Intermediate · Spanish reading practice

Mantenerse a salvo

Survivors in a dark hideout argue over a plan to stay together and keep each other safe. Longer lines with the future tense and the subjunctive (hagamos), plus comprehension questions.

A page from Una alianza improbable, in the El superviviente collection — an original Comigo comic, voiced line by line.

Look at the whole page first — who is there and what is happening? Then read the Spanish. Tap a bubble to hear it, and tap any word for its meaning.

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Every line is voiced — tap a bubble to listen, tap a word for its meaning.

A black-and-white comic page: four worn-out men in a dark shelter talk about staying together to keep each other safe; one asks how they should do it, and another tells him to leave the details to him.
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Study the Spanish

Everything on the page as text: open a section when you want it.

Transcript and translation

  1. Y tú los mantendrás a salvo.And you will keep them safe.
  2. Y ayudarán a mantenernos a salvo...And they will help keep us safe...
  3. Tiene razón. Por eso nos quedamos...He's right. That's why we stayed...
  4. ¿Y cómo sugieres que hagamos eso?And how do you suggest we do that?
  5. Deja que yo me preocupe por los detalles.Let me worry about the details.

Words on this page

Language notes

How much did you understand?

1. ¿Qué harán para mantenerse a salvo?

Se ayudarán unos a otros — «Y ayudarán a mantenernos a salvo...»

2. ¿Por qué deciden quedarse?

Porque creen que tiene razón — «Tiene razón. Por eso nos quedamos...»

3. ¿Quién se ocupará de los detalles?

El hombre que dice: «Deja que yo me preocupe por los detalles.»

4. ¿Parece que todos están de acuerdo con el plan?

No del todo — uno de ellos todavía pregunta: «¿Y cómo sugieres que hagamos eso?»

Need some help?

mantener a salvo — to keep safe mantenernos a salvo — to keep us safe tener razón — to be right por eso — that’s why / for that reason quedarse — to stay sugerir — to suggest deja que yo... — let me... preocuparse por — to worry about los detalles — the details
Why “hagamos”?

In “¿Cómo sugieres que hagamos eso?”, hagamos comes from hacer. After expressions such as sugerir que, Spanish commonly uses the subjunctive when talking about a suggested action.

hacer → hagamos
¿Cómo sugieres que hagamos eso?
How do you suggest we do that?

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