Intermediate, Task 07

Simplified and native speakers:

• Simplified example
• Arturo A.
• Alejandro G.
• Ronald F.
• Ronald F.
• Karla G.

Click red links to download .m4v files for use in iPod:

• Simplified example
• Arturo A.
• Alejandro G.
• Ronald F.
• Ronald F.
• Karla G.

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Key vocabulary for this task

Example phrases for this task

Grammar points for this task



		Simplified Example "Bueno, le diría, 'Muy buenas noches. ¿Me lleva por favor a la avenida ..."



		Arturo A. México, D.F. "Me lleva por favor a la Villa. ¿Cuánto me cobras a la Villa? ..."

		Alejandro G. Perú, Lima "Bueno, aquí los taxis no son taxis como hay en otros países ..."

		Ronald F. Venezuela, Mérida "OK, por ejemplo, si vas a negociar una carrera, como decimos acá ..."

		Ronald F. Guatemala, Guatemala "Los taxis son peligrosos, especialmente en una ciudad tan violenta ..."

		Karla G. México, San Luis Potosí, Xilitla "Bueno para viajar en un taxi, especialmente en México..."

avenida (f)		avenue
bolívares (m)		Venezuelan money
calle (f)		street
carrera (f)		ride, race
centro (m)		downtown
destino (m)		destination
letrero (m)		sign

negociar		to negociate
pasaje (m)		ticket
rebajar		to lower the price, to discount
regatear		to bargain
semáforo (m)		lights
señal (f)		sign
soles (m)		Peruvian money

¿Cuánto cuesta una carrera del centro al Museo de Arte Moderno?	How much does it cost for a ride from the center to the Modern Art Museum?
¿Cuánto me cobra por llevarme hasta la calle Sexta?	How much do you charge to take me to Sixth Street?
En esta ciudad se puede regatear con el taxista.	In this city you can barter with the taxi driver.
Sale muy caro, ¿no podría hacerme una rebaja?	That is very expensive, couldn't you lower it for me?
El tráfico es un problema tan grave como la contaminación.	Traffic is as bad a problem as pollution.
En las grandes ciudades es más rápido tomar el metro que el taxi.	In large cities it is faster to take the subway than the taxi.
¿A cuántas cuadras está la próxima estación del metro?	How many blocks is the next subway station?
Es peor pasarse un semáforo en rojo que llegar tarde a una cita.	It is worse to go through a red light than to arrive at an appointment late.
La luz ámbar es una señal preventiva.	The yellow light is a sign for caution.
Antes de subirte al taxi debes ponerte de acuerdo en el precio de la carrera.	Before getting in a taxi you should agree on the price of the ride.

Verbs of location

In order to tell a taxi driver where you want to go you will need to know how to use the following verbs:

Estar - to be. It is very useful to use estar with prepositions to explain where some place is. Let's imagine that you're explaining where a certain movie theater is to a taxi driver:

Está al lado del monumento de la revolución. It's next to the monument to the revolution.

Está en frente del terminal de autobuses. It's in front of the bus terminal.

Está justo detrás de la parada de metro Tacubaya. It's right behind the subway stop "Tacubaya."

Está en la misma calle que la embajada de los EU. It's on the same street as the U.S. embassy.

Está por la iglesia de la conchita. It's over by the church of the little shells.

Ser - to be. Although estar is the verb you will usually use to refer to places, ser is used in some cases. For example, you use the verb ser for events.

La boda será en la iglesia de San Andrés. The wedding will be at Saint Andrew's church.

El concierto fue en el auditorio nacional. The concert was at the national auditorium.

Quedar - This is a very useful verb in explaining where a place is. It literally means "to stay, to remain". But when used to refer to location, it has the same basic meaning as the verb estar.

¿Por dónde queda el estadio de fútbol? Where is the soccer stadium?

Queda muy cerca del museo de bellas artes. It's very close to the museum of fine arts.

No queda muy lejos de aquí. It's not very far from here.

Encontrarse - This is another common verb for explaining the location of a place. It literally means "to be found," but it is used in the same way as estar or quedar.

¿En dónde se encuentra la catedral? Where is the cathedral?

Se encuentra en la plaza central. It is located in the main plaza.

Ubicar - This verb is often used in its past participle form preceded by the verb estar. Its meaning is "to be located."

Tu casa está bien ubicada. Your house is well located.

La casa está ubicada a tres cuadras del centro en un callejón tranquilo. The house is located three blocks from downtown on a quiet side street.