How to comfort a friend in Spanish
Estábamos cenando cuando de repente se fue la luz.
“We were having dinner when suddenly the power went out.”
When: Telling them about a night that went the same way
The moment
A Spanish friend turns up for coffee in Madrid looking awful and barely talking. Over the next half hour you draw out what happened, listen to the whole story, tell them about a similar mess of your own, and give them your honest advice.
B1 · Unit 2 · Stories & feelings · Checkpoint
This is the unit’s checkpoint: one roleplay that puts the unit’s scenes together.
The lines
Background, then the event
Your own story needs the same hinge as theirs: imperfect for the scene, preterite for what happened. "Estábamos cenando cuando de repente se fue la luz."
Estábamos cenando cuando de repente se fue la luz.
“We were having dinner when suddenly the power went out.”
When to use it: Telling them about a night that went the same way
What you’ll hear back: Anda, ¿y qué pasó después? (Wow, and what happened then?)
Advice with yo que tú
When it is finally your turn to weigh in, yo que tú plus the conditional keeps it friendly: "Yo que tú me lo pensaría dos veces." You advise without lecturing.
Yo que tú me lo pensaría dos veces.
“If I were you, I'd think twice.”
When to use it: Once they have told you everything
What you’ll hear back: Ya, si en el fondo lo sé. (Yeah, deep down I know.)
Words for this scene
| Spanish | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| Oye, ¿y tú cómo lo llevas? | OH-yeh ee too KOH-moh loh YEH-bahs | Hey, how are you coping? |
Te noto muy callado. Oye, ¿y tú cómo lo llevas? You seem very quiet. Hey, how are you coping? Tip: Asks for the honest answer, not the automatic bien. | ||
| Menudo palo | meh-NOO-doh PAH-loh | What a blow |
Menudo palo lo de tu hermano, de verdad. That business with your brother is a real blow, honestly. Tip: Say it before any advice; sympathy comes first in Spain. | ||
| Total, que al final | toh-TAL keh al fee-NAL | So, in the end |
Total, que al final no fui a la boda y no me arrepiento. So in the end I didn't go to the wedding and I don't regret it. Tip: Signals your ending; people stop talking to hear it. | ||
Your objective
Get them to tell you what happened, share a time something similar happened to you, and give one piece of advice they can act on.
- a question to draw them out
- your own similar story
- a piece of advice
Lines that get it done
- Oye, ¿y tú cómo lo llevas? · Hey, how are you coping?
- Estábamos cenando cuando de repente se fue la luz.
- Yo que tú me lo pensaría dos veces.
In the live scene the objective stays on screen, and the Replay afterwards says whether you got it done.
Check yourself
1. Which sentence sets the backdrop and drops the one-off event correctly?
- Yo vivía en Sevilla cuando conocí a Marta.
- Yo viví en Sevilla cuando conocía a Marta.
- Yo vivía en Sevilla cuando conocía a Marta.
- Yo he vivido en Sevilla cuando conocí a Marta.
Show the answer
Yo vivía en Sevilla cuando conocí a Marta.
The ongoing backdrop is the imperfect vivía and the one-off meeting is the preterite conocí.
2. Your friend says they have been feeling low for weeks. Which reply sympathises and invites more?
- Menudo palo. Oye, ¿y tú cómo lo llevas?
- Menudo palo. Oye, ¿y tú cómo te llevas?
- Menuda palo. Oye, ¿y tú cómo lo llevabas?
- Menudo palo. Oye, ¿y tú cómo lo tomas?
Show the answer
Menudo palo. Oye, ¿y tú cómo lo llevas?
Menudo palo shows sympathy and ¿cómo lo llevas? asks how they are coping right now.
3. They want to fire off an angry message tonight. Which line warns them gently?
- Consúltalo con la almohada, no vayas a arrepentirte.
- Consúltalo con la almohada, no vas a arrepentirte.
- Consúltalo con la almohada, no vayas arrepentirte.
- Consúltalo con el almohada, no vayas a arrepentirte.
Show the answer
Consúltalo con la almohada, no vayas a arrepentirte.
No vayas a plus an infinitive is the warning, and almohada is feminine: la almohada.