Esteban: ¡Hola! We are back with a new episode of A Zero to a Hero! the podcast…

Logan: Wait, wait, wait! Oh, sorry, oh… can I do the introduction today?

Esteban: ¡Oh! ¡Claro que sí!

Logan: Ok.

Esteban: ¡Claro! 

Logan: Hola, yo me llamo Logan. Él se llama Esteban. Nosotros somos A Zero to a Hero!

Esteban: What an introduction! ¡Excelente, Logan! Not only your Spanish was perfect, but your voice was a little bit like, “Hola”! I loved it!

Logan: I do my best! But I actually reviewed the lesson on the app before this!

Esteban: Oh, perfect, yeah!

Logan: Ok. But yes, welcome to another episode. This is a podcast about taking my first steps into español, with the help of my trusted teacher, Esteban.

Esteban: That’s right! I like that, “trusted”, I love it! Each week we review, learn, and practice a new topic Logan would like to learn more about. And as you can hear, he’s already taking big steps!

Logan: ¡Gracias! And if you’re like me, you probably appreciate the audio transcript of this episode, so you can read along as you listen. You can find that in the episode description. Also, stick around because we have a surprise for you at the end of the episode!

Esteban: Yes!

Logan: Ok. So, I’ve heard you say this “let’s begin?” sentence. How do you say that? ¿Empe…?

Esteban: Aha, the verb is “empezar,” and I usually say ¡Empecemos!

Logan: ¡Empecemos!

Esteban: ¡Empecemos!

Esteban: So, Logan, I heard you were able to introduce yourself recently to someone in Spanish?

Logan: Yes, I did! I was at a party, and I heard someone speaking Spanish, and so I just went for it!

Esteban: ¡Increíble!

Logan: Yeah! We talked a lot in Spanish! Err… by a lot, I mean… 5 minutes…

Esteban: Hey, that’s really impressive, that counts! It’s so difficult to approach and get that confidence to do it, so congratulations, that’s awesome!

Logan: Thank you!

Esteban: What was, uhh… what was the difficult part of it? Did you have any challenges?

Logan: Ok, uhh… Well, yeah, I did. So he was actually from Mexico, and he was curious about my family, but then I had to switch back to English, uhh, because I feel like I can talk about myself, but it’s kind of hard to talk about my family.

Esteban: Yeah, right. That makes sense. I feel like when you start learning another language you learn “yo me llamo Logan.” “Yo soy de L.A.” etcetera. So it’s, it’s harder to talk about other people so let’s talk a little bit about that! Let’s talk about how to talk about other people by talking about your family.

Logan: Oh, great, this will help at parties!

Esteban: Excelente. Alright, let’s start!

Esteban: Ok, Logan, so before we start I want you to tell me a little bit about your family, in English. Just paint me a picture of your family. What does the family tree look like?

Logan: Ok, so I have a husband, and I have a mom, I have a grandmother, I have my cousins in Oaxaca, and I have a lot of aunts and uncles!

Esteban: Ok, good, and how are you with your family vocab, do you know the Spanish words for all of these people you mentioned?

Logan: I would say I know most of them, most of them.

Esteban: Ok, how do you say “mom?”

Logan: Mamá.

Esteban: Ah, how about “husband”?

Logan: Oh, ah… ¡Esposo!

Esteban: Esposo, muy bien. Ahh, how about… this is easy. “Grandmother”?

Logan: Abuela.

Esteban: ¡Abuela! Ah, uncle?

Logan: Uhh… Tío.

Esteban: Tío, aha! How about cousins?

Logan: Oh… is that, uhh… Primos!

Esteban: Primos! Ajá , yeh primos, excellent, yeah that’s perfect. Uhm, it seems like you've been checking the vocab for that.

Logan: Oh, and how do I say, before I forget, how do I say “I don’t have siblings”?

Esteban: Good question! So, in order to talk about the, the relatives you have we use the verb “tener,” uhh, but the verb tener is irregular, and so in the “yo” form you would say “yo tengo.” So how would you say, with that information, how would you say “I don’t have, I don’t have siblings?”

Logan: Uhh, yo no tengo… hermanos.

Esteban: Ajá! Muy bien, yo no tengo hermanos. Remember that last week we saw the word “horchata,” and I told you that the “h” was silent. So how would you say that?

Logan: Oh, ok, so “¡yo no tengo hermanos!”

Esteban: Muy bien, excelente. You’re doing great!

Logan: Thank you!

Esteban: Ok, Logan, so you know how to say your own name, your origin, your profession, the place where you live… So I’ll ask you a question that you already know, and then I want you to pay attention (to) how the verb changes when I talk about… when I ask you about your family. Uhh, ¿Cómo te llamas?

Logan: Ok… Me llamo Logan.

Esteban: Muy bien, pero ¿Cómo se llama tu mamá?

Logan: Ah, ok, I see! Mi mamá se llama Sheree.

Esteban: ¡Muy bien! Ajá! Tú mamá se llama Sheree. Ok. Yo vivo en los Estados Unidos. I live in the United States. Tú vives en Berlín. ¿Dónde vive tu abuela?

Logan: Mi abuela vive en Palm Springs.

Esteban: Ajá, muy bien. Tu abuela vive en Palm Springs. Uhm… ¿De dónde es tu esposo?

Logan: Mi esposo es de Austria.

Esteban: Ah, ¿Tú esposo es de Austria? ¡Qué interesante!

Logan: ¡Sí!

Esteban: Ajá. Uhm, ¿Tu madre trabaja?

Logan: Ok… So, you’re asking me if my mother works? So… Sí, mi madre trabaja en la universidad.

Esteban: Ajá, mi mamá trabaja en la universidad. Muy bien.

Logan: En la universidad.

Esteban: Muy bien, exacto. Excelente. Logan, here comes a challenge. Ok?

Logan: Ok, I'm ready.

Esteban: This one's, uhh, tricky.  Ahh, ¿De dónde son tus primos?

Logan: Ok. Mi, mi primos son de Texas.

Esteban: Ajá, hahaha, you fell into my trap!

Logan: Noooo!

Esteban: No, no ¡muy bien! ¡Excelente! Just a couple of things. First of all, Texas, in Spanish, is pronounced /Tejas/ just the same as in Mex…, how Mexico in Spanish is pronounced /Méjico/, right? Uhh, but mainly I want to talk to you about the word “mi” and “tu” that we’re using, right? Like when you say “mi mamá.” Uh, because, uhh, these are called “possessive adjectives,” and they're placed before your relative, or before a thing you own. But unlike English these words are going to change if you have a singular or plural thing after them, right? So, uhh, if you say “primos,” if you’re describing your “primos,” instead of “mi primos,” you should say?

Logan: ¿Mis primos?

Esteban: ¡Muy bien! Exacto, ajá. ¡Tus primos son de Texas! Ajá. Now, if you know some adjectives perhaps, uhh, you coulds tell me what they are like. ¿Cómo son tus primos?

Logan: Ok. So… Mis primos… inteligentes…

Esteban: Muy bien, but don’t forget the verb!

Logan: Oh yeah, ok! Mis primos son inteligentes y muy interesantes.

Esteban: Oh, look at you, using “muy.” Ellos son muy interesantes, como tú y como yo!

Logan: Well, I don’t know about you!

Esteban: What?!

Logan: Just kidding!

Esteban: WHAT?! Very good. Excelente. Now, uhh, with what you learned, tell me a bit about your grandma. You have now a whole set of vocabulary, uhh, you know how to say all these things, ¡Háblame de tu abuela!

Logan: Ok. Mi abuela se llama Priscilla. Ella vive en Palm Springs.

Esteban: Muy bien…

Logan: Mi abuela… Oh, how do you say she has… tres… children?

Esteban: Ajá, muy bien, you would use the irregular verb “tener,” so you would say “tiene tres hijos.”

Logan: Ok. So… Ella tiene tres hijos. So, they are mi mamá Sheree, y mis tíos Sam y Scott.

Esteban: Ah, ¡tú tienes dos tíos, Sam y Scott!

Logan: ¡Sí!

Esteban: ¿Cómo son tus tíos?

Logan: Ok. So… Ellos… How, how would I say “fun”?

Esteban: Yeah, the adjective for fun is “divertidos.”

Logan: Ok. So, ellos son divertidos.

Esteban: Ajá, ¡Como yo, pero no como tú!

Logan: Oh, wait a minute!

Esteban: Yeah, I can also talk, buddy! Excelente. Alright, uhm, so… Ok. I think you got this down pretty well, now let’s see how you do listening to others talk about their family!

Logan: Ok, let’s do it. I think I’m ready!

Esteban: Alright!

Esteban: Ok, Logan. So I was talking to my friend Ruby, and guess what? She's also a Babbel Live teacher.

Logan: What? No way!

Esteban: She’s from Puerto Rico, and she was talking about her family. Do you have a favorite family member, by the way?

Logan: Maybe I do, but you’ll never get me to say that on the record!

Esteban: I get that! But luckily, Ruby didn’t mind! Let’s hear her talking about her favorite relative, and then later you’ll describe that person to me, ok?

Logan: Ok!¡Vamos!

Esteban: Oye, estoy planeando un viaje de vuelta y estoy muy ilusionado porque quiero ver a toda mi familia. Especialmente a mis personas favoritas. ¿Tienes algún miembro de tu familia que es tu persona favorita?

Ruby: Bueno, tengo que admitir que soy una niña de mamá. Mi madre es mi persona favorita.

Esteban: ¡Me río porque la verdad es que yo también soy un niño de mamá! Genial, ¿cómo se llama tu madre?

Ruby: Mi madre se llama Ruth, pero todo el mundo la conoce como Ruby, como yo.

Esteban: Tu nombre es Ruby, ¿y te pusieron Ruby porque es el apodo de tu mamá?

Ruby: Sí, así mismo. Es el apodo de mi madre.

Esteban: Genial, ¡qué bien! Y dónde vive tu madre?

Ruby: Ella ahora vive con mi padre en Orlando, Florida.

Esteban: Y ella es de Florida?

Ruby: No, nosotros somos de Puerto Rico. Ella nació en el sur de Puerto Rico, en un pueblo que se llama Guayanilla.

Esteban: Ah, genial! Entonces tú creciste en Puerto Rico?

Ruby: Sí, crecí, me crié en Puerto Rico, y ahora estoy en España.

Esteban: Genial. Oye, y tu mamá trabaja ahí, en Orlando?

Ruby: Bueno, mi mamá trabajó en Puerto Rico y ahora está retirada. Ella trabajó en la Universidad de Puerto Rico, en la administración, por muchos años.

Esteban: Ah genial, ¡entonces supongo que tu madre es muy inteligente!

Ruby: Sí, seguro que sí. Muy inteligente, y generosa.

Esteban: Genial, ¡me encanta! Quisiera conocer a Ruth. Ahora yo tengo que viajar a mi casa y visitar a mi madre. Se llama Amparo…

Esteban: Alright, I don’t know if you caught all of it. We talked a lot about different things. But as far as her family, did you follow along?

Logan: Uhh… I, I did! I think I got some of that.

Esteban: Ok. Excellent. So do you remember who is Ruby’s favorite relative?

Logan: Ok. Her favorite relative. So… Ruby’s… mamá? How do I say that?

Esteban: Yeah, yeah… So in Spanish we don’t have the apostrophe like in English to say “Ruby’s mom,” so you… we actually have to say like the complete thing, we have to say “The mom of Ruby.” So could you, could you say that in Spanish?

Logan: Ok, so in Spanish… La mamá… 

Esteban: ¡Ajá!

Logan: …de Ruby

Esteban: Ajá, la mamá de Ruby. Muy bien! Excelente. Ok, so… ¿Cómo se llama la mamá de Ruby?

Logan: Ok, uhm, name of… La mamá de Ruby se llama Ruth.

Esteban: ¡Muy bien! ¡Ajá! ¿Dónde vive Ruth?

Logan: Ok, where does she, where does she live? Ella vive en Orlando.

Esteban: Muy bien, ella vive en Orlando. Pero ella no es de Orlando. ¿De dónde es la mamá de Ruby?

Logan:  Uhh ¿La mamá de Ruby es de Puerto Rico?

Esteban: ¡Muy bien! ¡Ajá! La mamá de Ruby es de Puerto Rico ¡Perfecto! Now Ruby, uhm, said her mom is retired, and she told us where she used to work in the past tense. Just for the sake of this conversation and because we just know the present tense, let’s pretend she still works there. Ok?

Logan: Ok, that makes it easier!

Esteban: Exactly, ok. ¿Dónde trabaja Ruth?

Logan: Where does she work? Ella trabaja en la universidad.

Esteban: Muy bien! Look at you! Look at you talking about other people, not only about your family but also, like, other people! I feel like you’re ready for “el chisme.” Have you heard that, “el chisme”?

Logan: What? What is that?

Esteban: It’s gossip. You’re ready to gossip, my friend! I’m so excited for you!

Logan: I’m ready for “el chisme”! Actually I can’t wait to say a couple of things about you to my abuela!

Esteban: Oh don’t you even dare! I bet you, I bet your abuela and I, we would get along.

Logan: Uhh, you’re probably right, she would love you. Also whenever I call my abuela we just end up talking about our day, so there’s not too much room for “el chisme”!

Esteban: Makes sense. Well, how about we can talk about our daily activities, and like, routines and habits, and that way you can talk to her about that in Spanish!

Logan: Oh, perfecto. Yeah!

Esteban: Well, let’s do that! We’ll do that next time because… You know, all this talk about family, I feel like… ¡Necesito llamar a mi mamá! I need to call my mom.

Logan: Ahh, I do too!

Esteban: Right? Let’s go do that.

Logan: Ok!

Esteban: Ok! That was our episode on la familia! If you liked it, share it with your parents, and your siblings, and your second cousins, and then let us know what you thought! Help us by filling out our survey! You can find that in the episode description. And remember that, if you like to read while you listen, you can find the transcript of this episode linked in the description too. That’s also where we have dropped in a little surprise: A limited Babbel Live offer just for you! That way you can jump straight into one of our conversational classes, maybe the one about family that we have every week, and maybe I will be your teacher, or Ruby! Alright, that’s it for now. See you next time!

¡Hasta el próximo episodio!

Logan: ¡Adiós!