Episodio 3: Vocabulario importante
This is the vocabulary you will need to retell the story in classroom discussions and speak about aspects of the story in comparison to your own life. The words in bold in the reading appear below. For grammar explanations and translations of other words, also see the Reading Help section below.
buscar |
to look for |
conocer |
to meet, to get to know |
saber |
to know (as in a fact); note that both saber and conocer translate to “to know” in English but are different verbs in Spanish |
nada |
nothing; opposite of algo |
rico(a) |
rich; ; opposite of pobre |
la,una fábrica |
the, a factory |
sus (los) trabajadores |
his workers, the workers (this term will become important as you learn more about the Spanish Civil War) |
la vida(su vida) |
life (his life, her life, your life) |
estar sorprendido(a) |
to be surprised |
el amor |
love |
el dinero |
money |
Dolores busca a Sira para decirle que su padre quiere conocerla1. Sira no lo conoce y no sabe2 nada de él. Gonzalo es un hombre rico que tiene muchas fábricas. Sus trabajadores se están rebelando3 contra él y teme por4 su vida. Quiere conocer a Sira y compartir5 parte de su riqueza con ella.
la1 = her (direct object pronoun: it replaces the part of the sentence that answers the question what? Or whom?: me, te, lo, la, nos, os, los, las); lo conoce y no sabe2 = she’s never met him and doesn’t know (conocer = to get to know a person, a culture or a place or to meet someone for the first time. In the present, the yo form is irregular: conozco, conoces, conoce, conocemos, conocéis, conocen; saber = to know of someone, to know about something. In the present, the yo form is irregular: sé, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben); se están rebelando3 = they are rising up (present progressive: estar + gerund -ando, -iendo, -yendo (-ing form in English); teme por4 = he fears for; compartir5 = to share
Sira está sorprendida por la historia de amor de sus padres: Gonzalo conoció1 a Dolores, una joven costurera que fue2 a su casa para trabajar para su madre. Sin embargo3, Gonzalo estaba comprometido4 con una mujer escogida por5 sus padres. Dolores nunca se casó6.
conoció1 = met (preterit: one of the two simple past tenses, it is used to talk about events in the past. It has specific endings, but there are also many irregular forms: conocí, conociste, conoció, conocimos, conocísteis, conocieron); fue2 = went (preterit of the verb ir: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuísteis, fueron); sin embargo3 = however; estaba comprometido4 = he was engaged (imperfect of the verb estar: one of the two simple past tenses, it is used to describe people or things in the past, to talk about ongoing actions in the past and to talk about actions that used to happen: estaba, estabas, estaba, estábamos, estábais, estaban); escogida por5 = chosen by; nunca se casó6 = never got married (preterit of the verb casarse (also a reflexive verb); one of the two simple past tenses, it is used to talk about events in the past. It has specific endings, but there are also many irregular forms: me casé, te casaste, se casó, nos casamos, os casásteis, se casaron).
Sira recibe dinero de su padre y se lo dice1 a Ramiro. Ellos toman una decisión muy importante basada en el consejo2 del padre de Sira.
se lo dice1 = she says it to him (double object pronouns: they replace the direct and indirect objects from a sentence mentioned previously so that the information is not repetitive and is more efficient; the indirect object pronouns le and les transform into se when followed by lo, la, los, and las); el consejo2 = the advice.