Spanish B2.11 Listening Practice: This, That, These, Those
Listen to a B2 Spanish dialogue about this, that, these, those, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
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Level
B2.11
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
21 segments
A short Spanish listening chapter with transcript.
Unit 8: add demonstratives as signals 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
Welcome to today's Spanish lesson! I'm Carmen, and today we are focusing on how demonstratives like este, esta, estos, and esas act as powerful signals in spoken Spanish. Let's listen to Álvaro and Lucía discuss business strategy options.
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2. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Creo que este proyecto de sostenibilidad necesita una dirección más clara antes de presentarlo al consejo.
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3. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
Tienes razón, pero estos informes que redactamos ayer ofrecen alternativas bastante viables.
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4. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
De entre todas las propuestas, esas medidas para reducir el consumo energético me parecen las más acertadas.
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5. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
Sin embargo, esta estrategia de inversión a largo plazo es la que realmente garantiza estabilidad.
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6. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Al final, tras analizarlo todo, quiero esta opción para la empresa.
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7. Carmen · Teacher
Now, let's break down the dialogue line by line. First, Álvaro said: 'Creo que este proyecto de sostenibilidad necesita una dirección más clara antes de presentarlo al consejo.' He uses 'este' to point directly to 'this project' that is currently in front of them.
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8. Diego · Student
So 'este' is always masculine singular for something close to the speaker in place or time?
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9. Carmen · Teacher
Exactly, Diego. It immediately grounds the noun in the speaker's present scope.
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10. Carmen · Teacher
Next, Lucía replied: 'Tienes razón, pero estos informes que redactamos ayer ofrecen alternativas bastante viables.' She uses 'estos' for 'these reports'.
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11. Diego · Student
Why use 'estos' here instead of 'esos' if the reports were written yesterday?
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12. Carmen · Teacher
Because she treats them as immediate, active documents in their current conversation.
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13. Carmen · Teacher
Then Álvaro noted: 'De entre todas las propuestas, esas medidas para reducir el consumo energético me parecen las más acertadas.' He uses 'esas' to signal 'those measures'.
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14. Diego · Student
Does 'esas' indicate that the measures are slightly further removed, like previously mentioned items?
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15. Carmen · Teacher
Spot on! 'Esas' points to feminine plural items that are slightly removed from the speaker's immediate personal space.
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16. Carmen · Teacher
Lucía added: 'Sin embargo, esta estrategia de inversión a largo plazo es la que realmente garantiza estabilidad.' Here 'esta' signals 'this strategy'.
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17. Diego · Student
Does using 'esta' bring the focus right back to her preferred idea?
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18. Carmen · Teacher
Precisely. It highlights a feminine singular idea in the immediate foreground.
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19. Carmen · Teacher
Finally, Álvaro concluded: 'Al final, tras analizarlo todo, quiero esta opción para la empresa.' He uses 'esta opción' to express a final choice.
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20. Diego · Student
So 'quiero esta opción' works as a strong signal sentence when choosing between alternatives?
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21. Carmen · Teacher
Yes! It signals clarity and decisiveness by pointing directly to the chosen option.
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