Five Minute Spanish Study / La gramática inglesa resumida.

Five Minute Study - SPANISH and ENGLISH compared

En estas lecciones breves se comparan el inglés hablado y coloquial con el español con el fin de ayudar al estudiante a apreciar tanto las diferencias como las similitudes lingüísticas entre los dos idiomas.

In small shops.

In most small shops in Spain: shoe shops, (zapatería), a grocer's (tienda de ultramarinos) etc. when you walk through the door you will be addressed with:

¿Qué desea? or ¿Qué querría?*

To the native English speaker this may sound abrupt, curt and even rude especially as the question may not rise in intonation at the end. Compare with the English:

Can I help you? (With rise in intonation)

However, this is perfectly normal in Spain and every formality and good intention is intended. Interesting though, nowadays, in large department stores such as "El Corte Inglés", which is now used to dealing with non-Spanish visitors, the assistant will ask something like:

¿Le puedo ayudar en algo, señor, (caballero, señora)?

May I help you with anything, sir (sir, madam)?

What learners should remember is that "gustaría" (would like) is not used to offer or ask for things in shops etc.:

Me gustaría un kilo de tomates, por favor. (...is wrong)

but...

Quiero un kilo de tomates, por favor.

¿Me puede poner un kilo de tomates, por favor?

(I'd like a kilo of tomatoes, please)

(Could you give me a kilo of tomatoes, please?)

or the more polite but perhaps unnecessary:

Quisiera** un kilo de tomates, por favor.

(I'd like a kilo of tomatoes, please)

*(Grammar point: note use of "r r" in "querria", which is distinguished from the single "r" by the former's strong trill. "Querría" = conditional: would you want). "Quería" = past imperfect: wanted).

**(Grammar point: this is the subjunctive form, which is used with the verb "querer" though not usually "desear" when we wish to be very polite in Spanish.)

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