Success with Real Spanish
This is the transcription of the video above. We all have our own reasons for wanting to improve our Spanish.
25 de January de 2025
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Aprende español con consejos, cultura y recursos gratuitos
This is the transcription of the video above. We all have our own reasons for wanting to improve our Spanish.
The video above explains some uses of «fin» and «final». The English transcription is below. If you just want to listen to the audio, you can find it on Soundcloud. ¡Hi, and welcome to Real Spanish! Do you still have trouble with «fin» and«final»? Do we say «el fin» or «el final» of a movie? The first thing you need to know is that «fin» has three differen meanings. It can mean the end of something, such as the end of the week, («el fin de semana») or, more colloquially, «el finde»). For example: «Este finde vamos a la playa». It can also mean the objective or motive for some action, such as, «El fin de su viaje era visitar a su madre». We use the connectors «a fin de» or «con el fin de» with the meaning of «para». For example: «Estoy estudiando inteligencia artificial, a fin de prepararme para lo que venga en el futuro». «Se ha aprobado una nueva ley con el fin de limitar los precios del alquiler». But «fin» can also mean a limit or border, as in «Esta línea representa el fin del terreno del parque». The word«final» also means «la parte final de algo», and in this case «fin» and «final» are interchangeable. Look at these examples: «Todos estamos rogando por el fin/el final de la guerra». «No consigo llegar a fin/final de mes». However, why do we usually say, «el final del libro» instead of «el fin del libro»? Well. it’s because «el fin del libro» could be interpreted as the aim or objective of the book. Ah, and another difference: «final» can be an adjective as well as a noun, whereas «fin» is only a noun. For example: «París fue el destino final de nuestro viaje». Y ahora algunas expresiones útiles: Por fin (at last) Al final (in/at the end) A/para /hasta finales de (at/by/until the end of…) Well, the aim of this vidoeowas to explain some uses of «fin» and «final». And now we’ve come to the end. Bye for now! Please leave us a comment, a question, or a suggestion below: we’d love to hear from you! Follow us on YouTube so you never miss our Trocitos de Real Spanish. You can also participate in our Community page on YouTube. You’ll find short quizzes, surveys, and quick explanations of vocabulary or grammar points. Enjoy your Spanish with us! Click here to learn more about all our great materials. Real Spanish: online Spanish courses and mini-lessons for people who are serious about improving their Spanish
This lottery takes place in the Teatro Real or the Palacio de Congresos in Madrid and crowds of people attend. Children from San Ildefonso school, one of the oldest in Madrid with more than 400 years of history, practise singing out the winning numbers. One child takes out a numbered ball from a rotating drum and the other takes out of another drum ball that announces the prize for that number. The first prize is known as El Gordo (The Big One) and the winner receives 400,000 euros. The ticket with the number is known as el decimo (one tenth), because each number appears on ten different tickets: that is, there are ten tickets with the same number. There are four other prizes as well as El Gordo, worth from 125,000 euros (second prize) to 6,000 euros (fifth prize). Then there is what’s known as La Pedrea, consisting of lots of smaller prizes. Crowds of people queue up at the lottery offices to buy tickets, which cost 20 euros each. The most famous place to buy tickets is Doña Manolita, en Madrid, which started in 1904 and became very popular because so many of the tickets sold there won prizes. Many people buy shares in a ticket; that is, a ticket is shared among friends and family. Sometimes local businesses sell shares to their customers. The cost of shares is much lower and the prizes are shared among all the participants. The television advertisements for the lottery (see below) feature moving stories which encourage solidarity. The message is: “The best prize is sharing.” If you are in Spain around these dates, why not try your luck by buying a ticket or a share? Share the dream! Links to other articles and videos: Wikipedia article (in Spanish or English and several other languages): Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad TV ad for the 2019 lottery: TV ad for the 2025 lottery: Sign up or log in to learn more about all our great materials
You can customise subtitles and playback speed for videos on YouTube. José explains how to get the most out of these tools. Netflix offers similar options for subtitles and playback speed. If you just want to listen to the audio, you’ll find it here. Did you see our first video on how to get the most out of videos in Spanish (or any other language)? Miguel explains how to use some keyboard shortcuts here. Hi! Great to see you! This is our second video about how the tools on YouTube can help you to learn a language. First: the subtitles. I’m sure you already know that subtitles rarely match exactly what the actors or announcers are saying. Normally, this doesn’t matter. But for language students it’s essential to be able to see and hear the exact words at the same time. For this reason, in the clips from TV and movies that we use in our courses, we have uploaded subtitles that really do match exactly what the actors or announcers are saying. In this clip three friends are talking about the contents of a bag belonging to a young Basque woman who left it behind after spending the night with one of them. You will hear examples of Andalusian pronuncation, as well as some words that we explain in the lesson. Joaquín: ¡Cuidao, Currito! no vaya a haber un artefacto explosivo ahí dentro, ¡hijo! Careful Curro! In case there’s an explosive device inside, mate! Curro: ¡Anda ya! Oh, come on! Curro: ¿Tú estás seguro de que este bolso es de una mujer? Porque aquí no hay ni pintalabios, ni rímel, ni nada. Are you sure this is a woman’s bag? Because there’s no lipstick, or mascara, or anything. Joaquín: ¡Si las vascas no se maquillan! Well, Basque women don’t wear makeup! Rafael: Joaquín, que tú viste a la muchacha, que podía ser perfectamente Miss Euskadi. Joaquín, you saw the girl, she could easily be Miss Basque Country. To activate the subtitles in the TV and movie clips in our courses, click on Settings. Then choose the language. We suggest you view the clip several times, first with subtitles and later without, until you can distinguish every word and phrase without the subtitles. Another useful tool: you can slow down the video so you can distinguish every word. Then you can view it at normal speed. Watch this video. The video is in English Let’s review what we’ve learned so far. If you don’t understand something, try these strategies: First: rewind 5 or 20 seconds Second: If it’s still hard for you, rewind again and activate the subtitles in Spanish. Third: If you can hear each word but still don’t get the meaning, rewind again and choose the subtitles in English. Do you know other ways to get the most out of videos to help you learn a language? Leave us a comment below! By the way, you can find the transcription of this video,
Virginia helps you with an important aspect of Spanish culture (transcription below). Hi, great to see you! Today I’ll explain the cultural norms in Spain regarding kissing or shaking hands. In an informal situation, when a friend introduces you to someone else, it’s normal for women to kiss each other on both cheeks, beginning with the right. Men usually shake hands, although when friends meet, it’s normal to hug or to pat each other on the back. In a formal setting, such as in a job interview, it’s normal to shake hands. However, don’t be surprised if, when you meet someone in a meeting or a conference, they kiss you on the cheek… as long as one of you is a woman. When you greet your colleagues whom you see every day, a greeting such as ¿qué tal? or ¿cómo va todo?, etc., is fine. So, some advice: wait until the other person makes the first move, leaning towards you or offering their hand. OK, those are the norms in Spain. If they are different in Latin America, tell us about it below! See you soon! Have you ever experiencced that embarrassing moment when you offer a handshake and the other person kisses you on the cheek? Or vice versa? Awkward, right? Tell us about it below! You can also leave us a comment, a suggestion, or a quetion. We’ d love to hear from you! Follow us on YouTube so you never miss our Trocitos de Real Spanish. You can also participate in our Community page on YouTube. You’ll find short quizzes, surveys, and quick explanations of vocabulary or grammar points. Enjoy your Spanish with us! Click here to learn more about all our great materials. Real Spanish: online Spanish courses and mini-lessons for people who are serious about improving their Spanish
¿Do you still have problems with «más de» and «más que»? José explains! (transcription below). Hello and welcome to Real Spanish! Are you still not sure when to use «más que» or «más de»? It’s natural, they sound similar but their meanings are different. We use «más que» in comparisons of people, things, places animals, objects, and even actions. Look at these examples: Susana trabaja más que Pedro. Susanna works more than Pedro. Me gusta cantar más que bailar. I like singing more than dancing. Llevo más tiempo en este negocio que tú. I’ve been in this business longer than you. Me fío de Patricia menos que de su hermana. I trust Patricia less than her sister. «Más que» is also used to express superiority or inferiority with an adjective or adverb, according to this structure: «más/meno + adjective/adverb + que». For example: Mi hermano es más alto que yo. My brother is taller than me. La tortuga se mueve más lento que la liebre. The tortoise goes more slowly than the hare. Ella habla menos que su hermana. She talks less than her sister. Another use of «más que» is to express the existence of only one possibility, or of an exception. These examples will help to make this clearer: Nadie más que el guardia de seguridad puede quedarse en la oficina por la noche. Nobody except/other than the security guard can stay in the office at night. No haces más que criticar a tu jefe. You do nothing but criticize your boss. As for «más de» and «menos de», we use these phrases with numbers and quantities. For example: Tengo más de diez pares de zapatos negros. I have more than 10 pairs of black shoes. Has llegado más de cuantro horas tarde. You’re more than four hours late Más de la mitad de los alumnos llegan al colegio sin haber desayunado. More than half of the students arrive at school without having had breakfast. Menos del 50% de los votantes han votado. Fewer than 50% of the eligible votes have voted. Esta película no es apta para niños de menos de 13 años. This movie is not suitable for children under 13 years of age. We also use «más de» and «menos de» with relative clauses introduced by «lo que»: For example: Como más de lo que te imaginas. I eat more than you think. Tengo menos edad que lo que crees. I am younger than you think. And before I go, do you know the expression «más de la cuenta»? It means too much, or more than you should. For example Has bebido más de la cuenta, ahora estás muy borracho. You’ve had too much to drink, you are really drunk. Peso más de la cuenta, tengo que adelgazar. I weigh too much, I have to lose weight. Bye for now! Please leave us a comment, a question, or a suggestion below: we’d love to hear from you! Follow us on YouTube
This is a preview of our mini-lesson about colloquial Spanish expressions with the word «huevo». Some expressions with «huevos» are quite vulgar, because the word can also refer to “testicles” or “balls”. If you only want to listen to the audio, you can find it on Soundcloud. Hi! Today I’ll explain some colloquial uses of the word «huevo». Some of these expressions are quite vulgar, because in colloquial language «huevos» can mean “testicles” or “balls”, so be careful how you use them! Have you heard the expression «Me importa un huevo»? It means “I don’t care” or “I don’t give a shit.” In Mexico «a huevo has two meanings, depending on the context. It can be a strong yes, or the equivalent of “You bet!” For example, «¿De verdad vas a aceptar ese trabajo? Tendrás que viajar mucho». (Are you really going to accept that job? You’ll have to travel a lot.) «A huevo, no puedo perderme tal oportunidad.» (You bet I am, I’m not going to miss such an opportunity.) It can also mean «pase lo que pase» (no matter what). For example, «Tengo que terminar este proyecto para el viernes, a huevo» (I have« to finish this project by Friday, no matter what (or, come hell or high water). In Spain, «a huevo» means «a tiro» or «alcance» (it’s easy, a piece of cake, a walk in the park). For example, «Te has preparado muy bien la entrevista y ya conoces al jefe, vas a conseguir el trabajo seguro, lo tienes a huevo» (You are well prepared for the interview and you already know the boss, so it’s a piece of cake for you). There are so many expressions with «huevo» that we have created a mini-lesson on the topic. It consists of: A video An annotated transcription A set of grammar notes A couple of interactive exercises Click below to learn more. OK, that’s all for today. Bye for now! If you liked this video, you will enjoy our complete mini-lesson on the topic. . You can get five minis for the price of four! Click here to learn more. Follow us on YouTube soyou don’t miss any of our Trocitos de Real Spanish! Get in touch. We’d love to hear from you. You can leave us a comment, a question or a suggestion. You can also participate on our You Tube Community Page. You’ll find quizzes, surveyas and interesting points of vocaulary and grammar. Improve your Spanish with us. Click here to learn more about all our materials. Real Spanish: Courses and mini-lessons online for people who are serious about improving their Spanish.