Invitaciones y otras preguntas

Fielding Invitations and Other Questions

MASTER THESE SKILLS

• Using verbs to extend invitations
• Using prepositions to join your thoughts
• Using prepositional pronouns to extend invitations
• Accepting, refusing, and showing indifference and indecision
In this chapter you’ll learn how to extend, accept, and tactfully refuse invitations to a variety of interesting and popular tourist attractions and sights.

VERBS FOR INVITATIONS

By far the easiest verb to use is desear (to want). It is a regular -ar verb and, therefore, quite easy to conjugate:
desear—to want
yo deseo (I want) nosotros deseamos (we want)
tu deseas (you want) vosotros deseais (you want)
el desea (he wants) ellos desean (they want)
You may also use the verb querer (to wish or to want) to extend an invitation. Remember, though, that querer requires an e to ie change within the shoe, while the nosotros and vosotros forms use the infinitive stem.
querer—to want
yo quiero (I want) nosotros queremos (we want)
tu quieres (you want) vosotros quereis (you want)
el quiere (he wants) ellos quieren (they want)

You may also use the verb poder (to be able to, can) to ask whether someone is available. Keep in mind that poder also has a stem change within the shoe from o to ue and that the nosotros and vosotros forms follow the infinitive.

poder—to be able to, can
yo puedo (I can) nosotros podemos (we can)
tu puedes (you can) vosotros podeis (you can)
el puede (he can) ellos pueden (they can)

You may use the idiomatic expression tener ganas de (to feel like) to ask what someone is in the mood to do. Remember that tener also has an irregular yo form: tengo and a stem change from e to ie for the tú, él, ella, Ud., ellos, ellas, and Uds. forms. The nosotros and vosotros forms follow the infinitive.

tener—to have
yo tengo (I have) nosotros tenemos (we have)
tu tienes (you have) vosotros teneis (you have)
el tiene (he has) ellos tienen (they have)
To extend an invitation, use the verbs discussed in this section, plus an infinitive, to form the invitation.

FORMAL
.Ud. desea ir . . . ? Do you want to go . . . ?
.Ud. pueden salir . . . ? Can you go out . . . ?

INFORMAL
.Tu quieres ir . . . ? Do you want to go . . . ?
.Tu puedes salir . . . ? Can you go out . . . ?

PLURAL
.Uds. pueden ir . . . ? Can you go . . . ?

PREPOSITIONS
You can use prepositions to show the relationship of a noun to another word in a sentence. Prepositions come in handy when extending an invitation, as well as in common everyday situations.
The prepositions listed here can not only help you to offer a suggestion for something to do, but can also help you give or receive any necessary directions.

PREPOSITION SPANISH PREPOSITION SPANISH

about acerca de by en
above, on top of encima de during durante
according to segun far lejos de
after despues (de) for por, para
against contra from de
around alrededor de in en
at a, en in front of delante de
at the house of en casa de inside, within dentro de
before antes (de) instead of en lugar de
behind detras de instead of en vez de
beneath, under debajo de of de
besides ademas de on en
between entre opposite enfrente de
outside of fuera de toward hacia
over, above sobre until hasta
near cerca de with con to a without sin

Prepositions That Require Special Attention

En and A. The selection of the correct word for at when referring to a place may present some difficulty. The following explanations should help eliminate some of the confusion:
• En means inside, or within an enclosed or specific place. Estamos en el aeropuerto. (We are at [inside] the airport.)
• A refers to a general location where specific boundaries are not suggested or implied: Vamos al aeropuerto. (We are going to the airport.)

A and De. As seen above, the prepositions a (to) and de (from) are used when referring to places. It is important to contract a and de with the definite article el (the) as shown below before a masculine singular noun.

A and de do not contract with la, los, or las:
a + el = al Van al cine. They are going to the movies.
de + el = del Salen del cine. They leave the movies.
Por and Para. Because por and para have the same meaning in English, you will need to determine which to use by their Spanish context as shown in the following examples.

Por is used in the following ways:
• To show motion:
Pase por la tienda. I passed by the store.
Entraron por la puerta. They came in through the door.
Pasean por esa calle. They stroll along that street.
• To state means or manner:
Lo necesito por escrito. I need it in writing.
Lo envio por avion. He sent it by plane.
• To mean “in exchange for”: Pagaré un dólar por eso. (I’ll pay a dollar for that.)
• To show the duration of an action: Estuvo enfermo por un mes. (He was sick for a month.)
• To indicate an indefinite period of time: Me voy por la tarde. (I’m leaving in the afternoon.)
• To express “for the sake of” or “on behalf of”: Lo hare por Ud. I’ll do it for your sake.
Lo hare por la familia. I’ll do it on behalf of the family.
• To give a reason or motive: Trabajo por necesidad. (I work out of necessity.)
• To express “per” or “by the”:
Va al cine una vez por semana. He goes to the movies once a week.
Son mas baratos por docena. They are cheaper by the dozen.
• To state an opinion or estimation, equivalent to “for” or “as”:
Me toman por profesora. They took me for a teacher.
Se le conocia por Pedro. He was known as Pedro.
• To place the agent (doer) in a passive construction: Fue escrito por Juan. (It was written by Juan.)
• To mean “for” after the verbs enviar (to send), ir (to go), mandar
(to order, send), preguntar (to ask), regresar (to return), venire (to come), and volver (to return):
Fui (Envie, Pregunte) por I went for (sent for, asked for) el medico. the doctor.
Vine (Regrese, Volvi) I came (returned, came back) por mis libros. for my books.

Por is used in the following adverbial expressions:
EXPRESSION MEANING
por eso therefore, so
por lo comun generally
por lo general generally
por lo visto apparently
por supuesto of course

Para is used in the following ways:
• With a destination of a place or a direction: Salimos para México. (We are going to Mexico.)
• With the destination of a recipient: Este regalo es para Ud. (This gift is for you.)
• To express a time limit in the future: Lo necesito para mañana. (I need it for tomorrow.)
• To state a purpose or goal: Trabajo para vivir. (I work [in order to live.)
• To show the use of an object: Es una caja para vestidos. (It’s a box for clothing.)
• To make comparisons by expressing “for” or “considering that”:

Para ser americano habla bien el español. (For being an American he speaks Spanish well.)
Note the following exceptions to these rules:
• When speaking about a means of transportation for a passenger, use en instead of por to express “by”:
Voy a viajar en avion. I’m going to travel by plane.
Envio la carta por avion. I’m sending the letter by plane.
• When using the verbs buscar (to look for), esperar (to wait for), and pedir (to ask for), do not use por or para, because the word for is already included in the meaning of the verb.

PLACES
If you are a traveler, student, or businessperson in the Spanish-speaking world, or if you happen to meet a Spanish speaker who needs assistance in your own hometown, you will find this list of place names quite useful.
amusement park el parque de atracciones
beach la playa
cathedral la catedral
church la iglesia
circus el circo
department store los grandes almacenes
fair la feria
fountain la fuente
garden el jardin
library la biblioteca
mall el centro comercial
movies el cine
museum el museo
nightclub el club
park el parque
restaurant el restaurante
theater el teatro
zoo el zoologico


PREPOSTITIONAL PRONOUNS
Prepositional pronouns are so named because they are pronouns that you use after prepositions. In many cases, prepositional pronouns are useful when you need to extend an invitation. The following table shows subject pronouns with their corresponding stress pronouns.

PREPOSITIONAL
SUBJECT PRONOUN MEANING
yo miI, me
tu ti you (familiar)
el el he, him
ella ella she
Ud. Ud. you
nosotros nosotros we, us (polite)
vosotros vosotros you (familiar)
ellos ellos they, them
ellas ellas they, them
Uds. Uds. you (polite)
The prepositional pronoun sí is used reflexively both in the singular and in the plural to express “yourself,” “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “themselves,” or “yourselves”: Piensa para sí mismo. (He thinks for himself.) You can use prepositional pronouns in situations where you would like to extend an invitation, or in other everyday conversations as follows:

• The prepositional pronoun is used as the object of a preposition and always follows the preposition: No es para ti; es para mí. (It’s not for you; it’s for me.)
• The prepositional pronouns mí, ti, and sí combine with the preposition con as follows:
conmigo with me
contigo with you
consigo with him/her/your(self), them/your(selves)

EXTENDING AN INVITATION

By combining all the elements presented so far in this chapter, you can now try to extend your own invitation.

1. Start with a verb in either its polite or familiar form:
.Ud. quiere . . . ? .Tu quieres . . . ? Do you want . . . ?
.Ud. puede . . . ? .Tu puedes . . . ? Can you . . . ?
.Ud. desea . . . ? .Tu deseas . . . ? Do you wish . . . ?
.Ud. tiene ganas .Tu tienes ganas Do you feel like . . . ? de . . . ? de . . . ?



2. Add an infinitive:
ir to go
salir to go out
venir to come

3. Use the correct form of a + definite article followed by the name of a place:
al cine to the movies
a la playa to the beach
a los parques to the parks
a las iglesias to the churches

4. Add a preposition + a prepositional pronoun:
conmigo with me
con nosotros with us

NOTE
Your final product should look and sound something like these examples:
.Tu quieres ir a la playa conmigo? Do you want to go to the beach with me?
.Uds. quieren ir al cine con Do you want to go to the movies nosotros? with us?

ACCEPTING AN INVITATION
Perhaps you receive an invitation that intrigues you. Saying yes is easy. Just nod your head and say, “Sí” to show your eager acceptance. You may also use any of the phrases listed here.

PHRASE SPANISH
You bet! !Ya lo creo!
Gladly. !Con mucho gusto!
Great! !Fantastico!
If you want to. Si tu quieres./Si Ud. quiere.
OK./I agree. De acuerdo.
Of course. !Por supuesto!/!Claro!
Thank you. Gracias.
Thank you. Le (te) agradezco.
Thank you very much. Muchas gracias.
That’s a good idea. Es una buena idea.
With pleasure. Con placer.
To express the phrase “You’re welcome,” you can use De nada or No hay de qué.

REFUSING AN INVITATION

Saying no is more difficult because you must remain tactful. An invitation can be cordially and politely refused by expressing regrets and giving a valid excuse. You may need to use the following phrases in both formal and informal situations.

PHRASE SPANISH
Unfortunately . . . Desgraciadamente . . .
I can’t. No puedo.
I don’t feel like it. No tengo ganas.
I don’t have the money. No tengo dinero.
I don’t have time. No tengo tiempo.
I don’t want to. No quiero.
I’m busy. Estoy ocupado(a).
I’m sorry. Lo siento.
I’m tired. Estoy cansado(a).
Perhaps some other time. Tal vez en otra ocasion.

In any of the expressions listed above that begin with I, you can change the subject to whatever is appropriate for the situation (they, we, etc.). Make sure, however, that when you do so, you also conjugate the verb and make the adjective agree with the new subject.

EXPRESSING INDECISION AND INDIFFERENCE
If you receive an invitation and are at a loss as to what to do, express your indecision or indifference by using the phrases listed here.

PHRASE SPANISH
I don’t know. No se.
It depends. Depende.
It doesn’t matter. No importa.
Perhaps./Maybe. Quizas.
Whatever you want. Lo que prefiera(s).
You will sometimes need to use the simplest of all the Spanish negatives, no, which expresses “not.” In simple and compound sentences, no precedes the conjugated verb; in compound tenses, no precedes the helping verb:

NO
SIMPLE COMPOUND
No estoy libre. No he estado libre.
I’m not free. I wasn’t free./I haven’t been free. (at a particular, specific moment in time)
No estaba libre. No habia estado libre. I wasn’t free. I hadn’t been free.
(in general—at no specific moment)
No estare libre. No habre estado libre. I will not be free. I will not have been free.
No estaria libre. No habria estado libre. I wouldn’t be free. I wouldn’t have been free.
When a sentence has two verbs, remember that no must precede the conjugated verb:
No quiero ir al parque. I don’t want to go to the park.
No podemos salir. We can’t go out.
No van a viajar. They aren’t going to travel.
No with Reflexive Verbs
In simple and compound tenses, no precedes the reflexive pronoun:

SIMPLE COMPOUND

No me divierto. No nos hemos divertido.
I’m not having a good time. We have not had a good time.
No te divertias. No se habia divertido.
You weren’t having a good time. You hadn’t had a good time.
No se divertira. No se habran divertido.
He will not have a good time. They will not have had a good time.
No se divertiria. No se habrian divertido.
She wouldn’t have a good time. They wouldn’t have had a good time.

TIME’S UP!

When an infinitive is negated, no precedes the infinitive:
Yo decidi no venir. I decided not to come.
Yo he decidido no levantarme temprano. I decided not to get up early.

1. Extend an invitation to a new acquaintance to go to a restaurant with you.
2. Extend an invitation to a friend to go to the circus with you and your family.
3. Accept an invitation to a nightclub.
4. Accept an invitation to visit a cathedral.
5. Refuse an invitation to a fair.
6. Refuse an invitation to the mall.
7. Give an excuse why you can’t go to the zoo.
8. Give an excuse why you can’t go the gardens.
9. Show indifference about going to the movies.
10. Show indecision about going to see the fountains.