Coffee Break Spanish - CBS 2.38 | Introduction to the subjunctive in a tapas bar

Episode Date: April 17, 2011

This week María-José and Andrew discuss their plans for the following week when Andrew’s friend arrives in Spain and María-José will be attending a conference in Madrid. In this episode we introduce the concept of the subjunctive, something which often confuses language learners. You’ll learn how to use the subjunctive with cuando when it refers to the future, eg. “when I get back from Madrid…” – cuando vuelva de Madrid. Please note that lesson 38 of Season 2 was originally known as lesson 238 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have renumbered the lessons of each season as lessons 1-40 to make things more simple for our listeners.This season of Coffee Break Spanish features a total of 40 lessons, all of which will be included in the podcast feed. Just stay subscribed to the podcast to enjoy each episode. If you’d like to benefit from video versions, lesson notes and bonus audio materials, you can access the premium version of Coffee Break Spanish in the Coffee Break Academy.Don’t forget to follow Coffee Break Spanish on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your Spanish. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break Spanish Facebook page here.If you’d like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.You can also check out our Coffee Break Spanish Twitter page and the Coffee Break Languages YouTube channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good days, what'stta'est, I hope you might have heard me saying there, I'm here, I'meux that's not the normal, estes, bien, it's a different type of verb, and it's actually the type of verb that we're going to be looking at in this lesson. It's lesson 78 and we're focusing on the present subjunctive. It had to happen sooner or later. But it's not as bad as you think. We'll hopefully convince you of this in the course of this lesson.

as we join Maria Jose and Andrew this week, they're having dinner in a restaurant or in a tapas bar and they're talking about the tapas that they're eating and also about what's coming up this week in their lives. Now things do seem to have moved on a little in their relationship as you'll probably pick up from the conversation. Have a listen and the one thing I'd like you to listen out for this time in addition obviously to trying to understand as much as possible is how you say that's life in Spanish. So, Kara, I'll be asking you about that at the end of this conversation.

Okay. Oh, hey, how rickas are those gambas? Yes, how are you? Are you called? And this, what is? This is tortilla. Ah, sure that is. You have tried the bokerones.

No, me like much. I prefer those calameres. Well, what you're going to do? this week. Michael he gets the Marches, right? Yes, his course

on the Jueves, but has to matriculars so that I go to

accompany to the council and the and also? Well, another of that

I'm going to do much because you don't to be here. No

don't don't don't need to I need to the

conference I don't more remedy to go. But I'll go the Saturday, and you

can't be much to Michael, no? Yes, but prefer to see to you. So, you know, these albondigas are not good as those that I came the same last year with my armada in the bar,

Colon. De Verde? So, then we're going to go there? Yes, when we'll be from Madrid, we'll go, you and we're

going to, before that you you know, you'll go so, okay, so the truth

is that I'm much want to get a England not you don't

you talk about that so So Kara did you spot the phrase

for that's life I did so is it so is the

life exactly exactly as meaning like this is the life

that's the life note however is is the life. As you're sitting back with your cocktail or just your cup of coffee in the beautiful Spanish speaking part of the world, you can say, ah, eso si que is la vida.

Eso si que is la bida. And if you have trouble remembering that phrase, just think of socks, having a lovely pair of socks that you really like. What? Sox. Sox, eso si que is la vida. Esos y'es like socks Eso si kees la vida it literally means that yes that it is life okay, it is the life

Eso si que is la vida So we're just spelling out the word socks Absolutely and notice that you're spelling it in English Because the word for socks in Spanish is Cathetines Calcetines Calcetines

So we just think Eso siques la vida Eso si is the you've got to try and do it without spelling out the word socks, okay? Eso si

is la vida. Eso si que is la vida. Yeah. Eso si que is is verda. This really is true. This is real that's a really

is a really nice way of saying this really is and then whatever. Brilliant. Could you say that? Eso si que is phenomenal. Eso si ke is phenomenal. I like this phrase.

You get the idea. Esos si'i is la vida. Eso si ke is la vida. And how do you say, that's life? Asi is la vida? Yeah, exactly. Like this, asi is la vida is the life. Asi is la vida.

Asi is la vida. Compared to, Eso si que is la vida. Eso si que is la vida. Another way, just while we're talking about these kind of phrases, another way of saying this would be using the verb chuparse. Chuparse means to suck. So for example, chuparse

El Ledo is to suck your thumb and if we said Que Vida nos chupamos it means what a life we're having here because we're sucking out every bit of good from life. Que vida nos chupamos.

Que bida? Yes, que vida no chupamos. Que bida, no chupamos. And one final one and we're getting a little bit biblical here because jauga jauga

jauga jauga yeah it's quite a difficult word to see jauga is the word for the promised land jauga so you could say

this is jauga this is jaoja this is the promised land this is heaven yeah

this is heaven exactly so we've got lots of we've got we've got that we've got what we

that so we that's choupa that That is haoja. And this is the life. How do you say that? That's it.

And just to double check, you know the other one. How do you say such is life? Asi is la vida. Exactly. So we've covered quite a lot here and we've not even gone through the conversation. The conversation begins and obviously they're having tapas.

They talk about a few different types of tapas. Gambas, which are prawns. Gambas al-Ajillo. Garlic prawns? Yeah, and garlic prawns. So gambas al-Ajillo. Gambas al-Ajillo. Yeah.

Then we talk about tortilla. Tortia is tortilla. It's a Spanish omelet with potatoes and onions and eggs, obviously. And Los boquerones. Los boclerones. That's right. Bocaurones are anchovies. The other thing that was mentioned was albondigas.

Albondigas. Albon digas, that's right. They're meatballs. All this talk of food is reminding me of episode 20, I think, which we brought you live from a Spanish restaurant. But let's get on with talking about the conversation because after the discussion of the tapas, Marie Jose and Andrew are talking about the arrival of Andrew's friend Michael.

So he's coming to study Spanish and basically Mary Jose is going off to a conference and Michael will be spending time with Andrew over. the course of the week. However, let's move forward to a part in the conversation where Maria Jose is talking about when she comes back from Madrid. She says, when do you will be made you Junotos. So they're going to go together to this Barcolon where they make really nice albondigas. But she said, Wheno Vuelva, the Madrid. Kara, how do you normally say, I come back or I return? Wulvo.

Wuelbo, the ending being, oh. But she said, when do wu wuelva. Wheno Wulba. Wulva, exactly. When do wuelva when I return. Now that Wulva there is the. the present subjunctive and it's used because it's combined with the word

when I come back from Madrid. Now, before we go into this in great detail, I need to explain that the subjunctive is often used in situations where there's a little doubt involved. Okay, so in this situation, we could suggest that when I come back from Madrid, but I actually might not come back, so I better use the verb that I need to use to suggest a little doubt exists, which is the present subjunctive. So wheno Vuelva de Madrid, and then it goes on, we'll do you junto, so we will go together. But this

Vuelva part is the present subjunctive, and it's used when you're linking it with when when referring to a future time, the verb has to be in the present subjunctive. Before we try to use this in some other examples, let's learn a little about how you form the present subjunctive. For this, we need to go to the yo form of the normal present tense. So for example, let's take the word, Abilar, which means to speak. To speak.

So how do you say I speak? Ablo. Ablo. So we're going to use this form to form the subjunctive. And you might be thinking, well, Avlo is regular. and it's just got an O ending and yes it has, but the yo form will become more obvious when we look at verbs like

Tenor or Conocer and so on. So if we go back to Avelo and then we're going to take off that O on the end of the word and add these endings. E. Es E. Emos, eys, en. So we get Able,

Ables, Able. Ablemos, Ablese, Ablén. Avley, ablese. Avleamos, ablis, abelens. Now, taking out of the equation the yo form, do those

endings sound familiar? Yeah, apart from the yo form, they are the endings in the present tense for ER verbs. Exactly, and that's a pattern that we'll be noticing again and again when we're looking at the subjunctive. So let's take pensar. Benzar means...

To think. Yeah, and what do we know about pensac? It's a particular type of verb. It's a radical stem-changing verb. Exactly. So, it becomes, in the subjunctive, Piance. Uh-huh.

The two form. Piences. The El-Ele form. Pience. And keep going. Piencemos. Pianseys. Piencen.

Oh, sorry. Pensemos. Penseys. Pience. Very well done. That's exactly right, because with the radical changing verbs, the change doesn't happen in the nosotros and vosotros form.

So, pensar becomes, Pience, Piences, Pience, Pensemos, pensais, Piencensensis, Pience. Pience, Poncemes, Pensei, pincésésin. Exactly.

Okay, we'll be back in just a moment. When you're not listening to Goughbyke Spanish, you can still practice your Spanish with our regular posts on social media. Find us on Facebook, search for coffee break Spanish. We're Learn Spanish on Twitter and you can keep up with the team

through our regular posts on Instagram. Follow coffee break languages. It's our mission to help you turn your downtime into your due time. Okay, let's get on with the lesson. Right, let's now look at

an example verb which ends normally in ER and an infinitive which ends in ER. Let's take Men there. Okay. Bender. Now, Bender, in the subjunctive, listen to what happens. Benda, bendas, benda.

Bendamos, bendais, bendan. So can you give me a little summary of what's happening there? Yep, apart from the real form, it's the same as the last one. It's now the AR endings that you're using with ER verbs. Exactly right. So it's this idea of swapping endings. Don't ask me why they do. that they just do. It's the formation of the subjunctive happens like that with the exception of the

yo form. AR verbs take the endings of ER and ER and IR verbs take the endings of AR verbs. Let's try another couple of verbs just to make sure that we're understanding this. Let's take vivir. Vivir means to live. So how would you conjugate vivir in the present subjunctive? Biba, vivas, vivas, vivas, vivas, vivan. Just watch the stress there, it's bivamos, bivais, bivan. Bibamos, bivais, bivan. Yeah. And see the he, she or it form of that verb.

What was it again? Viva. Viva. And you may have heard a song, and vivacena espania. Viva. Yeah, yeah. I'm not going to sing. I'll go on.

Take that out. Take that out. No, I'm not going to take it. We've done 78 episodes and I don't think you've sung one, so I'll keep it in. So, Viva means long live. Okay, it's this kind of exhortation, may Spain live long or biva erie, long live the king. Viva. Okay.

So, so far, we've looked at the formation of the present tense of regular verbs in the present subjunctive, because there are other subjunctives. But nonetheless, the present subjunctive, where we've got regular verbs, the endings kind of swap round. And apart from that yo form, which in each case is for ER verbs ably and for ER and IR verbs Biba, the other endings follow that same pattern using the opposite conjugation, if that makes sense. Now, there are some verbs which you may think are a little irregular, but in actual fact they're not particularly irregular at all. Let's take, for example, de thir. De thir means...

To say. And how do you say, I say? Digo. So, you'll remember now that we said we go back to that yo form to form the present subjunctive. So if we take I say as Digo, and because it's an I-R verb, we're going to use the A endings. So I say in the subjunctive is... Diga.

Diga. Okay. So, diga, digas, diga, digamos, digais, digan. Diga, digas, diga, digamos, digais, digan. Now, diga, does that make you think of anything? When do you use the word diga? On the phone? Yeah, you say it, diga, when you answer the phone.

Literally, it's the present subjunctive, but it's also the command form, the polite command form or the polite imperative simply uses the present subjunctive. So for example, if we take Siga to directo. Go straight on. Yeah, and Siga comes from the verb Seguir. And if you go to the yo form of seguer, it's Sigo. So that's how you get Siga, Siga, Sigamo, SIGGA, SIGAN.

Brilliant. Isn't it very, very straightforward when you think about it? It really is. So you go to the yo form, regardless of what the yo form is. Take Konocer to know when you know a person. And what do you get to say, I know? Konosco. Connozco.

So how do you think the present subjunctive of conozer would work? Konosca. That's right. Konokka, Konokkamos, Konokais, Konokken. Konokka, Konokka, Konokkais, Konokkais, Konokkais, Konokka. exactly. So it is really straightforward. There are a few verbs which are actually completely irregular. Like iir, no surprise there, like saver as well. But we'll come to these in good time. Don't worry about them just now. Let's get back to when I get back from Madrid. When I get back from

Madrid, we will go you and I, okay? So when do wuelva. Wheno wualba? Buelba comes from Bolber. You go to Buelva. the yo form and then swap the O for an A in this case because it's an ER verb. Vuelva, Vuelvas, Vuelva. And after Vuelva, we need to think a little carefully about what the Nosotros form of Bolber is. Because if you remember back to Pensar, we had Pience, Piences, Pience, and then the the Nosotros form was Pensemos, Pense, Pience, Piencene.

So, Kara, can you tell me? what happens even in the subjunctive with radical changing verbs? They go back to not be radical changing in the we and you plural form. Exactly. The Nosotros form and the Vosotros form are not radical changing. So if we come now back to Bolver, we've got Vuelva, Wulvas, Vuelva. What do you think the wee form would be in the present subjunctive?

Volvamos. Volvamos, very well. then volvamos, then then, then with the Ejos, Ejjjas form, Wulban. Buelvan, back to the radical change.

Vuelva, Wulvamos, volvais, Wulbun. Wulba, Welbas, Wulba, volvamos,

volvais, Wulban. Okay, so we've got When plus a subjunctive. How would you see when I

live in Spain looking to the future okay when do you know when I eat guzaccio when I eat gazpacho when do comma gazpacho very well it feels really unnatural exactly yeah it does but it's these particular phrases for example with when referring to the future and some of the other phrases that we're going to learn that they're the kind of triggers in your mind

and you think, it's going to sound unnatural but it's okay because it's the subjunctive and it has to be the subjunctive. So when Wulva, when do Casacho, when biva in Madrid. And I'm going to introduce one other here and this is very common when you're teaching younger people

Spanish and that is when I'll grow up. Yeah, exactly. So sea comes from which verb? From ser? Ser. So the subjunctive of ser is sea, seas, sea, seamos, seais, sean. Sea, seas, sea, sea, sea, sea, sea, sea, sea, sean. So wheno sea major, I want to be abogado or professor or lo que sea.

Lo que sea, whatever it may be. Okay, there are examples of subjunctives that we've heard over and over again in this course that we don't actually know our subjunctives yet. but you understand what they mean already. And as you get more used to dealing with this subjunctive, you'll become more used to understanding exactly when you need to use it. When do wailva de Madrid, we'll go,

we'll go, Antes de ke wailas to Inglaterra. So before you return to England. So, Kara, what do you know about it means before and it's followed by a subjunctive exactly so it's another example of where you need a subjunctive before you do something antes de ke wuvelas a inglaterra how would you say before i eat gazpacho antes de ke comma gazpacho okay so before you do something okay so before you do something, antes deke plus the subjunctive.

I would just say think before you speak. First of all, what part of the verb do we use for think? Only to use the command form of the verb? Yeah, the imperative, so the imperative of think is... Pianza. Pianza. Okay, so we just take the tu form and take off the S. Pianza.

So think before. you speak. Pianza antes de ke ables? Very well antes

just watch the stress there it's antes antes to that ables Pienza

antes before that Ables Okay I think we're going to leave it there

today because this is getting quite long and there's a lot to explain about the

subjunctive but I'd let you to listen to the conversation again trying to

understand as much of it as possible but also importantly trying to spot the

subjunctors in the conversation. Oh, how rickas are these gambas? Yes, how are you? Some gambas

al-Ajillo. And this, what is? This is tortilla. Ah, sure that is.

You have tried the pockermones? No, I like much, I prefer the calamaries.

Well, what you do you do this time? Michael is the Marches,

per se, so, the course is the time the to matriculars the

so I go to accompany to the councilmintamian and other so? Well,

another of that's not going to do you not going to be here. No do you

don't say to go to the conference I don't have more to go to

go to you can't make much to Michael, no? Yes,

but I prefer to see to you. So, so is the life.

You know, these albondicas are like the last last year with my

woman in the park Colon. Really? So, then we have to

go to there. Yes, when when we will you and we

will go and we're going to you're going to get

to get to get to get to not

don't be and that's where we're going to leave it today for this edition of Coffee Break Spanish. Thanks for joining us and we hope it's been useful. You can join the Coffee Break Spanish community on Facebook at Facebook.com slash Coffee Break Spanish and follow at Learn Spanish on Twitter.

Much gratis and hasta pronto. This is the production of the Radiolingua Network. Find out more at Radiolingua.com.