Listen and compare · 17
CEFR C1
Review the contrast after listening
Los vecinos que llegaron tarde esperaron.
/los beˈθinos ke ʝeˈɡaɾon ˈtaɾde espeˈɾaɾon/
Only the neighbours who arrived late are identified as waiting.
Los vecinos, que llegaron tarde, esperaron.
/los beˈθinos ke ʝeˈɡaɾon ˈtaɾde espeˈɾaɾon/
The neighbours waited; the added comment says they arrived late.
What tells the two sounds apart
- restrictive groupingKeep vecinos que llegaron tarde as the identifying group. It selects a subset in the stated context.
- added commentSet que llegaron tarde off with boundaries and a parenthetical delivery; then resume esperaron.
Why it is hard
A break can affect which people a statement includes. This is a syntax-and-prosody pair with identical segmental IPA, not a change of phonemes. For the first reading, imagine that only some neighbours were late; for the second, the whole already identified group was late. Careful Spain speech provides the model; other varieties can mark boundaries differently. Silence alone is not a reliable universal test, so use grouping, pitch and context together. Task: Listen to the first six utterances with the punctuation, IPA and scope notes closed. Mark the prosodic grouping you actually hear and state a possible interpretation, including uncertainty when the grouping is unclear. Then open the support and contexts; do not use silence alone as proof. Read examples 1–2 as subsets and 3–4 as comments on identified groups. Produce both punctuated readings of the context words, invent matching contexts and explain what each asserts and leaves unsaid.
Los alumnos que prepararon el debate hablaron primero.
To practise
- Los informes que faltan se enviarán mañana./los inˈfoɾmes ke ˈfaltan se enbjaˈɾan maˈɲana/The missing reports will be sent tomorrow; select those reports.
- Las personas que reservaron entran primero./las peɾˈsonas ke reseɾˈbaɾon ˈentɾan pɾiˈmeɾo/The people who booked enter first; select that subset.
- Los informes, que faltan, se enviarán mañana./los inˈfoɾmes ke ˈfaltan se enbjaˈɾan maˈɲana/The identified reports are missing and will be sent tomorrow.
- Las personas, que reservaron, entran primero./las peɾˈsonas ke reseɾˈbaɾon ˈentɾan pɾiˈmeɾo/The identified people booked and enter first; added comment.