Where you are
You are in the lobby of a building in Cabecera. You wrote last night and you came here by bus. Look at the rear tire for half a minute before you say hello.
Escenario 1 · Rol B
You came for the bike
Polite, two strangers. A deal in a lobby — nobody raises their voice. In English there is one you: the distance is in the words you choose. You start. About 8 turns · 6 minutes.
Your screen only. Don't show it. Don't read from it.
Tu información
You are in the lobby of a building in Cabecera. You wrote last night and you came here by bus. Look at the rear tire for half a minute before you say hello.
You leave today with the bike, or with a day and a time to pick it up. You cannot pay more than 350,000 in cash, and only for the bike alone.
You start your three weeks of looking again. The only bike in your size with a receipt will stay here, and you keep taking the bus every day.
Notas, no frases
| Now | Saturday, September 5, 10:15 a.m. |
| On you | 350,000 pesos in cash |
| In Nequi | 70,000 pesos — for the bike: tire, seat, lock |
| Ad price | 420,000 pesos |
| What you see | rear tire worn out · seat torn on one corner · scratch on the frame |
| To use it | about 70,000: a new rear tire and a new seat |
| Getting it out of here | brother-in-law's truck · Cabecera, 6:00 p.m. · confirmed last night |
| If not the truck | car with an app, about 22,000 · or ride it home on that tire (to ride = to go on the bike, with your legs) |
| Where you live | Floridablanca · new job in Cañaveral |
| The bus | 6,400 a day, there and back · 32,000 a week |
Palabras para esta situación
| Word | What it is | Here |
|---|---|---|
| a scratch | a thin line with no paint | small, but you count it |
| brother-in-law | your sister's husband, or your partner's brother | the one with the truck · the name at the end of the message |
| deal | the price and everything else you agree on | your way in when the price stops moving |
| in cash | in paper money, not by phone or card | the 350,000 in your pocket · your number |
| lock | the thing you put on a bike so nobody takes it | 45,000 you can ask for, and it costs them nothing |
| to come with | inside the price, with no extra money | the lock, the lights · how you add instead of asking for less |
| to pick something up | to go somewhere later and take it | your other close, if the bike stays here today |
| torn | with a cut or a hole in it | the seat, on one corner |
| truck | a big car for carrying things | your way of getting the bike out of here · at 6:00 p.m. |
| worn out | used so much it doesn't work well | the rear tire · your first argument, and early |
Ayuda común
Yours: 1 [asks], 2, 3 [receives], 5, 6, 8. Not 4, not 7. They will say gear set, brake pads, cable: you don't have to know those words, you have to ask. Your reason has a number: the bus.
Solo para tu rol
| Purpose | Form | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| asking about theirs | Why are you …? · What did you change …? | open questions · they bring out what is not in the ad |
| asking for more in the deal | Does the lock come …? · If you …, I can … · Maybe we can … | ask for more inside the deal instead of less · the extra money moves only with a condition said out loud |
| closing the question | I have a reason. · That's not important right now. | close the question without going quiet |
| greeting | Good morning — thanks for … | you asked for this meeting · open before you talk about the tire |
| if it can't leave now | Can you keep it for me until …? · I'll pick it up at … | a day and a time is also a close |
| money | I have … in cash, right … · The Nequi money is for … | your number as a fact, not an offer — and the other money has a job already |
| saying no | That's more than I can … · I hear you, but that's not going to … | turn the number down without bargaining · and make the second no sound different from the first |
| the bike | The rear tire is … · A new tire and a new seat — that's about … | name the fault, then put a number on it |
Cuándo terminar
Say the whole deal out loud, both of you. Use these four facts. Then check: are you both saying the same thing?
If one of the four is missing, you are not done. Say all four. If you both say the same, it's closed. When you agree, say it: That works for me. · OK — deal. · Let's do that, then.
Después de hablar
Para repasar
El acto conceder-con-condicion vive aquí y es lo más alto del escenario: "If you take the old gear set, I can do 340,000". El tema ancla la prótasis (if + presente simple, nunca will). Ojo: el can de la apódosis NO lo modela este tema —solo autoriza can/must/have to dentro de la cláusula if—, lo sostiene can-ability (a1). También cubre "If it doesn't go today, I'll…" y los tres condicionales de la prosa, que deben llevar will en el resultado como pide el propio tema.
El precio se rechaza comparando, no regateando: "That's more than I can pay today". El tema SÍ modela than + cláusula ("than I expected", "than I was in school"), así que el tronco está anclado entero y el estudiante puede cerrarlo él. Sostiene además "less than 390,000", "350,000 or less" y "I can't take less than…".
La pantalla de cierre obliga a repartir el pago: "how much in cash and how much by Nequi", que es el How much…? del propio tema con incontable. Es el ancla viva del escenario; only, everything y all of the no los enseña este tema y no se citan como si lo hiciera.
La prisa de A es obligación externa, no capricho: "You have to get the bike out today", "you have to pay to move the bike". Y el toolkit de B usa la otra mitad del tema, la que distingue prohibición de innecesidad: "you don't have to know those words, you have to ask".
El cierre exige comprometer la tarde: "I'll take it to the shop before one", "I'll pick it up at three". Hoy ningún exponente lo da: hay que añadir el tronco a la fila the clock (A) y a if it can't leave now (B), o el tema queda referenciado sin nada que lo sostenga en producción.
La historia se cuenta en pasado simple con ago, nunca con since (since de duración es B1): "you carried it down four floors", "you looked for three weeks", "you posted it on Marketplace", "no buyer has asked". Nota: paid y bought son irregulares y no prueban este tema.
Es el tiempo con más presencia de las dos fichas y no estaba anclado: put, told, heard, wrote, came, left, said, gave, paid, bought. Y put es invariable: sin este tema el estudiante no tiene dónde comprobar que "You posted it on Marketplace" y "You put it on…" son la misma línea temporal.
La pregunta abierta obligatoria de B, la que hace salir lo que no está en el anuncio: "What did you change on it?". En directa, nunca incrustada.
El dato de transporte que decide el desenlace de B es un presente continuo de futuro: "My brother-in-law is bringing his truck at six". Y la carta que lo tumba también: "I'm going to Barrancabermeja". Sin este tema, la segunda variable del trato no está anclada en ninguna parte.
Una línea del dato oculto de A lo usa y ninguna otra cosa lo ancla: "no buyer has asked". Es perfecto de resultado, no de duración (el de for/since queda fuera del nivel). Si se prefiere mantener la prosa en presente y pasado simple, como declara §11, la alternativa es reescribir esa línea y quitar esta referencia.
El bloque de vocabulario entero está escrito en relativas —"the parts that press the wheel", "the person who works at the door of a building"— y la prosa usa la omisión del relativo objeto, que es el cuarto outcome del tema: "the size you need for the road bike you want next".
El dato que decide el trato se dice con but: "they work, but the two small gears are difficult to use". Y el segundo no de B se construye igual: "I hear you, but that's not going to work". La razón de A va con because: "you want 390,000 because the road bike costs 750,000".
El transporte es la segunda variable del trato y fue donde las parejas flojas se pasaron al español: "get the bike out today", "getting it out of here", "it goes into the truck". Son into y out of, que son los dos primeros outcomes del tema.
Sostiene siete de las 28 formas del escenario: "I can put the old gears back on", "I can include…", "I can't take less than…", "Maybe we can…", "Can you keep it for me until…?", el "…I can…" de los dos condicionales y el "than I can" de la comparativa. Sustituye a los Could I…? de cortesía, que el registro no ancla y la caja prohíbe.
Los datos que no cambian se dicen en presente: "The shop closes at one", "I have 350,000 in cash", "I have a reason". Es la mitad de la prosa de las dos fichas y no estaba anclado.
La única pregunta del escenario con do-support en presente, y es la que abre la vía de salida de B: "Does the lock come with it?". Sin ella, B solo sabe preguntar con to be y con can.
Cinco de las 28 formas son to be y son las que abren y las que describen: "Hi — are you here for…?", "Is that still…?", "The rear tire is…", "The Nequi money is for…", "That's not important right now".
Las dos preguntas abiertas obligatorias empiezan aquí (How…?, Why…?, What…?) y la pantalla de cierre pide además la distancia: "how far", que es uno de los outcomes del tema.
El cierre exige a qué hora se mueve la bicicleta, y el taller cierra a la una: sin la hora no hay cierre. Cubre también el until del "Can you keep it for me until six?", que prepositions-time no enseña.
La pregunta abierta obligatoria de A es un going to: "How are you going to take it home?" — el tema modela "What are you going to do?" y aquí solo cambia el WH. Y el segundo no de B usa su negativa: "that's not going to work".
La pregunta abierta obligatoria de B es un presente continuo: "Why are you selling it?". Es la que hace salir lo que no está en el anuncio.
¿Abriste la ficha equivocada? Cambia al rol A sin leer más.
Ir al rol ATienes una carta. Se abre en el turno global 5 —el turno 5 de la conversación, no el tuyo— y ocupa esta pantalla entera. Ábrela cuando toque: mirarla antes no te da ventaja, te da trabajo.
Toda esta práctica es gratuita. Ver cómo enseñamos inglés en WeLearn — presencial en Bucaramanga u online. El diagnóstico de nivel es gratis.