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Lesson 105 of 238

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Free Spanish CourseLesson 105 of 238

At the market in Spanish

It's Saturday, and Justin is shopping at a busy market in Mexico City. Ben's fruit stall is loud, colorful, and full of quick questions.

You'll ask for half a kilo, check whether fruit is ripe, request a bag, and finish your purchase clearly.

Yako is ahead of you in his famous coat, buying plums. Ben is loud, and his change math is surprisingly creative.

By the end of this lesson

Ask for fruit, check if it is ripe, and finish a market purchase.

  • ¿Me da medio kilo de ___?Can I get half a kilo of ___?
  • ¿Están maduros?Are they ripe?
  • Una bolsa, por favorA bag, please
  • ¿Algo más?Anything else?
  • Es todoThat's all
  • ¿En cuánto está el ___?How much is the ___ going for?

Scene — Saturday fruit stall

It's Saturday morning at the neighborhood market. Ben is selling fruit from a crowded stall and calling out loudly to everyone in line.

Yako stands ahead of Justin in his famous coat, holding plums. Justin wants apples and needs to check their ripeness.

A busy market fruit stall where a loud vendor sells fruit while a line of customers, including Yako and Justin, waits.

Learn — market requests

These six chunks help you handle a small fruit purchase from start to finish.

You'll ask for an amount, check the fruit, answer a follow-up question, and close the sale naturally.

  1. Justin at the stall asks the vendor for half a kilo of apples, gesturing toward them.

    ¿Me da medio kilo de ___?

    Can I get half a kilo of ___?

    When to use it: Use this to ask a vendor for half a kilo of a food.

    Fill the blank with the food you want, such as manzanas or jitomates.

    Say it: MEH dah MEH-dyoh KEE-loh deh

  2. Justin picks up an apple and examines it closely, asking the vendor if they are ripe.

    ¿Están maduros?

    Are they ripe?

    When to use it: Ask this about several fruits when you want to know if they are ripe.

    Están maduros agrees with plural masculine or mixed fruit; maduros means ripe.

    Say it: ehs-TAHN mah-DOO-rohs

  3. Justin, with apples on the scale, holds out his hand politely asking the vendor for a bag.

    Una bolsa, por favor

    A bag, please

    When to use it: Say this when you need a bag for your purchase.

    Una bolsa means one bag; por favor keeps the request polite.

    Say it: OO-nah BOL-sah por fah-VOR

  4. The vendor spreads his arms wide asking Justin if he wants anything else.

    ¿Algo más?

    Anything else?

    When to use it: Use this short question to ask whether the customer wants anything else.

    Algo means something, and más means more; vendors often use this together.

    Say it: AHL-goh mahs

  5. Justin shakes his head slightly and signals with his hand that this is all he needs.

    Es todo

    That's all

    When to use it: Say this when you have finished choosing what you want.

    Es todo literally means it is everything, but here it closes your order.

    Say it: ehs TOH-doh

  6. The vendor points at a crate of plums and calls out their price to Yako.

    ¿En cuánto está el ___?

    How much is the ___ going for?

    When to use it: Ask the price of one specific item at a market stall.

    Use el before a masculine item, such as kilo; the blank names what you are pricing.

    Say it: en KWAHN-toh eh-STAH el

Story — the wrong change

Watch Justin make a complete purchase at Ben's fruit stall. The highlighted chunks are the lines from this lesson.

Yako is buying plums, not stealing anything, although his coat makes Ben suspicious. Turn on Show English if needed.

  1. Saturday market crowds press around Ben's fruit stall, and his voice rises above everyone else's.
  2. YakoHola, Ben. Quiero ciruelas.Hi, Ben. I want plums.
  3. Yako¿En cuánto está el kilo de ciruelas?How much is the kilo of plums going for?
  4. Ben¡Son cuarenta pesos!They're forty pesos!
  5. Justin¿Me da medio kilo de manzanas?Can I get half a kilo of apples?
  6. Ben¡Sí! Aquí están sus manzanas.Yes! Here are your apples.
  7. Justin¿Están maduros?Are they ripe?
  8. BenSí, están maduros. ¿Algo más?Yes, they're ripe. Anything else?
  9. JustinUna bolsa, por favor.A bag, please.
  10. Ben¿Algo más?Anything else?
  11. JustinEs todo. Gracias.That's all. Thank you.
  12. BenAquí tiene. Son treinta pesos.Here you go. It's thirty pesos.
  13. JustinGracias.Thank you.
  14. Ben gives Justin change for a fifty-peso bill, but the coins add up to twenty-three.
  15. Ben¡No pasa nada, joven!No problem, young man!
  16. YakoBen, eso son veintitrés pesos.Ben, that's twenty-three pesos.
  17. Ben¡La diferencia es mi regalo!The difference is my gift!

Practice — buying fruit

Practice the market exchange in several ways: listen, match meanings, choose replies, fill gaps, and build complete chunks.

Watch the difference between asking for a price and asking for a quantity.

0 of 12 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    Spanish

    ¿Me da medio kilo de ___?Drop the English here
    Una bolsa, por favorDrop the English here
    Es todoDrop the English here
    ¿Cuánto cuesta ___?Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Spanish, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What do you say?

    You want half a kilo of apples from Ben's fruit stall.

  4. Fill the gap

    Are they ripe?

    ¿Están ____?

  5. Pick the reply

    Ben says:

    ¿Algo más?

    Anything else?

    And you reply with:

  6. What does it mean?

    ¿Cuánto cuesta ___?

  7. What does it mean?

    Hola.

  8. Pick the reply

    Ben says:

    Aquí tiene la bolsa y sus manzanas.

    Here is your bag and your apples.

    And you reply with:

  9. What do you say?

    Ben asks whether you want anything else, and you have finished shopping.

  10. What do you say?

    You want to ask Ben the price of the kilo of plums.

  11. Build the line

    That's all

    Tap the words in order.

  12. What did you hear?

Say it — your market turn

Now you're Justin at Ben's stall, making the purchase yourself. Follow the exchange and speak when the microphone appears.

Tap ▶ to hear each model line first. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. Ben¡Buenos días! ¿De qué quiere saber el precio?Good morning! What would you like to know the price of?
  2. Justin (you)Ask how much the kilo of apples costs.

    ¿En cuánto está el ___?

    How much is the ___ going for?

0 of 5 said

Recap — what you can say now

SpanishEnglish
¿Me da medio kilo de ___?Can I get half a kilo of ___?
¿Están maduros?Are they ripe?
Una bolsa, por favorA bag, please
¿Algo más?Anything else?
Es todoThat's all
¿En cuánto está el ___?How much is the ___ going for?
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