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B115 words5 phrases

Office and meetings

Spanish working life has its own rhythm and its own set phrases, and a meeting invitation is much easier to answer once you recognise them.

Quick answer

La reunión es a las diez en la sala grande.

The meeting is at ten in the big room. Note la reunión, not the false friend "meeting", and the accent on the final syllable.

The words

SpanishEnglish
la oficinathe office
la reuniónthe meeting
el despachothe private office
el jefethe boss
el compañerothe colleague
el correothe email
el informethe report
la agendathe diary
el plazothe deadline
la impresorathe printer
el ordenadorthe computer
el actathe minutes
el proyectothe project
enviarto send
convocarto call a meeting

The phrases you will actually say

La reunión es a las diez en la sala grande.The meeting is at ten in the big room.
Te envío el informe antes del mediodía.I will send you the report before midday.
¿Podemos dejarlo para la semana que viene?Can we leave it until next week?
El plazo termina el viernes.The deadline ends on Friday.
Quedamos en que tú preparas la presentación.We agreed that you prepare the presentation.

Worth knowing

Spanish office hours are not the ones you expect. Many companies keep a long lunch break and finish around seven, though in July and August plenty switch to jornada intensiva, a straight shift ending in the early afternoon. Colleagues address each other as tú almost universally, including the boss; reserving usted for a manager sounds stiff and slightly cold. Two traps: la oficina is the workplace as a whole while el despacho is one person's room, and el acta is feminine despite taking el, because the article shifts before a stressed initial a, so you say las actas in the plural. Beware asistir, which means to attend, not to assist, and el ordenador, which is the Spanish word for computer while Latin America says la computadora.

Practice

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What does "asistir a la reunión" mean?

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