B2 · Unit 15 · 41 words, 2 texts with translation
Remind a repairman of his promise
A repairman promised to come and didn't: name repair jobs and building materials, push someone to hurry, complain, and retell what other people promised.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Retelling a promise: dijo que vendría
You already know that after dijo que the tense moves one step back into the past, and the future becomes iba a: dijo que iba a venir — he said he was going to come (B1, unit 14). Now the second way, the main one in stories and letters: the conditional (vendría).
The repairman said: "Vendré el lunes." Monday is over, and you complain to a friend: Dijo que vendría el lunes — He said he would come on Monday. Here vendría doesn't mean "he would come if…": it's the future seen from the past. English does exactly the same thing: will becomes would. The stem is the same as in the future tense (vendr-, har-, podr-), and the ending is -ía.
All the shifts together:
| What he said | How you retell it | In English |
|---|---|---|
| "Estoy en la tienda." | Dijo que estaba en la tienda. | He said he was at the store. |
| "He pedido la pieza.", "La pedí ayer." | Dijo que había pedido la pieza. | He said he had ordered the part. |
| "Vendré el lunes." | Dijo que vendría el lunes. | He said he would come on Monday. |
| "Voy a llamar." | Dijo que iba a llamar. | He said he was going to call. |
If the person already used the imperfect or the conditional, nothing changes: "Me gustaría ayudar" → Dijo que le gustaría ayudar (he said he would like to help).
It works the same after prometió que (promised), aseguró que (assured, said for sure) and juró que (swore).
- Me prometió que acabaría el viernes. — He promised me he would finish on Friday.
- El casero aseguró que hablaría con el fontanero. — The landlord said he would definitely talk to the plumber.
- Dijeron que traerían la pieza en dos días. — They said they would bring the part in two days.
After dijo que there are two forms, with two different meanings:
- Me dijo que vendría. — He told me he would come: he promised it himself — conditional.
- Me dijo que viniera. — He told me to come: an order to me — imperfect subjunctive (unit 14).
Common mistake: keeping the future tense — ✗ dijo que vendrá el lunes — when Monday is already over. Spanish says it that way only while the deadline is still ahead. In a story about the past: dijo que vendría — he said he would come.
Quedar en + verb: "we agreed to…"
You already know quedar — to arrange to meet: quedamos a las ocho (A1, unit 14). With the preposition en, it means to agree on something, to settle on a plan. You use it to remind a repairman, a landlord or a coworker of what you agreed.
What comes after quedar en:
- an infinitive — when the people who agreed will do it themselves: Quedamos en vernos el lunes. — We agreed to meet on Monday. Quedó en llamarme. — He promised to call me.
- que + the normal form (indicative) — when you need to say who will do what. For an agreement in the past, use the same shift as after dijo que: the future becomes the conditional. Quedamos en que él traería el material y yo compraría la pintura. — We agreed that he would bring the materials and I would buy the paint.
No subjunctive here: it isn't a wish, it's a decision that has already been made.
- Quedé en pasar por la oficina el martes. — I promised to stop by the office on Tuesday.
- ¿No quedamos en que vendrías a las nueve? — Didn't we agree you'd come at nine?
- Al final no quedamos en nada. — In the end we didn't agree on anything.
- ¿En qué quedamos? — So which is it? People ask this when the other person suddenly changes their mind.
Don't mix them up:
- quedar con Lucía — to meet up with Lucía
- quedar en algo — to agree on something
- quedarse en casa — to stay home (A2, unit 10)
Common mistake: English says "we agreed to meet" with no preposition, so learners drop en. Not ✗ quedamos vernos and not ✗ quedamos de vernos, but quedamos en vernos.
Words in this unit
el albañil — builder, bricklayer
El albañil viene el lunes a las ocho. — The builder is coming on Monday at eight.
el pintor — painter
Llamamos a un pintor para el salón. — We called a painter for the living room.
el carpintero — carpenter
El carpintero va a hacer la puerta a medida. — The carpenter is going to custom-make the door.
el cerrajero — locksmith
He perdido las llaves y he llamado a un cerrajero. — I've lost my keys and called a locksmith.
el obrero — worker, laborer
Hay cuatro obreros en la obra. — There are four workers at the construction site.
el/la manitas — handyman, handy person
Mi cuñado es un manitas: arregla todo. — My brother-in-law is a real handyman: he fixes everything.
la chapuza — botched job, shoddy work
Esta pared es una chapuza. — This wall is a botched job.
chapucero — sloppy, shoddy
Es un trabajo muy chapucero. — It's very sloppy work.
mano de obra — labor, workforce
El presupuesto incluye material y mano de obra. — The estimate includes materials and labor.
dar largas — to put someone off, to stall
El mecánico me da largas desde hace una semana. — The mechanic has been putting me off for a week.
dejar tirado — to let someone down, to leave someone stranded
El fontanero nos dejó tirados el sábado. — The plumber let us down on Saturday.
echarse atrás — to back out, to go back on your word
Primero dijo que sí, pero luego se echó atrás. — At first he said yes, but then he backed out.
a medias — half-done, halfway, fifty-fifty
El pintor dejó el trabajo a medias. — The painter left the job half-done.
ya era hora — about time
¡Ya era hora! Llevo tres horas esperando. — It's about time! I've been waiting for three hours.
cumplidor — reliable, dependable
Mi electricista es muy cumplidor: siempre llega a su hora. — My electrician is very reliable: he always shows up on time.
el/la caradura — shameless person, someone with a lot of nerve
Ese mecánico es un caradura: cobra y no viene. — That mechanic is shameless: he takes the money and doesn't show up.
despreocupado — carefree, laid-back, careless
El pintor es muy despreocupado con los plazos. — The painter is very laid-back about deadlines.
el honor — honor
Te lo prometo, palabra de honor. — I promise you, on my word of honor.
amenazar — to threaten
El casero amenaza con subir el alquiler. — The landlord is threatening to raise the rent.
anular — to cancel
Quiero anular la cita de mañana. — I want to cancel tomorrow's appointment.
presionar — to pressure, to push
No quiero presionarte, pero necesito una fecha. — I don't want to pressure you, but I need a date.
pasarse — to go too far, to overdo it
Se pasó con el precio: pidió el doble. — He went too far with the price: he asked for double.
inventar — to make up, to invent
Siempre inventa una excusa para no venir. — He always makes up an excuse not to come.
medir — to measure, to be (in size or height)
Voy a medir la pared antes de comprar. — I'm going to measure the wall before buying anything.
clavar — to nail, to hammer in
Voy a clavar un clavo en la pared. — I'm going to hammer a nail into the wall.
taladrar — to drill
Mi vecino taladra la pared todos los sábados. — My neighbor drills into the wall every Saturday.
el material — material
El presupuesto incluye el material. — The estimate includes the material.
el ladrillo — brick
Esta pared es de ladrillo. — This wall is made of brick.
el cemento — cement
Necesitamos dos sacos de cemento. — We need two bags of cement.
el hierro — iron
La puerta del portal es de hierro. — The front door of the building is made of iron.
el metal — metal
La mesa es de metal. — The table is made of metal.
el muro — wall (thick or outdoor), garden wall
El muro del jardín se ha caído. — The garden wall has fallen down.
el azulejo — tile (for walls)
Quiero cambiar los azulejos de la cocina. — I want to replace the kitchen tiles.
la baldosa — floor tile
Hay una baldosa rota en la entrada. — There's a broken tile in the entryway.
el yeso — plaster
El albañil tapa los agujeros con yeso. — The builder fills the holes with plaster.
el agujero — hole
Hay un agujero en la pared. — There's a hole in the wall.
el váter — toilet
El váter está atascado. — The toilet is clogged.
la encimera — countertop
Queremos una encimera de madera. — We want a wooden countertop.
la capa — coat (of paint), layer, cape
Hay que dar dos capas de pintura. — You have to put on two coats of paint.
la brocha — paintbrush
Necesito una brocha para pintar la puerta. — I need a paintbrush to paint the door.
¡quién lo diría! — who would have thought
¡Quién lo diría! El fontanero ha llegado a su hora. — Who would have thought! The plumber has arrived on time.
Learn these words with flashcards
In the app, the unit’s words come to your flashcards a few at a time and repeat until they stick, and the texts show them in use. 15 minutes a day.
Start for freeEverything is open for free. No card needed to sign up.