A secondhand table in Spanish
Buying a table secondhand: shape, surface, condition in Spanish. 9 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Vengo por la mesa del anuncio. ¿Es la ovalada?» — I've come about the table in the ad. Is it the oval one? Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: buying a table secondhand: shape, surface, condition. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Vengo por la mesa del anuncio. ¿Es la ovalada?I've come about the table in the ad. Is it the oval one?
- Esa misma. La superficie es lisa, pero tiene una mancha aquí.That's the one. The surface is smooth, but it has a stain here.
- ¿Y las patas? Desde lejos una parecía torcida.And the legs? From afar one looked crooked.
- Están enteras. El tornillo estaba oxidado y lo cambié.They are whole. The screw was rusty and I changed it.
- Al tacto la madera es áspera. ¿Lleva revestimiento?To the touch the wood is rough. Does it have a coating?
- Le falta la última capa de barniz. Con eso queda brillante.It's missing the last coat of varnish. With that it turns shiny.
- ¿Y cabe en un coche pequeño? Ocupa bastante espacio.And does it fit in a small car? It takes up quite a lot of space.
- Dándole la vuelta, sí. Pesa poco, no te asustes por el volumen.Turn it over, and yes. It weighs little, don't be scared by the volume.
- Me la llevo. Con una lija y una capa queda como nueva.I'll take it. With sandpaper and one coat it will look like new.
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Vengo por la mesa del anuncio. ¿Es la ovalada? | — | I've come about the table in the ad. Is it the oval one? |
| Esa misma. La superficie es lisa, pero tiene una mancha aquí. | — | That's the one. The surface is smooth, but it has a stain here. |
| ¿Y las patas? Desde lejos una parecía torcida. | — | And the legs? From afar one looked crooked. |
| Están enteras. El tornillo estaba oxidado y lo cambié. | — | They are whole. The screw was rusty and I changed it. |
| Al tacto la madera es áspera. ¿Lleva revestimiento? | — | To the touch the wood is rough. Does it have a coating? |
| Le falta la última capa de barniz. Con eso queda brillante. | — | It's missing the last coat of varnish. With that it turns shiny. |
| ¿Y cabe en un coche pequeño? Ocupa bastante espacio. | — | And does it fit in a small car? It takes up quite a lot of space. |
| Dándole la vuelta, sí. Pesa poco, no te asustes por el volumen. | — | Turn it over, and yes. It weighs little, don't be scared by the volume. |
| Me la llevo. Con una lija y una capa queda como nueva. | — | I'll take it. With sandpaper and one coat it will look like new. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Spanish in this situation?
“Vengo por la mesa del anuncio. ¿Es la ovalada?” — I've come about the table in the ad. Is it the oval one?. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.