y qué es? |
| Dylan: The historical present. |
| Carlos: Not for nothing, Dylan, but how can history be present? |
| Dylan: Actually, Carlos, using the present tense to express a past situation is very common for Spanish speakers to do. |
| Carlos: ¿Qué quieres decir? |
| Dylan: Well, as you learn Spanish you will hear a person talking about what happened to them during the day using the present tense. |
| Carlos: But if the events were completed in the past, I mean wouldn’t they use the preterit tense? |
| Dylan: Technically, yes but using the present gives a more lively feel to the speech. |
| Carlos: How so? |
| Dylan: Well, it helps to transport our thoughts to a past event as if it were happening before our eyes. |
| Carlos: Ok. |
| Dylan: We do this in English as well. For example, if you’re telling your friend about what happened to you last night, you might say, “So I'm sitting there watching TV when all of a sudden I see my uncle Daniel walk out of the bathroom with his pants on backwards.” |
| Carlos: Ohh, ¡qué bueno! |
| Dylan: ¿Comprendes ahora? |
| Carlos: Sí, comprendo. |
| Dylan: Well, in this case the speaker is describing a past situation and using the present tense to do so. |
| Carlos: Hey, that’s always a good thing. So I might want to keep this lesson in mind. |
| Dylan: If you do as you progress, you will definitely be adding a new dimension to your language ability. |
| Carlos: Hey, you know, that’s never a bad thing. But where was this used in the conversation though? |
| Dylan: Well, think about it. In what line was someone talking about an event that happened to them that day? |
| Carlos: Oh, right. We mentioned it as an example already in our vocabulary section. “Hoy casi me corto un dedo”. |
| Dylan: Right. “Today I almost cut off my finger.” |
| Carlos: I see, so instead of saying “casi me corté” which would be using the preterit tense of the verb “cortar”. |
| Dylan: Usamos el presente, “casi me corto”. |
| Carlos: Wow, this will really come in handy. |
| Dylan: Well, keep this in mind. While in the present tense of the indicative mood there are numerous irregular forms. Since our real concern here is usage, not formation, we’ll give the conjugations for three regular verbs. |
| Carlos: Ok, how about I pick? How about “cortar”, “to cut”? |
| Dylan: Corto, cortas, corta, cortamos, cortáis, cortan. |
| Carlos: Ok. Or “comer”, “to eat”? |
| Dylan: Como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen. |
| Carlos: Oh nice, Dylan. Last but not least, how about the verb “abrir”, “to open”? |
| Dylan: Abro, abres, abre, abrimos, abrís, abren. |
| Carlos: Right. And we know, audience, that these are three verbs that are regulars in the present tense. So “cortar”, the AR verb, “comer” the ER verb, and “abrir”, the IR verb. For more information on this, you can see our verb section in the Learning Center at SpanishPod101.com. |
| Dylan: Well, let’s put some sample sentences together. |
| Carlos: Ok. |
| Dylan: But not directly. What we will do is give the sample sentence in the historical present and then, Carlos, give it to us in the preterit. |
| Carlos: Suena como una excelente práctica, Dylan. Yo quiero hacerlo. |
| Dylan: Ok. “En el año 1910, el autor camina por su barrio, come en su restaurante favorito y se desaparece para siempre”. |
| Carlos: So in the preterit that would be “el autor caminaba, comió en su restaurante favorito y se desapareció”. “In the year 1910, the author walks through his neighborhood, eats in his favorite restaurant and disappears forever.” |
| Dylan: Good. “Ayer salgo del hotel, abro la puerta y veo a una mujer infartante”. |
| Carlos: Whoa, “infartante”, I’ve never heard that. Is that common, Dylan? |
| Dylan: No, not really. |
| Carlos: Ok, well… |
| Dylan: Translate it and see what it is. |
| Carlos: Ok, in the preterit that would be “salí del hotel, abrí la puerta” and “vi a una mujer…” |
| Dylan: “Infartante”. |
| Carlos: “Infartante”, thank you. “Yesterday I leave the hotel, open the door and see a woman who would give anyone a heart attack.” Oh, I get it. |
| Dylan: Yeah, I get it too I guess. Now, you’re really getting your verbs down. |
| Carlos: Poco a poco, Dylan, poco a poco. |
| Dylan: As you’re probably already staring to notice, what’s tricky about this is listening to someone use the present tense and understand that the action which they’re referring to took place in a moment prior to the moment of speech. |
| Carlos: Sí, no es fácil de saberlo. |
| Dylan: Again, this is common in spoken Spanish. Among more intellectual crowds, you’re likely to hear more conjugations, but the “pueblo” often prefers the present tense over the preterit in order to express a past action. |
| Carlos: Hey, power to the “pueblo”. |
Outro |
| Carlos: Alright, you know what, that just about does it for today. |
| Dylan: ¡Nos vemos! |
| Carlos: ¡Chao! |
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