What happened yesterday? in Spanish
Two people reconstruct the evening: in order, from witnesses' accounts in Spanish. 9 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Cuéntamelo por orden, que ayer no entendí nada.» — Tell me in order, yesterday I understood nothing.; «La cosa fue así: todo empezó con una llamada a las nueve.» — Here is what happened: it all started with a call at nine. 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: two people reconstruct the evening: in order, from witnesses' accounts. 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.
- Cuéntamelo por orden, que ayer no entendí nada.Tell me in order, yesterday I understood nothing.
- La cosa fue así: todo empezó con una llamada a las nueve.Here is what happened: it all started with a call at nine.
- ¿Y de pronto se fue la luz en plena cena?And suddenly the power went out in the middle of dinner?
- Justo entonces. Acto seguido salió medio edificio al portal.Just then. Right after, half the building came out into the entrance hall.
- Según dicen, había pasado lo mismo el mes pasado.They say the same thing happened last month.
- Sí. Según un testigo, el técnico ya había avisado en marzo.Yes. According to a witness, the technician had already warned in March.
- Yo no me lo esperaba. Por poco me caigo en la escalera.I was not expecting it. I almost fell on the stairs.
- Al final vino un electricista y lo arregló en media hora.In the end an electrician came and fixed it in half an hour.
- Cuéntamelo en dos palabras la próxima vez, no en dos horas.Next time tell me in two words, not in two hours.
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Cuéntamelo por orden, que ayer no entendí nada. | — | Tell me in order, yesterday I understood nothing. |
| La cosa fue así: todo empezó con una llamada a las nueve. | — | Here is what happened: it all started with a call at nine. |
| ¿Y de pronto se fue la luz en plena cena? | — | And suddenly the power went out in the middle of dinner? |
| Justo entonces. Acto seguido salió medio edificio al portal. | — | Just then. Right after, half the building came out into the entrance hall. |
| Según dicen, había pasado lo mismo el mes pasado. | — | They say the same thing happened last month. |
| Sí. Según un testigo, el técnico ya había avisado en marzo. | — | Yes. According to a witness, the technician had already warned in March. |
| Yo no me lo esperaba. Por poco me caigo en la escalera. | — | I was not expecting it. I almost fell on the stairs. |
| Al final vino un electricista y lo arregló en media hora. | — | In the end an electrician came and fixed it in half an hour. |
| Cuéntamelo en dos palabras la próxima vez, no en dos horas. | — | Next time tell me in two words, not in two hours. |
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?
“Cuéntamelo por orden, que ayer no entendí nada.” — Tell me in order, yesterday I understood nothing.. 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.