Spanish B1.22 Listening Practice: Verb Family Recap
Listen to a B1 Spanish dialogue about verb family recap, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
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Level
B1.22
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
21 segments
A short Spanish listening chapter with transcript.
Unit 6: add where -er and -ir separate 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 recap! Today we are focusing on how -er and -ir verbs separate in the present tense, but come together in the imperfect past. Let's listen to Álvaro and Lucía.
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2. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Ahora vivimos en el centro y comemos en casa casi todos los días.
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3. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
Cuando era niña, yo vivía en un pueblo y comía temprano con mi familia.
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4. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Es curioso, porque hace años vivimos aquí y comíamos tarde por el trabajo.
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5. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
¡Es verdad! Ahora comemos a las dos y disfrutamos más de la tarde.
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6. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Sin duda, todo cambia según cómo vivimos y qué comemos.
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7. Carmen · Teacher
In the first line, Álvaro says: 'Ahora vivimos en el centro y comemos en casa casi todos los días.' Notice how present tense -ir verbs take '-imos' like 'vivimos', while -er verbs take '-emos' like 'comemos'.
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8. Diego · Student
So in the present tense, 'we live' is 'vivimos' with an 'i', but 'we eat' is 'comemos' with an 'e'?
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9. Carmen · Teacher
Exactly, Diego! That vowel difference is where -er and -ir verb families separate in the present 'we' form.
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10. Carmen · Teacher
Next, Lucía says: 'Cuando era niña, yo vivía en un pueblo y comía temprano con mi familia.' Here we shift to the imperfect tense for past habits.
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11. Diego · Student
Do both 'vivía' and 'comía' use the exact same '-ía' ending in the imperfect?
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12. Carmen · Teacher
Yes! Unlike the present tense, -er and -ir verbs reunite and share the exact same '-ía' endings in the imperfect past.
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13. Carmen · Teacher
Then Álvaro says: 'Es curioso, porque hace años vivimos aquí y comíamos tarde por el trabajo.' This features our challenge phrase: 'Vivimos aquí y comíamos tarde.'
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14. Diego · Student
Why does 'vivimos' work when talking about the past here?
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15. Carmen · Teacher
Great question! For -ir verbs, 'vivimos' is spelled identically in both the present tense and the preterite past tense.
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16. Carmen · Teacher
In line four, Lucía exclaims: '¡Es verdad! Ahora comemos a las dos y disfrutamos más de la tarde.'
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17. Diego · Student
She uses 'comemos' to bring the conversation back to their current daily routine, right?
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18. Carmen · Teacher
Spot on. 'Comemos' clearly signals the present tense for an -er verb, contrasting with their past habits.
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19. Carmen · Teacher
Finally, Álvaro concludes: 'Sin duda, todo cambia según cómo vivimos y qué comemos.'
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20. Diego · Student
So remembering the distinction between 'vivimos' and 'comemos' is key for constructing clear present-tense answers?
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21. Carmen · Teacher
Precisely. Pay attention to where the two families split in the present, and remember they share '-ía' forms in the imperfect!
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