Learn how to complain at work, and review the Direct Object Pronouns
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Making Work Complaints in Mexico. John here. |
| Laura: Hola. I'm Laura. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn about complaining at work. The conversation takes place during a business dinner. |
| Laura: It's between Alma Cordero, Alan Brown, and Fernando Rojas. |
| John: The speakers are co-workers and will be speaking informal Spanish. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Alma Cordero: Cambiando de tema, ¿han escuchado algo sobre el nuevo producto? |
| Alan Brown: Sí, lo he oído mencionar. Pero no han divulgado más información al respecto. |
| Fernando Rojas: Lo único que sé es que el departamento de Investigación y Desarrollo de España lo está diseñando. |
| Alan Brown: En mi opinión, es mejor que involucren a los otros centros de investigación. Para ahorrar tiempo y recursos. |
| Alma Cordero: Exacto, todos tenemos que estar en el mismo canal. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Alma Cordero: Cambiando de tema, ¿han escuchado algo sobre el nuevo producto? |
| Alan Brown: Sí, lo he oído mencionar. Pero no han divulgado más información al respecto. |
| Fernando Rojas: Lo único que sé es que el departamento de Investigación y Desarrollo de España lo está diseñando. |
| Alan Brown: En mi opinión, es mejor que involucren a los otros centros de investigación. Para ahorrar tiempo y recursos. |
| Alma Cordero: Exacto, todos tenemos que estar en el mismo canal. |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation |
| Alma Cordero: Cambiando de tema, ¿han escuchado algo sobre el nuevo producto? |
| Alma Cordero: On another matter, have you heard anything about the new product? |
| Alan Brown: Sí, lo he oído mencionar. Pero no han divulgado más información al respecto. |
| Alan Brown: Yes, I have heard about it. But they haven't released much information about it. |
| Fernando Rojas: Lo único que sé es que el departamento de Investigación y Desarrollo de España lo está diseñando. |
| Fernando Rojas: All I know is that the Research and Development department of Spain is designing it. |
| Alan Brown: En mi opinión, es mejor que involucren a los otros centros de investigación. Para ahorrar tiempo y recursos. |
| Alan Brown: In my opinion, it’s better to involve all the other research centers in order to save time and resources. |
| Alma Cordero: Exacto, todos tenemos que estar en el mismo canal. |
| Alma Cordero: Exactly, everybody has to be on the same page. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Alma had a few questions, and Alan and Fernando were quick to tell her what they knew. |
| Laura: Asking colleagues is a good way of finding out extra information. |
| John: They also shared their opinions on the matter. Is that something that people in Mexico often do? |
| Laura: Oh yes, sharing points of view is to be expected. People are usually open and expressive. |
| John: Is this the same in formal situations? |
| Laura: Yes. As long as you’re polite, it’s fine. It’s also important to listen to what other people have to say. |
| John: Listening is always important. You should always try to respond to what they say to show that you were listening. |
| Laura: You can share your opinions in the office, but try to keep more personal comments for more private situations. |
| John: Yes, things can be misinterpreted, so it’s best to discuss personal things directly with someone instead of talking about them in a big group. |
| Laura: I think so, too. It’s important to bring your opinions and points of view to the office. |
| John: But make sure that you have good reasons and evidence for them. |
| Laura: This will help others understand you. |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Laura: cambiando de tema [natural native speed] |
| John: on another note |
| Laura: cambiando de tema[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: cambiando de tema [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Laura: canal [natural native speed] |
| John: channel |
| Laura: canal[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: canal [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Laura: mencionar [natural native speed] |
| John: mention |
| Laura: mencionar[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: mencionar [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Laura: divulgar [natural native speed] |
| John: divulge |
| Laura: divulgar[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: divulgar [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Laura: Departamento de Investigación y Desarrollo [natural native speed] |
| John: Research and Development Department |
| Laura: Departamento de Investigación y Desarrollo[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: Departamento de Investigación y Desarrollo [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Laura: diseñar [natural native speed] |
| John: design |
| Laura: diseñar[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: diseñar [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Laura: en mi opinión [natural native speed] |
| John: in my opinion |
| Laura: en mi opinión[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: en mi opinión [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Laura: Centro de Investigación [natural native speed] |
| John: Research Center |
| Laura: Centro de Investigación[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: Centro de Investigación [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Laura: involucrar [natural native speed] |
| John: involve |
| Laura: involucrar[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: involucrar [natural native speed] |
| John: And last.. |
| Laura: respecto [natural native speed] |
| John: regard |
| Laura: respecto[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Laura: respecto [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Laura: al respecto |
| John: meaning "about, regarding" |
| John: Let’s look at this phrase in more detail. |
| Laura: Al means “to the,” and the final word is respecto. |
| John: This means “regard.” This phrase can be translated to “in regard to.” |
| Laura: It can also be used and translated as “about” or “regarding.” |
| John: You can use this when referring to a specific topic, place or thing. |
| Laura: This phrase is usually used in formal situations. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Laura: Sure. For example, you can say.. Dame tu opinión al respecto. |
| John: ..which means "Give me your opinion about it." |
| John: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Laura: estar en el mismo canal |
| John: which means "to be on the same page" |
| John: Let’s break it down. |
| Laura: First is estar, meaning "to be." Next is en el. |
| John: This means “on the.” The next word means “same.” |
| Laura: Which is mismo. Finally, there’s canal. |
| John: “channel.” Put together it means “to be on the same channel,” or as we say in English, “to be on the same page.” |
| Laura: You use this when there is a consensus or agreement. You can use it in both formal and informal situations. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Laura: Sure. For example, you can say.. Estoy en el mismo canal que ella en cuanto a ese tema. |
| John: .. which means "I am on the same page as her regarding that topic." |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about complaining at work. |
| John: We’ll begin by looking at direct object pronouns. A direct object is the person, event or thing in a sentence that is being affected by the verb. The position of this pronoun in a sentence differs between Spanish and English. |
| Laura: In Spanish, it is placed before the verb and also replaces the article. |
| John: A direct object pronoun has to agree in number and gender with the proper noun that it replaces. Let’s introduce the direct object pronouns. |
| Laura: First is me. |
| John: In English, this means “me.” |
| Laura: te |
| John: The informal “you.” |
| Laura: lo, la |
| John: “him, her, it” and the formal “you.” |
| Laura: nos |
| John: “us.” And finally... |
| Laura: los, las |
| John: “them, you all.” In the case of infinitives and present participles, the direct object pronoun can be attached to the end of the verb, |
| Laura: For example, in the sentence Voy a hacerlo. |
| John: It is also correct to add the pronoun before the verb. Using the same example... |
| Laura: Lo voy a hacer |
| John: They both mean “I am going to do it.” Let’s hear a couple more examples using direct object pronouns. |
| Laura: Ella la cierra. |
| John: “She closes it.” |
| Laura: Lo estoy leyendo. |
| John: “I am reading it.” Now, let’s move onto complaining at work. Not all of these phrases are just for complaining. They can also be used to show your concerns or doubts, too. |
| Laura: The first phrase is Me preocupa... |
| John: “I am worried about...” And in a sentence, please, Laura? |
| Laura: Me preocupan las fechas de entrega. |
| John: “I am worried about the due dates.” The next phrase is... |
| Laura: No me parece que... |
| John: “It doesn’t seem to me that…” And in a sentence? |
| Laura: No me parece que es buena idea. |
| John: “It doesn’t seem to me like a good idea.” The last phrase we’ll introduce here is... |
| Laura: No estoy de acuerdo con... |
| John: “I don’t agree with…” |
| Laura: No estoy de acuerdo con el salario. |
| John: “I do not agree with the salary.” There are more phrases in the lesson notes, so don’t forget to check them out! |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Laura: Hasta la próxima. |
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