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The key rules of this unit in two minutes. Tap the speaker to hear each example.
Ordering politely
“Quiero” is fine, but in a restaurant you will often hear the softer “quería” (I would like) or, in Spain, “me pone…” (could you get me…).
- Quería una mesa para dos.I’d like a table for two.
- Me pone un café, por favor.A coffee, please.
“Está rico”: how food tastes
How food tastes right now uses “estar”. The adjective matches the dish: la sopa está rica, el jamón está rico.
- La sopa está muy rica.The soup is delicious.
- El jamón está buenísimo.The ham is amazing.
Unos, unas: some
The plural of un and una means “some”: unos huevos, unas tapas.
- unas tapassome tapas
- unos huevossome eggs
Tú or usted?
Friends use “tú”. Waiters and shop staff may use the polite “usted”, which takes the same verb form as él and ella: ¿Qué quiere?
- ¿Qué quieres?What would you like? (informal)
- ¿Qué quiere usted?What would you like? (polite)