1.2.3: Conversación
Preparación comunicativa 1: A describirnos (Let's describe ourselves)
Can you introduce yourself? Can you describe yourself and your classmates? Well, you already know how the verb ser works. Let’s now help you with some easy words you can use. These are forms that are very similar in English and Spanish. They are called cognados ( cognates ). You will encounter cognados throughout this textbook. These are your first tools for communication. Here are some examples:
|
inteligente |
elegante |
optimista |
|---|---|---|
|
paciente |
pesimista |
admirable |
|
interesante |
responsable |
independiente |
|
importante |
sentimental |
materialista |
|
flexible |
liberal |
arrogante |
|
idealista |
tolerante |
rebelde |
|
extravagante |
informal |
realista |
Paso 1. Try to describe yourself like Marlenie did. Find a classmate that you haven’t met yet. First, greet them, and introduce yourself (remember to also use the expressions you learned in el vocabulario.
Paso 2. Next, say what you, your instructor, and your classmates ( mis compañeros ) are like. Use different cognates for each description.
In Spanish, adjectives have number, so, if you are talking about your classmates in the plural, you need to add an “s” to the words above (e.g., pacientes).
Preparación comunicativa 2: ¿De dónde son?
Talk with a partner to figure out the origen of each person.
Modelo
Estudiante 1: ¿De dónde es Jorge?
Estudiante 2: Es de Belize.
Estudiante 1
|
Nombre |
País |
|
Jorge |
Belice |
|
Óscar |
|
|
Victoria |
|
|
Karina |
|
|
Tomás |
- Click here to see Student 1´s information
-
Estudiante 2
|
Nombre |
País |
|
Jorge |
Belice |
|
Manuel |
|
|
Lola |
|
|
Ramón |
|
|
Patricia |
- Click here to see Student 2´s information
-
Attribution: Averigua: ¿De dónde son? by Community College of Baltimore County is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
Preparación comunicativa 3: Más sobre mí… ( More about me… )
Paso 1. This activity will allow you to talk about more aspects of your ideas, personality, and interests. You will first develop some ideas using the verb ser and los cognados we learned in the previous activity and some others that we give you below. Prepare some ideas. Complete the sentences with the appropriate form of the verb ser and the words necessary to convey your meaning.
Modelos:
Mis lugares (places) favoritos… Mis lugares favoritos son Wichita y San Antonio.
Mi hombre (man)/mujer (woman) ideal… Mi hombre/mujer ideal es inteligente .
Más cognados: profesión, estudiante, actor, artista, atleta, extrovertido (masc.), extrovertida (fem.), honesto (masc.), honesta (fem.), generoso (masc.), generosa (fem.), serio (masc.), seria (fem.), profesor (masc.), profesora (fem.).
Otras expresiones útiles: Mis amigos ( my friends ), Mis padres ( my parents ), de Kansas (from Texas), de los Estados Unidos (from the United States)
- Mi profesión ideal…
- Los profesores ideales…
- Mis padres y yo… / Mis profesores y yo…
- El estudiante ideal…
- Yo…
- Mi ( my ) artista favorito…
- Mis amigos y yo…
- Los estudiantes ideales…
Paso 2. Now find a classmate that you haven’t met yet. First, greet them, and introduce yourself (use the expressions you learned in el vocabulario). Ask how they are doing. Then exchange the information you develop in Paso 1 .
Modelo:
Estudiante 1: ¿Cómo son los estudiantes ideales?
Estudiante 2: Los estudiantes ideales son.....
Paso 3. Now think of two simple yes/no questions to ask your partner using the verb ser and the words in Paso 1 and Preparación comunicativa 1: A describirnos. Follow the model, and ask questions to find out information you still do not know about your classmate. Answer your partner’s questions too.
Modelo:
Estudiante 1: ¿Eres de Wichita?
Estudiante 2: Sí, (yo) soy de Wichita. / No, no soy de Wichita. Soy de Kansas City.
Paso 4. Present some of the information you gathered about your partner to the rest of the class. Follow the model, and ask your instructor for help!
Modelo:
El nombre de mi compañero/a es…
Él/Ella… es de…
Sus padres y él/ella…
Su profesión ideal… etc.
Preparación comunicativa 4: ¡Adivina la persona! (Guess the Person!)
Paso 1. Think of a “mystery person” you’d like to describe. Try to choose someone most of your classmates might know. Write down clues about this person, using ser to describe their origin, personality, physical appearance, and profession.
Cantante – Singer
Actor / Actriz – Actor / Actress
Atleta – Athlete
Escritor/a – Writer
Artista – Artist
Profesor/a – Teacher
Médico/a – Doctor
Político/a – Politician
Científico/a – Scientist
Músico/a – Musician
Paso 2: Pair up with a classmate. Take turns reading your clues out loud, one by one, to see if your partner can guess who your mystery person is. If your partner guesses after the first or second clue, great! If not, give them your last clue.
Modelo:
Estudiante 1: Es de los Estados Unidos. Es morena. Es cantante.
Estudiante 2: ¿Es Beyonce?
Paso 3: Once both of you have shared and guessed, introduce each other’s mystery person to the class using simple sentences for the whole class to guess.
Modelo:
La persona de mi compañero/a es de los Estados Unidos. Es morena y es cantante.