Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Asking a Coworker for Help in Spanish. John Here.
Laura: Hola. I'm Laura.
John: In this lesson, you’ll learn about asking for help. The conversation takes place at the office.
Laura: It's between Alma Cordero, Alan Brown, and Sergio Méndez.
John: The speakers are co-workers, so they will speak informal Spanish. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Alan Brown: Mañana es la entrega de avances. ¿Cómo vas con el reporte?
Sergio Méndez: Es difícil para mí concentrarme últimamente. Pero espero tenerlo listo para esta tarde.
Alma Cordero: Es normal, porque es tu primera semana. Dime si necesitas ayuda en algo.
Sergio Méndez: Muchas gracias. Si no es mucha molestia, puedes enseñarme cómo usar el nuevo programa estadístico.
Alan Brown: ¿El que instalaron los de informática el lunes?
Sergio Méndez: Sí, está un poco complicado.
Alan Brown: Ni yo entiendo aún cómo usarlo.
Alma Cordero: Da esa impresión porque es nuevo. Pero no está tan difícil. Les explico.
John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
Alan Brown: Mañana es la entrega de avances. ¿Cómo vas con el reporte?
Sergio Méndez: Es difícil para mí concentrarme últimamente. Pero espero tenerlo listo para esta tarde.
Alma Cordero: Es normal, porque es tu primera semana. Dime si necesitas ayuda en algo.
Sergio Méndez: Muchas gracias. Si no es mucha molestia, puedes enseñarme cómo usar el nuevo programa estadístico.
Alan Brown: ¿El que instalaron los de informática el lunes?
Sergio Méndez: Sí, está un poco complicado.
Alan Brown: Ni yo entiendo aún cómo usarlo.
Alma Cordero: Da esa impresión porque es nuevo. Pero no está tan difícil. Les explico.
John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation
Alan Brown: Mañana es la entrega de avances. ¿Cómo vas con el reporte?
Alan Brown: Tomorrow is the due date for the advances. How is your report going?
Sergio Méndez: Es difícil para mí concentrarme últimamente. Pero espero tenerlo listo para esta tarde.
Sergio Méndez: It's been hard for me to concentrate lately. But I hope to have it ready by this afternoon.
Alma Cordero: Es normal, porque es tu primera semana. Dime si necesitas ayuda en algo.
Alma Cordero: That’s normal since it's your first week. Let me know if you need help with something.
Sergio Méndez: Muchas gracias. Si no es mucha molestia, ¿puedes enseñarme cómo usar el nuevo programa estadístico?
Sergio Méndez: Thank you very much. If you don't mind, can you teach me how to use the new statistical software?
Alan Brown: ¿El que instalaron los de informática el lunes?
Alan Brown: The one that IT installed on Monday?
Sergio Méndez: Sí, está un poco complicado.
Sergio Méndez: Yes, it's a bit complicated.
Alan Brown: Ni yo entiendo aún cómo usarlo.
Alan Brown: Not even I understand how to use it yet.
Alma Cordero: Da esa impresión porque es nuevo. Pero no está tan difícil. Les explico.
Alma Cordero: It gives that impression because it's new. But it's not that difficult. Let me explain it to you.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
John: New IT systems can always be difficult to understand when they’re first installed.
Laura: Yes, even if they work straight away, it can take time before people get to grips with them.
John: Sergio was smart to ask for help with it.
Laura: Yes, he was. Mexicans are usually very willing to help others.
John: Even in an office or a formal setting?
Laura: Yes. Just be polite and be mindful of their time and workload when you ask.
John: That’s a good point.
Laura: If your colleague has time, they will help you. Or, they’ll get someone else to help you.
John: When shouldn’t you ask your colleague for help?
Laura: If they have a tight deadline or are under stress, don’t ask.
John: Also, don’t ask if it’s before their lunch.
Laura: That would be considered rude and having poor manners.
John: Okay, now on to the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is..
Laura: entrega [natural native speed]
John: delivery
Laura: entrega [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Laura: entrega [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Laura: avances [natural native speed]
John: progress
Laura: avances [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Laura: avances [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Laura: ayuda [natural native speed]
John: help
Laura: ayuda [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Laura: ayuda [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Laura: concentrar [natural native speed]
John: to concentrate
Laura: concentrar [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Laura: concentrar [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Laura: últimamente [natural native speed]
John: lately
Laura: últimamente [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Laura: últimamente [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Laura: molestia [natural native speed]
John: bother, trouble
Laura: molestia [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Laura: molestia [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Laura: programa [natural native speed]
John: software
Laura: programa [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Laura: programa [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Laura: estadístico (a) [natural native speed]
John: statistical
Laura: estadístico (a) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Laura: estadístico (a) [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Laura: informática [natural native speed]
John: IT information technology
Laura: informática [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Laura: informática [natural native speed]
John: And last..
Laura: impresión [natural native speed]
John: impression
Laura: impresión [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Laura: impresión [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is..
Laura: dime si necesitas ayuda
John: meaning "let me know if you need help"
John: Let’s break down this phrase.
Laura: First is dime, which means “tell me, let me know.” Next is si, which means “if.” The next word is necesitas.
John: This means “you need.” The last word means “help.”
Laura: Yes, which is ayuda. Altogether the phrase is dime si necesitas ayuda.
John: You can use this to tell someone that you will help them if they need you. This is the informal version of the phrase.
Laura: The formal version is dígame si necesita ayuda.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Laura: Sure. For example, you can say.. Dime si necesitas ayuda con el reporte.
John: ..which means "Tell me if you need help with the report."
John: Okay, what's the next word?
Laura: si no es mucha molestia
John: meaning "if you don't mind"
John: Laura, what can you tell us about this phrase?
Laura: Si means “if.” No es means “is not.” Next is mucha.
John: This means “a lot.” The final word means “bother.”
Laura: That is molestia. Altogether the phrase is si no es mucha molestia.
John: You can use this phrase to ask someone for a favor.
Laura: This expression is usually used in formal settings.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Laura: Sure. For example, you can say.. Si no es mucha molestia, me gustaría que me acompañes a la reunión.
John: .. which means "If you don’t mind, I would like you to accompany me to the meeting."
John: Okay, what's the next word?
Laura: da esa impresión
John: meaning "it gives that impression"
John: This is our final phrase. Let’s break it down.
Laura: Da means “gives.” Esa means “that.” The final word is impresión.
John: That means “impression.” You can use this phrase to talk about an impression that something gives.
Laura: It can be used in both formal and informal situations.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Laura: Sure. For example, you can say.. Da esa impresión de estar siempre enojado.
John: .. which means "He gives that impression of always being angry."
John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

John: In this lesson, you'll learn about asking for help.
John: First, we’ll look at how to use the copula “to be.” What is this verb in Spanish?
Laura: It is both ser and estar.
John: They are used in different ways, so it’s important to know the difference. Using the wrong one can change the meaning of the sentence.
Laura: With time, knowing the difference will become second nature. First, we’ll look at ser.
John: You can use this word for things such as describing the nature of something.
Laura: For example, La respuesta es obvia.
John: “The answer is obvious.” It can also be used to talk about the inherent characteristics of something, the essence of something, or the permanent state of something. For example..
Laura: La silla es de madera.
John: “The chair is made out of wood.” You can also use it to describe origin.
Laura: Soy de Madrid.
John: “I am from Madrid.” Now, let’s look at some of the uses for the other copula.
Laura: estar.
John: This word can describe the conditional state of something or the temporary characteristics of something.
Laura: Usualmente esta salsa es picante, pero hoy no está picosa.
John: “This salsa is usually spicy, but today it is not spicy.” This is a really good example because you can clearly see the difference between the two forms of the verb “to be.”
Laura: estar can also be used to describe the location of something. For example, Tu celular está en la mesa.
John: “Your cellphone is on the table.” There are other uses for both copulas that you can read about in the lesson notes. There is also a difference in usage when it comes to describing people.
Laura: Ser often expresses personality traits, while estar expresses temporary characteristics.
John: For example, to say that “Carlos is quiet” as part of his personality, we would say...
Laura: Carlos es tranquilo.
John: If we want to say that “Carlos is calm” now but usually is not, we’d say...
Laura: Carlos está tranquilo.
John: Now, let’s look at some helpful sentence patterns and examples to use when asking for help.
Laura: Disculpe, ¿me podría ayudar a...?
John: “Excuse me, could you help me…?”
Laura: This is a formal phrase, so you can use it with any of your colleagues. For example, Disculpe, ¿me podría ayudar a iniciar la computadora?
John: “Excuse me, could you help me startup the computer?” You can also say
Laura: Necesito ayuda con...
John: “I need help with…” These two sentences are very straightforward; however, if you want to soften your request a bit you could say
Laura: ¿Puedo pedirle un favor,...?
John: “Can I ask you a favor,…?”
Laura: ¿Puedo pedirle un favor, me puede ayudar con la puerta?
John: “Can I ask you a favor, could you please help me with the door?”

Outro

John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Laura: Hasta la próxima.

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