Catriona: ¡Hola, amigos y amigas! Bienvenidos y bienvenidas a A Zero to A Hero…

Héctor: ¿Qué tal? Hola a todo el mundo. ¿Cómo estás, Catriona?

Catriona: Muy bien, gracias, ¿tú?

Héctor: Bien también. What are you up to, Catriona?

Catriona: Well it's been a while, Héctor and I've been practicing my Spanish so I remember that we have looked at verbs ending in “-ar” and verbs ending in “-er” so I've been trying to talk about languages that I speak so: “hablo inglés, español” and talking about food and drink with some people as well “como, tú comes”, etcétera so that's been going quite well. 

Héctor: I’m so glad that you’re really putting an effort to get your Spanish going.

Catriona: I hope so, and I feel like I've grasped some of the basics, so far.

Héctor: Good to know. So far we have just started with regular verbs, although.

Catriona: That's true and even if I make a mistake when applying these rules, people usually understand and correct me, so actually by making mistakes I’ve learned so much more that I wouldn’t have done otherwise.

Héctor: Yeah, indeed, one might think it isn’t so but it actually is. And what are we going to learn today, Catriona?

Catriona: Well, I would like to get some more practice with verb conjugations. We still have one more verb group to go, don’t we?

Héctor: Yes, indeed. We still have to check the verbs ending in “-ir” and we will practice what we have learned in the previous episodes, as well.

Catriona: And you should also remember to our audience that reviewing is a very important part of language learning. So reviewing definitely helps me, every time I do something I try to put into practice or maybe sit down having a look through conjugations again. Even just reading it through a few times, so that it doesn't slip out of your head again. 

Héctor: I can only agree with that. So, what topic have you chosen for today’s episode, Catriona?

Catriona: I chose the verb “vivir”, to live, because it is a common verb and it would be really helpful so that I can talk about everyday life in different countries, my situation…

Héctor: That certainly gives us a lot to talk about. Going through the verb groups is quite a milestone, so today, instead of a quiz, I’ve got a challenge for you!

Catriona: Well, I don't know what the challenge is but I'm so looking.

Catriona: As we mentioned in the introduction, we are going to give closure on this topic by reviewing regular verbs ending in “-ir” while talking about the places, we and our family and friends all live.

Héctor: OK, maybe we could start with something easy:
“¿Dónde vives, Catriona?”

Catriona: “¿Dónde vives?”, “dónde” we had before is “where”. We are looking at the verb “vivir”, so I guess you're asking me where I live. 

Héctor: Exactly.

Catriona: Vivo en Alemania, en Berlín. Y ¿tú? ¿Dónde vives, Héctor?

Héctor: Yo vivo en Berlín también.

Catriona: OK, so in that case we've got “vivir”, and for first person singular we are taking off the infinitive ending and adding  “-o”.

Héctor: Exactly! Actually, the conjugation for regular verbs in “-ir” follows the same patterns like the ones ending in “-er”.

Catriona: Thank godness! Thank the Lord of Spanish!

Héctor: ¿En qué parte de Berlín vives, Catriona? ¿En el centro, en el sur, en el norte?

Catriona: “¿En qué parte de Berlín”, so in which area of Berlin? And then I'm guessing the following was either center, in the south, in the north?

Héctor: Good!

Catriona: Yo vivo en el norte de Berlín. ¿Y tú, Héctor?

Héctor: Yo también vivo en el norte de Berlín.

Catriona: The best area to live in. So if the “-er” and “-ir” verbs, for example, work similarly conjugating them. I could say “Héctor tú vives en Berlín y comes comida mexicana”. Likewise: “yo vivo en Berlín y como chocolate”.

Héctor: Very good! So, as stated before, the conjugation patterns for those verb groups, “-er” and “-ir” are exactly the same.

Catriona: Excellent, this makes life a lot easier. So I know it’s still a long way for me to be totally fluent in Spanish but as long as I can understand the topic of a conversation and contribute something to it every now and then I feel I’m making good progress.

Héctor: You have hit the nail on the head. Sometimes when learning a language, people focus so much on the end result and feel overwhelmed in consequence. When you are learning a new language, it is necessary to enjoy the small steps one gives towards that goal and celebrate them. That is vital to stay motivated!

Catriona: I do completely agree! I remember when I moved to Italy at the beginning I really couldn't say anything it was so frustrating, and bit by bit, even just being able to follow a conversation to add one sentence to say something, felt like a huge celebratory moment. So, I agree with that. 

Héctor: OK, so after we went into that rabbit hole, let’s go back to our main topic. “¿Dónde vive tu familia, Catriona?”

Catriona: OK, so I remember that on the last episode you mentioned that “la gente” took the conjugation of “él” and “ella”, is this the same with family, “la familia”?

Héctor: Yes, collective nouns, that is words that refer to a group of people, such as “la gente” or, in our case, “la familia” always take the conjugation of “él” and “ella”, that’s why we ask: “¿dónde vive tu familia?” “Where does your family live?” “¿Dónde vive tu familia?”

Catriona:  ¿Dónde vive tu familia? Mi familia vive en Escocia.

Héctor: So, can you remind our listeners the rule for conjugating verbs ending in “-er” and “-ir” for “él” and “ella”?

Catriona: So we have “comer”, so you take the infinitive ending and add an “-e”.

Catriona: OK, so Héctor “¿dónde vive tu familia?”

Héctor: Very good, as simple as that. Mi familia es muy grande, una parte vive en México, una parte vive en Estados Unidos y otra parte en Puerto Rico.

Héctor: Mi familia es muy grande: una parte vive en México, una parte vive en Estados Unidos y otra parte vive en Puerto Rico.

Catriona: Oh, very international!

Héctor: Yes. “Todos vivimos en diferentes países”.

Catriona: “Todos vivimos en diferentes países”. Ok so, “todos” we all live in different countries. Which means the rule for “nosotros” will be “nosotros vivimos”, so we take off the ending and add “-imos”.

Héctor: Very good! “Y ¿Convives mucho con tu familia?”

Catriona: “¿Convives mucho con tu familia?” What does “convives” mean, Héctor?

Héctor: “Convivir” means “to spend time with somebody”.

Catriona: “Convivimos mucho tempo juntos cuando estoy en vacaciones”. 

Héctor: Just one quick note in Spanish we say “tiempo”.

Catriona: “tiempo”.

Héctor: And we also say: “de vacaciones”.

Catriona: “de vacaciones”.

Héctor: Exactly. OK, good. “Ustedes no viven en la misma ciudad, ¿verdad?”

Catriona: “Ustedes no viven en la misma ciudad”. So you're asking  if we all live in the same city, correct?

Héctor: Correct.

Catriona: No, tienes razón, no vivimos en la misma ciudad. 

Héctor: Very good. I just ask you a question with “ustedes”. Do you remember the rule for the conjugation of “ustedes” for verbs ending in “-er”?

Catriona: Yes, I do! So for verbs ending in “-er” it would be removing ending and adding “-en”, so “comer, ustedes comen”.

Héctor: Yes, so now we come with the only exception in conjugations!

Catriona: Oh!

Héctor: If we were to use the previous sentence: “ustedes no viven en la misma ciudad” and change if using “vosotros” and “vosotras” instead, how would we phrase it?

Catriona: Well for  “vosotros, vosotras” for verb ending in “-ar”, we have “hablar, habláis”; for verb ending in “-er; comer coméis”, so “vivir, vivís”? 

Héctor: Good, yes. The conjugation is “Vosotros, vosotras vivís”.

Catriona: OK, so “vosotros, vosotras vivís”.

Héctor: Very good!

Catriona: So, now we've made it to “ellos” and “ellas”!

Héctor: Yes, finally!

Catriona: I’m ready! Hit me with your best shot!

Héctor: Mis amigos viven en el centro de la ciudad.

Catriona: “Mis amigos viven en el centro de la ciudad”. So: my friends live in the center of the city. I can use “ellos” and “ellas” to talk about my friends. “Ellos y ellas viven en el centro de la ciudad”.

Héctor: ¿Dónde viven tus amigos, Catriona?

Catriona: Unos amigos viven en Edimburgo, en Escocia en el centro de la ciudad y unas amigas viven en Berlín.

Héctor: ¡Muy bien! I think this is a milestone, you have gone through the regular verb Groups in Spanish! Congratulations!

Catriona: Thank you, Héctor. Excellent. I would like to still like to round it up with some other words related to different locations.

Héctor: Tesauro Time?

Catriona: In our beloved section El Tesauro we always learn useful words or phrases to improve our daily-life conversations.

Héctor: And you mentioned that you would like to learn more words related to locations, is there any in particular?

Catriona: We used “centro” while learning the conjugations of “vivir”, so why not starting with a few cardinal points.

Héctor: Shall we start with the north?

Catriona: Yes, I think we mentioned this already.

Héctor: el norte.

Catriona: el norte.

Héctor: Yo vivo en el norte de Berlín.

Catriona: Y ¿cómo se dice “the south”?

Héctor: “The south”, se dice el sur.

Catriona: El sur.

Héctor: “Tú vives en el sur de los Estados Unidos”.

Catriona: “Tú vives en el sur de los Estados Unidos”. OK, so you live in the south of the US. What if I want to say “close to” or “far away from”?

Héctor: I’d like to highlight, dear listeners, that this is a great way of learning vocabulary, pairing words that mean the opposite.

Catriona: Antonyms.

Héctor: Yes, so here we are going to learn two chunks, the first one, close to, is two words “cerca de”.

Catriona: cerca de.

Héctor: And the second, far away from, is “lejos de”.

Catriona: lejos de.

Héctor: Yo vivo cerca de Nueva York, pero lejos de California.

Catriona: “Yo vivo cerca de Nueva York, pero lejos de California”. So I Iive close to New York but far away from California. So “pero” means “but”.

Héctor: So, that is enough for us to go to our challenge. Are you ready?

Catriona: I am potentially ready. 

Héctor: For you challenge, your task is to put everything together, everything that you have learned regarding conjugations and I want you to compare your life in Berlin and your life in Scotland. What do you do differently when you are in one place or in other. 

Catriona: No pressure, then Héctor, asking for that?

Héctor: No, not at all. I know you can do it. You're my best student. 

Catriona: OK. I will give the go. Bueno, cuando estoy aquí en Alemania hablo alemán con unos amigos y ahora un poco más español, contigo Héctor, por ejemplo. Vivo en el norte de Berlín, pero cerca del centro y lejos de Escocia, donde viven mis padres. En Escocia todos mis amigos hablan inglés entonces hablo yo también inglés en Escocia. En casa en Berlín, cocino mucho y como pescado con verduras o una pasta, me gusta el salmón. Mis padres comen avena con leche todas las mañanas y yo también cuando estoy en Escocia. 

Héctor: Is this here an A or what?

Catriona: Thank you, Héctor.

Héctor: ¡Felicidades, Catriona!

Catriona: Gracias.

Héctor: ¿Qué tal? How do you feel after the challenge?

Catriona: Muy bien. Mucho más segura gracias a ti. 

Héctor: I'm really glad that I've been able to help you and that we have also encouraged people out there to go and try their Spanish. We've got emails kindly asking if we could include the words and 
phrases we use on each episode!

Catriona: And it is your lucky day because you can find them now on the notes attached to every episode.

Héctor: Look them up wherever you get your podcasts on.

Catriona: Don’t forget to subscribe and please leave us a review!

Héctor: Remember that you can contact us via email at podcasting@babbel.com with all your comments and suggestions.

Catriona: Thanks for listening!

Héctor: ¡Nos escuchamos pronto!

Catriona: ¡Hasta luego!