Learn Spanish watching Lingus.tv

Grammar notes

• ¿me podría indicar usted cómo llegar a una cama?

  Might you indicate to me how to get to a bed?

  ¿Me podría decir cómo llegar a la oficina de turismo?

  Could you tell me how to get to the tourism office?

  Pay attention to the use of USTED, this is the formal form to talk to someone we don't know or is older than us and we want to express respect. In Spanish we use USTED and the verb in the 3rd person. Examle: ¿Usted quiere tomar algo? Would you like something to drink?

  When we ask for directions we use expressions like:

  ¿Me podría decir dónde ....?

  ¿Me podría indicar...? These two are more formal than the following one:

  ¿Puede usted decirme...?
• te has pasado con el vodka

  You're drunk on vodka

  Te has pasado con el vodka.

  You're drunk on vodka.

  We use the verb PASARSE CON + something, when we mean that we have abuse of something. This is quite coloquial.
• coge

  take

  Coge la primera calle a la derecha.

  Take first street on the right.

  At this chapter we are learning how to express directions, one of the ways is through IMPERATIVE, a form of the verb. For example: Verb COGER, the imperative form for the second person singular (YOU) is COGE. Other examples are: TOMAR, TOMA, or ABRIR, ABRE. This is for regular verbs.

  Pay attention! This verb could be used in Spanish of Spain in this case to take a street. NEVER use it in this sense in South America as there it means to copulate in a coloquial way. So, instead of COGER use TOMAR.
• giras

  turn

  Giras a la izquierda.

  Turn left.

  Previously, we've seen the use of IMPERATIVE to give directions, we can also use a PRESENT TENSE. Examples in the chapter: GIRAS, SIGUES, COGES...
• guapetón

  bully (very handsome)

  ¡Guapetón!

  Handsome!

  This is a way to express gratefulness, fondness and frienship in a very familiar way.