Beginners 48 - Imperfect "triggers"

Get this episode's full transcript free, plus 2 more of your choice. Don't miss a single word as Rob and Lis untangle ser and estar, and get the English for every line, six sentences to try out loud, and the one-letter difference between being bored and being boring:👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcriptsEnglish has one verb for 'to be'. Spanish has two, and picking the wrong one can change what you're saying completely. Most learners are told that ser is permanent and estar is temporary – which works until you meet mi abuelo está muerto. Rob and Lis swap that rule for one that holds up: ser is for essence, estar is for state (and a little rhyme to remember it). They go through the main uses of each, including the two that catch everyone out – the time, and where a party takes place – then the words that change meaning with each verb (aburrido, listo, rico, guapo) and the four mistakes learners make all the time. Then it's your turn: six sentences to say out loud, and a short conversation before a birthday party – how many of each verb can you count?Claim your first free complete transcript here:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/ser-estar

Unlock the full transcript of this episode, plus 2 more, free. Don't miss a single word as Rob and Lis make por and para simple, and get the English for every line, eight sentences to try out loud, and what a bocadillo is in Colombia (it isn't a sandwich):👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcriptsPor and para usually both come out as 'for' in English, which is why they trip learners up from day one – and for years afterwards. Rob and Lis boil them down to one idea – para looks ahead to the goal, por looks back at the reason – and three pictures to make it stick: the arrow and the push, the ticket to Madrid and the train through León, and the gift tag and the thank-you card. They go through the main uses of each, the mistakes learners make all the time and the twist where both are correct, with Colombian extras like voy pa' la casa and carro. Then it's your turn: eight sentences to say out loud, and a short conversation at a train ticket office – how many pors and paras can you count?The songs from the episode – two classic examples of para shrinking to pa':👉 Faltan cinco pa' las doce – Néstor Zavarce👉 Pa'ti – Bomba EstéreoEvery use of por and para in one place:👉 spanishobsessed.com/por-vs-paraPast the beginner stage? Rob's two-part deep dive with Johanna on our Intermediate podcast:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/por-y-para-1👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/por-y-para-2Claim your first free complete transcript here:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/por-para

Just starting out? Get 95 essential Spanish phrases for beginners, free:👉 spanishobsessed.com/startRob and Lis swapped Bogotá for Colombia's coffee region. With two little ones, Lis doesn't miss the traffic, the horns or the smoke. But she does miss going out for a coffee, the libraries, and having everything close at hand. Rob explains three ways to say 'I miss' in Spanish, including one that works just like gustar, and when you need a little a before the person you miss.Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/city-vs-country

Read this episode word for word, free, plus 2 more of your choice. Don't miss a single word, and get the verbs you need to describe an accident, every line in Spanish and English, and the Colombian slang for a really big smash:👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcriptsIt was a beautiful morning in Bogotá. Lis set off for work, just ten blocks away, in their new car, with Karol G playing and two windows down. Then a police car waved her on, she pulled out and… pum. The most horrible sound of her life. Luckily she was fine, and Rob uses her story to teach chocar, estrellarse and golpear, plus a few very Colombian ways to say it was awful.Quick test: In Bogotá, Lis maneja el carro. How would she say that in Spain?Claim your first free complete transcript here:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/car-crash

Free for listeners: the Fluency Phrasebook, 95 essential beginner phrases:👉 spanishobsessed.com/startThey say moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do. Rob and Lis moved continent, from London to Bogotá, while Lis was seven months pregnant. She tells the story: Rob took almost two weeks to pack, the goodbyes were emotional, and five minutes into the drive they realised they'd left their passports at home. Rob then takes it line by line, showing which past tense moves the story on and which one sets the scene.Quick test: Why does Lis say nos dimos cuenta but estábamos felices?Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/past-tense-stories

Get this episode's full transcript free, plus 2 more of your choice. Don't miss a single word, and get the regular endings for saying what you did, every line in Spanish and English, and Lis's career, from law school in Bogotá to human rights cases:👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcriptsJob interviews are one of Rob's least favourite things. But they're also a great way into the indefinido, because you spend the whole time telling your life story. In a role-play, Rob plays the interviewer and Lis talks him through her career: studying law, working in the Colombian Congress, then at a small human rights firm. Rob then goes through the regular -ar, -er and -ir endings, and shows how one stressed syllable turns hablo, 'I speak', into habló, 'she spoke'.Quick test: Trabajamos can mean 'we work' or 'we worked'. So how do you know which one you're hearing?Claim your first free complete transcript here:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/indefinido

FREE: Grab your Fluency Phrasebook, 95 essential phrases for beginners designed to guide you towards fluency:👉 spanishobsessed.com/startLis's grandparents and great-grandparents grew up in small villages in the Colombian countryside. They got up before dawn, worked in the fields from childhood, celebrated at harvest time, and ate what they grew, plus the sweets her grandmother made with panela. Rob uses their story to share a shortcut he still relies on: time phrases like todos los días that usually call for the imperfect. You'll also see why los fines de semana and el fin de semana pasado point to different tenses.Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/imperfect-triggers

Unlock the full transcript of this episode, plus 2 more, free. Don't miss a single word, and get Rob's hack for remembering era and iba, every line in Spanish and English, and what Lis's mum used to cook in 90s Bogotá:👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcriptsLis grew up in El Carmen, in the south of Bogotá, in the 90s. The city was more dangerous back then, but her neighbourhood was like an oasis of peace, where everyone knew each other. She tells Rob about cycling and football in the park after school, and her mum's tamales and buñuelos. Rob then explains ser and ir in the imperfect, two of the only three irregular verbs in this tense.Quick test: You know voy a llamarte, 'I'm going to call you'. How would you say 'I was going to call you'?Claim your first free complete transcript here:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/ser-ir-imperfect

Want to start speaking sooner? Our free Fluency Phrasebook gives you 95 essential phrases to build on:👉 spanishobsessed.com/startBefore Colombia, Rob and Lis lived in London. In the dialogue they look back on it: working from home every day, long walks at the weekend, a coffee shop, the parks, and trips into central London to see a museum. It's the first episode in a short series on the past. Rob starts with the big picture, two past tenses, one like a line and one like points on it, then shows you the two little sounds that give the imperfect away.Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/past-tenses

Read this episode word for word, free, plus 2 more of your choice. Don't miss a single word, and get the everyday way to say you're single, married or divorced, every line in Spanish and English, and all the gossip about who's going out with whom:👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcriptsRob and Lis got married twice: in a small wedding in England, and in a much bigger one just south of Bogotá. In this episode they talk about relationships, catching up on who's going out with whom. Are Marta and Carlos a couple? Who is Marta seeing now? And how is Rob's friend Pablo after separating from his wife? By the end, you'll be able to say whether someone is single, married, separated or divorced.Quick test: Rob is married to Lis. Should he say estoy casado or soy casado, and is the other one wrong?Claim your first free complete transcript here:👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/civil-status