Informal English to Spanish Question

Question

Hello,

I had a question about asking somebody for something. In english we usually say something like: "Can I have a soda please?" or "Can I go to the store now?" In english it is understood that the "Can I" really means "May I". It is fairly polite and definitely not demanding.

I'm a bit lost how one would ask somebody for something in spanish a similar way. For instance: "Puedo tener un coca por favor?" Would translate to: "Can I have a soda please" but not in the same way. It is more like asking the question "Am I able to have a soda". This seems awkward to ask in Spanish.

I also don't want to sound rude, but the only alternatives I can think of are "Quiero un soda por favor?" or "Voy al supermercado ahora?"

Could someone please help me clear this up?

Thank you

Answer 1

Sometimes tone of voice and por favor are all you need to soften a request.

This is exactly right in my humble opinion.

Additionally, it may depend on who and where and what you are asking for. Is it a store clerk, a bartender or waiter, or someones grandma you are asking, those may be things to take into account. In general though it is most common for me to hear people simply say "una cerveza por favor". They get straight to the point here. I don't hear many people say "puedo tener..." when requesting something like a drink, but I think it is acceptable, although you may get weird looks. You could also soften it with "podría" or "me gustaría ..." both meaning I would like or could I.

I guess in general no matter how you request something, just make sure to use a polite tone of voice and por favor and you will be fine.

Here are some examples of things I hear related to asking:

Asking a bartender for a beer: Una cervecita por favor.

Asking if I can do something, like smoke a cigarrette in a restaurante: ¿Puedo fumar aquí?

Asking someones grandma I am visiting if I can have a piece of chocolate in the candy dish: Me regala un chocolate, ¿por favor? or ¿Podría tener un chocolate, por favor? Although kids will simply say in a whiney voice "Chocolate, por favor"

Asking mothers permission to go to the store: Voy al super, ¿Esta bien? Although its more common to hear simply "ya me voy" although that implies the mother already knows where you're going.

There are a million ways to ask for things these are just a few examples although I should note I am not a native speaker of spanish so I could be wrong, but I hear these things a lot in costa rica, hope it helps. Just do your best and use a polite manner and you will be fine.

One last thing I just thought of is to note that instead of asking if "I can have" (puedo tener), you could reverse it and ask if you can give me, puede darme or simply "Dame una cerveza por favor." Give me, instead of Can I have.

Great answer. Thank you - hershey964, Mar 26, 2013

Nice. See my post below as to "Can I have...?" - --Mariana--, Mar 26, 2013

Answer 2

Are you asking if poder can be used for requests? I don't see why not. If you want to sound more polite, you can use it in the conditional: "¿Me podrías dar una gaseosa, por favor?" (In Perú, gaseosa means soda).

So it can be used for requests? It seems weird cause if you think about in English you're acutally asking "are you able to give me a drink" which is different then "may I have a drink". - hershey964, Mar 26, 2013

Right. Poder can be thought of as both "could/can" and "to be able to" - BigMike, Mar 26, 2013

Works well, anywhere! - annierats, Mar 26, 2013

Answer 3

Sometimes tone of voice and por favor are all you need to soften a request. The verb permitir is also useful

Is puedo tener un coca an acceptable way of doing this? Or just "un coca por favor?" how would you ask for a soda? - hershey964, Mar 26, 2013

The puedo is good, but tener is not optimal here. They don´t use tener as broadly as we use have. To some, that could sound like ¨Am i allowed to possess...?¨ You can also say ¨Quisiera...¨ for ¨I would like...¨ - rogspax, Mar 26, 2013

When you say the puedo is good is that to say i shouldn't have tener? So I can say: "Puedo una coca?" Or should it be "Quisiera una coca? - hershey964, Mar 26, 2013

Answer 4

Good question.

Using puedo is fine, just as using can in place of may is pretty common in modern spoken English. The tips you received of softening it with the conditional form, podría, are very good, and analogous to asking ¨Could I¨ instead of ¨Can I¨ in English.

Another polite, but very common way to request is to use the phrase ¨Me trae ...?¨ About like ¨would you bring me....?¨

hth

Thank you! That makes sense. - hershey964, Mar 26, 2013

Answer 5

Cheese's answer is excellent.

However, I just want to point out one important thing:

¿Podría tener un chocolate, por favor?

This would translate to "Can I possess chocolate?"

"Can I have....?" is not used in Spanish because it sounds off / not natural.

Take a look at this thread where it's explained very well by Lazarus. He says, Spanish does not use this approach, so asking literally "Can I have...?" sounds a bit like "Can I possess...?" It is weird."

E D I T

I just saw this by Rogspax---

"The puedo is good, but tener is not optimal here. They don´t use tener as broadly as we use have. To some, that could sound like ¨Am i allowed to possess...?¨

That's exactly right!