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lesson 53

paulvial
New in Town
Posts: 3
Joined: December 19th, 2007 7:57 am

lesson 53

Postby paulvial » May 26th, 2008 6:32 am

hello
i have a comment on lesson 53 :
it took me some time to realize that the first part of the text (formal ) does not correspond to the audio file :
on the written text the imperative tense is used at the 3d person : presumably because the speakers give each other the "usted " formal speak.... mire , ve
however in the audio the second person mira , ves
presumably because the speakers are using a more casual form, giving each other el "tu "

but i thought it should be clearer in the lesson

unless i misunderstood
hasta pronto
paul

Joseph
Expert on Something
Posts: 110
Joined: December 19th, 2007 1:24 am

Formal and Informal Lesson Conversations

Postby Joseph » May 26th, 2008 2:34 pm

¿Qué tal, Paul?

You'll notice on the front page of the PDF Lesson Guide for each lesson, there is an orange bullet assigned to the lesson conversation that's included in the audio. We like to include both, when we can, since the question of whether to address someone as "usted" and when to address them as "tú" is one that takes most people quite some time to answer.

As hosts, we try to point out sections of the text (words, phrases) that mark it as "formal" or "informal"; but this is really tricky business, since so much depends on context. In any case, we'll definitely think about a more explicit way to present the formal and informal conversations.

Gracias por escuchar y por compartir con nosotros tus ideas.

Chau,
Joseph
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