Maybe you think that mastering the spanish language is enough to communicate fluently with a spanish-speaking person.
But no, it is not. If you really want to fully understand and make yourself understood you should not forget this rule: whenever you are in the middle of a conversation, you should apply the following conversion rule:
| He says… | He means… |
|---|---|
| Sí | Quizás |
| Quizás | No |
| No | Sí |
Don’t forget to apply the conversion from right to left as a speaker! Make sure that you make yourself understood.
And now, some practical examples:
Example 01
- ¿Quedamos mañana a las 5 en punto en la Plaza del Pijo?
- ¡Claro que sí! Hasta mañana.
This example is quite familiar to most foreigners, but not so many of them know that this is just an instance of the rule described above.
Example 02
- Vamos a quedar este fin de semana para una partida, pero nos falta uno en el equipo. ¿Te apuntas?
- Uhm… no se. Quizás me apunte. <- It really means “Uhm… sí sé. No me apunto”.
This is a good example of how knowing this rule will help you to optimize your plans. They will still miss one on the team, unless they get a “yes” answer from 2 different persons… which would mean that both of them have a 50% “maybe” chance of joining.
Example 03
- Tío, he oído rumores de que te has acostado con mi ex. ¿No sera verdad, no?
- ¡No, claro que no!
This one does not need an explanation, does it?
