Beginner Spanish with Spanish Obsessed

Unlock the full transcript of this episode, plus 2 more, free. Don't miss a single word, and get how to say whether you clicked with someone, notes on the slang, and the so-called mistake the Royal Spanish Academy ended up accepting:

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Rob meets someone new and doesn't take to her at all. Lis spent hours chatting with the same woman and thought she was great. Their little (fictional) disagreement teaches you to say who you've met and whether you got on. Along the way you'll hear a verb that has people "falling" on you, two phrases borrowed straight from English, and a so-called mistake the Royal Spanish Academy ended up accepting.

Do you know what these mean?
¿Se llevaron bien o mal? · No me cayó bien para nada · yo no hice clic con ella · súper chévere

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/getting-on

Free for listeners: the Fluency Phrasebook, 95 essential beginner phrases:

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English needs "have been living" to say how long you've lived somewhere; Spanish needs far less. In a role-play catch-up, Lis quizzes Rob, who has moved to Cartagena for work and found a flat near the beach. Rob unpicks each line, sets you translations to try (including three days of non-stop rain), then adds a second way built on llevar. You'll be able to say how long you've been living, working or studying Spanish.

Quick test: Why does Rob say desde hace dos años estudio español but llevo tres años estudiando español?

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/desde-hace

Read this episode word for word, free, plus 2 more of your choice. Don't miss a single word, and get how the present tense brings your stories to life, every line in Spanish and English, and the joke opener English speakers already use:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Lis tells the story of a terrible day: she oversleeps, a magazine on the floor sends her hopping to the kitchen, and the motorway is one giant trancón. But the real surprise is the tense she tells it in. Rob picks the story apart line by line, borrows a joke opener English speakers already use, and shows how the present tense can make your own stories in Spanish easier to tell and more vivid.

Quick test: Why does Lis start with ayer tuve un día horrible but carry on with son las siete de la mañana cuando suena el despertador?

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/present-stories

FREE: Grab your Fluency Phrasebook, 95 essential phrases for beginners designed to guide you towards fluency:

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Rob spots a handmade mochila at a Colombian market, and the price is 250,000 pesos. Can he talk Lis down to the 180,000 he wanted to spend? Along the way you'll learn the polite phrase that asks a seller how much they'll let you have it for, which word for "expensive" you'll hear in Latin America rather than Spain, and the two words that close the deal.

Do you know what these mean?
¿En cuánto me la podría dejar? · me parece un poco costosa · ¿Cuál es tu precio mínimo? · quedamos en

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/haggling

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In England you pick something, pay and leave. In Colombia, Rob warns, two or three salespeople may be waiting to help the moment you walk in. So he and Lis act out a shirt-and-trousers shopping trip, complete with a compliment Rob says you probably won't hear in a real shop. By the end you'll be able to ask to try something on, ask for another size and say it's too big.

Do you know what these mean?
¿Puedo probarme...? · la talla · me queda grande · me los llevo

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/clothes-shopping

Get this episode's full transcript free, plus 2 more of your choice. Don't miss a single word, and get when to use hablar, decir or contar, notes on the grammar, and the little word Spanish speakers use to count "until" ten:

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In English, "say" and "tell" cover almost any kind of speaking, but Spanish makes you choose. Rob untangles hablar, decir and contar, including the one whose conjugations he calls "a bit of a nightmare". Find out which Latin word links contar to English, and the little word Spanish speakers use to count "until" ten. By the end, you'll be able to pass on what someone said, and tell a story.

Quick test: Both mean "she told me", so why does Rob say ella me dijo la verdad but ella me contó lo que pasó?

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/hablar-decir-contar

Free for listeners: the Fluency Phrasebook, 95 essential beginner phrases:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/start

Why does "Do you know Bogotá?" use a different verb from "Do you know where Bogotá is?" Flying solo this week, Rob gives you a simple yes-or-no test for choosing between saber and conocer, and reveals which one you can't use with people. You'll also pick up three phrases Rob memorised as a learner, including one for "if only I'd known", and finish with a quick quiz.

Quick test: What's the difference between ¿sabes de esa película? and ella conoce muy bien esa película?

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/saber-conocer

Unlock the full transcript of this episode, plus 2 more, free. Don't miss a single word, and get how to say what you like, what's left and what's missing, the English for every line, and Rob's mental trick for these back-to-front verbs:

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Why might "I love it" be better thought of as "it enchants me"? Rob admits these verbs took him ages to master, so he shares the mental trick he uses: flip the sentence around. Then Lis suggests a tortilla, but they're down to potatoes and onions, and someone has to fetch the eggs. You'll come away able to say what you like, what's left, what's missing and whose turn it is.

Quick test: Which is right: me gusta los chocolates or me gustan los chocolates?

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/reverse-verbs

FREE: Grab your Fluency Phrasebook, 95 essential phrases for beginners designed to guide you towards fluency:

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There's a question Spanish speakers ask almost as soon as they meet you, and translated literally it sounds like poetry. Rob and Lis show you how to ask it, how to answer it, and why it suits a profession but not a single job title. You'll also learn to say how much time you spend on your work or studies, and hear where the stress jumps in the past tense.

Quick test: What's the difference between me dedico a la música and le dediqué mucho tiempo?

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/dedicarse

Read this episode word for word, free, plus 2 more of your choice. Don't miss a single word, and get the everyday uses of "tener" well beyond "to have", notes on the slang, and the word in Spain that turns money into pasta:

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Why do Spanish speakers "have" reason instead of being right? Rob and Lis take tener well beyond "to have", with a hen Lis insisted on including and the word in Spain that turns money into pasta. Rob confesses which tener phrase he says to Lis most, and the two she supposedly says to him. You'll come away able to give your age, describe someone, and agree or disagree more naturally.

Quick test: What's the difference between no tiene sentido and no tienes razón?

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/uses-of-tener