Catriona: Y también la Plaza Mayor

via Gfycat

Hector: ¡Qué divertido!

Catriona: So now that we've covered how to say where we're going on vacation and how you're going to get there and what you're going to do once you are there, I'd quite like to know a few more verbs related to common holiday activities.

Hector: Tesauro time?

Catriona: ¡Así es!

Catriona: In our section El Tesauro, we always learn useful words and phrases to expand our knowledge of the Spanish language.

Hector: And this time we're going to learn a few verbs. Which verbs do you want to learn Catriona?

Catriona: Well a big part of going to a new place is taking photos, and I've definitely got my camera packed, so how do I say to take photos in Spanish?

Hector: “Tomar fotos”

Catriona: Voy a tomar fotos

Hector: Very good

Catriona: Voy a tomar muchas fotos

Hector: Impressive. You've been doing your homework!

Catriona: I definitely have

Hector: Another important thing when you are on holiday is how you're going to move around the city. Are you going to rent a car?

Catriona: No, unfortunately not. I don't even have my driving licence. So I will most definitely be taking the subway. So how do I say that?

Hector: Okay you can use the verb “Tomar”

Catriona: “Tomar”

Hector: “Tomar”. “Voy a tomar el metro”.

Catriona: “Voy a tomar el metro”

Hector: That is quite common in Mexico and some other parts of Latin America although there are some regions, and particularly in Spain they use the verb coger. Voy a coger el Metro.

Catriona: Voy a coger el Metro

Hector: ¡Excelente! I would like to point out that in Latin America the verb coger has a sexual connotation, so when you're there try to stick to tomar, and when you're in Spain you can use coger. For this you could also use one of the verbs that we have seen before, “viajar”. “Voy a viajar en metro”.

Catriona: Voy a viajar en metro.

Hector: That's right

Catriona: And one more thing: how do I say I'm going to stay in a hotel?

Hector: “Voy a hospedarme en un hotel”.

Catriona: Voy a hospedarme en un hotel.

Hector: Yes that has some tricky grammar but when you're taking the first steps in a new language sometimes it's okay to get familiar with some expressions before getting into the nitty gritty grammar.

Catriona: I agree. You can definitely learn some phrases as standard phrases to begin with and things will slot into place in your brain later on.

Hector: Yeah, great, so I think you're ready for today's challenge.

Catriona: ¡Estoy lista!

Hector: Okay, so for your challenge we're going to take a little bit of what we have learned in the last episode and put it together with this one. So I want you to tell me what you can find in Madrid and ah what you're going to do there.

Catriona: Ok I will give this my best shot.

Hector: Go ahead.

Catriona: So, hay mucho tráfico en Madrid. Entonces voy a tomar el Metro, or I guess if I’m in Spain, voy a coger el Metro. Voy a visitar el Parque del Retiro. El Parque está en el Centro de la Ciudad. Y hay un gran lago ahí.

Hector: Es un lago muy bonito.

Catriona: Si. Y dado que soy turista, voy a visitar por supuesto la Plaza Mayor. Hay muchos cafés, y voy a tomar un café o una Cerveza.

Hector: Hay muy buenos Restaurantes ahí

Catriona: Voy a visitar también el Palacio Real, el Palacio está cerca del Mercado de San Miguel, y definitivamente voy a comer todo *laughs*

Hector: I like it. Just one brief note: you said “Voy a comer todo”. That would mean that you would actually eat everything, but it would be more idiomatic to say “Voy a comer de todo”.

Catriona: Voy a comer de todo. So in English we don't really make the distinction. When we say that we're going to eat everything we don't necessarily mean it in a literal sense. So that would be something to watch out in Spanish.

Hector: Very good, I like it. Okay, so you have a really nice plan for Madrid.

Catriona: Definitely, most of it’s surrounding food and drink, which I think is perfectly acceptable.

Hector: I think you deserve a big congratulation! Congratulations Katrina, because you have gone through one season, ten episodes and your Spanish is impressive!

Catriona: Gracias!

Hector: So how do you feel?

Catriona: I feel good. I feel like I'm ready for my trip to Madrid and I think in between all my snacking and drinking and more food I can probably fit in some conversations with people in Spanish.

Hector: Good, and what has helped you in this whole first season of A Zero to A Hero?

Catriona: I think it's definitely been a help to reuse a lot of the phrases that we've looked at, things that I've been learning with the app to have a chance to actually speak about them put them into practice and definitely adding to my vocab has helped, it means that I think you sound more conversational but more impressive, not so stuck to the same four words, so that's been a big help

Hector: And what are your plans in terms of your Spanish learning?

Catriona: I'm definitely gonna continue, so I think I'm relatively conversational-ish now, in certain topics definitely, but it's definitely not enough, I want to continue and improve and I would love to get to a proper conversational level where I don't feel inhibited or nervous just to speak.

Hector: Yes, and I think that you just touched a very important point. We are not fluent in all aspects of language but we can definitely restrict our learning to certain topics and then jump into another one and get familiar with the vocabulary or with any new structure and make progress from then on.

Catriona: Definitely, building up and stuff is always good!

Hector: Okay, so in this last episode of our first season we went through the fundamentals of the verb ir, and if you would like to expand your knowledge and are looking for more advanced topics we can recommend Palabras Bravas, one of Babbel’s Podcast tailored to the needs of intermediate and advanced learners, hosted by our experts Paula and David.

Catriona: It's completely in Spanish and it will definitely help you brush up on your listening skills If nothing else.

Hector: Catriona, so after 10 episodes you're ready for Madrid

Catriona: I am! But before I leave I would just like to remind our listeners that they can contact us via email at podcasting@babbel.com. Don't forget to write A Zero to A Hero in the subject line!

Hector: We love reading all your emails, they help us a lot to improve!

Catriona: ¡Y olé! Thanks for listening to us throughout this season!

Hector: ¡Hasta pronto!

Catriona: ¡Hasta luego!