"I would like" and "would you like"
How would you say "I would like to stay" and "¿would you like to stay? as in staying here in European Spanish? I seem to find different answers to these questions online (ie Me gustaría quedarme - (I would) and Le gustaría quedarte- Le gustaria quedarse (would you) Thanks in advance John
4 Answers
Many thanks for your rapid answer bosquederobl. This has cleared it up for me. John
John:
Bosquederoble has given you a very good answer.
Gustaría is certainly the first verb that comes to mind for an English speaker who is learning Spanish, because we typically think of To like = gustar = to be pleasing to.
However, if you dig a little deeper into the question: How would one say "I would like" in Spanish...it depends entirely on how you are using the phrase.
Some Spanish speakers say that gustaría is normally reserved for distant dreams and aspirations: I would like/love to go to Paris someday. Gustaría would be a very appropriate translation of "I would like" in this situation. Also, note that the pictures that Bosque posted are dealing with intimate, super-important situations. This is very different from telling a hotel clerk that you "would like to stay for one more night." or to a buddy that you would like to stay in the bar awhile longer.
Consider the following:
I would like a beer. (and, at least in the U.S., this would not seem overly polite...it's typical.)
Ponme una cerveza. Put me a beer.
Póngame una cerveza. Put me a beer.
Dame una cerveza. Give me a beer.
Deme una cerveza. Give me a beer.
Quiero una cerveza. I want a beer
Una cerveza por favor. A beer please
¿Me puede dar una cerveza? Could/can you give me a beer?
¿Me puede poner una cerveza? Could/can you put me a beer?
Tráeme una cerveza. Bring me a beer.
Tráigame una cerveza. Bring me a beer.
¿Me puedes traer una cerveza? Could/can you bring me a beer?
The ones with "put" are, of course, something we would never say in English...but it is probably the most common way to order a beer in Spain. All of the above phrases would be much more common in Spanish than using gustaría. Just add "por favor" to any of them, and they would be seen as perfectly polite. The ones that start with "Me puede" are considered quite polite even without a "por favor."
In terms of your phrase about staying, I would say that quiero / quieres / quiere would be the most likely verb used. However...this too depends on context. If you are talking to a hotel clerk or a buddy it would probably be quiero. If you are talking to a beautiful woman about staying overnight it might be gustaría. 
One final point...in many places quisiera (the past imperfect subjunctive of querer) (to want, to love) IS used to make very polite requests of this nature. Much more often than gustaría.
How would you say "I would like to stay" and "¿would you like to stay? as in staying here in European Spanish? I seem to find different answers to these questions online (ie Me gustaría quedarme - (I would) and Le gustaría quedarte- Le gustaria quedarse (would you) Thanks in advance John
Me gustaría quedarme- I would like to stay.
Would you like to stay?
¿Le gustaría quedarse?- Usted form
¿Te gustaría quedarte?- Tú form.
¿Les gustaría quedarse?- Ustedes form
¿Os gustaría quedaros?- vosotros form
I assume you know when to use each of the above. Formal/informal, singular/plural.
Before the gustaría you need the indirect pronoun, attached to quedar you need the corresponding pronomial (reflexive) pronoun. le would not match te.
At least in Mexico, I think an appropriate form of quisiera can replace the first part, for example "¿Quisieras quedarte?", but I don't know the preference in Spain.
Thank you kenhuizenga for making this even more clearer. It clearly illustrates the differences in attitude to the use of words in different countries.As a taxi driver I appreciate the difficulties some Foreign Nationals have in the use of English, so I adopt a K.I.S.S. attitude to speaking to them and it nearly always draws more from them than just a smile and nod of the head. I find the Spanish people very tolerant to someone attempting their language and this in itself increases confidence. My first attempt at Spanish was 'cuarto billetes a Barcelona - vuelta - por favor' Not perfect but I did get my four return tickets to Barcelona!'
