Lesson 73

Don't Do It, Before It Happens

Language Transfer Complete Spanish is by Mihalis Eleftheriou. Listen to the original audio first; use these notes for revision.

Informal positive command shortcut: Drop the -s from informal present: esperas→¡Espera! Esperemos = Let's wait. No esperemos = Let's not wait.

Que + subjunctive = "let him/her/it...": Que termine = Let it finish. Que termine ya = Let it finish already. Que se calle = Let him shut up.

Cuando + future → subjunctive: Cuando hablemos... = When we speak (later)... Cuando comamos juntas, hablamos = When we eat together (future event), we'll talk. This shows a kind of "superstition" — the language is uncomfortable treating a future event as fact.

Juntos/juntas = together. Ya = already. Callarse = to shut up.

Sentences practiced

Spanish	English
¡Espera!	Wait! (informal positive — shortcut)
Esperemos.	Let's wait.
No esperemos.	Let's not wait.
Que termine.	Let it finish.
Que termine ya.	Let it finish already.
Que se calle.	Let him shut up.
Cuando hablamos.	When we speak. (generally)
Cuando hablemos.	When we speak. (future — subjunctive)
Cuando comemos juntas, hablamos.	When we eat together, we talk. (general)
Cuando comamos juntas...	When we eat together... (future — subjunctive)