How to Indicate Objects with the Help of Gestures

Learn how to indicate objects with the help of gestures

Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Spanish by SpanishPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for something at a grocery store in Spanish.

For example, "This, please." is

Esto, por favor.

Lucas Hurtado is at a small grocery store.

After finding something he wants, he points at the item and asks for it.

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

esto

"this"

esto

Aquí tiene.

"Here you are."

Aquí tiene.

Esto, por favor.

Aquí tiene.

Once more with the English translation.

Esto, por favor.

"This, please."

Aquí tiene.

"Here you are."

Let's break down Lucas's request.

Do you remember how Lucas says,

"This, please."

Esto, por favor.

This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern.

First is the word, esto. "This." Esto. 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. Lucas uses it because he’s pointing at something which is near to him.

Next is por favor. "Please." Por favor. 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. Aquí.

Then it's tiene. " have" in the formal register. Tiene. 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 Lucas is a customer, the clerk 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. Eso.

Imagine you’d like something beyond reach. In this case, use eso, "that." Eso. 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, use aquello, “that,” as in that way over there. Aquello. Aquello.

Aquello, por favor. That , 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.”

Remember, these can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in Spanish.

Again, the pattern is

ITEM por favor.

ITEM "please."

ITEM por favor.

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Esto, por favor.

"This, please."

Esto, por favor.

Eso, por favor.

"That, please."

Eso, por favor.

Aquello, por favor.

"That, please."

Aquello, por favor.

Eso y esto, por favor.

"That and this, please."

Eso y esto, por favor.

Esto y aquello, por favor.

"This and that, please."

Esto y aquello, por favor.

Did you notice how the speakers used a different pattern for the last two sentences?

Esto y aquello, por favor.

"This and that, please." Esto y aquello, por favor.

He uses the words esto and aquello together.

Esto. "This." Esto.

Aquello. "That." Aquello.

When requesting multiple items, you can join them with the conjunction, y, meaning "and." Y. "And." Y

The pattern is

ITEM y ITEM por favor.

"ITEM and ITEM please."

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let’s review the key words

Aquello.

"That. "

Aquello. Aquello.

Eso.

"That. "

Eso. Eso.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "please?"

Por favor.

Do you remember how Lucas says,

"This, please."

Esto, por favor.

Do you remember how to say "here?"

Aquí.

Do you remember how the clerk says,

"Here you are!"

Aquí tiene.

When you don't know the name of something, do you remember the word for "that" as in “that over there?”

Aquello.

Do you remember the word for "that,” when it’s close to the listener?"

Eso.

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Lucas. You’re at the grocery store to buy some bread, but you don't know the word. Instead you point at it and say,

"This, please."

Ready?

Esto, por favor.

Aquí tiene.

Listen again and repeat.

Esto, por favor.

Let’s try another one.

Imagine you’re Catalina , and you see a small snack you'd like to try next to the clerk.

Ask for "that."

Ready?

Eso, por favor.

Aquí tiene.

Listen again and repeat.

Eso, por favor.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Valeria , and you see an item in the showcase behind the clerk.

Ask for "that, way over there."

Ready?

Aquello, por favor.

Aquí tiene.

Listen again and repeat.

Aquello, por favor.

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to request something by pointing, an essential skill for shopping at a grocery store.

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

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