Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at Ben's request.
Do you remember how Ben says,
"This, please."
Esto, por favor.
This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern.
First is the word, esto. "This." Esto (enunciated). Esto.
If you don’t know the name of an item and consequently its gender, you can point and use esto.
It refers to something which is near the speaker. Ben uses it because he’s pointing at something which is near to him.
Next is por favor. "Please." Por favor (enunciated). Por favor.
All together, it’s Esto, por favor. "This, please."
Esto, por favor.
Do you remember how the clerk says,
"Here you are."
Aquí tiene.
First is aquí, which means "here." Aquí (enunciated). Aquí.
Then it's tiene. "[You] have" in the formal register. Tiene (enunciated). Tiene.
Tiene is the shortened form of usted tiene. Usted, a formal word meaning “you,” is omitted as it’s understood from the conjugated form of the verb
All together, it's Aquí tiene, "Here you are," in the formal register. Because Ben is a customer, Gabriel Molina uses formal language with him.
Tiene is from the verb, tener, meaning "to have." tener.
Aquí tiene. "Here you are."
Aquí tiene.
The pattern is
ITEM por favor.
ITEM "please."
ITEM por favor.
To use this pattern, simply replace the ITEM placeholder with the thing you want.
Note: This pattern requires a demonstrative pronoun, which is determined by the location, gender and the number of the desired item.
If you want an object somewhat out of your reach, you can use eso, “that”. Eso (enunciated). Eso.
Imagine you’d like something beyond reach. In this case, use eso, "that." Eso (enunciated). Eso.
Say
"That, please."
Ready?
Eso, por favor.
"That, please."
Eso, por favor.
The phrases, Esto, por favor, and Eso, por favor, can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in Spanish.
Note: for an item quite far from the speaker and listener, use aquello, “that,” as in that over there. Aquello. Aquello.
Aquello, por favor. That (way over there), please. Aquello, por favor.
If you don’t know the name of an item and consequently its gender, you can use these pronouns.
To recap:
Close to the speaker, esto, “this.”
Close to the listener, eso, “that.”
Far from both, aquello, “that (over there).”
All these pronouns can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in Spanish.

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