Listening to Spanish Speakers Describe What They Have Done
Listening to Spanish Speakers Describe What They Have Done
In this listening lesson, you will identify what a speaker done, what a speaker not done, and who the experience belongs to. Do not require an exact date unless the recording actually gives one.
Listening strategy
Listen for the form of haber first, then the participle.
- — I have
- — you have
- — / she
- — we have
- — they have
Listening Task 1
Listen first:
What the speaker done?
Check
— I have worked in a hotel.
The speaker work experience in a hotel.
Listening Task 2
Listen first:
the speaker traveled to Spain?
Check
— I have not traveled to Spain.
The answer is no.
Listening Task 3
Listen first:
Which two experiences belong to Ana?
Check
— Ana studied Spanish and worked in an office.
Listening Task 4
Listen first:
Which city the group visited, and which city it not visited?
Check
— We have visited Madrid, but we have not visited Seville.
Listening Task 5
Listen first:
Who finished the course?
Check
— Carlos and Marta have finished the course.
Listening Task 6: no date is given
Listen first:
Do not invent a date. What information is actually given?
Check
— I have lived in three cities.
The recording tells you the number of cities, not when the speaker lived in them.
Listening Task 7: current-relevant news
Listen first:
Check
— I have finished the work.
The speaker reports a completed action that is relevant to the present situation.
Listening Task 8: pronoun before haber
Listen first:
What grammatical clue do you hear before haber?
Check
— I have bought it.
La is the direct object pronoun and appears before .
Listening Task 9: one irregular participle as a lexical item
Listen first:
What the speaker done?
Check
— I have seen Madrid.
Visto means seen. Learn its meaning here; irregular participles are studied systematically in the next lesson.
Listening Task 10: distinguish two speakers
Listen first:
Who traveled a lot, and who not traveled outside the country?
Check
— Ana traveled a lot.
— Carlos not traveled outside the country.
For this lesson, — outside the country is a useful listening phrase.
Do not create a date that is not in the audio
If the recording says — I have visited Valencia, the experience is confirmed. The date remains unknown unless another sentence provides it.
A practical listening method
- Identify the speaker or subject.
- Listen for the form of haber.
- Listen for no before haber.
- Identify the participle and the completed experience.
- Track each experience to the correct person.
- Do not invent a date when none is stated.
- If an irregular participle appears, use its given meaning without trying to derive it yet.
From Listening to Irregular Participles
You can now understand what a speaker or not done in short clear present-perfect statements. The next lesson teaches common irregular past participles and their verbal and descriptive uses.