Learn about asking for smoking or non-smoking seats
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Today, we'll cover getting to the table in a restaurant. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Now remember, when you enter a restaurant, you’ll hear one of the following; buenos días, buenas tardes, or buenas noches, depending on the time when you get to the restaurant. Then, you’ll probably be asked how many people are in your party and this will likely be followed by a question about whether you want a smoking or a non-smoking table. |
| Current laws in Spain for bars and restaurants to have two different areas for smokers and nonsmokers, if the establishment is big enough or to decide whether the whole establishment is for smokers or not. At the entrance of the establishment, you will see a sign indicating whether or not you can smoke. If there are two different areas, you’ll be asked about your preference in the following manner, ¿Fumador o no fumador? which means “Smoking or non-smoking?” |
| Let’s hear it again, ¿Fumador o no fumador? |
| ¿Fumador o no fumador? |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: ¿Fu-ma-dor o no fu-ma-dor? |
| Once again, ¿Fu-ma-dor o no fu-ma-dor? |
| You can respond by simply saying, fumador “smoking” or no fumador “non-smoking.” |
| Now, you can beat them to the pants by saying how many people there are in your party and non-smoking first. So, for example, if you are six non-smoking persons, you could respond to ¿Qué deseas?, which, as you remember, means “What do you want? / How may I help you? / What can I do for you?” by saying Una mesa para seis, no fumador., which means “Table for six, non-smoking.” |
| Let’s hear it again, Una mesa para seis, no fumador. |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: U-na me-sa pa-ra seis, no fu-ma-dor. |
| The first word, una, means “one.” |
| una |
| One more time, una. |
| Then we have mesa, which means “table.” |
| mesa |
| Break it down by syllable and hear it again: me-sa. |
| mesa |
| mesa |
| Notice that as mesa is a feminine noun, uno becomes una. |
| Then, we have para, which means “for.” |
| para |
| pa-ra |
| Once again, para. |
| Then we have seis, which means “six.” |
| seis |
| seis |
| Up to this point, we have, Una mesa para seis. |
| Literally, “One table for six.” |
| Followed by no fumador, “non-smoking.” |
| If you’re not sure whether the establishment you have entered is smoking or non-smoking, you can ask about this with ¿Se puede fumar? |
| ¿Se puede fumar? which means is “Is smoking allowed?” |
| Let’s break it down by syllable and hear it again: ¿Se pue-de fu-mar? |
| ¿Se puede fumar? |
| Ashtrays on the table are a telltale sign that the establishment allows smoking. Ashtray in spanish is cenicero. |
| cenicero |
| Syllable breakdown: ce-ni-ce-ro |
| And again, cenicero. |
Outro |
|---|
| Okay, to close out today’s lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for saying it aloud. You’ll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so buena suerte, that means “good luck” in Spanish. |
| Ok, here we go! |
| “Smoking or non-smoking?” - ¿Fumador o no fumador? |
| ¿Fumador o no fumador? |
| ¿Fumador o no fumador? |
| “Smoking” - Fumador |
| Fumador |
| Fumador |
| “Non-smoking” - No fumador |
| No fumador |
| No fumador |
| “Is smoking allowed?” - ¿Se puede fumar? |
| ¿Se puede fumar? |
| ¿Se puede fumar? |
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