Learn how to give and understand opinions, review the prepositions: sobre, cabe
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| INTRODUCTION |
| James: Giving Your Opinion in Spanish. James Here. |
| Laura: Hola. I'm Laura. |
| James: In this lesson, you’ll learn about giving opinions. The conversation takes place at the office. |
| Laura: It's between Alma Cordero and Alejandra Soto. |
| James: The speakers are co-workers, and they will speak informal Spanish. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Alma Cordero: Hola Alejandra. Te quiero pedir tu opinión sobre un asunto respecto a la solicitud de personal adicional. |
| Alejandra Soto: Por supuesto, platícame de este asunto. ¿Algún acontecimiento reciente sobre el cual podemos hablar el día de hoy? |
| Alma Cordero: Cabe mencionar la apertura de dos nuevas oficinas centrales, sobre todo la más grande, con espacio para 20 nuevas vacantes. |
| Alejandra Soto: Justo te iba a preguntar sobre eso. ¿Cuántas vacantes se abrieron este mes? |
| Alma Cordero: Solamente diez. Y según Recursos Humanos no cabe ni una más. Pienso que son muy pocas, así que ya puse el tema como prioritario. |
| Alejandra Soto: Mi sugerencia es que platiquemos seriamente con el jefe. Me encuentro cabe su oficina y escuche a su Secretaría mencionar que hoy llega sobre las 11 de la mañana. |
| Alma Cordero: Perfecto ¿Me dejas la propuesta? |
| Alejandra Soto: Ya la puse sobre tu escritorio. |
| James: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Alma Cordero: Hola Alejandra. Te quiero pedir tu opinión sobre un asunto respecto a la solicitud de personal adicional. |
| Alejandra Soto: Por supuesto, platícame de este asunto. ¿Algún acontecimiento reciente sobre el cual podemos hablar el día de hoy? |
| Alma Cordero: Cabe mencionar la apertura de dos nuevas oficinas centrales, sobre todo la más grande, con espacio para 20 nuevas vacantes. |
| Alejandra Soto: Justo te iba a preguntar sobre eso. ¿Cuántas vacantes se abrieron este mes? |
| Alma Cordero: Solamente diez. Y según Recursos Humanos no cabe ni una más. Pienso que son muy pocas, así que ya puse el tema como prioritario. |
| Alejandra Soto: Mi sugerencia es que platiquemos seriamente con el jefe. Me encuentro cabe su oficina y escuche a su Secretaría mencionar que hoy llega sobre las 11 de la mañana. |
| Alma Cordero: Perfecto ¿Me dejas la propuesta? |
| Alejandra Soto: Ya la puse sobre tu escritorio. |
| James: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Alma Cordero: Hola Alejandra. Te quiero pedir tu opinión sobre un asunto respecto a la solicitud de personal adicional. |
| Alma Cordero: Hello Alejandra. I want to ask your opinion on an issue regarding requesting additional staff. |
| Alejandra Soto: Por supuesto, platícame de este asunto. ¿Algún acontecimiento reciente sobre el cual podemos hablar el día de hoy? |
| Alejandra Soto: Of course, tell me about this issue. Any recent event on which we can discuss today? |
| Alma Cordero: Cabe mencionar la apertura de dos nuevas oficinas centrales, sobre todo la más grande, con espacio para 20 nuevas vacantes. |
| Alma Cordero: It is worth mentioning the opening of two new central offices, especially the biggest one, with space for 20 new vacancies. |
| Alejandra Soto: Justo te iba a preguntar sobre eso. ¿Cuántas vacantes se abrieron este mes? |
| Alejandra Soto: I was just about to inquire about that. How many vacancies were opened this month? |
| Alma Cordero: Solamente diez. Y según Recursos Humanos no cabe ni una más. Pienso que son muy pocas, así que ya puse el tema como prioritario. |
| Alma Cordero: Only ten. And according to Human Resources we cannot afford even one more. I think there are too few, so I already set that issue as a priority. |
| Alejandra Soto: Mi sugerencia es que platiquemos seriamente con el jefe. Me encuentro cabe su oficina y escuche a su Secretaría mencionar que hoy llega sobre las 11 de la mañana. |
| Alejandra Soto: My suggestion is that we speak seriously with the boss. I am next to his office and I heard his secretary mention he will come today around 11 in the morning. |
| Alma Cordero: Perfecto ¿Me dejas la propuesta? |
| Alma Cordero: Perfect. Will you leave me the proposal? |
| Alejandra Soto: Ya la puse sobre tu escritorio. |
| Alejandra Soto: I already put it on your desk. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| James: We heard a discussion about staffing levels in the conversation this time. |
| Laura: Yes, Alma and Alejandra had a few opinions about that. |
| James: I hope that they can make their opinions known to their boss. |
| Laura: I hope so, too! In Mexico, it’s important to let your opinion be known. |
| James: That’s good to know. That’s not always the case in some countries. |
| Laura: It’s important to remember that although you can be expressive, you should be formal. |
| James: Yeah, things are toned down when you’re in the office so be respectful. |
| Laura: As long as you’re respectful and use formal language, you’ll be okay. |
| James: Your opinions will be seen as constructive and they will be welcomed. |
| Laura: When you speak to a boss, hold back on the more personal comments. |
| James: And have a good base for what you’re saying. Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| James: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Laura: sobre [natural native speed] |
| James: "about, upon, on top of, over, above, envelope" |
| Laura: sobre [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: sobre [natural native speed] |
| James: Next we have... |
| Laura: cabe [natural native speed] |
| James: "close to" |
| Laura: cabe [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: cabe [natural native speed] |
| James: Next we have... |
| Laura: cabe [natural native speed] |
| James: "fit" |
| Laura: cabe [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: cabe [natural native speed] |
| James: Next we have... |
| Laura: respecto a [natural native speed] |
| James: "regarding" |
| Laura: respecto a [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: respecto a [natural native speed] |
| James: Next we have... |
| Laura: solicitar [natural native speed] |
| James: "to request, to solicit, to apply for" |
| Laura: solicitar [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: solicitar [natural native speed] |
| James: Next we have... |
| Laura: prioritario, prioritaria [natural native speed] |
| James: "priority" |
| Laura: prioritario, prioritaria [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: prioritario, prioritaria [natural native speed] |
| James: Next we have... |
| Laura: sobre todo [natural native speed] |
| James: "especially" |
| Laura: sobre todo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: sobre todo [natural native speed] |
| James: Next we have... |
| Laura: pedir [natural native speed] |
| James: "ask" |
| Laura: pedir [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: pedir [natural native speed] |
| James: Next we have... |
| Laura: mencionar [natural native speed] |
| James: "mention" |
| Laura: mencionar [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: mencionar [natural native speed] |
| James: And last... |
| Laura: sugerencia [natural native speed] |
| James: "suggestion" |
| Laura: sugerencia [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: sugerencia [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| James: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is... |
| Laura: cabe mencionar |
| James: meaning "it is worth mentioning." |
| James: Let’s look at this phrase. |
| Laura: The first word is cabe, it means "fit." The last word is mencionar. |
| James: This means "to mention." Together they mean "it is worth mentioning." |
| Laura: cabe mencionar |
| James: You can use this to express the opinion that something is worth saying. |
| Laura: It’s usually used in formal settings. |
| James: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Laura: Sure. For example, you can say... Cabe mencionar que es una carrera larga. |
| James: … which means "It is worth mentioning that it's a long race." |
| James: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Laura: te quiero pedir tu opinión |
| James: meaning "I want to ask your opinion." |
| James: Let’s break down this phrase. |
| Laura: First is te quiero, which means "I want you to." Next is pedir, which means "ask." Finally is tu opinión. |
| James: This is "your opinion." Altogether it means "I want to ask your opinion." |
| Laura: te quiero pedir tu opinión |
| James: You can use this to ask for someone else’s input. |
| Laura: It is informal. The formal version is le quiero pedir su opinión. |
| James: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Laura: Sure. For example, you can say... Te quiero pedir tu opinión sobre el nuevo producto. |
| James: ... which means "I want to ask your opinion on the new product." |
| James: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Laura: mi sugerencia es |
| James: meaning "my suggestion is." |
| James: This is our last phrase. |
| Laura: The first word is mi, it means "my." Next is sugerencia, this means "suggestion." Finally is es. |
| James: This means "is." Altogether it is "my suggestion is." |
| Laura: mi sugerencia es |
| James: You can use this when you want to give an opinion or proposal. |
| Laura: It can be used in both formal and informal settings. |
| James: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Laura: Sure. For example, you can say... Mi sugerencia es tomarlo con calma. |
| James: ... which means "My suggestion is to take it slow." |
| James: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| James: In this lesson, you'll learn about giving opinions. |
| James: But first, what prepositions can help us accomplish this?! |
| Laura: sobre and cabe. First is sobre. |
| James: This has a similar meaning to "on", "on to", "about", "over", "regarding", "upon", "concerning" and "with regard to." It can be used to mean "on top of." |
| Laura: For example: La hoja cayó sobre mi sombrero. |
| James: "The leaf fell on my hat." It can also express "about" or "additionally." |
| Laura: Sobre lo ocurrido, todos estamos bien. |
| James: "In addition to what happened, we are all fine." It can also be used to express proximity to a quantity or number. |
| Laura: Tengo sobre doscientos pesos. |
| James: "I have around two hundred pesos." There are some other uses in the Lesson Notes. Make sure to check them out. Now, what was the other preposition? |
| Laura: cabe. This can mean "close to", "near", "next to", "by", or "beside." |
| James: It is used to show proximity. For example: |
| Laura: Sentí pasar cabe mi cabeza un pájaro. |
| James: "I felt a bird fly close to my head." |
| Laura: Note that this preposition is not commonly heard anymore nowadays, but since we are covering all of the Spanish prepositions, we wanted you to know its meaning and usage. |
| James: Now let’s continue this lesson by showing some sentence patterns you can use when giving an opinion. If you want to straightforward express your opinion, say: |
| Laura: En mi opinión... el proyecto necesita revisiones. |
| James: "In my opinion ... the project needs revisions." Another common way to express your opinion is: |
| Laura: Pienso que... tenemos que agregar más gráficas. |
| James: "I think that... we should add more graphics." You can also say: |
| Laura: Creo que... es mejor no arriesgarse. |
| James: "I believe that... it’s best not to risk it." If your opinion is based on intuition, you can say: |
| Laura: Siento que... te irá muy bien en el examen. |
| James: "I feel that... you will do very well on the exam." If you would like to politely emphasize something, say: |
| Laura: Cabe mencionar que... la película fue bien recibida. |
| James: "It is worth mentioning that... the film was well received." |
Outro |
| James: 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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