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Lesson 177 of 238

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Then it went sideways in Spanish

Yesterday Justin and Yako took a bus to Coyoacán, and things went sideways: a breakdown, sudden rain, and a street nobody recognized.

This lesson gives you the chunks that carry the middle of a story: all of a sudden, we didn't know what to do, good thing, we had to, in the end, but anyway.

You'll use them to tell how a plan fell apart and still finished fine.

By the end of this lesson

Tell the middle of a story when something unexpected happens and then it's okay.

  • De repente, ___All of a sudden, ___
  • No sabíamos qué hacerWe didn't know what to do
  • Menos mal que ___Good thing ___
  • Al final, ___In the end, ___
  • Nos tuvimos que ___We had to ___
  • Pero buenoBut anyway

Scene — rain outside the window

Café Laurel the next morning. Rain taps on the window, which suits the story perfectly.

Amanda has just sat down with her coffee and wants to hear everything about yesterday's trip to Coyoacán. Yako is already comfortable on his two chairs.

Amanda settles in with her coffee at Café Laurel while Justin leans forward to start the story and Yako sits comfortably on his two chairs.

Learn — the middle of a story

Six chunks, all about the middle of a story. Four of them are frames, so you'll fill the blank with whatever happened to you.

Notice the imperfect in No sabíamos: it sets the scene before things got resolved.

  1. Justin, telling the story, suddenly throws his hands up in surprise at the sudden turn of events.

    De repente, ___

    All of a sudden, ___

    When to use it: Say this to jump into the moment something unexpected happened.

    De repente always pushes the story forward into a surprise.

    Say it: The d in repente is soft, almost tapped.

  2. Michael shrugs helplessly with a baffled face, showing they didn't know what to do.

    No sabíamos qué hacer

    We didn't know what to do

    When to use it: Say this at the low point, when you and your group were stuck.

    Sabíamos is imperfect, the tense for background situations.

  3. Justin wipes his forehead in relief, relieved that something turned out to be a good thing.

    Menos mal que ___

    Good thing ___

    When to use it: Say this right after the rescue, the lucky break that saved you.

    Menos mal que is one piece; it always introduces the good news.

  4. Michael wraps up the story with a satisfied closing gesture, showing how it ended well.

    Al final, ___

    In the end, ___

    When to use it: Say this to land the ending and say how it all turned out.

    Al final means after everything, not a physical end like final de la calle.

  5. Justin mimes trudging along with tired shoulders, describing what they had to do.

    Nos tuvimos que ___

    We had to ___

    When to use it: Say this for something you had no choice about, like getting off a bus.

    The que hooks the verb: tuvimos que esperar, tuvimos que bajar.

  6. Michael laughs and waves it off with a relaxed shrug, wrapping up with 'but anyway'.

    Pero bueno

    But anyway

    When to use it: Say this to shrug off the mess and move on to what matters.

    Pero bueno accepts what happened without drama, like English anyway.

Story — the bus, the rain, the wrong stop

Amanda asks about yesterday, and Justin tells the middle of the story: the bus, the rain, and a street with no name.

The highlighted chunks are the ones you just learned. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. Morning at Café Laurel. Rain taps on the window, which suits the story.
  2. Amanda¿Qué pasó ayer? Salieron a Coyoacán, ¿no?What happened yesterday? You went to Coyoacán, right?
  3. JustinSí, y el viaje no salió como lo habíamos planeado.Yes, and the trip didn't go as we'd planned.
  4. YakoTodo iba bien al principio.Everything was going fine at first.
  5. JustinDe repente, el camión se descompuso en plena calle.All of a sudden, the bus broke down in the middle of the street.
  6. Amanda¿Y luego?And then?
  7. JustinDe repente, empezó a llover también. Sin paraguas.All of a sudden, it started raining too. No umbrellas.
  8. YakoNos tuvimos que bajar todos, justo en una calle sin nombre.We all had to get off, right on a street with no name.
  9. JustinNo sabíamos qué hacer. Estábamos empapados.We didn't know what to do. We were soaked.
  10. Amanda¿Y cómo terminaron?And how did you end up?
  11. JustinMenos mal que pasó un taxi. El chofer sabía el camino.Good thing a taxi came by. The driver knew the way.
  12. YakoAl final, llegamos a Coyoacán, pero ya muy mojados.In the end, we got to Coyoacán, but already very wet.
  13. JustinPero bueno, el museo todavía estaba abierto.But anyway, the museum was still open.
  14. Amanda¡Qué aventura! Y ¿valió la pena?What an adventure! And was it worth it?
  15. YakoEl museo, sí. El café de allá, no tanto.The museum, yes. The coffee there, not so much.

Practice — tell it yourself

Eleven exercises: you'll listen, match, fill gaps, put the story in order, and swap one word for a new situation.

The story chunks are short, so this round moves fast.

0 of 11 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    Spanish

    De repente, ___Drop the English here
    No sabíamos qué hacerDrop the English here
    Menos mal que ___Drop the English here
    Pero buenoDrop the English here
    ¿Qué pasó?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're telling Amanda about the trip. You want to say the rain started out of nowhere.

  4. What do you say?

    You're at the worst part of the story, but a taxi came by and saved you.

  5. Fill the gap

    We didn't know what to do

    No sabíamos qué ____

  6. Put the chat in order

    1. JustinWhat comes first?
    2. Yako…
    3. Justin…
    4. Yako…

    Tap the line that comes next, or drag it into the chat.

  7. Swap the word

    This time you and Yako didn't know what to do, not what to say.

    No sabíamos qué ____

  8. Find the mistake

  9. Pick the reply

    Amanda says:

    ¿Y todos se quedaron dentro del camión?

    And did everyone stay inside the bus?

    And you reply with:

  10. What does it mean?

    El viaje no salió como lo habíamos planeado

  11. Build the line

    But anyway

    Tap the words in order.

Say it — your turn to tell it

Now the story is yours to tell. Amanda asks, and you answer as Justin with the chunks you learned.

Tap the microphone when it's your turn, and tap ▶ first if you want to hear the model line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. AmandaCuéntame, ¿qué pasó con el camión?Tell me, what happened with the bus?
  2. Justin (you)Say that all of a sudden, it broke down in the street.

    De repente, ___

    All of a sudden, ___

0 of 5 said

Recap — what you can say now

SpanishEnglish
De repente, ___All of a sudden, ___
No sabíamos qué hacerWe didn't know what to do
Menos mal que ___Good thing ___
Al final, ___In the end, ___
Nos tuvimos que ___We had to ___
Pero buenoBut anyway
Next: lesson 178Looking back at it

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want these story chunks in your pocket? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

A quick round with the Yak Cards each day keeps your story chunks ready for the next time a trip goes sideways.

Open Yak Cards