Argument Builder
Defend a thesis in formal Spanish — premises, concessions, and a calibrated close, spoken aloud.
A formal Spanish argument gives each move its own grammatical signature. State the thesis with impersonal se — en el presente trabajo se argumenta que la reforma es insostenible — or first person, sostengo que. Lay premises with dado que and partimos de la premisa de que, then draw the inference: de lo anterior se desprende que. Steelman the other side before you answer it — si bien es cierto que existen precedentes, estos no son comparables; podría objetarse que los datos son insuficientes — and close with calibrated hedging: cabe concluir, con las debidas reservas, que la medida es viable. These aren't essay templates to memorize: at &Be you argue out loud, in a real exchange — no drills, no fill-in-the-blanks.
Below: the phrases for each move from thesis to conclusion, the hedges that signal exactly how committed you are — and a way to rehearse a whole debate turn by turn, speaking.
The warm-up pack
The moves of a spoken argument, from the claim to the qualified close.
01 · Naming your claim
Sostengo que la evidencia empírica contradice esa hipótesis.
I maintain that the empirical evidence contradicts that hypothesis.
First person, direct — this is you putting your name on the claim before you defend it.
02 · Naming it the formal way
En el presente trabajo se argumenta que la reforma es insostenible.
In this paper it is argued that the reform is unsustainable.
Swap yourself out for impersonal se and the claim reads as more objective — the standard move in written and spoken academic Spanish.
03 · Setting the ground first
Partimos de la premisa de que todo ciudadano tiene derecho a la información.
We start from the premise that every citizen has a right to information.
Before you argue anything, you lay out what you're both agreeing to take as given — this is that move, out loud.
04 · What the numbers say
Los datos indican que el crecimiento se ha estancado desde entonces.
The data indicate that growth has stagnated since then.
Let the evidence carry the sentence — los datos indican is how you cite something without inserting yourself.
05 · Drawing the conclusion
De lo anterior se desprende que la política ha fracasado.
From the above it follows that the policy has failed.
This is the hinge between your evidence and your point — se desprende que says the conclusion isn't a leap, it's a consequence.
06 · If A, then B
Si esto es así, se sigue necesariamente que el supuesto es falso.
If this is so, it necessarily follows that the assumption is false.
Necesariamente is doing real work here — it's you saying there's no escaping this conclusion, not just suggesting it.
07 · Letting the other side speak first
Los detractores sostienen que la reforma agrava la desigualdad.
Critics maintain that the reform worsens inequality.
Naming the opposition's actual position, in their strongest terms, before you respond to it — that's what makes a rebuttal land.
08 · Granting it, for a moment
Admitamos, por un momento, que la crítica tiene fundamento.
Let's admit, for a moment, that the criticism has merit.
This isn't surrender — it's a deliberate, temporary concession that sets up a stronger comeback.
09 · The comeback
Ahora bien, los estudios citados no avalan esa conclusión.
That said, the studies cited don't support that conclusion.
Ahora bien signals the pivot — you've heard the objection, and now here's why it doesn't hold.
10 · Turning the counterexample around
Lejos de debilitar la tesis, este contraejemplo la refuerza.
Far from weakening the thesis, this counterexample actually reinforces it.
The strongest rebuttal move there is — you don't just survive their evidence, you make it work for you.
11 · Closing with the right amount of certainty
En definitiva, la evidencia disponible apunta en una sola dirección.
In short, the available evidence points in a single direction.
A conclusion that sounds confident without overclaiming — you're closing the argument, not overselling it.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/argument-builderRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Carla
Your grammar teacher for this pack
In the Argument Builder lessons, Carla puts you in the seminar chair. You take a claim you actually hold and she makes you build the strongest case against it first — si bien…, podría objetarse que… — then dismantle it: esta objeción pasa por alto un dato fundamental. She has you state the same conclusion twice, bare and then hedged with cabe sostener que and hasta cierto punto, and asks which you'd defend in print. Then a first-person hunch gets recast into the impersonal academic frame: se argumenta que el plan funciona. All of it out loud, turn by turn.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Argument Builder is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
The canonical formula is impersonal: en el presente trabajo se argumenta que… It projects objectivity. For a more personal voice: sostengo que la evidencia empírica contradice esa hipótesis, or spell out the aim — el propósito de este análisis es demostrar que…
Acknowledge it at its strongest before answering: podría objetarse que los datos son insuficientes; si bien es cierto que existen precedentes, estos no son comparables. The jussive admitamos, por un momento, que la crítica tiene fundamento invites the concession openly.
It's the workhorse of measured claims — roughly 'it is worth / one may': cabe plantear, cabe argumentar, cabe concluir, con las debidas reservas, que la medida es viable. It signals a claim made carefully, not timidly.
Name the flaw, not the opponent: esta objeción pasa por alto un dato fundamental; dicha crítica se apoya en una premisa errónea. The elegant reversal: lejos de debilitar la tesis, este contraejemplo la refuerza.
Stack a modal frame with an epistemic adverb: todo parece indicar que la hipótesis inicial se sostiene; resulta razonable afirmar que se requiere una reforma profunda; qualify with en gran medida or hasta cierto punto to signal exactly how far you'll commit.
