Dispute with taxi driver: Route choice
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Key Phrases
Hay mucho tráfico
There's a lot of traffic
Fuéramos por el camino habitual
We could take the usual way
¿Cuánto más tardaremos?
How much longer
Skills You'll Learn
Expressing dissatisfaction
Expresar insatisfacción
Requesting information
Solicitar información
Expressing hope
Expresar esperanza
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you are driving with a language partner in a city in Mexico, discussing the best route to take. Your partner has chosen a different route than usual, claiming it's typically faster in the morning. However, you encounter unexpected traffic, leading to a debate about whether to return to the usual path. You express concerns about the delay and whether you'll arrive on time, while your partner reassures you that the current route is still the better choice.
Emily Smith : ¿Por qué estás tomando esta ruta?
Emily Smith: Why are you taking this route?
Language_partner: Es más rápida por la mañana.
Language_partner: It's faster in the morning.
Emily Smith : Pero hay mucho tráfico ahora. Mira el atasco.
Emily Smith: But there's a lot of traffic now. Look at the jam.
Language_partner: Normalmente, no es así.
Language_partner: It's not usually like this.
Emily Smith : Quisiera que fuéramos por el camino habitual.
Emily Smith: I wish we could take the usual way.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
Por
pohr
For
Qué
keh
What
💬 In questions, [qué] keeps the accent mark: [¿Por qué?] = "why?" without the accent, [porque] usually means "because."
See breakdown →Por qué
pohr keh
Why
💬 [Por qué] is the two-word question form for "why." Don't mix it up with [porque], one word, which usually means "because."
See breakdown →Estás
ehs-TAHS
You are
💬 [Estás] is the [tú] form of [estar]. You'll reuse this pattern with many verbs: [estás bien], [estás listo], [estás tomando].
See breakdown →Tomando
toh-MAHN-doh
Taking
💬 After [estar], a verb ending in [-ar] changes to [-ando]: [tomar] → [tomando]. Same pattern: [hablar] → [hablando].
See breakdown →Estás tomando
ehs-TAHS toh-MAHN-doh
You are taking
💬 Spanish often uses [estar] + another verb to say "be doing" something: [estás tomando] = "you're taking." Same pattern: [está manejando] = "he/she is driving."
See breakdown →Esta
EHS-tah
This
💬 [Esta] means "this" before a feminine noun: [esta ruta]. With a masculine noun, use [este]: [este camino].
See breakdown →Ruta
ROO-tah
Route
Esta ruta
EHS-tah ROO-tah
This route
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