How to Ask for Clarification

Learn how to ask for clarification

Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Spanish by SpanishPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for clarification in Spanish.

For example, "Can you repeat it?" is

¿Puedes repetirlo?

Catalina Hurtado meets her neighbor, Adolfo González Borrego , for the first time in the lobby of their building.

Adolfo introduces himself but Catalina doesn’t catch his name and asks for clarification.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components,

repetirlo

"repeat it"

repetirlo

Note, Catalina uses informal Spanish.

Mucho gusto. Soy Adolfo.

Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo?

Soy Adolfo.

Once more with the English translation.

Mucho gusto. Soy Adolfo.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Adolfo."

Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo?

"Excuse me, can you repeat it?"

Soy Adolfo.

"I'm Adolfo."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Adolfo introduces himself?

"Nice to meet you. I'm Adolfo."

Mucho gusto. Soy Adolfo.

The conversation starts with Mucho gusto, meaning "Nice to meet you." Mucho gusto.

First is mucho, meaning "much." Mucho. Mucho.

Gusto, meaning "pleasure." Gusto. Gusto.

Together, Mucho gusto, literally, "much pleasure," but translates as "Nice to meet you."

When meeting someone for the first time, Mucho gusto, is a commonly used expression, but you may also hear the expressions Encantado, "charmed," or Gusto en conocerte, literally "Pleasure in meeting you," but translates as "Nice to meet you."

Next is Soy Adolfo. I’m Adolfo. Soy Adolfo.

First is Soy. " am." Soy. Soy.

Soy is the shortened form of Yo soy. In Spanish, the yo, "I," is usually omitted.

Soy is from the verb, ser, "to be." Ser.

Next is the name, Adolfo. Adolfo. Adolfo

Note: Adolfo only uses his given name. Catalina and Adolfo are young adults in an informal situation, so he only uses his given name.

Together, it’s Soy Adolfo. "I'm Adolfo." Soy Adolfo.

All together, it’s Mucho gusto. Soy Adolfo. "Nice to meet you. I'm Adolfo."

Mucho gusto. Soy Adolfo.

Catalina can't catch his name.

Do you remember how she asks,

"Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo?

First is Disculpa, "Excuse me," Disculpa. Disculpa.

Note: Disculpa is the informal form of "Excuse me." Disculpa.

In this conversation, Adolfo and Catalina are of similar age, so the informal disculpa is more natural.

Next is the word puedes, meaning " can," as in you are able. Puedes. Puedes.

Note: the Spanish word for "you," tu, is understood from context.

Puedes is from the verb, poder, meaning "can." Poder.

Next is repetirlo, which translates as "repeat it." Repetirlo.

Repetirlo is made up of the verb repetir, "to repeat," and the pronoun lo, which gets attached to it.

First repetir, "to repeat." Repetir. Repetir.

Next is lo, “it,” in this context. lo. Lo.

Together, Repetirlo, "repeat it." Repetirlo.

All together, ¿Puedes repetirlo? "Can repeat it?" ¿Puedes repetirlo?

All together, it's Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo? "Excuse me, can you repeat it?"

Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo?

Finally, do you remember how Adolfo says,

"I'm Adolfo."

Hint, you’ve heard it before.

Soy Adolfo. "I’m Adolfo."

Soy Adolfo.

In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in an informal situation, since Catalina and Adolfo are of similar age.

Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo?

"Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

To ask for clarification in a formal situation:

Disculpe, ¿puede repetirlo?

"Excuse me, can you repeat it?"

Note the two changes in the formal form.

First, Disculpe replaces Disculpa.

Disculpe, "Excuse me," formal form. Disculpe. Disculpe.

Second, puede replaces puedes.

Puede, " can," using formal Spanish. Puede. Puede.

Puede is the third person singular of the verb poder, "to be able."

The third person singular is used for formal situations when addressing a single person.

Let’s look at the expressions once more. First you will hear informal expressions, followed by their formal counterparts.

Listen and repeat.

Disculpa.

"Excuse me."

Disculpa.

¿Puedes repetirlo?

"Can you repeat that?"

¿Puedes repetirlo?

Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo?

"Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo?

Disculpe.

"Excuse me."

Disculpe.

¿Puede repetirlo?

"Can you repeat that?"

¿Puede repetirlo?

Disculpe, ¿puede repetirlo?

"Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

Disculpe, ¿puede repetirlo?

¿Puedes escribirlo?

"Can you write it down?"

¿Puedes escribirlo?

No entiendo.

"I don't understand."

No entiendo.

Did you notice the new expressions?

First is No entiendo. "I don’t understand." No entiendo.

Literally, No entiendo means "Not understand," but it translates as "I don’t understand."

No entiendo.

Entiendo is from the verb entender, to understand. Entender.

Note: Entiendo is a shortened form of yo entiendo. The pronoun yo, “I,” is omitted as it’s understood from context. Similarly, No entiendo implies “I don’t understand.”

Next is ¿Puedes escribirlo? Can you write it? ¿Puedes escribirlo?

First is Puedes, " can," informal form. Puedes. Puedes.

Next is escribirlo, which translates as "write it." Escribirlo. Escribirlo.

Escribirlo is the verb escribir, "to write," with the pronoun lo attached to it. Escribirlo.

Together, ¿Puedes escribirlo? translates as "Can write it?" ¿Puedes escribirlo?

Let’s review the key vocabulary.

Disculpe,

"Excuse me," formal form.

Disculpe. Disculpe.

Escribir,

"write"

Escribir. Escribir.

Escribirlo.

"Write it."

Escribirlo. Escribirlo.

Let’s review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember the informal way to say

"Excuse me."

Disculpa.

And how to say “repeat?”

Repetir.

Do you remember how to say "repeat it?"

Repetirlo.

Do you remember how Catalina Hurtado says,

"Excuse me, can you repeat it?"

Remember she uses informal Spanish.

Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo?

Do you remember the formal way to say,

"Excuse me."

Disculpe.

Disculpe

And the formal way to say,

"Can you repeat it?"

Puede repetirlo?

Do you remember how to say,

"write it."

Escribirlo.

And the informal way to say,

"Can you write it down?"

Puedes escribirlo?

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Lucas Hurtado. Adolfo Gonzalez , introduces himself, but you can’t catch his name. Start with, "Excuse me," and ask him to repeat it using informal Spanish.

Ready?

Mucho gusto. Soy Adolfo.

Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo?

Listen again and repeat.

Disculpa, ¿puedes repetirlo?

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Adolfo Gonzalez. Valeria Varela introduces herself, but you can't catch her name. Use formal Spanish.

Ready?

Gusto en conocerte. Soy Valeria Varela.

Disculpe, ¿puede repetirlo?

Listen again and repeat.

Disculpe, ¿puede repetirlo?

Let's try one more.

Imagine you're Adolfo. Start with, "Excuse me," and ask Catalina Hurtado to write it using informal Spanish.

Ready?

Mucho gusto. Soy Catalina.

Disculpa, ¿puedes escribirlo?

Listen again and repeat.

Disculpa, ¿puedes escribirlo?

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in Spanish. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of getting clarification on things when you're speaking Spanish.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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