LinguaThree ways to order the same coffee
You already know quiero (I want). At a bar it is a perfectly normal order: Quiero un café. Spaniards soften it in two ways. Quería un café is the same verb in a softer form (literally "I wanted") – polite, very common, and it still means now. ¿Me pone un café? asks the waiter to "put" you a coffee; at a table you can also say ¿Me trae…? (bring me). All three end with por favor if you want to be extra kind.
| Order | Tone | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| Quiero un café. | direct, neutral | anywhere |
| Quería un café. | soft, polite | shops and cafés in Spain |
| ¿Me pone un café? | friendly request | standing at the bar |
| ¿Me trae un café? | friendly request | sitting at a table |
Para mí: saying who gets what
The waiter opens with ¿Qué va a tomar? or, for a group, ¿Qué van a tomar? – tomar is the verb for having food or drink. The shortest answer needs no verb at all: Para mí, un café con leche. Then for the others at the table: para él un té, para ella un zumo. Notice the article: un café, una tostada – you are ordering one of them.
Breakfast, the caña and the tapa
| You order | What arrives |
|---|---|
| un café solo | a small black espresso |
| un café con leche | coffee with plenty of milk |
| un cortado | espresso with a splash of milk |
| una tostada con tomate | toast with grated tomato and oil |
| un zumo de naranja | orange juice (Latin America: jugo) |
| una caña | a small draught beer (Spain) |
| una tapa | a small bite served with a drink |
| una ración | a full plate to share |
Paying: la cuenta and ¿cuánto es?
To pay, ask for la cuenta, por favor or simply ¿Cuánto es? – how much is it all together. You met ¿cuánto cuesta? with prices: that asks for the price of one thing (¿cuánto cuesta el bocadillo?). At the end of a breakfast the question is ¿cuánto es?, and the answer is a number: Son cuatro con cincuenta.
Buenos días. Quería un cortado y una tostada con tomate, por favor.Good morning. I would like a cortado and a toast with tomato, please.
¿Me pone una caña y una ración de patatas bravas? – Ahora mismo.Could I have a small beer and a plate of patatas bravas? – Right away.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| el camarero | waiter | El camarero trae dos cafés. The waiter brings two coffees. |
| la cuenta | the bill, the check | Hoy pago yo la cuenta. Today I am paying the bill. |
| ¿cuánto es? | how much is it (all together)? | Perdone, ¿cuánto es todo? Excuse me, how much is it all together? |
| para mí | for me | Para mí, un té con limón. For me, a tea with lemon. |
| el café con leche | coffee with milk | Por la mañana tomo un café con leche. In the morning I have a coffee with milk. |
| el zumo | juice (Spain; Latin America: jugo) | El zumo de naranja es natural. The orange juice is freshly squeezed. |
| el agua con gas | sparkling water | Prefiero el agua con gas. I prefer sparkling water. |
| la tostada | toast | Desayuno una tostada con aceite. I have a toast with olive oil for breakfast. |
| el bocadillo | baguette sandwich | Quiero un bocadillo de jamón. I want a ham baguette. |
| la tapa | tapa, small bite with a drink | Con la bebida ponen una tapa. They serve a tapa with the drink. |
| la ración | a full plate to share | Una ración de calamares, por favor. A plate of squid, please. |
| tomar | to have (food or drink) | ¿Qué vas a tomar? What are you going to have? |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which order sounds softer and more polite?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.