I am a smart aleck

Question

I am sure, for those of you who have been around for a while, that my amazing wit and profound humility are truly Homeric, but that is beside the point.

Now, for the smart aleck:

When someone asks me, “Can I go to the bathroom?”, “Can I see your drivers’ license?” etc., I generally answer, “I don’t know. Can you?”

I am in the habit of asking “May I?” I think it more correct than “Can I?” and I think that in English the latter has become acceptable only because so many people for so long have used it and dictionaries reflect changing usage.

So, in Spanish, is there a way to express this? I use “permitir” and “dejar”. Are there other ways?

Answer 1

Well, if you want to be very formal....but I must say this is seldom used , as a matter of fact, just as "may" is so seldom used nowadays .

¿Me permite usar el baño?

¿me permite llamarla de tú?

I don't believe that "may" is used so seldomly, at least in these parts; but I do agree than "can" is more common. - DonBigoteDeLaLancha, Jul 1, 2017

Answer 2

I was recently speaking with a (Mexican) teacher of (Mexican) third- and fourth-graders. She told me that when students ask, «Puedo usar el baño?», she replies (something like), «A tu edad, espero que sí».

(Obviously, I have not answered your question in any way. I just like to hear myself type.)

A native Spaniard friend from SevilIa once knew taught me to say ¿Puedo pasar al baño (por favor? - FELIZ77, Jun 30, 2017

Yes, pasar al baño is very common if it's a house or apartment, not at school for example. - polenta1, Jul 1, 2017

I like the retort, Jtaniel. :) - DonBigoteDeLaLancha, Jul 1, 2017

Answer 3

También puede usar 'poder" For example : ¿Puedo usar el baño? ¿Puedo ver su licencia? ¿Puede darme su dirección y su número de teléfono?

Hope to be helpful.

Hola Coffee ¿cuánto tiempo sin verte, amiga? ¿Que tal estás? - FELIZ77, Jun 30, 2017

Hola mi amigo Felíz \../ Qué bueno verte aquí Parece que todos volvemos a encontrarnos!So happy being back - 00376109, Jun 30, 2017

Welcome home, Coffee! :) - rac1, Jun 30, 2017

Hi Coffee, Qué alegria ! - porcupine7, Jul 1, 2017

Answer 4

The verb conjugations of gustar (to like) & querer (to want).

Answer 5

¿me deja usar su baño , por favor?. ¿Me deja su carnet de conducir?

Answer 6

Oh, my Gosh! The whole point of my post was to find an alternative to “poder”. And I forgot to mention it! However, I do have an old Ronco (K-Tel) home lobotomy kit available. Perhaps I should use it. All you folk are great and I love SD.

As illustrated by the comments above, the situation is exactly the same in Spanish. People use "puedo" all the time, which as you well know translates directly as "can" as opposed to "me permite", which is "may I". - Gekkosan, Jul 4, 2017

Many creative alternatives are feasible, yet the fact remains that "puedo ir..." seems to be the most common form in use. - Gekkosan, Jul 4, 2017

Answer 7

This reminds me of when we were schoolchildren. When we wanted to go to the bathroom during class hours we asked:

Señorita, puedo ir a la licencia?

It sounds so sweet now. And using the word "licencia" for going to the bathroom!

¿Puedo ir al baño?
¿Me permite ir al baño? ¿Podría ir al baño?
¿Me permitiría ir al baño? etc.etc.

Sometimes when we want to be a little more "refined" we could use the word Toilet or Toilette and we would pronounce it like "tualé" in Spanish.

Answer 8

Me permite ir....

Me deja ir...