Under many circumstances, telling someone what to do can sound rather rude or impolite.

So in Spanish, as
well as in English, there is a variety of ways of asking people to do something or of making what might be
called mellow commands. These are in addition to the impersonal and indirect commands discussed in our
lesson on commands and requests.
Following are some of the most common ways of making polite requests in Spanish. Any of these ways will
likely be understood wherever you go in the Spanish-speaking world, although usage does vary with region.
Listen to those around you to figure out what may be preferred where you are:

Querer: Although it may seem grammatically illogical, the imperfect subjunctive form of querer (usually
translated in this context as "I would like"), quisiera, is a common colloquial way of stating wishes and making
polite requests. The normal sequence of tenses applies, so when quisiera is followed by a conjugated verb, the
following verb must be in an imperfect subjunctive form. Other forms of querer including the present and
conditional tenses also can be used in either statement or question form.

Quisiera dos manzanas. (I would like two apples.)

Quisiera comer ahora. (I would like to eat now.)
Quisiera que salieras. (I would like you to leave.)
Quiero dos manzanas. (I want two apples.)
Quiero comer ahora. (I want to eat now.)
Quiero que salgas. (I want you to leave.)
Quieres darme dos manzanas? (Do you want to give me two apples?)
Querras darme dos manzanas? (Would you like to give me two apples?)

Gustar: The verb gustar (which can be translated literally as "to be pleasing" ) can similarly be used in the
conditional form, gustara, to make gently worded requests.

Me gustara que estudiaras. (I would like you to study.)

Me gustaran dos manzanas. (I would like two apples.)

Te gustara darme dos manzana? (Would you like to give me two apples?)
Poder: [/font]This verb meaning "to be able" or the auxiliary verb "can" can be used as a question in the
conditional or imperfect tense.

Podras darme dos manzanas? (Could you give me two apples?)

Podas darme dos manzanas? (Could you give me two apples?)

A ver: The phrase a ver si, sometimes misspelled as haber si, which is identical in pronunciation, can be used
to form the gentlest of requests. Although it is close in meaning to the English "let's see if," it can be
translated in a variety of ways.

A ver si estudias ms. (Perhaps you could study more.)

A ver si comamos juntos un da. (Let's eat together some day.)

A ver si tocas el piano. (Let's see if you can play the piano.)
Note on "please":[/font] The most common ways of saying "please" are the adverbial phrase por favor and
the verb phrase hgame el favor de (literally, "do me the favor of"). Although you are unlikely to be criticized
for overusing por favor, its usage does vary with region. In some areas its use is expected, while in others it
might not commonly be used when asking someone to do something that he or she is expected to do (as
when ordering a meal from a waiter). And remember too that tone of voice can have as much to do with how
a request is received as its grammatical form can.

The Conditional Tense

Verb Form Usually the Equivalent of "Would" in English
By Gerald Erichsen, About.com

See More About:

spanish conditional tense

spanish verbs
being polite in spanish

Just as in English, the conditional tense of verbs in Spanish is difficult to classify. Unlike the past, future
and present tenses, it doesn't always refer to a particular period of time. And while its name suggests that it is
used when there's a condition involved, in Spanish it also has some close connections with the future tense. In
fact, in Spanish, the conditional tense is known as both el condicional and el futuro hipottico (the hypothetical
future).
The conditional also has various uses that don't at first glance seem closely related. But the connection among
them is that verbs in the conditional don't refer to events that definitely or necessarily have happened or are
happening. In other words, the conditional tense refers to acts that can be seen as hypothetical in nature.
Fortunately for those of us who speak English, the theory is fairly easy to apply, since the conditional tense
can usually be understood as the Spanish verb form that is used to translate English "would + verb" forms. In
most cases where we use "would" in English we use the conditional in Spanish, and vice versa. As long as you
remember the rare exceptions, you won't go wrong often by thinking of the conditional as the "would" tense.
Following are some examples (in boldface) of the conditional tense in use:

No comera una hamburguesa porque no como animales. I wouldn't eat a hamburger because I
don't eat animals.
Si pudiese, vivira en Guadalajara. If I could, I would live in Guadalajara.
Hay seis pelculas que yo pagara por ver. There are six films that I would pay to see.

Here are the major usages of the conditional that can be understood by using the English "would." If the
explanations are confusing, read the examples for clarification:
Describing an act that depends on a condition: Another way of putting this is that the conditional
indicates the possibility of an action related to specific circumstances. The circumstances (that is, the
condition) can be stated, but they don't have to be. Note the following examples, with the conditional verb in
boldface:

Si tuviera dinero, ira al cine. If I had money, I would go to the movies. (The condition is having
money. In this case, the condition in Spanish is stated in the imperfect subjunctive, as is very common. It
is also stated in the subjunctive in the English sentence, and this is one of the few constructions where the
subjunctive form is still used in English today.)
Yo comera la comida, pero soy vegetariano. I would eat the meal, but I'm vegetarian. (The
condition is being a vegetarian.)
Mara habra venido, pero su madre estaba enferma. Mary would have come, but her mother was
sick. (The condition is her mother's sickness. This sentence is in the conditional perfect form, using the
conditional tense of haber followed by the past participle.)
Mara habra venido. Mary would have come. (This sentence is the same as the one above, but
without the condition explicitly stated. The condition would have to be inferred from the context.)
Con ms dinero, yo ganara. With more money, I would win. (The condition is having money. This is
a case where a condition is expressed without using si.)
Yo no hablara con ella. I wouldn't talk with her. (The condition is unstated.)

In a dependent clause following a main clause in the past tense: In such cases, the conditional tense is
used to describe an event that might have happened after the event in the main clause. A few examples
should help clarify this usage:

Dijo que sentiramos enfermos. He said that we would feel sick. (In this case, feeling sick
happened, or might have happened or will happen, after he made his statement. Note than in such a
sentence construction, the que, or "that," doesn't always have to be translated into English.)
Supe que yo saldra. I knew I would leave. (As in the above sentence, the act of leaving isn't
connected to a specific period of time, except that it takes place, or could take place, at some time after
the knowing.)
Me prometi que ganaran. She promised me they would win. (Again, we can't tell from this
sentence whether they actually won, but if they did it came after the promise.)

To politely make requests or state desires: The conditional can be used to sound less blunt.

Me gustara salir. I would like to leave. (This sounds gentler than Quiero salir, "I want to leave.")
Podra obtener un coche? Would I be able to obtain a car?

Note that querer in the subjunctive is sometimes used in a similar way: Quisiera un taco, por favor. I would
like a taco, please.
Other usages of the conditional tense, such as where it wouldn't be translated as "would," are explained in this
lesson. Another lesson explains the conjugation of the conditional tense.

Writing Business and Personal Letters in Spanish

'Querido' and 'Estimado' Are Common Greetings
By Gerald Erichsen, About.com

See More About:

being polite in spanish

written spanish
spanish correspondence

Whether you're corresponding with a Spanish-speaking friend or writing a formal business letter, the
greetings and salutations in this lesson can help give your letters credibility and make them seem more
authentic and less like you're mimicking English.
In English, it is common to begin both personal letters and business correspondence with "Dear ___" and to
end them with "Sincerely." In Spanish, however, there is more variation depending on how formal you wish to
be.
Greetings: In personal correspondence, the equivalent of "dear" is querido or querida, depending on the sex
of the person. The plural form can also be used. In Spanish, it is more common to follow the greeting with a
colon rather than the comma usually used in English.

Querido Roberto (Dear Roberto)

Querida Ana (Dear Ana)
Queridos Juan y Lisa (Dear John and Lisa)

But querido is too casual for business correspondence, especially where you aren't a friend of the recipient.
Use estimado instead. The word literally means "esteemed," but it is understood the same was as "dear"
would be in English:

Estimado Sr. Rodrguez (Dear Mr. Rodriguez)

Estimada Sra. Cruz (Dear Mrs./Ms. Cruz)

Estimada Srta. Gonzlez (Dear Miss Gonzalez)

Spanish doesn't have a true equivalent of the English salutation Ms. (and in Spanish, the distinction between
seora and seorita can be one of age rather than marital status). It normally is fine to use the courtesy title
of Sra. (the abbreviation for seora) if you don't know whether she is married. In fact, you should use Sra.
unless you know the woman prefers Srta.
If you don't know the name of the person you're writing to, you can use the following formats:

Muy seor mo (Dear sir)

Estimado seor (Dear sir)
Muy seora ma (Dear madam)
Estimada seora (Dear madam)
Muy seores mos (Dear sirs, dear sirs/madams)
Estimados seores (Dear sirs, dear sirs/madams)

The Spanish equivalent of "to whom it may concern" is a quin corresponda.

Salutations: Although the following closings for personal letters may sound overly affectionate to English
speakers, they are quite commonly used:

Un abrazo (literally, a hug)

Un fuerte abrazo (literally, a strong hug)
Cariosos saludos (roughly, kind regards)
Afectuosamente (affectionately)

The following are common with close friends or family members:

Besos y abrazos (literally, kisses and hugs)
Besos (literally, kisses)
Con todo mi cario (with all my caring)
Con todo mi afecto (with all my affection)

In business correspondence, the most common ending, used in much the same way as "sincerely" in English,
is atentamente. That can also be expanded to le saluda atentamente or les saluda atentamente, depending on
whether you're writing to one or to more persons, respectively. A more casual ending that can be used in
business letters is cordialmente.
There are many other greetings and salutations that can be used other than those listed, But these will be
suitable in nearly all situations.

Giving Advice
Subjunctive Mood Among Verb Forms That Can Be Used
By Gerald Erichsen, About.com

See More About:

being polite in spanish

spanish subjunctive mood
spanish imperative mood
sugerir

aconsejar
There are at least three ways you can offer advice in Spanish, depending partly on how direct you wish

to be.
Statements of advice can be in the form of a command, in the form of telling a person what he or she is
obligated to do, or as a statement of advice using the subjunctive mood. All three methods have parallels in
English.
Commands: Commands may go beyond the point of being advisory, depending on the context, tone of voice
and whether your command is direct or indirect. In context, commands (also known as use of the imperative
mood) such as these can be understood as either advice or a demand:

Habla t a la polica, y diles que tu vecina est loca. Talk to the police and tell them your neighbor is
crazy.
Compre el producto, no el proveedor. Buy the product, not the provider.
No salgas ahora. Don't leave now.

Expressing obligation: Like direct commands, whether statements of obligation (such as "You should do
this" in English) are understood as advice or potentially as rude depends quite a bit on context, including
the tone of voice.
The common ways of expressing obligation are the uses of "tener que + infinitive" and "deber + infinitive."
When giving advice, you can soften the tone by using a conditional form of deber:

Deberas estudiar un poco acerca de las opciones. You ought to study a little bit about the choices.
Deberas escoger productos lcteos que son bajo en grasas. You should choose dairy products that are
low in fat.
Deberan ustedes ser ms positivos. You should be more positive.

With verbs of advice followed by the subjunctive: Because giving advice is often a way of expressing a
wish or a desire or certainly of referring to an event that may or may not occur the subjunctive mood is
used after the verb of advice. Common verbs of advice and possible translations include these:

aconsejar: to advise

sugerir: to suggest

proponer: to propose, to put forward (an idea)

These verbs should not be confused with verbs such as notificar and informar, which can be translated as
"advise," but only in the sense of "to inform."
Here are some examples of these verbs in use:

Te aconsejo que me olvides. I suggest that you forget me.

Te aconsejo que te cases en tu propio pas. I advise you to get married in your own country.
Sugiero que se pueda desactivar el foro. I suggest that you deactivate the forum.
Le sugerimos que visite nuestro sitio regularmente. We suggest that you visit our site regularly.
Sugiero que te comuniques con el centro meteorolgico de tu ciudad. I suggest you communicate with
your city's weather center.
Te propongo que escribas un articulo con lo que sabes de este seor. I suggest you write an article
based on what you know about this gentleman.
Te proponemos que dediques 3 minutitos a contestar este cuestionario. We ask you to spend just
three short minutes answering this questionnaire.

Lesson 17: Greetings and Polite Things to Say

From the La Cucaracha Grammar Chapter
When traveling to new places you always want to make sure to be polite,
so learning how to use greetings, please and thank you, I'm sorry, etc. - is
muy importante! If you wander around a Spanish speaking market one of
the first things you'll hear is "con permiso" - which is similar to "excuse
me" in English. Find a friend and practice using the expressions below. You
might like to try acting out situations where you would need to say things for example, "lo siento", "se puede" or "salud." It is much easier to
remember words when you've experienced the meaning of the word, rather
than just memorized it!
I remember one time in Italy I went to a hotel late at night, and they had no
rooms. The apologetic manager kept saying "mi dispiace! mi dispiace!" which if your Italian isn't too good, sounds like they are telling you they
don't like something. In reality it means "I'm sorry." I certainly never forgot
the word, or how to use it. The process of interpretation and attaching
meaning while in a situation is key to adding words to your vocabulary
permanently, rather than just long enough to fill out a quiz sheet.

Click above to hear an mp3 of some polite Spanish words

hola
bienvenidos
mucho gusto
el gusto es mo
me llamo
cmo se llama?
cmo te llamas?
te presento
adis
buenos das
buenas tardes
buenas noches

hello
welcome
nice to meet you
my pleasure
my name is
what is your name? (formal)
what is your name?
let me introduce...
goodbye
good morning
good afternoon
good night

Click to hear mp3

cmo est Ud.?
cmo ests? (t)
cmo le va?
estoy bien
qu pasa?
nos vemos!
hasta luego
hasta pronto

To listen, click on the arrow

Arriving / Llegando
Hola!
Hi!
Hola, como ests?
Hi, how are you?
Hola! Qu tal?
Hi! How are you?
Estoy bien, y t?
I'm good, and you?
Mucho gusto!
Nice to meet you!

how are you? (formal)

how are you?
how is it going?
I am fine
what's happenin?
be seeing you!
see you later
see you soon

Es un placer!
It's a pleasure! (Nice to meet you!)
El gusto es mio!
It's my pleasure!
Buenos das!
Good morning!
Buenas tardes!
Good afternoon!
Buenas noches!
Good evening! (Good night!)
Departing / Saliendo
Adis!
Goodbye!
Chau!
Bye!
Hasta maana!
See you tomorrow!
Hasta pronto!
See you soon!
Hasta luego!
See you later!
Nos vemos!
See you!
Abrazos!
Hugs!

The 23rd Word of the Month is: GREETINGS

This word originally appeared in our Spanish word of the month by email
Homepage: http://www.lingolex.com/spanish.htm

Introduction
You will notice that many greetings in Spanish and English have no literal meaning,
greetings often contain questions which are not meant to be answered.
An interesting point is that in English we always use "Dear" to start a letter even if we

are writing to our worst enemy, this would never happen in Spanish.

Spanish

English
Saying hello and goodbye

Hola.

Hello. / Hi.

Buenos das.

Good morning.

Buenas tardes.

Good afternoon. / Good evening.

Buenas noches.

Goodnight.

Adis.

Bye. / Goodbye.

Hasta luego

See you later.

Note: In England this is taken literally. If
someone says "hasta luego" in Spanish
they may not mean it literally.

Hasta pronto.

See you soon

Hasta ahora.

See you in a minute.

Hasta maana.

See you tomorrow.

Hasta lunes.

See you on Monday.

Cmo ests? / Qu tal?

How are you?

Bien. / Muy bien.

Fine.

qu hay?

What's up / what's new.

For many years I considered this as a very
silly greeting becuase it means "what is
there?" It made more sense when
someone told me that it comes from qu
hay de nuevo? meaning "what's new?"

Qu pasa?

How's things? / How's it going?

This is commonly used in Spain as a
greeting.
This had me extremely confused when I
first came to Spain as I thought it meant
"What's the matter?" Although in other
contexts it can mean this, it is really only
a friendly greeting and doesn't need a
reply. It is best to respond with something
vague like "Bien."

INTRODUCTIONS
(meeting someone for the first time)
Mucho gusto.

Nice to meet you (often said while shaking

hands and as an alternative to saying
"encantado" if the other person says it
first)
How do you do. / Pleased to meet you.

Encantado. / Encantado de conocerle.

A possible introduction might be:
A: Encantado de conocerle.
B: Igualmente.
no creo tener el gusto de conocerlo

I dont think weve been introduced

presentarle a Pablo a Juan

to introduce Pablo to Juan

Note that in this context we don't say
"introducir"

conocer

meet
Note: the translation of "meet" is
complicated in all the different situations
and probably deserves a word of the
month to itself.
KISSING

Although I can't speak about South America, in Spain, it is very common to kiss people
when you meet them. This is a kiss on both cheeks. Men shake hands. People don't
always kiss each other, for example in a business context. As an uneffusive Englishman
I don't really understand when you should kiss someone and I only kiss people when
they go to kiss me, I hope nobody thinks I'm unfriendly.
FORMAL LETTERS

Estimado seor / Estimado Sr. Len:

(formal)
Estimada seora / Estimada Sra. Len:
(formal)
Estimada Srta. Len: (formal)
Estimados seores: (formal)
Distinguido seor, etc. (more formal)
Muy seor mo/seores mos: (more
formal)

Dear
Dear
Dear
Dear

Sir / Dear Mr. Len,

Madam / Dear Mrs. Len,
Miss. Len,
Sirs,

Dear Sir,
Dear Sir/Sirs,

NOTE: colon (instead of comma) after

name
Le/Les saludo atentamente,
Atentamente/Muy atentamente,

Yours faithfully/sincerely,

Atentos saludos de
Reciba un cordial saludo de

This can be used to end a letter once a

relationship has been established

En espera de su respuesta, le/les saludo

atentamente

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

LESS FORMAL LETTERS

Estimado Pedro:
Estimada Sra. Len:

Dear Pedro,
Dear Mrs. Len,

Un cordial saludo,
Reciba un cordial saludo de

Yours truly,

INFORMAL LETTERS
Querido Paco:

Dear Paco,

Un abrazo de
Un fuerte abrazo,
Un carioso saludo

Love

The 22nd Word of the Month is: TERRORISM

This word originally appeared in our Spanish word of the month by email
Homepage: http://www.lingolex.com/spanish.htm

Introduction
This Word of the Month followed the events of September 11th. We are sorry to
choose such a depressing topic for this month's WOM but as nobody is speaking about
anything else I thought it would be a good idea to give you the main vocabulary
associated with the recent atrocities. The vocabulary was harvested from the the web
sites of the main Spanish newspapers such as http://www.elmundo.es/
http://elpais.es etc. Reading newspapers is a good way to improve your Spanish and
be able to speak about current affairs.

Spanish

English
FRASES COMUNES

el terrorismo

terrorism

la guerra contra el terrorismo

war against terrorism

la lucha contra el terrorismo

un/una terrorista

a terrorist
a bomber

un grupo/banda terrorist

a terrorist group

una bomba (nuclear / atmica)

a (nuclear / atom) bomb

el bombardeo (from aircraft)

el atentado terrorista (be terrorists)

bombing

un atentado terrorista

bombing (by terrorists)

terrorist attack

bombardear (from air)

colocar una bomba en

to bomb
to bomb / to plant a bomb in

un coche bomba

a car bomb

una explosin

an explosion

estallar / explotar
La bomba estall a las 6.00.

to explode / to go off
The bomb went off at six o'clock.

un artificiero
No estall gracias a la intervencin de los
artificieros.

a bomb disposal expert

It didn't explode thanks to the
intervention of the bomb disposal
experts.

derrumbarse
El edificio se derrumb.

to collapse
The building collapsed.

un piloto suicida

a suicide pilot

secuestrar / raptar

to kidnap

un rescate

a ransom

exigir un rescate por alguien

to hold someone to / for ransom

un rehn

a hostage

tomar / tener a alguien como rehn

to take / hold someone hostage

secuestrar (avin /

to hijack

un/a secuestrador/a
un/ pirata areo/a

a hijacker
a hijacker (of planes)

un secuestro

a hijacking

represalia

reprisal

la intervencin del ejrcito

military action

rgimen

a regime

las torres gemelas

the twin towers

frustrar un atentado terrorista

to foil a terrorist attack

violacion a los derechos humanos

violation of human rights

dao colateral

colateral damage

autorizar el uso de la fuerza contra los

terroristas.

authorise the use of force against

terrorists.

el Centro Mundial de Comercio

World Trade Center

secuestrado

the person who is kidnapped

secuestrador

the kidnapper

secuestro

the kidnapping (note that in Spanish the

words for a hijack and a kidnapping are
the same)

ataque areo

air raid / air attack

WAR VOCABULARY

la accin de guerra / armas

No descart la intervencin del ejrcito
Respaldara una accin militar de los Estados
Unidos.

military action
He didn't rule out military action.
He would back military action by the
USA.

un portaaviones

an aircraft carrier

un campamento de instruccin

a training camp

las armas nucleares

nuclear weapons

el ejrcito

the army

un soldado

a soldier

nuestras tropas

our troops

la marina / la armada
la armada britnica
la marina de los EEUU

the navy
the Royal Navy
the US navy

base area

air base

los despliegues

deployments

una batalla

a battle

una bandera

a flag

una amenaza

a threat

el enemigo

the enemy

un acto blico / un acto de guerra

an act of war

el uso de la fuerza

the use of force

una fuerza disuasoria

a deterrent

herido

wounded

un despliegue miitar

a military deployment

sede / oficina central

headquarters

un alto el fuego

a ceasefire

bnker

bunker

guerra santa

holy war

OTAN

NATO
POLITICAL / MILITARY ACTIONS

congelar los fondos

to freeze financial assets / accounts

imponer sanciones contra

to impose sanctions against

las sanciones militares / econmicas

military / economic sanctions

habr que extremar la vigilancia

security will have to be tightened

derribar un rgimen / gobierno

to overthrow a regime / government

el proceso de paz

the peace process

el levantamiento de sanciones a Pakistn

the lifting of sanctions against Pakistan

tomar la medidas necesarias a fin de

garantizar la seguridad de los ciudadanos.

take the necessary measures in order to

guarantee the safety of the citizens.

La Operacin Libertad Duradera

Operation Enduring Freedom

OTRAS FRASES

niega estar involucrado en el atentado

he denies being involved in the attack