Does Thursday work for you? in Spanish
Two colleagues reschedule a meeting and agree on a new time in Spanish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Oye, ¿podemos cambiar la reunión de día? El martes no puedo.» — Listen, can we change the day of the meeting? I can't on Tuesday. 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 colleagues reschedule a meeting and agree on a new time. 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.
- Oye, ¿podemos cambiar la reunión de día? El martes no puedo.Listen, can we change the day of the meeting? I can't on Tuesday.
- Sin problema. ¿Te viene bien el jueves por la tarde?No problem. Does Thursday afternoon work for you?
- El jueves sí, pero no antes de las cinco. Tengo clase hasta las cuatro.Thursday yes, but not before five. I have class until four.
- Pues fijamos una hora: a las seis, a última hora de la tarde.Then let's fix a time: at six, late in the afternoon.
- Hecho. Y si me lío con las fechas, recuérdamelo el miércoles.Deal. And if I get confused with the dates, remind me on Wednesday.
- Tranquilo, te escribo el martes. ¿Llegarás puntual esta vez?Don't worry, I'll write to you on Tuesday. Will you arrive on time this time?
- Llegaré puntual, palabra. La última vez fue por un atasco enorme.I'll arrive on time, I promise. Last time it was because of a huge traffic jam.
- Ya, ya. Bueno, hablamos el martes. Dale recuerdos a Marta.Yeah, yeah. Well, we will talk on Tuesday. Say hello to Marta for me.
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Oye, ¿podemos cambiar la reunión de día? El martes no puedo. | — | Listen, can we change the day of the meeting? I can't on Tuesday. |
| Sin problema. ¿Te viene bien el jueves por la tarde? | — | No problem. Does Thursday afternoon work for you? |
| El jueves sí, pero no antes de las cinco. Tengo clase hasta las cuatro. | — | Thursday yes, but not before five. I have class until four. |
| Pues fijamos una hora: a las seis, a última hora de la tarde. | — | Then let's fix a time: at six, late in the afternoon. |
| Hecho. Y si me lío con las fechas, recuérdamelo el miércoles. | — | Deal. And if I get confused with the dates, remind me on Wednesday. |
| Tranquilo, te escribo el martes. ¿Llegarás puntual esta vez? | — | Don't worry, I'll write to you on Tuesday. Will you arrive on time this time? |
| Llegaré puntual, palabra. La última vez fue por un atasco enorme. | — | I'll arrive on time, I promise. Last time it was because of a huge traffic jam. |
| Ya, ya. Bueno, hablamos el martes. Dale recuerdos a Marta. | — | Yeah, yeah. Well, we will talk on Tuesday. Say hello to Marta for me. |
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?
“Oye, ¿podemos cambiar la reunión de día? El martes no puedo.” — Listen, can we change the day of the meeting? I can't on Tuesday.. 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.