Learn expressions you can use while asking for help, review the difference between "ser" and "estar"
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| 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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