Tuesday, April 6, 2010

How to Ask Simple Spanish Questions

OK, picture this...you are stuck in the middle of a Peruvian town that is in the middle of nowhere, you are hungry and tired and have no idea where the nearest hotel or restaurant is. What do you do?
Well, my wife would tell you that I would walk around for hours until I found somewhere to eat and sleep because I never ask for directions, unfortunately, in my case, she is probably right but any normal person would ask and therefore save themselves a whole lot of time.
Being able to ask simple questions in Spanish is extremely important and whether you intend to learn the Spanish language fully or not, it makes no difference. When in a foreign environment it makes sense to be able to use enough of the local language to get by.
You will often need to ask questions for directions, when shopping, when buying tickets...the list goes on and on. Here are some very useful questions that are used in everyday life.
A very important question and one of the first you should learn as it could help you out immensely is...¿Habla ingles? Translated...Do you speak English?
If the answer is yes, ¡Fantastico! However, if the answer is no, then these other questions are your plan B!
Where is/are...? - ¿Donde esta/estan...? Very important if you are desperate to find a toilet! ¿Donde estan los servicios?... Where are the toilets?
When...? - ¿Cuando...? This is useful for finding out the times for trains etc. ¿Cuándo sale el próximo tren?... When does the next train leave?
What..? - ¿Que? This question is used most often and for everything from asking the time to asking what someone has just said. Spanish is often spoken quickly so ¿Que dijo usted? will come in handy and means...What did you say?
How much is it? - ¿Cuanto es? Everybody loves shopping, but my wife definitely uses this one more than I do!
How are you? - ¿Como estas? Using this phrase will endear you to the locals and any help you may need, will be gladly offered.
There are many more useful questions and phrases that will come in handy and it is always wise to at least purchase a phrase book before traveling, better still invest in a course that aims at getting you to a basic level conversational Spanish quickly.
Have you planned a trip to a Spanish speaking country? Would you like to be able to do more than to just order a coffee in Spanish? If so, then you will want to know how you can EASILY LEARN SPANISH in as little as EIGHT WEEKS! Click here for more information.
Daniel Major - EzineArticles Expert Author