Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide

54 Seeking and giving permission This chapter considers the ways in which Spanish expresses the concept of permission, in formal ...

54.1.3 ¿Se puede? On its own, the expression¿Se puede? is used when seeking permission to enter a room, as in ‘May I (come in)?’ ...

¿Le importa/molesta que fume? Do you mind if I smoke? ¿Les importa/molesta que abra la ventana? Do you mind if I open the window ...

54.1.8 Rogar que+ subjunctive Rogar, literally ‘to beg’, ‘to request’, is normally used to request something formally, for examp ...

54.3 Stating that permission is withheld To withhold permission, use expressions like the following: no‘no’ perdone(a)/lo siento ...

55 Asking and giving opinions This chapter examines the different ways in which Spanish speakers ask and give opinions, and it a ...

¿Cree usted/crees tú que+ subjunctive or indicative?‘Do you think... ?’ The choice between present subjunctive and present indic ...

Me gustaría conocer su opinión sobre este problema. I’d like to know your opinion about this problem. Quisiéramos conocer su opi ...

Nos parece que no hay otra alternativa. We think there’s no other alternative. No nos parece que haya necesidad. We don’t think ...

Creo/creemos que+ indicative ‘I/we think that.. .’ No creo/creemos que+ subjunctive ‘I/we don’t think that.. .’ Observe that whe ...

Opino que sí‘I think so’ Opino que no‘I don’t think so’ These two verbs are found in a construction with que plus indicative ver ...

55.3 Enquiring about other people’s opinions The verbs most commonly used when inquiring about other people’s opinions are parec ...

Según el parecer de nuestros socios, hay que comprar más acciones. According to our partners’ opinion, we ought to buy more shar ...

56 Expressing agreement, disagreement and indifference This chapter explains and illustrates the ways in which Spanish speakers ...

accept a proposal or an invitation to do something, while others, like cierto, eso es, efectivamente, desde luego, tener razón, ...

Supongo que vendrás a París conmigo. – No/No sé/No estoy seguro. I suppose you’ll come to Paris with me. – No/I don’t know/I’m n ...

56.4 Expressing indifference To express indifference with regard to something, use expressions like the following: Me da (exacta ...

IV Expressing emotional attitudes ...

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57 Expressing desires and preferences This chapter covers the language associated with the concepts of desires and preferences. ...