Lesson 38 Notes

August 27th, 2007
CoffeeBreakSpanish.com
Lesson 38
Notes
In this edition:
asking for
information in
the hotel;
getting around
town
Se siente un poco mareada
Lesson 38
Programme Notes
Welcome to Coffee Break Spanish, the podcast
aimed at independent learners of Spanish. In
Coffee Break Spanish we’ll be guiding you
through the basics of the Spanish language and
helping you to learn to communicate in Spain
and Spanish-speaking countries.
A transcript of the dialogue is provided below
and you can find further explanations of the
language covered overleaf. The dialogue-only
mp3 file is listed on the members’ page of the
website or in the podcast feed. In these
dialogues the roles are as follows:
In this episode Kara’s not feeling too good. Mark
and Kara visit the pharmacy to get some
medication.
A: Mark
B: Pharmacist
C: Kara
Dialogue
A
Buenas tardes.
B
Hola. ¿En qué puedo servirles?
A
Mi amiga no se siente bien.
B
¿Cuál es el problema?
A
Se siente un poco mareada y tiene un sarpullido en la cara.
B
Sí, ya veo.
C
Me duele la garganta también.
B
¿Se siente así desde hace cuántos días?
C
Dos días.
B
¿Ha comido algo diferente de lo normal?
A
Comimos paella el otro día y era la primera vez que comió pulpo, pero no sé si podría
ser eso.
B
No lo sé. Puede ser una reacción al pulpo. ¿Ha tomado mucho sol?
A
Bueno sí. También nadamos en el mar.
B
¿Podría estar embarazada?
C
No.
B
Bueno, no es nada grave. Le doy estos medicamentos. Dos veces al día antes de
comer. No debe beber alcohol. También le doy una crema para el sarpullido.
C
Muchas gracias.
A
Gracias
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 38
page 1
The language notes which follow will explain any new vocabulary or constructions contained in the
conversation. However, you should try to listen to the conversation a few times before studying the
explanations below.
Language Notes
mi amiga no se siente bien
my friend doesn’t feel well
Sentirse is a reflexive verb,
meaning “to feel”. To say “I
don’t feel well” you say no me
siento bien.
¿cuál es el problema?
what’s the problem?
literally “which is the problem?”
mareado/a
dizzy / nauseous
un sarpullido
rash
la cara
face
ya veo
I see
me duele...
... hurts
la garganta
throat
me duele la garganta
I have a sore throat / my throat
hurts
así
this way / like this
desde hace cuántos días
for how many days
desde hace implies “since”, eg.
me siento así desde hace tres
días: “I’ve been feeling like this
since three days ago”, or “I’ve
been feeling like this for three
days
¿ha comido...?
have you eaten?
This is an example of the perfect
tense
algo diferente de lo normal
something different from normal
comimos
we ate
la paella
paella
era
it was
la primera vez
the first time
no sé si podría ser eso
I don’t know if it could be that
no lo sé
I don’t know
una reacción
reaction
el pulpo
octopus
tomar el sol
to sunbathe
¿ha tomado mucho sol?
have you been out in the sun?
nadar
to swim
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 38
This literally means “I already
see”, and in this context it could
be translated as “I can see that”
Note that it’s la garganta, literally
“the throat”, as opposed to mi
garganta, “my throat”. Literally
this construction means “to me
hurts the throat”.
traditional Spanish dish made of
rice with saffron, vegetables,
seafood and/or meat,
depending on the region
Note that in Spanish it’s more
natural to say “I don’t know it”
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Language Notes
embarazada
pregnant
¿podría estar embarazada?
could you be pregnant?
grave
serious
le doy
I give to you
estos medicamentos
these medicines
dos veces al día
twice daily
antes de...
before...
no debe...
you must not...
una crema
cream
note, this does not mean
“embarrassed”!
here: “I’ll give you...”
followed by an infinitive
CoffeeBreakSpanish.com
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Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 38
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