Spanish Proficiency Exercises
Buy an item of clothing.


Simplified and native speakers:

• Simplified example
• Alfredo C.
• Carlos M.
• Stefano F.
• Claudia V.
• Analucía M.

.m4v (iPod) downloads
Click red links to download .m4v files for use in iPod:

• Simplified example
• Alfredo C.
• Carlos M.
• Stefano F.
• Claudia V.
• Analucía M.

Subscribe to iTunes podcast: int09
Subscribe to podcast: int09


Key vocabulary for this task


Example phrases for this task


Grammar points for this task

Simplified Example
"Para descansar después de pasar un examen..."
Alfredo C.
México, Monterrey, N.L.
"Buenos días señorita. A ver si usted me puede ayudar..."
Carlos M.
Puerto Rico
"Sí, bueno, señorita, buenas tardes. Estoy buscando..."
Stefano F.
Perú, Lima
"Bueno, cuando quiero comprar ropa, puedo ir al mercado..."
Claudia V.
Perú, Lima
"Depende del tipo de ropa que quiera comprar..."
Analucía M.
Colombia, Bogotá
"Bueno, cuando voy a comprar, digamos, una falda..."
algodón (m)   cotton
barato (m)   cheap
botones (m)   buttons
buscar   to look for
camisa de vestir (f)   formal dress shirt
caro (m)   expensive
cinturón de cuero (m)   leather belt
conjunto (m)   outfit
cuello (m)   collar, in any other context it would mean neck.
manga (f)   sleeve
talla (f)   size
telas (f)   fabrics
traje de baño (m)   swimming suit
A ver si usted me puede ayudar a abrocharme el vestido. Let's see if you can help me fasten this dress.
¿Cuánto cuesta esta camisa? How much is this shirt?
Nunca me pongo corbata para ir a la escuela. I never wear a tie to go to school.
Para nadar me llevo un traje de baño y no uso nunca bikini. I take a swimsuit with me to go swimming and I never wear a bikini.
No hay nadie que use guantes de verano en esta época. No one wears gloves this time of year.
Ninguna persona quiere pagar el precio de ese traje tan caro. No one wants to pay that much for that suit.
Ningún cliente compra los conjuntos de seda blancos en esta temporada. No client is going to buy white silk outfits during this season.
Me pongo traje sólo para las entrevistas de trabajo. I only wear suits for work interviews.
Prefiero los zapatos casuales porque son más cómodos para caminar. I prefer casual shoes because they're more comfortable for walking.
En invierno, le pongo suéter a mi perrito. In the winter I dress my little dog in a sweater.
Double negatives

Many of the negative terms that are used in these sentences can be expressed in two ways in English. For example:

nadie No one, anyone
  ningún/a Not one, no one, anyone
  nunca never, ever
  nada nothing, anything

Unlike English, Spanish allows for the use of double, and sometimes even triple negatives. For example, whereas, "I don't have nothing to do," is improper English, its equivalent in Spanish ('no tengo nada que hacer") is proper grammar. Let's look at some examples of sentences that use more than one negative expression:

Ese niño no se lleva bien con nadie. That boy doesn't get along well with anyone.
  Gabriel nunca ha contribuido nada a la clase. Gabriel has never contributed anything to the class.
  Nunca debes hablar con ningún extraño. You should never speak to any stranger.
  No hay nadie en este mundo que me pueda hacer cambiar de opinión. There is no one in this world that can make me change my opinion.
  ¿No tienes nada que decir? Don't you have anything to say?