B1 · 50 words
Giving an opinion and arguing in Spanish
Agreeing, disagreeing, conceding — without giving offence.
Merecer la pena says that something deserves the trouble it costs. La pena on its own is sorrow — qué pena is « what a shame » — and also a penalty in law, and the idiom weighs one against the other: is the thing worth the pain. The shorter vale la pena means exactly the same and is heard just as often. Both are followed by an infinitive with nothing in between — merece la pena ir andando — and both go negative with no other change: no merece la pena.
The words
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Verb (13)
opinarto give an opinionVerbB1
¿Tú qué opinas de esto?What is your opinion on this?
discreparto disagreeVerbB1
Discrepo en un punto.I disagree on one point.
convencerto convinceVerbB1
No me convence esa idea.That idea does not convince me.
suponerto suppose; to meanVerbB1
Supongo que ya lo sabes.I suppose you already know.
dudarto doubtVerbB1
Dudo que venga hoy.I doubt he will come today.
reconocerto admit; to recogniseVerbB1
Reconozco que me equivoqué.I admit I was wrong.
equivocarseto be wrong, to make a mistakeVerbB1
Me equivoqué de puerta.I got the wrong door.
insistirto insistVerbB1
Insistió en pagar él.He insisted on paying himself.
exagerarto exaggerateVerbB1
No exageres, no fue tan grave.Do not exaggerate, it was not that bad.
quejarseto complainVerbB1
Se quejaron del ruido.They complained about the noise.
rechazarto rejectVerbB1
Rechazaron la propuesta por unanimidad.They rejected the proposal unanimously.
aceptarto acceptVerbB1
Aceptamos las condiciones.We accepted the conditions.
decidirseto make up one's mindVerbB1
Al final se decidió por el azul.In the end he made up his mind on the blue one.
Phrase (23)
en mi opiniónin my opinionPhraseB1
En mi opinión, es demasiado pronto.In my opinion it is too early.
desde mi punto de vistafrom my point of viewPhraseB1
Desde mi punto de vista, falta información.From my point of view, information is missing.
me parece queit seems to me thatPhraseB1
Me parece que hay un error.It seems to me there is a mistake.
estar de acuerdo conto agree withPhraseB1
Estoy de acuerdo contigo en casi todo.I agree with you on almost everything.
llevar razónto be rightPhraseB1
Creo que llevas razón.I think you are right.
la razón principalthe main reasonPhraseB1
La razón principal es el precio.The main reason is the price.
por un ladoon the one handPhraseB1
Por un lado es más barato.On the one hand it is cheaper.
por otro ladoon the other handPhraseB1
Por otro lado, tardas más.On the other hand it takes you longer.
en cambioon the other hand, whereasPhraseB1
Ella, en cambio, prefiere quedarse.She, on the other hand, would rather stay.
mientras quewhereasPhraseB1
Aquí llueve, mientras que allí hace sol.It is raining here, whereas over there the sun is out.
a pesar dein spite ofPhraseB1
A pesar del precio, lo compramos.In spite of the price, we bought it.
depender deto depend onPhraseB1
Depende del tiempo que haga.It depends on the weather.
proponer una ideato put an idea forwardPhraseB1
Propuso una idea muy sencilla.He put forward a very simple idea.
en resumenin shortPhraseB1
En resumen, no merece la pena.In short, it is not worth it.
merecer la penato be worth itPhraseB1
Merece la pena ir andando.It is worth walking.
en definitivain the end, when all is saidPhraseB1
En definitiva, decides tú.In the end you decide.
por lo vistoapparentlyPhraseB1
Por lo visto ya se han ido.Apparently they have already gone.
según pareceas it seemsPhraseB1
Según parece, no habrá cambios.As it seems, there will be no changes.
sin dudawithout a doubtPhraseB1
Sin duda es la mejor opción.It is without a doubt the best option.
la mayoría de la gentemost peoplePhraseB1
La mayoría de la gente opina lo mismo.Most people think the same.
al contrarioon the contraryPhraseB1
Al contrario, me pareció muy útil.On the contrary, I found it very useful.
desde luegoof course, certainlyPhraseB1
Desde luego que sí.Of course.
el punto clavethe key pointPhraseB1
El punto clave es el plazo.The key point is the deadline.
Noun (m) (8)
el argumentothe argument, the reasoningNoun (m)B1
Su argumento no me convence.His argument does not convince me.
el motivothe reasonNoun (m)B1
No veo ningún motivo para esperar.I see no reason to wait.
el inconvenientethe disadvantage, the snagNoun (m)B1
El único inconveniente es la distancia.The only disadvantage is the distance.
el acuerdothe agreementNoun (m)B1
Llegamos a un acuerdo en media hora.We reached an agreement in half an hour.
el desacuerdothe disagreementNoun (m)B1
Hubo desacuerdo sobre el precio.There was disagreement about the price.
el debatethe debateNoun (m)B1
El debate duró dos horas.The debate lasted two hours.
el temathe topicNoun (m)B1
Cambiemos de tema.Let us change the topic.
el asuntothe affair, the businessNoun (m)B1
Es un asunto delicado.It is a delicate business.
Noun (f) (6)
la ventajathe advantageNoun (f)B1
La gran ventaja es el horario.The great advantage is the hours.
la dudathe doubt; the queryNoun (f)B1
Si tienes alguna duda, pregunta.If you have any query, ask.
la quejathe grievanceNoun (f)B1
Hubo varias quejas de los vecinos.There were several grievances from the neighbours.
la propuestathe proposalNoun (f)B1
La propuesta se votó el martes.The proposal was voted on on Tuesday.
la condiciónthe conditionNoun (f)B1
Hay una condición importante.There is one important condition.
la opciónthe optionNoun (f)B1
Tenemos tres opciones.We have three options.
This list belongs to Opinions and arguing — twelve lists and 596 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.