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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Spanish by SpanishPod101.com.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to order at a restaurant in Spanish.
For example, "Excuse me, water, please." is
Disculpe, una botella de agua, por favor.
Hugo Hurtado Arias, is at a restaurant with his wife.
He orders a water.
Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.
botella de agua
"bottle of water"
botella de agua
botella de agua
en seguida
"immediately"
en seguida
en seguida
Disculpe, una botella de agua, por favor.
Sí, en seguida.
Once more with the English translation.
Disculpe, una botella de agua, por favor.
"Excuse me, a bottle of water, please."
Sí, en seguida.
"Yes, immediately."
Let's break down the conversation.
Do you remember how Hugo 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. Disculpe.
Here, Hugo 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 Hugo 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. Una botella de agua.
Let’s start with the word botella, "bottle." Botella. 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. Una.
Una is also feminine and singular to agree with botella.
Next is de, meaning "of." De. De.
Then is agua, meaning "water." Agua. Agua.
Together, it's una botella de agua. "A bottle of water." Una botella de agua.
Last is por favor, "please." Por favor. 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. Sí.
The waiter acknowledges Hugo by saying, Sí. "Yes." Sí. Sí.
Next is en seguida, which translates as "immediately." En seguida. En seguida.
All together, it's Sí, en seguida. "Yes, immediately."
Sí, en seguida.
The key pattern is
Disculpe, ITEM, por favor.
"Excuse me, ITEM, please.”
Disculpe, ITEM, 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.. Menú.
Menú is masculine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
El. Think of this like “the” in English, like in "the menu." El. 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.
The indefinite article is like the English "a," as in "a coffee."
The masculine indefinite article is un, as in un café, a coffee.
The feminine indefinite article is una, as in una botella de agua, a bottle of water.
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.
Again, the key pattern is
Disculpe, ITEM, por favor.
"Excuse me, ITEM, please.”
Disculpe, ITEM, por favor.
Let's look at some more examples.
Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.
Disculpe, una botella de agua, por favor.
"Excuse me, a bottle of water, please."
Disculpe, una botella de agua, por favor.
Disculpe, el menú, por favor.
"Excuse me, a menu, please."
Disculpe, el menú, por favor.
Disculpe, un café, por favor.
"Excuse me, a coffee, please."
Disculpe, un café, por favor.
Disculpe, la cuenta, por favor.
"Excuse me, the check, please."
Disculpe, la cuenta, por favor.
Disculpe, esto, por favor.
"Excuse me, this one, please."
Disculpe, esto, por favor.
Did you notice how the last speaker used esto in the last pattern?
Disculpe, esto, por favor.
If you don’t know the name of an item, you can point at the item, a picture of the item or its name on a menu, and use esto.
Esto, "this." Esto. Esto.
If you don’t know the name of an item and consequently its gender, you can point and use esto.
Let’s review the key vocabulary.
Café.
"Coffee."
Café.
Café.
Cuenta.
"Check."
Cuenta.
Cuenta.
Menú.
"Menu."
Menú.
Menú.
Let’s review.
Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.
Ready?
Do you remember the polite expression meaning "Excuse me?"
Disculpe.
Disculpe.
And how to say, "water?"
Agua.
Agua.
Do you remember how to say, "bottle?"
Botella.
Botella.
And how to say "a bottle?"
Una botella.
Una botella.
Do you remember how to say, "a bottle of water?"
Una botella de agua.
Una botella de agua.
Do you remember how Hugo says
"Excuse me, a bottle of water, please."
Disculpe, una botella de agua, por favor.
Disculpe, una botella de agua, por favor.
Do you remember how to say "yes?"
Sí.
Sí.
Do you remember how the waiter says,
"Yes, immediately."
Sí, en seguida.
Sí, en seguida.
Do you remember how to say "menu?"
Menú.
Menú.
And how to say "the menu?"
El menú.
El menú.
Do you remember how to say "coffee?"
Café.
Café.
And how to say "a coffee?"
Un café.
Un café.
Do you remember how to say "check?"
Cuenta.
Cuenta.
And how to say "the check?"
La cuenta.
La cuenta.
Let's practice.
Imagine you're Valeria Varela and you're at a restaurant. Get the waiter’s attention, and ask for the menu, or el menú.
Ready?
Disculpe, el menú, por favor.
Sí, en seguida.
Listen again and repeat.
Disculpe, el menú, por favor.
Disculpe, el menú, por favor.
Let's try another.
Now order a coffee, or un café.
Ready?
Disculpe, un café, por favor.
Sí, en seguida.
Listen again and repeat.
Disculpe, un café, por favor.
Disculpe, un café, por favor.
Let's try one more.
Imagine you're Hugo Hurtado Arias , and you'd like the check, or la cuenta.
Ready?
Disculpe, la cuenta, por favor.
Sí, en seguida.
Listen again and repeat.
Disculpe, la cuenta, por favor.
Disculpe, la cuenta, por favor.
Well done! This is the end of this lesson.
In this lesson, you learned how to order at a restaurant in Spanish, an essential skill for dining at a restaurant.
Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.
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