Spanish B1.9 Listening Practice: Greek -ma Review
Listen to a B1 Spanish dialogue about greek -ma review, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
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Level
B1.9
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
22 segments
A short Spanish listening chapter with transcript.
Unit 5: add masculine pattern review with new nouns to what you already control, then say one short answer that reuses earlier Spanish instead of starting from a memorized phrase.
Read while you listen.
1. Carmen · Teacher
¡Hola a todos! Welcome back to another Spanish listening practice episode. I'm Carmen, and today we're reviewing a key pattern in Spanish: Greek-origin masculine nouns ending in -ma, as well as words like 'el planeta'. Let's listen to Álvaro and Lucía discussing a project presentation.
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2. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
¿Has visto la nueva presentación sobre el planeta que hemos diseñado?
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3. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
Sí, y creo que el diagrama es claro para todo el equipo.
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4. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Tienes razón, pero todavía debemos solucionar un pequeño problema con los datos.
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5. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
No te preocupes, el tema principal ya está bien explicado.
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6. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Tienes toda la razón, así que seguro que el sistema funcionará perfectamente.
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7. Carmen · Teacher
Now, let's break down each line together. First, Álvaro said: '¿Has visto la nueva presentación sobre el planeta que hemos diseñado?' This means 'Have you seen the new presentation about the planet that we designed?' Notice that Álvaro used 'el planeta' with the masculine article 'el', even though 'planeta' ends in 'a'.
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8. Diego · Student
Why does 'planeta' take 'el' if it ends with an 'a'?
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9. Carmen · Teacher
Because 'planeta' is a word derived from Greek! Words ending in -ta, -ma, or -pa from Greek origins are masculine in Spanish, so it is always 'el planeta'.
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10. Carmen · Teacher
Next, Lucía replied: 'Sí, y creo que el diagrama es claro para todo el equipo.' This means 'Yes, and I think the diagram is clear for the whole team.' Here we hear 'el diagrama es claro'.
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11. Diego · Student
So because 'diagrama' is masculine, does the adjective describing it also have to be masculine?
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12. Carmen · Teacher
Exactly! Since 'diagrama' is masculine, we use the masculine adjective 'claro', giving us 'el diagrama es claro'.
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13. Carmen · Teacher
Then Álvaro said: 'Tienes razón, pero todavía debemos solucionar un pequeño problema con los datos.' This means 'You're right, but we still need to solve a small problem with the data.'
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14. Diego · Student
Does 'problema' follow that same Greek origin rule?
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15. Carmen · Teacher
Yes! 'Problema' ends in -ma and comes from Greek, so we say 'un pequeño problema' using the masculine form.
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16. Carmen · Teacher
Lucía then encouraged him: 'No te preocupes, el tema principal ya está bien explicado.' Translation: 'Don't worry, the main topic is already well explained.'
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17. Diego · Student
Is 'tema' another masculine -ma word?
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18. Carmen · Teacher
Precisely! 'El tema' means 'the topic' or 'the theme', fitting the exact same masculine pattern.
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19. Carmen · Teacher
Finally, Álvaro concluded: 'Tienes toda la razón, así que seguro que el sistema funcionará perfectamente.' Meaning 'You're completely right, so I'm sure the system will work perfectly.'
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20. Diego · Student
Are all words ending in -ma masculine in Spanish?
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21. Carmen · Teacher
Most Greek-derived ones like 'sistema', 'diagrama', and 'clima' are masculine, though non-Greek words like 'la cama' are feminine. Sticking to these core workplace and academic terms will make it easy to remember!
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22. Carmen · Teacher
Fantastic effort today, everyone! Keep listening out for these masculine -ma nouns in your daily practice, and we'll see you in the next episode.
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