Spanish
ELIANA ¿Y qué hace Usted en Santiago?
RAMÓN Bueno, estoy aquí por mis estudios.
ELIANA Ah, ¿y qué quisiera ser Usted?
RAMÓN Quisiera ser ciego.
ELIANA Ciego, ¿por qué ciego?
RAMÓN Para poder leerle con las manos...
ELIANA ¡Ay, pero qué imbécil!
English
ELIANA And what are you doing in Santiago, sir?
RAMÓN Well, I am here for school.
ELIANA Ah, and what would you like to be, sir?
RAMÓN I would like to be blind.
ELIANA Blind, why blind?
RAMÓN So I can read you with my hands.
ELIANA Phuh! What a jerk!
Spanish
ELIANA ¿Y qué haces tú en Santiago?
RAMÓN Bueno, estoy aquí por mis estudios.
ELIANA Ah, ¿y qué quisieras ser?
RAMÓN Quisiera ser ciego.
ELIANA Ciego, ¿por qué ciego?
RAMÓN Para poder leerte con las manos...
ELIANA ¡Ay, pero qué imbécil!
English
ELIANA And what are you doing in Santiago?
RAMÓN Well, I'm here for school.
ELIANA
Ah, and what would you like to be?
RAMÓN I'd like to be blind.
ELIANA Blind, why blind?
RAMÓN So I can read you with my hands.
ELIANA Phuh! What a jerk!
Vocabulary
Spanish English Class
ciego, -a blind adjective, noun
poder to be able, can verb
leer to read verb
mano hand fem. noun
¡ay! ah! interjection
imbécil jerk, imbecil masc. noun
Vocabulary Sample Sentences
Mi abuelo está ciego. (Mi grandfather is blind.)
El bebé no puede caminar. The baby cannot walk.
Si tenía más tiempo, leería cada día. (If I had more time, I would read everyday.)
¡Manos arriba! Hands up!
¡Ay! Qué día! (Ah! What a day!)
Daniel es un imbécil. (Daniel is a jerk.)
Grammar Points
In today's lesson, we went over the preposition "por" (for). This preposition has a number of different
uses. First, let's take a look at where it comes up in the lesson conversation:
"Bueno, estoy aquí por mis estudios." (Well, I’m here for school.)
Here, we translate "por" as "for". In this context, we can also translate it as follows: "I am here
'because' of my studies.
Note that in this case the preposition "por" is used to express the cause of an action.
Here is a similar example in which "por" is used to express cause of an action:
"Trabajo por mi familia." (I work for/on behalf my family.)
Keep in mind that this literally means "I'm working to support my family".
Contrast the preposition "por" with the preposition "para" in this context:
"Trabajo para mi familia" (I work for/am employed by my family.)
"Para" has a different meaning: it is as if I were employed by my family rather than working to
support them.
Let's take a look at all the different functions of the preposition "por":
Cause: Expresses the cause of an action:
"Por haber llovido mucho, el partido fue cancelado" (Because of it having rained so much, the game
was cancelled).
Time and Place: It vaguely expresses local and temporal relationships.
"Entrar por la puerta" (To enter through the door).
Agent of the Passive: Introduces the agent of a passive action.
"Él ha sido arrestado por la policía" (He has been arrested by the police).
Medium: Expresses the medium through which an action is carried out.
"Hablar por teléfono" (To talk by phone).
Mode: Forms adverbial and conjunctive phrases.
"Por fín" (At last).
Substitution/Equivalence: expresses that an action is carried out by a subject on behalf of someone
else:
"Trabaja por tu padre hoy día" (Work for/instead of your father today).
Used in formulas of judgement/exclamation:
"¡Por el amor de Dios!" (For the love of God!).
Cultural Insight
In Latino culture, it is normal for men to more forward when courting women. As we saw in today's
conversation, Latinos can be very direct and daring. Latina women receive such lines on a daily basis
in most places. Believe it or not, sometimes these kinds of pick-up lines actually work. It is expected
that the men will ask the women out, almost never is it the other way around. The macho culture creates this type of dating atmosphere. It is common for Latinos to show very forthright interest in a
woman in order to convince her to date him. This is, in part, where the classic image of Latin romance
comes from. Of course, the pick-up lines will always vary from brash to eloquent.