Spanish B1.14 Listening Practice: Names And Having
Listen to a B1 Spanish dialogue about names and having, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
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Level
B1.14
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
23 segments
A short Spanish listening chapter with transcript.
Unit 6: add llamarse and tener review to what you already control, then say one short answer that reuses earlier Spanish instead of starting from a memorized phrase.
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1. Carmen · Teacher
Welcome to today's lesson! I'm Carmen, and today we are reviewing how to talk about names and possession using the verbs 'llamarse' and 'tener' in Spanish.
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2. Diego · Student
Hi Carmen! I'm Diego. I know 'me llamo' and 'tengo', but I want to get better at using past forms like 'tenía'.
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3. Carmen · Teacher
You are in the right place, Diego! Let's listen to a short conversation between our native speakers, Álvaro and Lucía.
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4. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Hola, me llamo Álvaro y ahora tengo un trabajo excelente en Madrid.
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5. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
¡Qué interesante! Me llamaba diferente antes cuando actuaba en el teatro.
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6. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
¿De verdad? Yo antes tenía curiosidad por los nombres de escenario.
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7. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
Sí, tenía un seudónimo curioso, pero ahora me llamo Lucía en todas partes.
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8. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Me parece perfecto, aunque tengo que reconocer que esa etapa suena fascinante.
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9. Carmen · Teacher
Now, let me break down this dialogue for you sentence by sentence. First, Álvaro said: 'Hola, me llamo Álvaro y ahora tengo un trabajo excelente en Madrid.' Here, Álvaro uses 'me llamo' for 'my name is' and 'tengo' for 'I have' in the present tense.
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10. Diego · Student
Is 'tengo' used for current ongoing situations, like having a job?
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11. Carmen · Teacher
Yes, 'tengo' expresses current possession or states in the present tense.
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12. Carmen · Teacher
Next, Lucía replied: '¡Qué interesante! Me llamaba diferente antes cuando actuaba en el teatro.' She used our challenge line, 'me llamaba diferente antes', which means 'I used to be called something different before'.
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13. Diego · Student
Why does she use 'me llamaba' instead of 'me llamo'?
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14. Carmen · Teacher
'Me llamaba' is in the imperfect tense, which describes a past continuous state or habit that is no longer true.
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15. Carmen · Teacher
In the third sentence, Álvaro said: '¿De verdad? Yo antes tenía curiosidad por los nombres de escenario.' He used 'tenía', meaning 'I used to have' or 'I was curious'.
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16. Diego · Student
So 'tenía curiosidad' works like 'I used to be curious' in English?
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17. Carmen · Teacher
Exactly. Spanish often uses 'tener' plus a noun where English uses 'to be' plus an adjective.
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18. Carmen · Teacher
Fourth, Lucía explained: 'Sí, tenía un seudónimo curioso, pero ahora me llamo Lucía en todas partes.' She contrasts 'tenía' for her past stage name with 'ahora me llamo' for her current name.
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19. Diego · Student
What does the word 'seudónimo' mean?
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20. Carmen · Teacher
It means 'pseudonym' or 'stage name'.
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21. Carmen · Teacher
Finally, Álvaro concluded: 'Me parece perfecto, aunque tengo que reconocer que esa etapa suena fascinante.' He used the construction 'tengo que' followed by an infinitive.
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22. Diego · Student
Does 'tengo que' mean 'I have to'?
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23. Carmen · Teacher
Precisely! 'Tengo que' means 'I have to' obligation in Spanish. Well done listening today, Diego!
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