Welcome back to our brand new series of videos with native Spanish speakers!
If you’ve already viewed the first video, you’ll know that the Hablarama team have been to Galicia, in northern Spain, to interview young Spaniards about their lives and their hopes for the future.
In this latest video, we’ll hear our four interviewees giving their opinions about their own country. They talk about the famous Spanish character and the political and economic situation in Spain. They’ll also give some tips about places to visit in Spain, so pay attention!
As with the first video, all four interviewees speak pretty darn quickly and the language used can be quite complex. Don’t despair, just hit the rewind button if you can’t understand what’s being said. Lower down on this page we go over all the key verbs and phrases from this video. We’ll also look at vocabulary and pronunciation issues.
Subtitles
The video comes with Spanish and English subtitles. Try to listen at least once without subtitles, then choose the Spanish ones and listen again. Only select the English subtitles if it’s an emergency and you haven’t understood anything!
Real Spanish Video 2
Was that easy to understand? Have another watch if you really didn’t understand anything. Then move on as we look at the main vocabulary points from the video.
Vocabulary from this video
Let’s review some of the vocabulary, starting with adjectives for describing personality, which was the focus of this video:
Most of the adjectives in the video were given in plural form. Here are the singular versions: :
- Abierto – open
- Conformista – conformist
- Sociable – socialable
- Simpático – friendly
- Agradable – nice/pleasant
- Diverso – diverse
- Alegre – happy
- Romántico – romantic
- Pasionale – passionate
Of these, the one which you’ll hear all the time in reference to people is:
- simpático
You’ll also hear ‘agradable’ a lot, though it is much more common to use for places or experiences, rather then people.
The verbs from this video
Even a 4-minute interview can give rise to lots of new vocabulary if you are a beginner. Here are the infinitive forms for all of the verbs which are used in this video.
- Creer – believe
- Vivir – live
- Ser – be
- Estar – be
- Tomar – take
- Tener – have
- Haber – have
- Relajarse – relax
- Delimitar – delimit
- Ir – go
- Relacionarse – socialise
- Disfrutar – enjoy
- Poder – can / be able to
- Luchar – fight
- Recomendar – recommend
- Visitar – visit
- Ver – see
- Quejarse – complain
- Decir – say
- Bailar – dance
- Hablar – speak
- Cocinar – cook
- Juntarse – get together
- Saber – know
- Preocuparse – worry
- Cambiar – change
- Dar – give
If you watched the first video you’ll have seen that many of the verbs we saw there are repeated here. Thankfully, you don’t need to learn 100s of verbs to be able to have a decent conversation in Spanish.
Five key expressions.
When the Spanish give opinions they often just launch into them, without any forewarning. However, those who like to prepare others for what’s coming next will usually start with:
- Creo que…
I believe that…
Or they may say:
- En mi opinión…
In my opinion…
This second option could also be added at the end of a sentence.
To expression certainty, we can use:
- Sin duda
Without doubt
If we are looking for confirmation, or approval, we can add a simple tag to the end of the phrase:
- ¿No?
For example:
- ¿Tomamos un cafecito* o algo? ¿No?
Let’s have a coffee or something, shall we?
Adding -cito or -ito to the end of a word acts as a diminutive. This is informal Spanish rather than the textbook form of the language. You’ll find that this custom is very widespread in certain South American countries. Colombia and Bolivia in particular should hang their heads in shame.
Acabar de
The expression ‘acabar de’ means to finish doing something:
- tú acabas de trabajar y te vas a tu casa
You finish work and you go to your house.
Nouns related to places
Did you notice all these nouns related to places and locations?:
- la casa – house
- el sitio – place / site
- el lugar – place
- el punto – point / spot
- el mundo – world
- el paisaje – landscape
- el país – country
- la calle – street
- la playa – beach
- la ciudad – city
The questions from the video
Our interviewees were asked the following questions:
- ¿Cómo son los españoles?
What are the Spanish like? - Lo mejor de España.
The best thing about Spain. - Lo peor de España.
The worst thing about Spain. - Tres lugares que un extranjero debería visitar en España.
Three places which a foreigner should visit in Spain. - ¿Qué dicen de España en otros países? ¿Es verdad?
What do they say about Spain in other countries? Is it true? - ¿Cómo va España actualmente?
How’s Spain doing at the moment? - Dinos una cosa que cambiarías de España.
Tell us something that you would change about Spain.
About this series
There’s no better way to learn a language than to listen to native speakers. That’s why we’ve sent a team out to Galicia, in northern Spain, to film a series of informal interviews with native Spanish speakers. In the first video, we heard our four young Spaniards talking about their work and studies. In videos three and four (coming soon!) we’ll see how the Spanish view other countries and cultures.
Where next?
If the level of language in these videos has been too hard for you, then take a look at our much gentler series of videos on Essential Spanish Phrases. Alternatively, if you want to go back and start with a more structured approach to learning, then check out our Basic Spanish classes, written by super-experienced teacher, Aurora Ielpi.
