When talking to people you know, youll want to say what you think of things. In Spanish there are two main ways of doing this. You can either use creo or pienso, both of which mean literally I think. Or you can use me parece, which means literally it seems to me.
I think
Creo que tienes razón.I think youve got a point.Creo que deberíamos irnos a medianoche.I think we should leave at midnight.Pienso que Sonia tiene razón.I think Sonias right.Pienso que es un poco tarde para ir al cine.I think its a bit late to go to the cinema.Me parece una idea estupenda.I think its a great idea.A mí no me parece que sea así en absoluto.I dont think thats the case at all.¿LO SABÍAS?
Dont forget to add que (that) after me parece, creo and pienso. Its optional in English, but not in Spanish.
MAKING SUGGESTIONS
When youre with friends and colleagues, youll probably want to suggest doing things together. One simple way of doing this is to use podríamos (we could) followed by the infinitive. podríamos comes from the verb poder. For more information on poder, see here.
We could
Podríamos quedar otro día.We could postpone until another day.Podríamos salir a tomar algo alguna vez.We could go out for a drink sometime.Podríamos quedar en el Café Central.We could meet at the Café Central.Just as in English, you can also make a suggestion simply by asking ¿Por qué no? (Why dont?).
Why dont?
¿Por qué no les llamas?Why dont you phone them?¿Por qué no invitamos a Pablo y a su novia?Why dont we invite Pablo and his girlfriend?¿Por qué no quedamos algún día?Why dont we get together sometime?¿Quieres que comamos juntos?Why dont we have lunch together?Another way to make suggestions is to use ¿Y si ? (How about?) and a verb in the present tense.
How about?
¿Y si les invitamos a cenar?How about inviting them for dinner?¿Y si te vienes con nosotros?How about coming with us?¿Y si paso a por ti por la mañana?How about I pick you up in the morning?If you want to state your opinion, the Spanish en mi opinión is just like the English in my opinion.
In my opinion
En mi opinión, es una buena propuesta.In my opinion, its a good suggestion.En mi opinión, no es verdad.Its not true, in my opinion.En mi opinión, va a causar problemas.In my view, itll cause problems.When you want to ask someone what they think of something, you can use the verb parecer again, only this time in the phrase ¿Qué te parece? (What do you think of?).
What do you think of?
¿Qué te parece su última película?What do you think of his latest film?¿Qué te parece la idea?What do you think of the idea?¿Qué te pareció el nuevo equipo?What did you think of the new team?¿Qué te parece?What do you think?To agree or disagree with what other people say, you can use estoy de acuerdo (I agree) or no estoy de acuerdo (I dont agree).
I agree
Estoy de acuerdo.I agree.Estoy de acuerdo con Mercedes.I agree with Mercedes.No estoy de acuerdo con esta decisión.I dont agree with this decision.No estoy en absoluto de acuerdo con Maite.I completely disagree with Maite.¡Estoy totalmente de acuerdo contigo!I entirely agree with you!¿Estás de acuerdo?Do you agree?¿LO SABÍAS?
Remember that contigo is the way to say with you to someone you speak to as tú.
In Spanish, the verb tener (to have) is used in the phrase tener razón (to be right). For more information on tener, see here.
Youre right
¡Tienes razón!Youre right!Creo que tienes razón.I think youre right.Es Antonio quien tiene razón.Its Antonio whos right.TALKING ABOUT YOUR PLANS
Youll want to make plans with business associates and friends. If you want to talk about a definite arrangement, for instance Im seeing him tonight, you often use the future tense in Spanish. For more on the future tense, see here.
Youll want to make plans with business associates and friends. If you want to talk about a definite arrangement, for instance Im seeing him tonight, you often use the future tense in Spanish. For more on the future tense, see here.
Iming
Veré a Felipe el jueves.Im seeing Felipe on Thursday.La veré esta tarde.Im seeing her this afternoon.Iremos al cine esta noche.Were going to the cinema tonight.Comeremos juntos el próximo viernes.Were having lunch together next Friday.¿LO SABÍAS?
As youll see in the first example above, in Spanish you say ver a alguien. For more on this use of a, see here.
In English, to talk about the future we often say Im going to. Spanish works the same way. To say that youre going to do something, put voy a (Im going to) or vamos a (were going to) before the verb. voy and vamos come from the verb ir. For more information on ir, see here.
Im going to
Voy a telefonearle.Im going to phone him.Voy a decirle que no puedo ir.Im going to tell him I cant come.Vamos a decirles que vengan un poco más tarde.Were going to tell them to come a little later.MAKING ARRANGEMENTS
When organizing things with people you know, you can use ¿Qué te parece si? (Will it be all right if?) to ask if something suits them. parece comes from the verb parecer (to seem).
Will it be all right?
¿Qué te parece si cenamos a las nueve?Will it be all right if we have dinner at nine?¿Qué te parece si te llamo la semana que viene?Will it be all right if I phone you next week?¿Qué os parece si nos vemos más tarde?How about meeting up later?To ask somebody if they would prefer you to do something, use prefieres or prefiere (depending on whether you speak to them as tú or usted) with que and the verb in the subjunctive. For more information on the subjunctive, see here.
Would you rather?
¿Prefieres que quedemos en el centro?Would you rather we met in town?¿Prefieres que quedemos otro día?Would you rather we met another time?¿Prefieres que pase a recogerte?Would you rather I came to collect you?Would it be better to?
¿Es mejor invitar también a las parejas?Would it be better to invite partners as well?¿Es mejor avisarte antes de pasar por allí?Would it be better to let you know before dropping in?¿Es mejor llamarte por la noche?Is it better to ring you in the evening?Are we agreed?
¿Estamos de acuerdo sobre la fecha?Are we agreed on the date?¿Estamos de acuerdo en dónde nos encontraremos?Are we agreed on where to meet?¡De acuerdo!Agreed!¿LO SABÍAS?
¡Vale! is used to accept or to agree: ¿Vamos juntos? ¡Vale! (Shall we go together? OK!).
SAYING WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO
To say that you have to do something in Spanish, you can use tengo que (I have to) followed by the infinitive.
I have to
Tengo que hacer una llamada.I have to make a phone call.Esta noche tengo que quedarme en casa.I have to stay in tonight.Tenemos que estar allí a las ocho en punto.We have to be there at eight o clock sharp.To say that you have to do something in Spanish, you can also use debo (I must) and then the infinitive. debo comes from the verb deber. For more information on deber, see here.
I must
Esta noche debo irme temprano.I must leave early tonight.Debo decirle que no puedo ir.I must tell her that I cant come.No debes llegar tarde.You mustnt be late.To say that you should do something, use debería (I should) and then the infinitive.
I should
Debería llamar a Ana.I should call Ana.Debería irme ya.I should be going now.Deberías venir a visitarnos.You should come and visit us.¿LO SABÍAS?
As youll see in the first example above, in Spanish you say llamar a alguien for to call somebody. For more on this use of a, see here.