This is the first in our course of English Spanish Parallel Texts and we are going to practice making basic introductions in Spanish. Start by reading the texts in Spanish below. The English translations are provided later but please try not to look at them until you have read the Spanish versions various times and tried your best to understand them.

There may be some words and phrases in the text that you are unfamiliar with, but you should be aiming to capture the main essence of what is happening. There will always be words and phrases popping up in real-life situations that you have never heard before, so it is important never to get too distracted by details.

If you want to investigate some of the words you don’t know with a dictionary that would be great, please do, but do this after trying your best to understand with what you already have in your head.

Check out these video lessons with information relevant to this topic:

Introductions (Part 1)
Introductions (Part 2)

 

Spanish Texts

 

Text 1 in Spanish:

Paula: Hola, buenos días. ¿Cómo te llamas?
Juan: Me llamo Juan. ¿Y tú, cómo te llamas?
Paula: Yo me llamo Paula. Mucho gusto. ¿Cómo estás hoy Juan?
Juan: Mal. ¿Y tú?
Paula: Yo estoy muy bien. ¿Por qué estás mal Juan?
Juan: Tengo resfriado.
Paula: Lo siento. ¿Quieres una bebida? ¿Un café o un té?
Juan: Sí, gracias. Un brandy por favor.
Paula: Vale.

Text 2 in Spanish:

Olivia: Buenas tardes.
Samuel: Hola, buenas tardes. Me llamo Samuel.
Olivia: Yo soy Olivia. Mucho gusto Samuel.
Samuel: Encantado Olivia.
Olivia: ¿De dónde eres Samuel? ¿Eres de aquí?
Samuel: No, no soy de Madrid. Soy de Galicia. ¿Y tú?
Olivia: Yo soy de Madrid.
Samuel: Soy de Galicia pero no soy español.
Olivia: ¿De dónde eres originalmente?
Samuel: Soy de Inglaterra. Soy inglés. Mi padre es inglés y mi madre es española.
Olivia: ¿Cómo es Galicia?
Samuel: Galicia es muy bonito.

Text 3 in Spanish:

Hugo: Hola, buenas tardes. Me llamo Hugo.
Olivia: Hola Hugo, me llamo Olivia. ¿Cómo estás?
Hugo: Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?
Olivia: Genial. Mejor que nunca.
Hugo: Muy bien. ¿De dónde eres Olivia?
Olivia: Soy de Perú. ¿Y tú?
Hugo: Soy de Valencia. Este es mi perro Sancho. Tengo seis perros.
Olivia: ¡Guauu, muchos perros! ¿Cuántos años tiene Sancho?
Hugo: Sancho es mayor. Tiene quince años.
Olivia: Yo tengo caballos.
Hugo: ¿Cuántos caballos tienes?
Olivia: Diecinueve.
Hugo: ¡Diecinueve caballos! ¡Muchísimos caballos!
Olivia: Sí, y dos cerdos, veinticinco gallinas, un perro y tres gatos.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

English Texts

 

Text 1 in English:

Paula: Hello, good morning. What is your name?
Juan: My name is Juan. And what’s your name?
Paula: My name is Paula. Pleased to meet you. How are you today, Juan?
Juan: Mal. What about you?
Paula: I’m very good. What’s wrong Juan?
Juan: I have a cold.
Paula: I’m sorry. Do you want a drink? A coffee or a tea?
Juan: Yes, thank you. A brandy please.
Paula: Okay.

Text 2 in English:

Olivia: Good afternoon.
Samuel: Hello, good afternoon. My name is Samuel.
Olivia: I’m Olivia. Nice to meet you Samuel.
Samuel: Delighted Olivia.
Olivia: Where are you from, Samuel? Are you from here?
Samuel: No, I’m not from Madrid. I’m from Galicia. And you?
Olivia: I’m from Madrid.
Samuel: I’m from Galicia but I’m not Spanish.
Olivia: Where are you originally from?
Samuel: I’m from England. I’m English. My father is English and my mother is Spanish.
Olivia: How is Galicia?
Samuel: Galicia is very beautiful.

Text 3 in English:

Hugo: Hello, good afternoon. My name is Hugo.
Olivia: Hi Hugo, my name is Olivia. How are you?
Hugo: Very well, thanks. And you?
Olivia: Great. Better than ever.
Hugo: Very good. Where are you from Olivia?
Olivia: I am from Peru. And you?
Hugo: I am from Valencia. This is my dog Sancho. I have six dogs.
Olivia: Wow, many dogs! How old is Sancho?
Hugo: Sancho is old. He is fifteen years old.
Olivia: I have horses.
Hugo: How many horses do you have?
Olivia: Nineteen.
Hugo: Nineteen horses! Lots of horses!
Olivia: Yes, and two pigs, twenty-five chickens, a dog and three cats.

 
 
 
 

So, how did you get on? How much did you understand of the original text before checking the translation? Please let me know in the comments section below…

Don’t worry if you didn’t understand that much, practice makes perfect! Be patient and keep reading, hearing, writing, and speaking Spanish. See you next time!