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Lesson Introduction

Let's face it; when you check your baggage on a flight, there's always a chance that they'll get lost. This is what happened to the traveler in today's dialogue, and he does not seem pleased at all. We hope this situation never happens to you, but if it does, you might need the 'lost baggage' vocabulary you'll hear in today's lesson!

Comments (58) RSS

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willig says
Soy piloto. Vuelvo para Aerolinea de Continental. Tengo muchas historias acerca de equipaje pero para decirlos yo necesito aprender mas espanol. Como puse una foto en conversaciones?
December 19, 2007 from the Web.
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essamcs4 says
muchas gracias por estas clases que Dios os bendiga !!
December 19, 2007 from the Web.
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lilianamata says
Willig En esta pagina bajo "YOUR PROFILE", ahí haces click y puedes cambiar tu perfil y poner tu foto. Essamcs4 Gracias por tu comentario.
December 19, 2007 from the Web.
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hombremurcielago says
willig tell us in english please
December 25, 2007 from the Web.
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estibalitz says
Me enfadé mucho cuando perdieron nuestras maletas...jeje, ahora me hace gracia, pero aquel día...Veníamos de vacaciones de Lanzarote a Madrid.
December 26, 2007 from the Web.
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memo0316 says
Pregunta Imperfecto. En esta lección usaron imperfecto dos veces. En ambos casos la persona refiera a una cosa específica que ocurrió en la pasada. ¿En qué vuelo estaba señor? En el vuelo que venía de Bogotá. En la arriba puede usar “estuvo” y “vino”. Si no, ¿podría explicarme?
December 28, 2007 from the Web.
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jpvillanueva says
memo, I'm going to try to answer this question in an episode of Pa' que sepas. Although it's not terribly clear in these examples, in both cases the speakers are emphasizing the continuous aspect of the past actions, therefore they use the imperfect. The other option would be to use the preterit tense, which would express the action as a single, simple action in the past. It's hard to imagine a situation where someone would see the action of being on a flight as a simple past action. It's hard to say, you were BAM! on that flight. (the "BAM!" conveys the sudden-ness or the action-ness that is often expressed by putting a verb in the preterit). Likewise, "the flight *was coming* from Bogotá," rather than the "the flight came BAM! from Bogotá." This explanation is especially unsatisfying because in English we would express this differently (i.e., the flight originated in Bogotá, or simply "...the flight from Bogotá."). In general, imperfect tense is used to emphasize the continuous or repetitive action of verbs over time, whereas preterit emphasizes simple, one-shot (BAM!) actions.
January 2, 2008 from the Web.
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memo0316 says
JP, Great Explanation!!! You are exactly right when u point out that we view the flight as a single action in English. I can start to see your point that this is viewed as a "process" that takes a "period" of time; therefore the Imperfect is correct.
January 2, 2008 from the Web.
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lilianamata says
I can not believe it, after writing this lesson my bags were lost! for almost 5 days! Que mala suerte!
January 2, 2008 from the Web.
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aeflow says
For the flight number "CV-202", the original speaker pronounces "V" as "uve". But in the subsequent discussion (at about 4:06) and in the sentence-by-sentence Dialogue section, the "V" is pronounced "ve" instead. Which is more common? Is this a regional difference? Also, if "V" is pronounced "ve", can it be confused with "B"?
January 6, 2008 from the Web.
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lilianamata says
Yes sometimes it is confused, that is why we say "b" de burro y "v de vaca." B as in donkey and v as in cow. Even us native speakers can be confused so we say "uv" refering to "v" or "b grande" meaning "big b."
January 7, 2008 from the Web.
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docmolly says
En cuanto al imprefecto.... Me parece que se usa el imperfecto cuando se describe la situacíon en que algo ocurrió. Esta regla siempre me ayuda. Por ejemplo: Perdí mi equipaje cuando venía de Bogota en el vuelo CV 202.
January 22, 2008 from the Web.
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mcurtin says
Con respecto a la frase: ¿Dónde puedo presentar una queja? Cuando JP explico la frase por sus aspectos ingleses, pense que usaria o mencionaria la traduccion que en ingles decimos: "lodge a complaint." P.S. !Me encanta la calidad de sus voces y su diccion excelente!
February 4, 2008 from the Web.
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lilianamata says
mccurtin Muchas gracias por tu comentario y tienes razón también se puede decir "lodge a complaint."
February 4, 2008 from the Web.
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pegasus says
Hallo WILLIG, I like your Pic but didn't know, they are having Tornados in the Continental Airlines fleet nowerdays!!! I myself am quite familiar with this fighterbomber...331 Squadron. Saludos desde Deutschland
March 1, 2008 from the Web.
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pussycat says
Hola, Por favor, puede decirme como sabe el frase "La próxima semana hay que presenter los papeles" traduce como "Next week we have to submit the papers? I thought that "Hay que" was "You have"
March 23, 2008 from the Web.
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cyberdiva says
Hola Pussycat. "You have" is either (tú) tienes or (Ud.) tiene, depending on whether you're speaking informally (tú) or formally (Usted). Hay que is an expression that is usually translated as "one must" or "you must." For example, "Hay que ver la catedral" (You must see the cathedral). I hope that helps. (I love it when I can answer a question instead of always asking them! :-) )
March 23, 2008 from the Web.
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jpvillanueva says
Pussycat, tener is the verb that indicates possession. That's usually translated as "to have." tener que indicates obligation. It's usually translated as "to have to." hay que also indicates obligation, but it's impersonally. So it's a lot like "it's necessary." However, sometimes, it's easier to translate that as "you have to" or "you gotta." So hay que estudiar is literally "It's necessary to study" or "one must study." But you can see from there how close it is in meaning to "you have to study" or "you gotta study." In that case, the word "you" isn't necessarily a 2nd person plural. Some times people write that as "ya' gotta study."
March 24, 2008 from the Web.
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pussycat says
Hola Cyberdive y JP, Muchas gracías por su ayuda pero pienso que estoy estúpido porque todavía no comprendo como el frase cité demonstra la diferencía entre "you have to" and "we have to". ¿Está porque el frase escribía afuera de contexto? El frase me referí está dentro el expansión. Sorry for not understanding.
March 24, 2008 from the Web.
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jpvillanueva says
pussycat, ¡No eres estúpido! This stuff is tough to explain in text-only format. How about if I address this question in an upcoming Pa' que sepas...!
March 24, 2008 from the Web.
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pussycat says
JP, Muchas gracías.
March 24, 2008 from the Web.
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kikuyu says

 

Mientras viajaba aquí en Estados Unidos tuve tan mala experiencia  que no tengo ganas por ir a cualquier parte por un rato. En dos de mis vuelos, las compañías aérolineas estaban con exceso de reservaciónes  y me dijieron que la culpabilidad fue un error de ordenador. Tuve que hablar con la gente en Nueva Delhi, India para reprogramar mis vuelos y no estaba fácil.  Se les pidió mi equipaje y de nuevo tuve que hablar con la gente del otro lado del planeta para localizar el equipaje que estaba en E.E.U.U.  Mientras viajaba yo vi a otras personas que pidieron los estribos a causa de la frustración con las aerolineas. Hoy en día puede ser bastante difícil viajar. Se necesita  tiempo, dinero, & mucha paciencia.

 

June 22, 2008 from the Web.
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thesmithtopher says

Tengo una pregunta sobre la oración "No le puedo asegurar nada por el momento, hasta que no localicemos sus maletas"

Dijeron "hasta que no localicemos" pero la traducción es "until we find".  Este "no", ¿por qué está?

It makes me think of the English way of saying "Let's see if we can find your missing keys" as "Let's see if we can't find your missing keys".  I don't speak like this, but it can be said like that and understood. 

Es lo mismo en español?  Se puede decir "hasta que
localicemos sus maletas" sin el "no"?

June 22, 2008 from the Web.
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fabrizio says

thesmithtopher, creo que puedes considerar la situación en esa manera: hasta cuando NO las localizan, NO pueden asegurar nada; i.e. desde el momento que las localizaran, podrán asegurar algo.

In logical terms, I see it this way:

Until is TRUE the statement "we've NOT yet found your luggage", we can't say anything.

June 22, 2008 from the Web.
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fabrizio says

Sorry, I meant: "WHILE is true..."

June 22, 2008 from the Web.
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estibalitz says

thesmithtopher, a way for you to understand this kind of structure could be translating it into "if you don't"

Some examples:

1.- No podré ir, hasta que no me digas la dirección.

    I would not be able to go, until you tell me the address. (or if you don´t tell me the address)

2.- No pararé hasta que no me digas la verdad.

    I won´t stop until you tell me the truth. (or if you don't tell me the truth).

3.- No comerás hasta que no te laves las manos.

     You won´t eat until you wash your hands.(or if don't wash your hands).

 

June 22, 2008 from the Web.
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stevestr says

Esti

Would No podré ir, hasta que no me digas la dirección and No podré ir, hasta que me digas la dirección effectively mean the same thing?

Thank you

Steve

June 22, 2008 from the Web.
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estibalitz says

stevestrv, yes they do. I honestly prefer the first one, it somehow emphasizes more that the first part of the sentence would be difficult to happen without the second part.

June 22, 2008 from the Web.
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stevestr says

Esti

Muchas gracias

June 22, 2008 from the Web.
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fabrizio says

Estibalitz, podrías decirme si es errada mi interpretación? Intento explicarme mejor:

Si ahora son las 10 y yo voy a salir a las 12, si quiero referirme a el intervalo de tiempo que va de las 10 a las 12, durante el cual yo NO salgo, yo puedo decir "hasta que NO salgo" (during the time I DON'T go out).

Es correcto?

Muchas gracias

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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estibalitz says

fabrizio, did you mean "durante el tiempo que no salgo" or "mientras que no salga" or "Estaré en casa hasta que salga a las 12." or "No te veré hasta que no salga.", please give som info on what you're trying to say so I can help you.

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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fabrizio says

I mean: I say "hasta que NO salgo" instead of "hasta que salgo", because I'm referring to the time BEFORE I'll go out, during which I DON'T go out. So "hasta que no salgo" is the same that "durante el tiempo que no salgo" or "mientras que no salga".

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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estibalitz says

fabrizio, you can say:"hasta que salgA" or "hasta que no salgA", it is pretty much the same.

 

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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fabrizio says

Yes, I know that, but I was trying to answer thesmithtopher's question about how two opposite forms can mean pretty much the same. My point was that in a case (hasta que salga), you are referring to the very moment you go out, in the other case (hasta que NO salga) you are referring to the time before you go out (time during which you do NOT go out).

Besides, this is just the way my mind reads the two sentences, but it could be a misinterpretation...

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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jpvillanueva says

fabrizio,

Here are two ways to think about this topic:

1)  hasta que salga and hasta que no salga have the same meaning.  In this case, I don't think of the no as negating the verb; I simply see hasta que as "until" and hasta que no as "unless." 

OR,

2)  you can think of hasta que as "for as long as," in which case the no really is a negator.

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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thesmithtopher says

I think that you've explained what Fabrizio was trying to explain when you said hasta que could be seen as "for as long as".

What I gather from this is that, no voy a salir (I'm not going to go out) hasta que (for as long as) no me digas la dirección (you are not telling me your address).

So that period of time ranging from *now* to *the time you tell me your address* will:

a) be the time that I will not be going out; and

b) also coincide with the time that you are not telling me your address.

Is this what you were trying to explain, Fabrizio?

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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fabrizio says

Yes, thesmithtopher, I couldn't have said it better. :-)

Thanks JP, you've explained in two rows of text what I tried in vain to explain in four messages.

Besides, to explain a foreign language using another foreign language is quite a mess...

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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thesmithtopher says

Fabrizio - I'm curious how different your experience is due to the fact that you're Italian.  Do you have similar grammar in Italian (like, for example, this "hasta que" that we're talking about)?

I've heard that Italian is probably the closest brother that Spanish has in terms of languages.

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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fabrizio says

Yes, we say "finché" or "fino a quando", and they can have that double meaning as in Spanish.

Aspetterò qui finché torni = Esperaré aqui hasta que vuelvas = I'll wait here until you come back.

Aspetterò qui finché NON torni = Esperaré aqui hasta que NO vuelvas = I'll wait here as long as you DON'T come back.

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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kikuyu says

gracias a todos por las preguntas, las respuestas, y los ejemplos acerca de "hasta que". Muy útil!!

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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thesmithtopher says

Creo que no voy a tener problemas con "hasta que" hasta que no encuentre un uso diferente de 'hasta que'.

Snicker... i couldn't resist

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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kikuyu says

no podemos aprender hasta que no preguntemos preguntas.

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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thesmithtopher says

Haha! Qué gracia!

June 23, 2008 from the Web.
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anna8 says

Lo siento mucho muchachos pero tengo que decirles que yo vi este letrero en Texas --

   "No piensas en tu seguro del carro hasta que tienes un accidente"

No me acuerdo de las palabras exactas pero estoy totalmente segura de que se usó el indicativo después de hasta que

Me di cuenta de que es posible usar o el subjuntivo o el indicativo -- eso depende del significado de la cláusula

June 24, 2008 from the Web.
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stevestr says

anna8

Tienes razón.  Depende si hasta que es usado en una frase de expectación (subjetivo)  o una acción completo o habitual (indicativo).  Mira este website.  http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/SUBJADV.HTM

June 25, 2008 from the Web.
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thesmithtopher says

Gracias stevestrv, muy bueno recurso!

June 25, 2008 from the Web.
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anna8 says

Stevestrv -- muchas gracias por mostrarnos esta pagina. Es muy útil!

June 25, 2008 from the Web.
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stevestr says

thesmithtopher anna8

con mucho gusto

June 25, 2008 from the Web.
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apflepsen says

Hasta hora el PDF necessita arreglando....

January 27, 2010 from the Web.

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