Spanish language Q&A Forum
Questions answered by our learning community with help from expert Spanish teachers
6,004 questions • 9,808 answers • 1,010,388 learners
Let me take a look at that...
Questions answered by our learning community with help from expert Spanish teachers
6,004 questions • 9,808 answers • 1,010,388 learners
Que Onda
This is one of the nuances of usted that I still haven't quite figured out. At my retail job, I often assist Spanish-speaking customers. However, I am not sure if these situations warrant using more formal language. In English, I address my customers politely with "Sir" or "Ma'am" but the language I use otherwise as I'm assisting them is more informal. I want to maintain the same tone of politeness yet casualness in Spanish as English but I don't know if it comes across as too formal. For context, I am in my early twenties and the customers I've spoken to are almost always older than me ranging from their thirties to more elderly people. Obviously, for my older customers, I would use usted but would it be necessary to use usted for people who are not that much older than me? I don't know if there is anybody here who can shed some light on this topic. In Spanish-speaking countries do retail employees typically address their customers with more formal, usted language?
Thank You
Nathan
I didn't know you could touch on the words for a translation!
I've only just found out
Como yo entiendo, "mejor te vas" es "you better go." Se puede usar "mejor + verbo en presente" como "you better..." lo que sea?" Tal como "mejor comes ya" o "mejor vienes pronto." Sé que podría decir "deberías comer ya" o "come rápido!" para expresar "you should eat now" y "eat quickly!" pero "you better eat now" y "you better come soon" son distintas en el tono. Y también el contexto es importante. Así la pregunta. ¡Gracias!
I was completely thrown by the inclusion of the words "About to".
Iba a avisarte would just mean "I was going to warn you"
I was about to warn you should surely be: "Estaba a punto de advertirte" Not given as an option
Best
Ian
The following was a post made 11 months ago. It seems the problem is not completely fixed Inma as the same thing has just happened to me.
Uh no. So in one lesson you guys said calor was feminine. Even though in three years of Spanish I've always only seen it as masculine. But in fact it can be either according to the RAE. Now in this lesson I marked it as feminine and you guys say I'm wrong. So you guys need to fix this answer or at least be consistent.
Like011 months agoShareInmaKwiziq team memberHola A
Yes, that was a mistake on our part and I just fixed it.
If you see something unusual you can send us a message and we will be very happy to sort it out : )
Hola,
I thought assumption about the past (must have + verb) was expressed by means of DEBE (Deber in El Presented) + Infinitivo Compuesto, however the following examples refute it:
Los chicos han debido de beber bastante porque huelen a alcohol.
They boys must have drunk quite a lot as they smell of alcohol.
El tren debió de llegar sobre las cuatro y media.
The train must have arrived at about four thirty.
Could you please clarify this point, because I'm feeling a bit confused
In the initial table of conjugation, I feel that ‘estudiar’ is a poor choice of example for the ‘ar’ verbs. Because this particular verb happens to have an ‘i’ before the infinitive ending, it blurs the differentiation between the conjugation of the ‘ar’ verbs and the ‘er’ and ‘ir’ verbs. It would be instantly clearer if a verb such as ‘hablar’ were chosen as the example.
Is it possible to bold the accent marks or make them in red? I can't really tell if it is a dot over a letter or an accent mark.
Find your Spanish level for FREE
And get your personalised Study Plan to improve it
Find your Spanish level