About This Lesson
Use Joining a Drawing Club to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Estoy pensando en unirme a un club de dibujo.
es-TOY pen-SAHN-doh en oo-NEER-meh ah oon kloob deh dee-BOO-hoh. I'm thinking about joining a drawing club.
B
¿Aceptan principiantes?
ah-sep-TAHN preen-see-PYAHN-tehs? Do they welcome beginners?
A
Sí. La primera sesión empieza con dibujos sencillos.
see. lah pree-MEH-rah seh-SYOHN em-PYEH-sah kohn dee-BOO-hohs sen-SEE-yohs. They do. The first session starts with simple sketches.
B
¿Cada cuánto se reúne el club?
KAH-dah KWAHN-toh seh reh-OO-neh el kloob? How often does the club meet?
A
Se reúne cada semana después del trabajo.
seh reh-OO-neh KAH-dah seh-MAH-nah dehs-PWEHS del trah-BAH-hoh. It meets every week after work.
B
Ese horario podría encajar con tu rutina.
EH-seh oh-RAH-ryoh poh-DREE-ah en-kah-HAHR kohn too roo-TEE-nah. That schedule might fit your routine.
A
Me siento nervioso, pero quiero intentarlo.
meh SYEHN-toh nehr-VYOH-soh, PEH-roh KYEH-roh een-tehn-TAHR-loh. I feel nervous, but I want to try.
B
Asiste a una reunión antes de decidir.
ah-SEES-teh ah OO-nah reh-oo-NYOHN AHN-tehs deh-dee-SEER. Try one meeting before you decide.Word by Word
Estoy
In “Estoy pensando”, “Estoy” means “I am” and helps express what the speaker is thinking about now. It is used with a following form such as “Estoy pensando en...” to introduce a current thought or plan.
pensando
In “Estoy pensando en unirme”, “pensando” means “thinking” about the possibility of joining. Together with “Estoy”, it describes an ongoing thought; a common pattern is “Estoy pensando en + action”.
en
In “pensando en unirme”, “en” introduces the action that is the focus of the thought. The reusable pattern is “pensar en + action or thing”, as in the exact expression “pensando en unirme”.
unirme
In “pensando en unirme”, “unirme” means “to join” and refers to joining the drawing club. It follows “en” in the pattern “pensando en + action” and keeps the speaker as the person who will join.
a
In “unirme a un club”, “a” links the action of joining with the club being joined. The reusable pattern is “unirse a + group or organization”.
un
In “un club”, “un” means “a” and introduces one unspecified club. It is used directly before the masculine noun “club”.
club
In “un club de dibujo”, “club” means a club or organized group, here one for drawing. The pattern “club de + activity” identifies the kind of club.
de
In “club de dibujo”, “de” connects “club” with the activity that defines it. The reusable pattern is “club de + activity or subject”.
dibujo
In “club de dibujo”, “dibujo” means drawing and names the activity of the club. It is used after “de” to specify what the club is about.
Aceptan
In “¿Aceptan principiantes?”, “Aceptan” asks whether the club welcomes or accepts beginners. The pattern “¿Aceptan + group?” can be used to ask whether a place or organization admits that group.
principiantes
In “Aceptan principiantes”, “principiantes” means beginners, people who are new to the activity. It is the group whose acceptance is being asked about.
Sí
“Sí” is an affirmative answer to the question about beginners. It confirms that the club does welcome them and can be used as a short positive reply.
La
In “La primera sesión”, “La” means “the” and introduces the specific session being discussed. It appears directly before “primera sesión”.
primera
In “La primera sesión”, “primera” means “first” and identifies the session at the beginning of the club experience. It is used before “sesión” in the expression “la primera sesión”.
sesión
In “La primera sesión”, “sesión” means session, referring to one meeting of the drawing club. It can be used with an ordinal such as “primera” to identify a particular meeting.
empieza
In “La primera sesión empieza con dibujos sencillos”, “empieza” means “starts”. The reusable pattern is “algo empieza con + activity or material” to say what something begins with.
con
In “empieza con dibujos sencillos”, “con” introduces what the session starts with. The pattern “empezar con + thing or activity” is useful for describing the first part of an event.
dibujos
In “dibujos sencillos”, “dibujos” means drawings or sketches, the simple work used at the start of the session. It is the noun modified by “sencillos”.
sencillos
In “dibujos sencillos”, “sencillos” means simple and describes the drawings as easy or uncomplicated. It is used directly with “dibujos” to describe the level of the first exercises.
Cada
In “¿Cada cuánto...?” and “cada semana”, “Cada” contributes the idea of each or every. With a time expression, it helps ask or state how regularly something happens.
cuánto
In “¿Cada cuánto se reúne el club?”, “cuánto” is part of the question asking how often the club meets. The reusable question pattern is “¿Cada cuánto + action?” for frequency.
se
In “se reúne el club”, “se” works together with “reúne” to express the club meeting or gathering. The complete pattern “se reúne el club” describes a group coming together.
reúne
In “se reúne el club”, “reúne” means “meets” or “gathers”. Together with “se”, it is used to ask and state how often the club holds its meetings.
el
In “el club”, “el” means “the” and refers to the specific club already being discussed. It appears directly before “club”.
semana
In “cada semana”, “semana” means week and identifies the time interval between meetings. The pattern “cada + time period” expresses how regularly something happens.
después
In “después del trabajo”, “después” means “after” and places the meeting later than work. The reusable pattern is “después de + noun or action” for sequence in time.
del
In “después del trabajo”, “del” means “of the” and connects “después” with “trabajo”. It is the contracted form used in this exact expression before “trabajo”.
trabajo
In “después del trabajo”, “trabajo” means work or the work period. It identifies the event that happens before the club meeting.
Ese
In “Ese horario”, “Ese” means “that” and points to the schedule just described. It is used before “horario” to refer to that particular schedule.
horario
In “Ese horario podría encajar con tu rutina”, “horario” means schedule or timetable. It is the thing being evaluated in relation to the listener’s routine.
podría
In “podría encajar”, “podría” means “might” or “could” and presents the schedule fitting the routine as a possibility. A reusable pattern is “podría + action” when suggesting a possible result.
encajar
In “podría encajar con tu rutina”, “encajar” means “fit” or work well with the listener’s routine. The pattern “encajar con + routine, plan, or situation” describes compatibility.
tu
In “tu rutina”, “tu” means “your” and identifies the routine as belonging to the listener. It is placed directly before “rutina”.
rutina
In “tu rutina”, “rutina” means routine, referring to the listener’s usual schedule or pattern of activities. It is used after “tu” to show whose routine is meant.
Me
In “Me siento nervioso”, “Me” marks the speaker as the person experiencing the feeling. It works with “siento” in the expression used to describe the speaker’s state.
siento
In “Me siento nervioso”, “siento” means “feel” and describes the speaker’s current emotional state. The reusable pattern is “Me siento + feeling or description”.
nervioso
In “Me siento nervioso”, “nervioso” means nervous and describes how the speaker feels about trying the club. It follows “Me siento” to express a current feeling.
pero
“Pero” means “but” and introduces a contrast between feeling nervous and wanting to try. It is useful for joining two ideas that do not point in the same direction.
quiero
In “quiero intentarlo”, “quiero” means “I want” and expresses the speaker’s desire to try the club experience. The reusable pattern is “quiero + action”.
intentarlo
In “quiero intentarlo”, “intentarlo” means “to try it”, referring to trying the activity under discussion. The form combines the action of trying with “lo”, which points to the thing being tried; it follows “quiero” in the pattern “quiero intentarlo”.
Asiste
In “Asiste a una reunión”, “Asiste” tells the listener to attend or go to one meeting before deciding. The reusable pattern is “Asiste a + event” when recommending attendance.
una
In “una reunión”, “una” means “a” and introduces one meeting that has not been specified more precisely. It appears directly before “reunión”.
reunión
In “una reunión”, “reunión” means meeting, here one meeting of the club. It is used after “Asiste a” to name the event the listener is advised to attend.
antes
In “antes de decidir”, “antes” means “before” and places deciding after the suggested meeting. The reusable pattern is “antes de + action” for an earlier point in time.
decidir
In “antes de decidir”, “decidir” means “to decide”, referring to making a decision about joining the club. It follows “antes de” in the pattern “antes de + action”.
Grammar Points
estar + gerundio
Estoy pensando en unirme al club.
es-TOY pen-SAHN-doh en oo-NEER-meh ahl kloob.I am thinking about joining the club.
Use estar plus a gerund to describe an action happening now. The gerundio ends in -ando or -iendo.
podría + infinitivo
Podría encajar en mi rutina.
poh-DREE-ah en-kah-HAHR en mee roo-TEE-nah.It might fit into my routine.
Use podría plus the infinitive to express a possibility politely. The infinitive stays unchanged.
Spanish Vocabulary
aceptan
verb
ah-sep-TAHN
accept / welcome
club
noun
kloob
club
dibujo
noun
dee-BOO-hoh
drawing
dibujos
noun
dee-BOO-hohs
drawings
empieza
verb
em-PYEH-sah
starts
estoy
verb
es-TOY
I am
pensando
verb
pen-SAHN-doh
thinking
primera
adj
pree-MEH-rah
first
principiantes
noun
preen-see-PYAHN-tehs
beginners
sencillos
adj
sen-SEE-yohs
simple
sesión
noun
seh-SYOHN
session
unirme
verb
oo-NEER-meh
to join
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Do they welcome beginners?
Show Answer
¿Aceptan principiantes?How often does the club meet?
Show Answer
¿Cada cuánto se reúne el club?I feel nervous, but I want to try.
Show Answer
Me siento nervioso, pero quiero intentarlo.Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
drawing
Show Answer
dibujoto join
Show Answer
unirmethinking
Show Answer
pensandofirst