A real task, and everything reviewed
No new grammar. One real thing done in Spanish, and a look back over ninety days.
Colours live this week
10 of 10 in playA thing, a person or a place.
An action or a state — what is happening.
Describes a noun.
Modifies a verb or an adjective.
the / a / some — and possessives like mon, ma.
Stands in for a noun — I, you, he, it.
Links words together — to, in, of, for.
Joins two parts of a sentence.
Opens a question — where, when, how, why.
Learn it whole. Do not take it apart.
Consolidation only. If a colour still surprises you this week, that is what the review deck is for.
Task one — read a menu
Read it aloud, line by line. Look for the orange nouns, which are the food, and the brown prepositions linking them together.
Menú del día
Primeros
Ensalada de tomatetomato salad
Sopa del díasoup of the day
Segundos
Filete con patatassteak with chips
Pescado con verdurasfish with vegetables
Postres
Quesocheese
Tarta de manzanaapple tart
Bebidas
Café / Técoffee / tea
Una copa de vinoa glass of wine
Reading a Spanish menu
Del is de + el, the mirror of al from Week 5 — those two are the only contractions in the language, which after French feels like a holiday. Primeros and segundos are first and second courses rather than starters and mains, and a menú del día is a fixed-price set meal, usually excellent value at lunchtime.
Task two — a friendly message
A template to adapt. Change the name and the plan and it is yours.
[Hola] name,
estoy muy bien.
Mañana voy a visitar el museo.
¿Y usted?
[Hasta pronto], name
Hello ___, I'm very well. Tomorrow I'm going to visit the museum. And you? See you soon, ___
Task two, continued — booking by message
The second template. Swap the number, the day and the time.
[Hola], quisiera reservar una mesa para dos personas,
[esta noche] a las ocho. [Gracias].
Hello, I would like to book a table for two people, this evening at eight. Thank you.
Task three — booking a table, out loud
Practise both sides. Play the restaurant as well as yourself — hearing the question is half the skill.
You[Hola], quisiera reservar una mesa para dos personas.
Restaurant¿Para qué hora?
YouA las ocho, [por favor].
Restaurant[Muy bien]. [Hasta esta noche].
You[Gracias], [adiós].
— Hello, I'd like to book a table for two. — For what time? — At eight, please. — Very good. See you this evening. — Thank you, goodbye.
Telling the time, and eating late
A las ocho — at eight — uses las because the hours are feminine, la una but las dos, las ocho. And be ready for Spanish hours: dinner at eight is early, and many kitchens do not open until nine. If you book at seven you may be the only person there.
The three milestones, checked
Daily mini-tasks
After Day 90
Keep the reviews going. Items sitting at the 60 and 90-day intervals still have reviews due, and skipping them is how ninety days of work quietly evaporates. Then add one social session a week — a language exchange, a community class, a conversation partner. Spanish has more willing conversation partners than almost any other language, which is a real advantage worth using.
Listening this week
A restaurant or hotel scene — Easy Spanish, or a Spanish drama
YouTube or a streaming service
You now have the vocabulary to follow a good deal of it. Watch something you have already seen in English if that helps.
Milestone
By the end of this week you should be able to:
- 01Talk about your hobbies, your health and your opinions using gustar, encantar and the opinion frames.
- 02Follow the gist of a two-minute Spanish clip using the three-step method.
- 03Deliver a five-minute monologue on the five-part scaffold, with discourse markers, without correcting yourself mid-sentence.
- 04Complete a real task in Spanish — read a menu, write a message, or book a table.