Ch 52 · Lesson 19Spanish · Chapter 52 · Lesson 19 · Grammar primer
Fillers: o sea, en plan, pues and ¿vale?
The small words that carry the rhythm of spoken Spanish: and buy a second, rephrases, is young Spain's like, and ¿? and ¿? check you follow.
The short version
, , carísimo.
Why?Hide
Fillers carry rhythm rather than meaning. rephrases or hedges (I mean), and buy a second (well...), front-loads an excuse (the thing is), and young Spaniards say for like. Tags such as ¿?, ¿no? and, in Spain, ¿? check you are still listening.
Fillers: o sea, en plan, pues
Spoken Spanish is held together by small words that mean little alone and carry the rhythm. These are the ones you will hear on a loop:
| Filler | Roughly | Example |
|---|---|---|
| well... | . Well, I don't know. |
| well, | , . OK, let's go. |
| I mean | , , carísimo. It's dear, I mean, really dear. |
| the thing is | . The thing is, I've no time. |
| like (Spain, young) | . He/she was, like, weird. |
| um (Latin America) | ... . Um... I don't know. |
¿? | you know? | , ¿? It's hard, you know? |
¿? | right? | , ¿? You're coming tomorrow, right? |
¿? | ? (Spain) | , ¿? I'll call you later, OK? |
| come on; bye (Spain) | , . Right, see you later. |
Four exclamations that carry the tone of a whole sentence:
¡ !- Good grief!¡!- No way! (Spain)¡!- Wow! or Oh dear!, depending on the voice.¡Uf!- Phew!
Going further: Informal Spanish at a glance and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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