3 Requesting Basic Information and Addressing People Formally and Informally
Chapter objectives
In this chapter you will learn how to:
- Ask yes/no questions
- Learn the numbers 0-30
- Solicit information such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, age & professions.
- Address adults formally using usted
- Address children & teenagers informally using tú
Asking yes or no questions in Spanish
Numbers 0-30
Asking questions to solicit information
The first way we will learn to solicit specific information from someone is by using the question word CUÁL combined with the verb SER. For example:
¿Cuál es su nombre?
What is your name?
¿Cuál es su correo electrónico?
What is your email?
¿Cuál es su número de teléfono?
What is your phone number?
¿A qué se dedica usted?
What do you do (in life / for a living)?
Often it is helpful to ask for or provide the spelling of a name in order to ensure accuracy. To do that, we will need to learn the names of each letter. Look through the following presentation. The second slide gives you all the official names of each letter, but as you move through each individual letter on later slides you will learn alternative names for some of the letters (for example: B and V) that are important to know.
Now read and listen to the following questions and answers. When providing an email address we say arroba for @ and punto for dot (.).
—¿Cuál es su nombre?
—Mi nombre es Javier.
—¿Cuál es su correo electrónico?
—Mi correo electrónico es javi@javi.com: jota – a – uve – i – arroba – jota – a – uve – i – punto – com.
—¿Cuál es su número de teléfono?
—Mi número de teléfono es: cinco – cero – tres – cinco – cinco – cinco – ocho – dos – nueve – tres (503-555-8293).
—¿A qué se dedica usted?
—Soy higienista dental. / Soy estudiante.
Práctica Oral 3.1
Part 1
Record yourself reading the following sentence out loud with your best pronunciation possible. Say the numbers one at a time.
El número de teléfono de la clínica dental es 503-352-7373.
Part 2
Record yourself reading the following statements as questions by making an upward inflection with your voice as you read each sentence.
- Ofelia tiene hijos.
- Ustedes son de México.
- Él se llama Carlos.
- Ellas se llaman Nicol y Ana.
- Patricia es higienista dental.
Formal vs Informal
When addressing someone in a clinical and professional setting, you must decide whether to address them formally or informally. In Spanish there are different pronouns and verb conjugations that you’ll used based on who you are speaking to.
Práctica escrita 3.2
How would ask each of the following patients how they are doing? Choose between ¿Cómo estás? and ¿Cómo está?
- 12:30 p.m. A 20-year-old, female patient.
- 10:00 a.m. A long-time, 40-year-old male patient of esteem and familiarity
- 5:00 p.m. The grandmother of a patient.
- 9:00 a.m. The mother of a young patient.
- 7:30 p.m. An 18-year-old, male patient.