How to ask respectful questions.

Question

Hello. I am a beginner when it comes to Spanish, and I'd like to begin asking questions in a respectful manner. Specifically, I travel to Argentina for business, and I'd like to be able to ask local merchants, hotel staff, wait staff, etc. questions without sounding like a brute. I recall from high school spanish (taken about 30 years ago, and unused since) that I should use "usted" when trying to be respectful. As an example, the question I probably ask most frequently is the obvious "Can you speak English, please?" I want this to come across respectfully, so I thought I'd use "Puede hablar usted ingles por favor?" Is this correct, is it awkward? I'd appreciate some advice. Thanks.

Answer 1

Yes, you're spot on with using 'usted' as the more formal, polite option.

You could say:

Puede hablar inglés? (usted)

Sabe hablar inglés? (usted)

Habla inglés (usted)?

To me the 'por favor' on the end sounds awkward and uneccessary but I'm not a native speaker so wait and see what some others say.

All the best!

The please makes no sense in English! It would only make sense if you knew someone could speak English but weren't. In that case you'd more likely say something like 'I don't speak Spanish, would you speak in English please.' - afowen, Feb 20, 2013