A2 · Unit 17 · 40 words, 3 texts with translation
Introduce your friends at a party
Introduce people to each other at a party, say who's related to whom and who gets along with whom, and describe what people look like.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Que (who, that): la chica que vive aquí
At a party you keep explaining who you mean: "the guy who's standing by the door", "the girl who's dancing with Lucía". English uses who, that or which for this. Spanish uses one word: que.
You already know que as "that": creo que… — I think that… (A1, unit 15). It's the same word; now it comes right after a noun and tells you more about it.
How it works: noun + que + a normal sentence.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el chico que vive aquí | the guy who lives here |
| la chica que baila con Lucía | the girl who's dancing with Lucía |
| los niños que corren por el pasillo | the kids who are running down the hallway |
| la serie que me recomendaste | the show (that) you recommended to me |
| el piso que alquilé | the apartment (that) I rented |
Why que is easy:
- it never changes: who, that, which — it's always que;
- it works for both people and things;
- like in English, there's no comma before it in sentences like these.
One difference from English: you can't leave que out. In English you can say "the show you recommended", but in Spanish que must be there: la serie que me recomendaste.
For now we use two cases: someone who does something (el chico que vive aquí) and something that I see, know or bought (el piso que alquilé). Sentences with a preposition (with whom, in which, about which) work differently; they come later.
Common mistakes. For a person, don't use quién instead of que: ✗ el chico quién vive aquí — say el chico que vive aquí. And don't write an accent: qué is a question word (what? which?), but the word for who / that is always que.
Mío, tuyo, suyo: mine, yours, his, hers
You already know mi, tu, su: they go before a noun — mi amigo, tu copa (A1, unit 3). These words also have a long form. You need it to say "it's mine" and "a friend of mine". English works almost the same way: my → mine.
| Before a noun | Long form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| mi | mío, mía, míos, mías | my → mine |
| tu | tuyo, tuya, tuyos, tuyas | your → yours |
| su | suyo, suya, suyos, suyas | his, her, your (formal), their → his, hers, yours, theirs |
Nuestro and vuestro have no separate long form: they're the same in both places.
After ser — whose thing it is:
- ¿Esta copa es tuya? — No, no es mía. — Is this wine glass yours? — No, it's not mine.
- El piso es suyo. — The apartment is his (or hers, or theirs: the conversation tells you which).
After a noun — "a friend of mine":
- Marcos es un colega mío. — Marcos is a buddy of mine.
- Te presento a una amiga mía. — Let me introduce you to a friend of mine.
Compare: mi amigo — my friend (a specific one), un amigo mío — a friend of mine (one of my friends).
The long form agrees with the thing owned, not with the owner. A wine glass is la copa, so both Ana and Pablo say es mía. In English, his and hers depend on the owner; in Spanish suyo / suya depend only on the thing: la copa es suya — the glass is his, or the glass is hers.
Common mistake — keeping the short form at the end of a sentence: ✗ es mi — say es mío; ✗ un amigo mi — say un amigo mío.
Como at the start of a sentence: since
You already know como — like, as: alto como su padre — tall like his father (A1, unit 16), and porque — because (A1, unit 13).
New: when como comes at the very start of a sentence, it means "since" or "as". First you give the reason, then what happened because of it. It's handy for explaining what you do.
Como + reason, + result.
- Como no conozco a nadie, me quedo en un rincón. — Since I don't know anyone, I stay in a corner.
- Como ya os conocéis, voy a saludar a los demás. — Since you already know each other, I'm going to say hi to the others. (to several people)
- Como llovía, cogimos un taxi. — Since it was raining, we took a taxi.
- Como es tarde, me voy a casa. — Since it's late, I'm going home.
You can say the same thing with porque, but then the reason comes second. Same meaning, different order:
| Word | Where the reason goes |
|---|---|
| como | first: Como llovía, cogimos un taxi. |
| porque | second: Cogimos un taxi porque llovía. |
Common mistakes. In English you can start a sentence with "because": "Because it was raining, we took a taxi." In Spanish you usually don't start a sentence with porque (except when you answer the question ¿por qué?) — use como. And the other way around: in the middle of a sentence como means "like, as", not "since"; there you need porque. Put a comma after the reason. And don't confuse it with the question word ¿cómo? — that one has a written accent.
Words in this unit
presentar — to introduce
Te presento a mi hermana Marta. — Let me introduce you to my sister Marta.
conocerse — to know each other, to meet
Nos conocemos desde el instituto. — We've known each other since high school.
mío — mine, of mine
Esa copa no es mía. — That wine glass isn't mine.
tuyo — yours, of yours
¿Este abrigo es tuyo? — Is this coat yours?
suyo — his, hers, yours (formal), theirs
Es suyo, no mío. — It's his, not mine.
la pareja — partner, couple
Mi pareja y yo vivimos en Madrid. — My partner and I live in Madrid.
la amistad — friendship
La amistad es muy importante para mí. — Friendship is very important to me.
la relación — relationship
Tengo una buena relación con mis vecinos. — I have a good relationship with my neighbors.
llevarse bien — to get along well
Me llevo bien con mi cuñado. — I get along well with my brother-in-law.
caer bien — to like (a person)
Tu amigo me cae bien. — I like your friend.
parecerse — to look like, to be like
Me parezco a mi padre. — I look like my father.
mejor amigo — best friend
Pablo es mi mejor amigo. — Pablo is my best friend.
compañero de clase — classmate
Marta es mi compañera de clase. — Marta is my classmate.
el/la colega — colleague, buddy
Carlos es un colega del trabajo. — Carlos is a colleague from work.
el anfitrión — host
Lucía es la anfitriona de la fiesta. — Lucía is the host of the party.
majo — nice (about a person)
Tu vecino es muy majo. — Your neighbor (male) is really nice.
pesado — annoying, boring, heavy
Mi primo es un poco pesado. — My cousin (male) is a bit annoying.
borde — rude, unfriendly
El camarero es un poco borde. — The waiter is a bit rude.
ligar — to flirt, to hit on someone
Pablo siempre intenta ligar en las fiestas. — Pablo always tries to pick someone up at parties.
cotillear — to gossip, to snoop
No me gusta cotillear. — I don't like to gossip.
el cotilleo — gossip
En esta oficina hay mucho cotilleo. — There's a lot of gossip in this office.
el/la cotilla — gossip (a person), nosy
Mi vecina es una cotilla. — My neighbor (female) is a gossip.
el rollo — drag, bore, fling
Ese libro es un rollo. — That book is a drag.
en plan — like, kind of, in … mode
Vamos a la fiesta en plan tranquilo. — We're going to the party in chill mode.
demás — the others, the rest
Los demás ya están en la cocina. — The others are already in the kitchen.
el rincón — corner, nook
Mi hermano está en un rincón con el móvil. — My brother is in a corner with his phone.
el vecindario — neighborhood, neighbors
Todo el vecindario conoce a Lucía. — The whole neighborhood knows Lucía.
el cuñado — brother-in-law
Mi cuñado trabaja en un banco. — My brother-in-law works at a bank.
el sobrino — nephew
Mi sobrino tiene cinco años. — My nephew is five.
el suegro — father-in-law
Mi suegro cocina muy bien. — My father-in-law cooks really well.
el prometido — fiancé
Su prometido es de Italia. — Her fiancé is from Italy.
el padrino — godfather, man who gives the bride away
Mi padrino me regaló una bici. — My godfather gave me a bike.
el/la ex — ex
Mi ex vive en Barcelona. — My ex lives in Barcelona.
el mellizo — fraternal twin
Tengo un hermano mellizo. — I have a fraternal twin brother.
el gemelo — twin, identical twin
Pablo y Luis son gemelos. — Pablo and Luis are twins.
calvo — bald
Mi padrino es calvo y lleva bigote. — My godfather is bald and has a mustache.
el bigote — mustache
Mi abuelo lleva bigote. — My grandfather has a mustache.
las pecas — freckles
Mi sobrina tiene muchas pecas. — My niece has lots of freckles.
rizado — curly
Mi hermana tiene el pelo rizado. — My sister has curly hair.
liso — straight (hair), smooth, plain
Mi pelo es liso, pero el de mi madre es rizado. — My hair is straight, but my mother's is curly.
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