📖LearnModule 14 · Lesson 4 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, continuedUnit 1 · Los niveles de lengua
El culto en voz alta
Module 14 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C2, continued), lesson 4 of 30: Elevated Spanish is not only written. On this page: 10 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
quisiera agradecerles
I should like to thank you
kee-SYEH-rah ah-grah-deh-SEHR-lehs
es un honor
it is an honor
ehs oon oh-NOHR
permítanme decir unas palabras
allow me to say a few words
pehr-MEE-tahn-meh deh-SEER OO-nahs pah-LAH-brahs
el discurso
the speech
ehl dees-KOOR-soh
agradecer
to thank
ah-grah-deh-SEHR
la boda
the wedding
lah BOH-dah
casarse
to get married
kah-SAR-seh
el ritmo pausado
the slow rhythm
ehl RREET-moh pow-SAH-doh
solemne
solemn
soh-LEHM-neh
yo agradezco su presencia
I am grateful for your presence
yoh ah-grah-DEHS-koh soo preh-SEHN-syah
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Elevated Spanish is not only written. A speech, a toast, a eulogy, a formal thank-you all use it out loud: quisiera agradecerles, es un honor, permítanme decir unas palabras.
Y también · And also
The markers are the usted, the full sentences, the absence of clippings, and a slower rhythm. Nobody speaks this way at dinner; everybody recognizes it at a wedding, una boda.
Ojo · Watch out
quisiera agradecerles is a fixed opener: quisiera, the courteous -ra of Module 2, plus agradecer with its pronoun attached. Keep the usted and the full sentences in a speech, even to people you tutear at the table. agradecer takes zc: agradezco.
agradecer, presente — the table
yo agradezco · tú agradeces · él/ella/usted agradece · nosotros agradecemos · ustedes agradecen · ellos/ellas agradecen
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with quisiera agradecerles.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out agradecer, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.