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The Magic of MnemonicsEnglish speakers learning Mexican Spanish
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Module 7 menu · 0 of 44 completed

By the end of this module, you can...

Show whether you understand and recover the conversation

Imagine someone says something you do not understand. You can say that you understand or do not understand, ask for repetition or slower speech, request a brief pause, and use short confirmation responses.

You will learn to

signal understanding, repair a communication problem, and confirm when the message is right.

You will use

entiendo, otra vez, un momento, claro, perdón, correcto, exacto, and perfecto.

Start here

Begin with entiendo. New language is always taught before a practice asks you to use it.

Lesson 1 — Learn and Retrieve: Understand and Ask for Clarification

Start with whether you understand. Then add one simple repair step at a time.

New Form · 1 of 8

entiendo

Meaning: I understand

Use entiendo for “I understand.” With the earlier word no, you can say no entiendo: “I do not understand.” Keep this exact form for yourself in this module.

Pronounced: ehn-TYEHN-doh

Pronunciation: The ie sounds like “yeh.” Stress TYEHN.

Reference: No extra reference is needed for this item. Use only the meaning shown here.

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Say “I understand.”

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Translate into English: “Entiendo.”

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Say “I do not understand.”

New Expression · 2 of 8

otra vez

Meaning: again / one more time

Use otra vez as one complete repair expression. Do not break it apart in this lesson.

Pronounced: OH-trah vehs

Pronunciation: Keep both words short and even.

Reference: No extra reference is needed for this item. Use only the meaning shown here.

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Say “Again.”

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Ask for it again politely: “Again, please.”

New Expression · 3 of 8

un momento

Meaning: one moment

Use un momento as one complete expression for a brief pause. In this module, the two words stay together.

Pronounced: oon moh-MEHN-toh

Pronunciation: Stress MEHN in momento.

Reference: No extra reference is needed for this item. Use only the meaning shown here.

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Say “One moment.”

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Ask for a brief pause politely: “One moment, please.”

Practice 8 of 44

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You did not understand. Say it, then ask for it again politely.

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You do not understand. Ask the person to repeat, please.

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You do not understand because the person is speaking too quickly. Ask for slower speech politely.

New Word · 4 of 8

claro

Meaning: of course

Use claro here only as the short response “of course.” Do not use it to describe something as “clear” in this module.

Pronounced: KLAH-roh

Pronunciation: Keep both syllables open and even.

Reference: No extra reference is needed for this item. Use only the meaning shown here.

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Reply “Of course.”

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Someone asks you to wait. Give the short response meaning “Of course.”

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Translate into English: “Claro.”

Lesson 2 — Build and Connect: Apologize and Confirm

Now add perdón and short confirmation responses. Each one is taught before it is used in practice.

New Expression · 5 of 8

perdón

Meaning: sorry / excuse me

Use perdón as a complete courtesy and repair expression. It is taught here before any practice asks you to use it.

Pronounced: pehr-DOHN

Pronunciation: Stress the final syllable; the written accent marks that stress.

Reference: No extra reference is needed for this item. Use only the meaning shown here.

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Say “Sorry / excuse me.”

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Apologize and say you do not understand.

New Word · 6 of 8

correcto / correcta

Meaning: correct

For now, say correcto by itself as the short response shown here. You may also see correcta. You only need to recognize that form in this module; you are not being asked to choose between -o and -a yet.

Pronounced: koh-RREHK-toh / koh-RREHK-tah

Pronunciation: Keep the middle r strong and stress REHK.

For this module: Produce only correcto as the complete response. The correcta form is recognition only.

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Confirm with one word: “Correct.”

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Translate into English: “Correcto.”

New Word · 7 of 8

exacto / exacta

Meaning: exactly / correct

For now, say exacto by itself as the short response shown here. You may also see exacta. You only need to recognize that form in this module; you are not being asked to choose between -o and -a yet.

Pronounced: ehk-SAHK-toh / ehk-SAHK-tah

Pronunciation: Stress SAHK and keep the final vowel clear.

For this module: Produce only exacto as the complete response. The exacta form is recognition only.

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Confirm with “Exactly.”

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Translate into English: “Exacto.”

New Word · 8 of 8

perfecto / perfecta

Meaning: perfect

For now, say perfecto by itself as the short response shown here. You may also see perfecta. You only need to recognize that form in this module; you are not being asked to choose between -o and -a yet.

Pronounced: pehr-FEHK-toh / pehr-FEHK-tah

Pronunciation: Stress FEHK and keep every vowel clear.

For this module: Produce only perfecto as the complete response. The perfecta form is recognition only.

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Confirm with one word: “Perfect.”

Word Connection · C-003

Recognize English -ct and Spanish -cto / -cta

In this verified word family, some English adjectives ending in -ct have closely related Spanish forms ending in -cto or -cta. This connection helps you recognize familiar-looking words.

EnglishSpanish forms you may seeWhat you do in this module
correctcorrecto / correctaSay correcto only as the short response “Correct.” Recognize correcta.
exactexacto / exactaSay exacto only as the short response “Exactly.” Recognize exacta.
perfectperfecto / perfectaSay perfecto only as the short response “Perfect.” Recognize perfecta.
directdirecto / directaRecognition only. You do not need to produce this word yet.
compactcompacto / compactaRecognition only. You do not need to produce this word yet.

Hear the recognition examples:

Pronunciation: dee-REHK-toh / dee-REHK-tah · kohm-PAHK-toh / kohm-PAHK-tah

Easy learning rule: Use this only as a recognition clue for verified words. Do not automatically change every English word ending in -ct into Spanish, and do not practise adjective agreement yet.

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Translate into English: “Perfecto.”

Practice 22 of 44

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The person repeats the message and now you understand. Say “I understand.”

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You need a brief pause. Ask for one moment politely.

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You did not understand. Apologize first, then say it.

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You want to hear it one more time. Say “Again, please.”

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Someone asks if they can repeat. Reply “Of course.”

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Someone checks whether the result is right. Reply “Correct.”

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Someone states the exact detail. Reply “Exactly.”

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Everything is now right. Reply “Perfect.”

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Apologize, say you do not understand, and ask the person to repeat politely.

Lesson 3 — Compare Spanish and English: Saying “I Don’t Understand”

What You Will Learn

English adds “do” to this negative. Spanish does not.

Spanish example
No entiendo.
English translation
I do not understand.
SpanishEnglish
no + entiendoI + do + not + understand
Entiendo.I understand.

English uses the helping verb do in “I do not understand.” A helping verb is a small verb used to build the English sentence. Spanish does not add an equivalent word here. Put no directly before entiendo.

Easy learning rule: For this message, Spanish says no + entiendo. Do not add another Spanish word for English do.

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Translate into English: “No entiendo.”

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Translate into Spanish: “I do not understand.”

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Which Spanish message means “I do not understand”: “Entiendo” or “No entiendo”? Type the Spanish message.

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Which Spanish message means “I understand”: “Entiendo” or “No entiendo”? Type the Spanish message.

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Build the Spanish negative by putting the learned negative word before “entiendo.”

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Translate into Spanish: “I understand.”

Apply and Communicate

Use the new repair language with the polite requests, greetings, thanks, and closings you already know. The situations change, but no new Spanish is introduced here.

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You do not understand. State the problem and ask for repetition politely.

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Apologize, say you do not understand, and ask for slower speech politely.

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You need a brief pause before continuing. Ask for one moment politely.

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You want the person to say it one more time. Say “Again, please.”

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The person repeats the message and now you understand. Say so and thank them.

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Begin with “Hello.” Say you do not understand and ask for repetition politely.

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Ask for repetition politely. Then show that you understand and thank the person.

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Begin with “Good afternoon.” Apologize, say you do not understand, ask for slower speech politely, thank the person, and say “See you later.”

You can now show whether you understand and repair a conversation

You can say that you understand or do not understand, ask for repetition or slower speech, request a brief pause, apologize, and use short confirmation responses.

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Keep going

Complete the remaining activities. Your progress is saved on this device.

You will use this again: Module 8 uses this repair language while you state practical needs.

Review Lesson 1Continue to Module 8
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