In this Spanish lesson we will practice using El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto, which is the Past Perfect in English. As usual, first we will review some relevant grammar and vocabulary and then see if you can follow a short listening.
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This lesson is part of a Spanish course that practices the grammar and vocabulary first introduced in my Intermediate Spanish course posted here on the Transparent Language blog. Let’s test your listening comprehension and see if you can understand a short audio in Spanish. The transcript to the audio will be given at the end of the post but please try not to look at it until you have tried playing and understanding the audio a few times.
Use the following link to watch the corresponding video lesson of the original course:
Intermediate Spanish Lesson 1 El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto – The Past Perfect in Spanish
Please familiarise yourself with the following words and phrases before listening to the audio below:
Tener razón: to be right
Aprobar: to pass
Hace tiempo: a while ago
Gramática: grammar
Now play the audio to listen a conversation between two friends. Can you understand what they are saying? Play the audio a few times before you look at the transcript. Don’t worry if you don’t understand every single thing the two people are saying. Try to catch whichever words you can and then try to piece things together to work out what is being said.
(Play the audio a few times before you scroll down and look at the transcript)
Transcript:
Joe: Hola Paula ¿has visto a Pablo?
Paula: Sí, el otro día le vi en la biblioteca. Estaba estudiando. La verdad es que no le había visto en varios meses.
Joe: Yo no le he visto en mucho tiempo. ¿Sabes qué ha estado haciendo?
Paula: Pues cuando le vi me dijo que había estado muy ocupado estudiando y que no había salido de su casa en meses.
Joe: ¿En serio? Pero eso no puede ser bueno.
Paula: Sí, tienes razón. Me dijo que no había aprobado su examen de inglés y que su profesor le había dicho que tenía que estudiar todos los días cuatro horas.
Joe: Pero eso es una locura. Yo le puedo ayudar a aprobar su examen de inglés. Puede practicar conmigo. ¿No te lo dije hace tiempo?
Paula: Sí, ya me acuerdo. Yo le dije que te había visto y que me habías dicho que le podías ayudar. Pero él me dijo que su problema no es hablar, es la gramática y que el profesor le había dicho que tiene que estudiar.
Joe: Pues yo creo que eso es una tontería. Voy a llamarle para ofrecerle mi ayuda.
Paula: Buena idea Joe.
So, how did you get on? How much did you understand of the listening? Please let me know in the comments section below…
Don’t worry if you didn’t understand that much, keep reviewing the vocabulary and phrases and you will soon be up to speed and ready for the next lesson in this course. See you next time!
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About the Author:Laura
Laura. I qualified as a Spanish Language Teacher in 2004. I have taught Spanish in England and Spain and now really enjoy teaching the Spanish Language via my website The Spanish Blog to students from all around the world. I love my job and the intricacies of the Spanish Language. My main personal interests are music, reading and cooking. I studied music for twelve years in Bilbao and I play the piano. I also enjoy singing and I try my best to sing more in English now. I hope very much that you enjoy my posts and welcome any comments.
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