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Ordering Explained (text lesson)

Use “necesito” to tell people that you need a room in a hotel, need information, or need to find a bathroom!

Use “quiero” to tell people that you want those shoes, want to go shopping, or want to do a tour.

Use “me gustaría” (or its equivalent quisiera) to order food at a restaurant, offer an opinion about what you would like to do, or talk about what you would like to do someday.

Take a look at the conversation you learned in the previous part of the course to see how these three important phrases are used.

» Spanish Conversation

»In English, this conversation goes as follows:

How to Order in Spanish

When you’re ordering food at a café or restaurant, it’s only polite to tell the waiter what you’d like to order … rather than what you want. When traveling in a foreign country, you don’t want to be seen as demanding! So it’s good to get into the habit of using me gustaría or quisiera.

Literally, me gustaría means, “It would please me.” It would please me to have the chicken. It would please me to have a coffee.

It is often used to request something in a polite way. For example…

Always append your request with the two magic words that will increase your chances of better, faster, and more gracious service: por favor ... please!

For example,

When the waiter returns your order, it’s only polite to add, “Thank you.”

Something to Drink

Ordering algo para tomar, or something to drink, is one of the most basic ordering experiences and is a good way to try out your Spanish. Imagine you are in a cafetería, or a coffee shop. What will you order and how will you say it? Here are some options.

Me gustaría…

If you want to streamline your Spanish even further, you don’t actually have to tell a waiter, “I would like a cup of coffee.” You could just say, “A coffee, please.”

Please note that it can be easy to confuse what “café” means in Spanish with what the same word means in English. A café, in English, is a place where coffee is sold. Un café, in Spanish, is the actual coffee drink.

Emergency! I Need Help!

If you are going to spend any time in a Spanish-speaking country, you need to know how to ask for help. So memorize this essential word:

If you don’t remember any other words from this section, remember that if you’re in trouble you can always shout, “¡Ayuda!” and be understood.

If the help you need isn’t of an essential nature, here are the two most useful phrases you can have at your disposal.

If you need help with something, just add “con“ and the thing you need help with to the end of either of the above phrases. Look at the following sentences. To understand them, you need to know that “las maletas” are the suitcases.

Let’s see how you could put these words into use. Imagine that you have just checked into a hotel. The bellboy (el botones) asks you if you need help with your bags.

Did you understand that? You told the bellboy that you didn’t need help, thank you. Or, you could have just said, “No, gracias.” No, thanks.

It’s nice to be able to ask for help in these circumstances, but in real emergencies you will need something a bit stronger than, “I need help.” Here are three powerful words that will catch everyone’s attention

Before you travel to any Spanish-speaking country, I recommend that you commit these three words to memory. They will be your safety net if you get caught in a dangerous situation.

There’s Even More Ahead!

This is just the beginning of your Spanish education. There’s so much more to learn … like how to go shopping, how to get a hotel room, how to fill out forms, how to set up a time to meet your new Spanish friends, even how to flirt and how to argue! Rocket Spanish teaches you Spanish in an innovative, comprehensive learning package based on how people actually say things. My premium services give you access to the full 31-lesson Interactive Audio Course, plus an incredibly useful Conversation Course chock-full of words and phrases you can start using immediately. You’ll get cutting-edge software that will make learning new vocabulary a snap, whether you choose to use our included vocabulary lists or design your own. If you need extra help with grammar, you’ll also get our fully-illustrated, easy-to-read grammar guides.

If you ever thought that learning a language would be boring and dry, you haven’t tried out Rocket Spanish. Developed with a writer’s sense of storytelling, Rocket Spanish gives you a context for what you’re learning by showing you ways to use it in real life. You’ll participate in conversations that will make you smile, laugh, and want to jump ahead to the next one. If you want to use your Spanish in real life and have conversations with Spanish-speaking friends, then Rocket Spanish has what you need.

Bueno, qué tengas un buen día, y ¡espero hablar contigo otra vez! Have a great day, and I hope to chat with you again!

Atentamente,

Mauricio Evlampieff
Rocket Spanish

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