B1 · Unit 12 · 43 words, 3 texts with translation
Ask friends to help you move
Ask for help and give friendly instructions during a move: hold this, put it there, sit down. Talk about how you met someone.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Commands with pronouns: dime, dámelo, siéntate, dígame
You already know commands: di, pon, espera for tú (A2, unit 6) and diga, pase for usted (A2, unit 15). You also know the pronoun pairs me lo, se lo (unit 10). Now we put them together.
When you move, you don't just say "give": you say "give me", "hold it", "put it here".
There's one rule: in a command, the pronoun goes at the end of the verb and is written as one word with it. Like in English "tell me", the pronoun comes after the verb, but Spanish joins the two into one word.
| For tú | For usted | |
|---|---|---|
| one pronoun | dime — tell me; ponlo — put it | dígame — tell me; póngalo |
| two pronouns: first "to whom", then "what" | dímelo — tell me (it); dámela — give it to me | dígamelo; démela |
| reflexive verb | siéntate — sit down; fíjate — look, just imagine | siéntese — sit down; fíjese |
Written accent. The word gets longer, but the stress stays on the same syllable, so it gets a written accent: pasa → pásame, deja → déjalo, sujeta → sujétala. A short command with one pronoun doesn't need it (dime, dame, ponlo, hazlo); with two pronouns it does: dímelo, dámelo.
- Pásame la cinta, por favor. — Pass me the tape, please.
- La caja es frágil: sujétala por debajo. — The box is fragile: hold it from underneath.
- ¿Las llaves? Dámelas, las guardo yo. — The keys? Give them to me, I'll put them away.
- Siéntate un rato. — Sit down for a while.
- Pase y siéntese, por favor. — Come in and sit down, please (formal).
For vosotros — recognize only. The pronoun is attached the same way: ayudadme — help me (to several people). One surprise: before os, the letter d drops: sentaos — sit down (to several people), not sentados (that means "seated").
Common mistake: putting the pronoun before the command, as in a normal sentence. ✗ me lo dices means "you tell me"; "tell me" is only dímelo. In a negative command ("don't tell me"), the order is different: that's unit 16.
Each other: nos vemos, se conocen, nos escribimos
You already know reflexive verbs: me levanto, se ducha — a person does something to himself or herself (A1, unit 8). In the plural, the same nos, os, se have a second meaning: "each other".
You need it to say goodbye and to tell how you met someone: ¡Nos vemos! — See you! Word for word, it's "we see each other".
Take a normal verb in the plural and put nos, os or se before it:
| Who | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| we | nos escribimos | we write to each other |
| you (friends) | ¿os conocéis? | do you know each other? |
| they | se quieren | they love each other |
- Sergio y yo nos conocimos hace cinco años. — Sergio and I met five years ago.
- Nos vemos mañana a las ocho. — See you tomorrow at eight.
- Mi madre y yo nos llamamos todos los domingos. — My mom and I call each other every Sunday.
- Los vecinos de esta casa se ayudan mucho. — The neighbors in this building help each other a lot.
Compare with English. English often leaves out "each other": "we met", "see you", "they hugged". Spanish always needs the pronoun: nos conocimos, nos vemos, se abrazaron. And Spanish can do this with almost any verb: se quieren (they love each other), se entienden (they understand each other), se ayudan (they help each other).
When it's not clear. Se miran can mean "they look at themselves" (in the mirror) or "they look at each other". Usually the situation makes it clear. To stress that it goes both ways, add mutuamente (mutually) or el uno al otro (one another).
Common mistake: ✗ me conocí con Pablo, copied from "I met with Pablo". "Each other" always means two or more people, so the verb is plural: Pablo y yo nos conocimos (Pablo and I met). If you talk only about yourself, there's no pronoun: conocí a Pablo (I met Pablo).
Words in this unit
sentarse — to sit down
Siéntate aquí, que hay sitio. — Sit here, there's room.
levantar — to lift, to raise
Levanta la caja con las dos manos. — Lift the box with both hands.
guardar — to put away, to keep, to save
Guarda las llaves en el cajón. — Put the keys away in the drawer.
mover — to move
¿Puedes mover la mesa un poco? — Can you move the table a little?
tirar — to throw away, to throw, to pull
Tira esta caja, está rota. — Throw this box away, it's broken.
colocar — to place, to put
Coloca la mesa junto a la ventana. — Put the table by the window.
echar una mano — to give a hand, to help out
¿Me echas una mano con la mudanza? — Will you give me a hand with the move?
cuenta conmigo — count on me
Si necesitas ayuda, cuenta conmigo. — If you need help, count on me.
para eso estamos — that's what we're here for, that's what friends are for
—Gracias por ayudarme. —Tranquilo, para eso estamos. — —Thanks for helping me. —Don't worry, that's what we're here for (to a man).
con cuidado — carefully
Lleva esto con cuidado, que se rompe. — Carry this carefully, it breaks easily.
deber un favor — to owe a favor
Me ayudaste mucho, te debo un favor. — You helped me a lot, I owe you a favor.
delante — in front, ahead
Mi coche está delante de la puerta. — My car is in front of the door.
debajo — underneath, below
Las llaves están debajo del sofá. — The keys are under the sofa.
el fondo — bottom, back, depth
En el fondo del cajón hay unas llaves. — There are some keys at the bottom of the drawer.
al fondo — at the back, at the end
El baño está al fondo, a la derecha. — The bathroom is at the end, on the right.
descargar — to unload, to download
Descargamos la furgoneta entre todos. — We all unload the van together.
apoyar — to lean, to rest, to support
Apoya la escalera en la pared. — Lean the ladder against the wall.
sujetar — to hold, to hold steady
Sujeta la puerta, por favor. — Hold the door, please.
soltar — to let go of, to release
Suelta la cuerda, ya está. — Let go of the rope, that's it.
agarrar — to grab, to grip, to hold on to
Agarra la caja por abajo. — Grab the box from the bottom.
sostener — to hold up, to hold, to support
Sostén la lámpara un momento. — Hold the lamp for a moment.
fijarse — to notice, to pay attention
Fíjate en este cuadro, es muy bonito. — Look closely at this painting, it's very beautiful.
común — shared, mutual, common
Tenemos un amigo común. — We have a mutual friend.
tener en común — to have in common
Ana y yo tenemos mucho en común. — Ana and I have a lot in common.
coincidir — to coincide, to agree, to run into
Mis vacaciones coinciden con las de Pablo. — My vacation coincides with Pablo's.
a primera vista — at first sight, at first glance
A primera vista, el piso es muy bonito. — At first glance, the apartment is very nice.
mutuamente — each other, mutually
Nos ayudamos mutuamente. — We help each other.
el orden — order, tidiness
Mi cuarto está en orden. — My room is in order.
el dedo — finger, toe
Me duele un dedo. — One of my fingers hurts.
la escalera — stairs, staircase, ladder
Sube por la escalera, el ascensor no funciona. — Go up the stairs, the elevator isn't working.
la manta — blanket
Tengo frío, ¿me das una manta? — I'm cold, can you give me a blanket?
el colchón — mattress
Necesitamos un colchón nuevo. — We need a new mattress.
ligero — light (not heavy)
Esta caja es ligera, la llevo yo. — This box is light, I'll carry it.
frágil — fragile
Cuidado, esta caja es frágil. — Careful, this box is fragile.
la furgoneta — van
Alquilamos una furgoneta para la mudanza. — We're renting a van for the move.
el hueco — gap, space, free slot
Hay un hueco entre el sofá y la pared. — There's a gap between the sofa and the wall.
la cinta — tape, ribbon
Necesito cinta para cerrar las cajas. — I need tape to close the boxes.
embalar — to pack (for moving)
Voy a embalar los platos con papel. — I'm going to pack the plates in paper.
desmontar — to take apart
Hay que desmontar la cama antes de bajarla. — We need to take the bed apart before carrying it down.
el clavo — nail
Necesito un clavo para colgar el cuadro. — I need a nail to hang the picture.
el tornillo — screw, bolt
Falta un tornillo en la estantería. — There's a screw missing from the bookcase.
el peldaño — step, rung
Cuidado, falta un peldaño. — Careful, there's a step missing.
por casualidad — by chance
Nos conocimos por casualidad. — We met by chance.
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