Moving Saturday in Spanish
Two people arrange a move: the truck, the boxes and the new address in Spanish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «¿A qué hora llega el camión el sábado?» — What time does the truck arrive on Saturday?; «A las ocho, con dos mozos de mudanzas.» — At eight, with two movers. 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 arrange a move: the truck, the boxes and the new address. 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.
- ¿A qué hora llega el camión el sábado?What time does the truck arrive on Saturday?
- A las ocho, con dos mozos de mudanzas.At eight, with two movers.
- ¿Y hemos empaquetado ya todos los libros?And have we packed all the books yet?
- Los libros sí, pero el espejo y la lámpara de techo no.The books yes, but the mirror and the ceiling lamp no.
- El espejo lo llevo yo en el coche, que se rompe seguro.I'll take the mirror in the car, it's sure to break.
- Vale. ¿Has avisado al banco de la nueva dirección?Okay. Have you told the bank the new address?
- Todavía no. Lo hago hoy, y también aviso a la comunidad.Not yet. I'll do it today, and I'll also notify the homeowners' association.
- Perfecto. En una semana ya estaremos instalados.Perfect. In a week we'll be all settled in.
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ¿A qué hora llega el camión el sábado? | — | What time does the truck arrive on Saturday? |
| A las ocho, con dos mozos de mudanzas. | — | At eight, with two movers. |
| ¿Y hemos empaquetado ya todos los libros? | — | And have we packed all the books yet? |
| Los libros sí, pero el espejo y la lámpara de techo no. | — | The books yes, but the mirror and the ceiling lamp no. |
| El espejo lo llevo yo en el coche, que se rompe seguro. | — | I'll take the mirror in the car, it's sure to break. |
| Vale. ¿Has avisado al banco de la nueva dirección? | — | Okay. Have you told the bank the new address? |
| Todavía no. Lo hago hoy, y también aviso a la comunidad. | — | Not yet. I'll do it today, and I'll also notify the homeowners' association. |
| Perfecto. En una semana ya estaremos instalados. | — | Perfect. In a week we'll be all settled in. |
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?
“¿A qué hora llega el camión el sábado?” — What time does the truck arrive on Saturday?. 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.