Spanish C1.1 Listening Practice: Keep Doing
Listen to a C1 Spanish dialogue about keep doing, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
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Level
C1.1
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
24 segments
A short Spanish listening chapter with transcript.
Unit 9: add seguir plus -ndo 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 the podcast! I'm Carmen. Today, at the C1 level, we are mastering how to talk about continuous action and persistence using 'seguir' followed by a gerund, such as 'sigo hablando' or 'sigue trabajando'.
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2. Diego · Student
Hi everyone, I'm Diego. I know 'seguir' means 'to follow', but using it with the gerund gives it that nuanced meaning of 'to keep on doing something', right?
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3. Carmen · Teacher
Exactly, Diego. Let's listen to Álvaro and Lucía in a short five-sentence conversation illustrating this point in a professional context.
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4. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Aunque me ofrecieron un traslado a la sede de Londres, sigo trabajando en Madrid porque prefiero este entorno laboral.
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5. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
Te entiendo perfectamente, Álvaro; por mi parte, sigo hablando con nuestros clientes de toda la vida para mantener el trato cercano.
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6. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Es que, incluso tras años de ejercicio profesional, sigo aprendiendo español técnico para perfeccionar mis informes.
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7. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
Tiene todo el sentido, ya que si buscas la excelencia, el aprendizaje continuo es imprescindible.
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8. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Sin duda, por eso sigo esforzándome cada día por pulir cada detalle.
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9. Carmen · Teacher
Let's analyze sentence one. Álvaro said: 'Aunque me ofrecieron un traslado a la sede de Londres, sigo trabajando en Madrid porque prefiero este entorno laboral.' The phrase 'sigo trabajando' means 'I keep working' or 'I am still working'.
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10. Diego · Student
Does 'seguir' always take the gerund form when expressing ongoing actions like this?
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11. Carmen · Teacher
Yes, 'seguir' plus a gerund expresses the duration or continuation of an action uninterrupted. Never use an infinitive after 'seguir' in this context.
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12. Carmen · Teacher
In sentence two, Lucía said: 'Te entiendo perfectamente, Álvaro; por mi parte, sigo hablando con nuestros clientes de toda la vida para mantener el trato cercano.' Here we see 'sigo hablando', meaning 'I keep speaking'.
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13. Diego · Student
What does the phrase 'de toda la vida' add to the description of the clients?
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14. Carmen · Teacher
It's a natural Castilian idiom meaning 'long-standing' or 'lifelong', emphasizing enduring relationships.
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15. Carmen · Teacher
Moving to sentence three, Álvaro noted: 'Es que, incluso tras años de ejercicio profesional, sigo aprendiendo español técnico para perfeccionar mis informes.' This contains our core phrase: 'sigo aprendiendo español'.
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16. Diego · Student
Is 'ejercicio profesional' a standard C1 phrase for professional career practice?
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17. Carmen · Teacher
Precisely. 'Ejercicio' here refers to the active practice or exercise of a profession.
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18. Carmen · Teacher
In sentence four, Lucía responded: 'Tiene todo el sentido, ya que si buscas la excelencia, el aprendizaje continuo es imprescindible.'
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19. Diego · Student
Why did she use 'ya que' instead of 'porque'?
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20. Carmen · Teacher
'Ya que' translates to 'since' or 'given that', providing a slightly more formal and elegant connectors suitable for C1 speech.
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21. Carmen · Teacher
Finally, sentence five: Álvaro concluded with 'Sin duda, por eso sigo esforzándome cada día por pulir cada detalle.' Here, 'sigo esforzándome' combines 'seguir' with a reflexive verb.
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22. Diego · Student
Can the reflexive pronoun 'me' go before 'sigo' as well?
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23. Carmen · Teacher
Yes! You can say 'me sigo esforzando' or 'sigo esforzándome'. Both are equally natural in Spanish.
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24. Carmen · Teacher
That wraps up today's breakdown. Keep practicing 'seguir' plus the gerund to express your continuous progress!
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