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 the conversation.
Do you remember how Mark asks for a bottle of water?
"Excuse me, a bottle of water, please."
Disculpe, una botella de agua, por favor.
First is Disculpe, meaning "Excuse me." Disculpe (enunciated). Disculpe.
Here, Mark is using the expression to get someone’s attention. He uses the formal form since he’s using it with someone he doesn’t know.
Note: This expression can also be used as a mild apology, but here Mark uses it to get the attention of the waiter who is nearby.
Next is the phrase una botella de agua meaning "a bottle of water." Una botella de agua (enunciated). Una botella de agua.
Let’s start with the word botella, "bottle." Botella (enunciated). Botella.
In Spanish, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Botella is feminine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
Before this is una, "a." Think of this as the English "a", like in "a bottle." Una (enunciated). Una.
Una is also feminine and singular to agree with botella.
Next is de, meaning "of." De (enunciated). De.
Then is agua, meaning "water." Agua (enunciated). Agua.
Together, it's una botella de agua. "A bottle of water." Una botella de agua.
Last is por favor, "please." Por favor (enunciated). Por favor.
All together, it's Disculpe, una botella de agua, por favor. "Excuse me, a bottle of water, please."
Disculpe, una botella de agua, por favor.
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember the waiter’s response,
"Yes, immediately."
Sí, en seguida.
First is the word, Sí. "Yes." Sí (enunciated). Sí.
The waiter acknowledges Mark by saying, Sí. "Yes." Sí (enunciated). Sí.
Next is en seguida, which translates as "immediately." En seguida (enunciated). En seguida.
All together, it's Sí, en seguida. "Yes, immediately."
Sí, en seguida.
The pattern is
Disculpe, ITEMnoun phrase, por favor.
"Excuse me, ITEM, please.”
Disculpe, ITEMnoun phrase, por favor.
To use this pattern, simply replace the ITEM placeholder with the object you are requesting.
Note: This pattern requires a noun phrase in which either a definite or indefinite article is followed by a noun. The gender and number of the article will depend on the noun that follows it.
Imagine you'd like to order something from the menu. Menú. (enunciated). Menú.
Menú is masculine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
El. Think of this as “the” English, like in "the menu." El (enunciated). El.
El is also masculine and singular to agree with Menú.
Together, el menú, “the menu.” El menú.
Say
"Excuse me, the menu, please."
Ready?
Disculpe, el menú, por favor.
"Excuse me, the menu, please."
Disculpe, el menú, por favor.
When you want to ask for an item by name, you need to include an article. Let’s review indefinite and definite articles.
Note: we’ll focus on the singular forms in this lesson.
Indefinite Article
The indefinite article is like the English "a," as in "a coffee."
The masculine indefinite articles is un, as in un café, a coffee.
The feminine indefinite article is una, as in una botella de agua, a bottle of water.
Definite Article
The definite article is like the English "the," as in "the menu."
The masculine definite articles is el, as in el menu, the menu.
The feminine definite article is la, as in la cuenta, the check.

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