White Meets Molina at the Embassy

4.1 Basic Sentences — White Meets Molina at the Embassy

Mr. White arrives at the Embassy by taxi and pays the driver. He is then taken to the consular section where he will work, and is introduced to José Molina, a young local employee.

Paying the Taxi Driver

English	Spanish
White	White
How much do I owe you?	¿Cuánto le debo?
Taxi Driver	Chofer de taxi
It’s four pesos.	Son cuatro pesos.
White	White
At the hotel they told me it’d be two.	En el hotel me dijeron que serían dos.
I’ll give you three. One for a tip.	Le doy tres. Uno de propina.
Taxi Driver	Chofer de taxi
O.K. Thank you, sir.	Bueno, gracias, señor.

Meeting Molina

English	Spanish
Administrative Officer	Oficial administrativo
Mr. Molina, this is Mr. White.	Señor Molina, éste es el señor White.
He is going to work with us.	Va a trabajar con nosotros.
Molina	Molina
Very glad to know you, Mr. White.	Tanto gusto de conocerlo, señor White.
White	White
The pleasure’s mine.	El gusto es mío.
Molina	Molina
How long have you been here?	¿Desde cuándo está aquí?
White	White
Since yesterday.	Desde ayer.
Molina	Molina
How was the trip?	¿Qué tal el viaje?
White	White
Excellent.	Excelente.

Getting Acquainted

English	Spanish
White	White
Is there much activity in the consular section here?	¿Hay mucho movimiento en la sección consular aquí?
Molina	Molina
Yes. We’re almost always very busy.	Sí. Casi siempre estamos muy ocupados.
White	White
Do you speak English, Mr. Molina?	¿Habla usted inglés, señor Molina?
Molina	Molina
Yes. I speak a little.	Sí, hablo un poco.
But you ought to practice your Spanish.	Pero usted debe practicar el español.
By the way.	A propósito.
You speak it and pronounce it very well.	Lo habla y lo pronuncia muy bien.
Where did you learn it?	¿Dónde lo aprendió?
White	White
At a language school in the States.	En una escuela de lenguas en los Estados Unidos.
Molina	Molina
Another thing. Don’t call me Mr. Molina.	Otra cosa. No me diga señor Molina.
My name is José.	Mi nombre es José.
White	White
Oh. All right. Mine is Juan.	Ah, muy bien. El mío es Juan.

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4.10 Notes on the Basic Sentences

(1) Dijeron is a Past I tense form of a fairly irregular type which will not be drilled in detail until Unit 23.

(2) Notice that in the English translation the word que (“that”) is left untranslated, even though we can also say “They told me that it’d be two.” This omission is very common in English, but it never happens in Spanish. The verb decir (“to say, to tell”) always requires que (“that”) after it if there is another verb being introduced by it.

(3) The word le is “(to) you” in the context of the complete utterance. Formal usage for “you” is actually the same form as “him” or “her.” The sentence le doy tres can be translated “I’ll give you three,” “I’ll give him three,” or “I’ll give her three” — only context distinguishes the meaning.

(4) One very common use of the definite article in Spanish where it is never used in English is in talking about a person whose name is cited with señor, señorita, or señora: “the Mr. White,” “the Mrs. Smith,” etc.

(5) The form lo (“him”), which here refers to the person being addressed (“you” — see note 3), often has the form le in Spain. A person who plans to go to Spain should practice saying conocerle as well as conocerlo. In Latin America, le is used only as an indirect clitic form, but in Spain it also occurs as the direct clitic form when referring to a male human being.

(6) Aprendió is a regular Past I tense form which will be drilled in Unit 17.

(7) The form diga is a command form which will be drilled, along with others of the type, in Unit 27. As in the present sentence, it can also be used with the meaning “call” (as in “Don’t call me…“).

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4.2 Drills and Grammar

Number in Nouns and Adjectives

Both English and Spanish use the concept of number, distinguishing one (singular) from more than one (plural). In English, nouns regularly add an ending for plural forms (cats, dogs, horses). Spanish follows a similar but different formula:

• Words ending in a vowel add -s: mesa → mesas, libro → libros
• Words ending in a consonant add -es: hotel → hoteles, dólar → dólares

Almost all Spanish adjectives also change for singular and plural in the same way nouns do. Unlike English — where adjectives almost never change form for plural — Spanish adjectives must agree in number with the noun they modify: hotel bueno → hoteles buenos, mesa buena → mesas buenas.

The articles have slightly irregular plural patterns:

	Singular	Plural
Definite (masc.)	el	los
Definite (fem.)	la	las
Indefinite (masc.)	un	unos
Indefinite (fem.)	una	unas

Key Examples — Number Substitution

Singular	Plural
Aquí hay un hotel bueno.	Aquí hay unos hoteles buenos.
Tengo una pluma excelente.	Tengo unas plumas excelentes.
Tiene el mismo libro.	Tiene los mismos libros.
Tengo un cheque viajero.	Tengo unos cheques viajeros.
Hablo con la señorita española.	Hablo con las señoritas españolas.
Necesita una mesa buena.	Necesita unas mesas buenas.
Habla con el mismo americano.	Habla con los mismos americanos.

Translation Drill — Number

English	Spanish
There are many good schools here.	Aquí hay muchas escuelas buenas.
There’s an excellent school there.	Ahí hay una escuela excelente.
I always speak with the same ladies.	Siempre hablo con las mismas señoras.
Can you change some American coins for me?	¿Puede cambiarme unas monedas americanas?
I haven’t got the other dollars now.	No tengo los otros dólares ahora.
I have very few bills.	Tengo muy pocos billetes.
Hand me another pencil.	Páseme otro lápiz.
Give me the other checks.	Déme los otros cheques.
I always leave good tips.	Siempre doy propinas buenas.

The Irregular Verb estar

Spanish verbs change form to agree with their subject in person and number. The verb estar (“to be”) is irregular but extremely common. Here are its present tense forms:

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	yo estoy (I am)	nosotros estamos (we are)
2nd familiar	tú estás (you are)	—
2nd formal / 3rd	usted/él/ella está (you are / he/she is)	ustedes/ellos/ellas están (you all / they are)

Second person formal (usted) and third person (él/ella) take the same verb form in the singular. In the plural, all second and third person forms are the same (están).

Spanish distinguishes formal (usted) and familiar (tú) forms of “you.” The choice depends on the personal relationship — factors like age, period of acquaintance, sex, rank, and family relationship. In general, usted corresponds to more formal address (like using “Sir” or “Mister” in English), while tú corresponds to more familiar address (like using first names). However, these correlations are not exact, and usage varies across the Spanish-speaking world.

Spanish verbs can appear without an accompanying pronoun or noun subject with no loss of meaning — the verb ending itself indicates the subject. Pronouns appear mainly for emphasis or contrast, or when context alone does not make the reference clear.

Key Examples — Estar in Context

Spanish	English
Estoy bien, gracias.	I’m fine, thanks.
¿Cómo estás tú?	How are you? (familiar)
¿Cómo está usted?	How are you? (formal)
¿Cómo está él?	How is he?
¿Cómo está ella?	How is she?
Casi siempre estamos muy ocupados.	We’re almost always very busy.
¿Cómo están ustedes?	How are you all?
¿Cómo están ellos?	How are they?

Translation Drill — Estar

English	Spanish
The books are on the table.	Los libros están en la mesa.
We’re in a hotel a long way from here.	Estamos en un hotel lejos de aquí.
How are you?	¿Cómo está usted?
Are you busy?	¿Está usted ocupado?
The elevator is to the left.	El ascensor está a la izquierda.
Where’s the cashier?	¿Dónde está la caja?
Columbus Avenue is very near here.	La Avenida Colón está muy cerca de aquí.
They’re very busy.	Ellos están muy ocupados.
Good evening. How are you?	Buenas noches. ¿Cómo está usted?

Variation Drills — ¿Cuánto le debo?

English	Spanish
What do I owe you?	¿Qué le debo?
What are you telling him?	¿Qué le dice?
What did they tell him?	¿Qué le dijeron?
When did they tell him?	¿Cuándo le dijeron?
Where did they tell him?	¿Dónde le dijeron?
How did they tell him?	¿Cómo le dijeron?
How is he getting along?	¿Cómo le va?

Variation Drills — Tipping

English	Spanish
Here are four, two for a tip.	Le doy cuatro, dos de propina.
Here are twenty, ten for a tip.	Le doy veinte, diez de propina.
Here are ten, five for a tip.	Le doy diez, cinco de propina.
Here are eleven, one for a tip.	Le doy once, uno de propina.
Here’s a dollar and no tip.	Le doy un dólar, nada de propina.
Here’s this, that’s for a tip.	Le doy ésto, eso de propina.
I’ll give you this, not that.	Le doy esto, eso no.

Variation Drills — Va a… (Going to)

English	Spanish
He’s going to work with you all.	Va a trabajar con ustedes.
She’s going to work here.	Va a trabajar aquí.
She’s going to speak Spanish.	Va a hablar español.
He’s going to learn English.	Va a aprender inglés.
He’s going to say something.	Va a decir algo.
She’s going to translate the name.	Va a traducir el nombre.
You’re going to be very busy.	Va a estar muy ocupado.

Variation Drills — Pero usted debe… (Obligation)

English	Spanish
But you ought to practice English.	Pero usted debe practicar el inglés.
But you ought to say something.	Pero usted debe decir algo.
But you ought to take a taxi.	Pero usted debe tomar un taxi.
But you ought to speak less.	Pero usted debe hablar menos.
But you ought to speak more.	Pero usted debe hablar más.
But you ought to go to the Embassy.	Pero usted debe ir a la Embajada.
But you ought to go up in the elevator.	Pero usted debe subir en el ascensor.

Variation Drills — Otra cosa, no me… (Polite Negatives)

English	Spanish
Another thing, don’t tell me that.	Otra cosa, no me diga eso.
Another thing, don’t repeat that to me.	Otra cosa, no me repita eso.
Another thing, don’t translate that for me.	Otra cosa, no me traduzca eso.
Another thing, don’t give me a tip.	Otra cosa, no me dé propina.
Another thing, don’t pass me the book.	Otra cosa, no me pase el libro.
Another thing, don’t take me to the hotel.	Otra cosa, no me lleve al hotel.
Another thing, don’t take me to the Embassy.	Otra cosa, no me lleve a la Embajada.

Note: The full drills and practice exercises are designed for oral work with the audio recordings. Open the Student Text PDF for the complete drill sets.