The Clinic Message and the Missing Card
Tomás is a Level 2 Spanish student who has just listened once to a phone message from a medical centre in Santiago. He wrote: 'cita jueves 16, 4:30; venir sin comer ni beber; traer pasaporte; si llego tarde, entrar igual.' The message included: «Su cita es el martes catorce a las cuatro y media, no el jueves dieciséis»; «Venga en ayunas, pero puede beber agua»; «No olvide traer su tarjeta del seguro; si no la trae, no podrá ser atendido»; «Si llega más de quince minutos tarde, tendrá que pedir otra cita». Tomás has a football match on Tuesday afternoon and a passport but no insurance card. He must phone back before 17:00 to confirm or change the appointment. The clinic closes at 17:00, and the message says changes are only possible by phone, not by email.
1. Correct Tomás's notes. Explain which words in the message carry each correction.
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- Date: the appointment is Tuesday the 14th, not Thursday the 16th. The message says «martes catorce..., no el jueves dieciséis». The negator «no» directly rejects the second date.
- Time: 4:30 is correct; Tomás does not need to change this detail.
- Fasting: he should come «en ayunas», but water is allowed: «pero puede beber agua». The contrast word «pero» limits the fasting rule, so 'sin comer ni beber' is too strict.
- Document: he needs the insurance card, not a passport. «No olvide traer su tarjeta del seguro» is a direct instruction, and «si no la trae, no podrá ser atendido» states the consequence.
- Lateness: if he is more than 15 minutes late, he will have to make another appointment: «tendrá que pedir otra cita». He will not simply be allowed in.
2. What should Tomás do first, and what are his realistic options? Give a short phone response in Spanish (35–55 words).
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He should phone the clinic before 17:00, because the message says changes are only possible by phone. He needs to explain the football clash, ask for another appointment, and ask what to do about the missing insurance card.
Possible phone response:
«Buenas tardes. Soy Tomás, el paciente de la cita del martes a las cuatro y media. No puedo ir porque tengo un partido importante. ¿Podría cambiarla a otro día? Además, no encuentro la tarjeta del seguro; ¿sirve otro documento? Gracias.»
Why this works: «Podría cambiarla» is a polite conditional request; «¿sirve otro documento?» asks about an alternative without pretending he has the card. Phoning first preserves the chance to rebook, whereas skipping the appointment or emailing would not meet the stated conditions.
3. Tomás considers ignoring the appointment and sending an email later. Evaluate this plan using the constraints in the message.
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The plan is poor. The message says changes are only possible by phone, so an email later does not meet the clinic's rule. Ignoring the appointment also risks the consequence attached to lateness: more than 15 minutes late means he «tendrá que pedir otra cita». A no-show may be treated even less favourably.
He also has another unresolved issue: he lacks the insurance card, and without it he «no podrá ser atendido». The best plan is to phone before 17:00, explain both the timetable clash and the missing card, and ask whether he can rebook or bring another document. Doing nothing solves neither problem.