Hostage Negotiations: Hostage: The TV Remote
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Key Phrases
Mando a distancia
Remote control
Tenemos que ver
Have to watch
Trato hecho
Deal
Skills You'll Learn
Expressing necessity
Expresar necesidad
Making agreements
Hacer acuerdos
Describing time duration
Describir duración de tiempo
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you're in a living room with friends debating over what to watch on TV. One friend is particularly excited about a documentary on moss and convinced everyone to watch it before switching to the usual soap opera. The group agrees to watch a few minutes of the documentary before taking control of the remote again.
Pon el mando a distancia en la mesa y todos fingiremos que los spoilers de la telenovela no ocurrieron.
Put the remote on the table and we'll all pretend the soap opera spoilers didn't happen.
No, primero tenemos que ver mi documental sobre el musgo. ¡Es fascinante!
No, first we have to watch my documentary about moss. It's fascinating!
¿Un documental sobre musgo ahora? ¿Es realmente necesario?
A documentary about moss now? Is it really necessary?
Es esencial. Aprenderás algo nuevo, te lo aseguro.
It's essential. You'll learn something new, I assure you.
Está bien, veremos diez minutos. Pero después, el mando es nuestro.
Alright, we'll watch ten minutes. But after that, the remote is ours.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
Pon
poh-n
Put
💬 Used for commands or instructions.
🇪🇸 In Spain, when giving instructions, it is common to use the informal 'tú' form.
See breakdown →Mando
mahn-doh
Remote
💬 Short for 'mando a distancia'.
🇪🇸 The TV remote is a central piece in every Spanish living room.
See breakdown →Distancia
dees-tan-see-ah
Distant
💬 Refers to distance or remoteness.
🇪🇸 Spain loves its 'mandos a distancia' (remote controls) for all devices.
See breakdown →Mando a distancia
Man-doh ah dee-stan-syah
Remote
💬 Complete expression for TV remote.
🇪🇸 It's the full term used in Spain, but commonly shortened to 'mando'.
See breakdown →Mesa
meh-sah
Table
🇪🇸 The table ('mesa') is often the gathering spot during Spanish meals.
See breakdown →Fingiremos
feen-hee-reh-mohs
Pretend
💬 First person plural of 'fingir'.
🇪🇸 Role-playing and pretending are common in Spanish family games.
See breakdown →Spoilers
spoi-leh-rs
Spoilers
💬 Borrowed directly from English.
🇪🇸 Avoiding 'spoilers' is serious business in Spain, especially for 'telenovelas'.
See breakdown →Telenovela
teh-leh-no-veh-lah
Soap opera
💬 A beloved cultural icon in Spanish-speaking countries.
🇪🇸 Telenovelas are particularly popular in Spain and are part of evening routines.
See breakdown →Learn this vocabulary list the easy way
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