Perdone (usted)/perdona un momento... (formal/fam.)
‘Sorry, but.. .’Perdone (usted) que lo/la interrumpa... (formal, m./f.)
‘Sorry to interrupt you.. .’The expression with interrumpir is more formal than the other two.30.8 Using fillers
All languages use fillers, that is words which, without adding new information, serve
merely to keep communication going or fill in a pause while hesitating or searching
for the right word. In English, we use words like ‘well’, ‘well then’, ‘you know’.
Spanish uses the following words:Pues‘well’
Bueno‘well’, ‘now then’, ‘right then’
Hombre‘well’, ‘I don’t know’, ‘well!’, ‘hey!’, ‘really!’
Este‘well, er’ (esp. L. Am.)
O sea‘well.. .’ (lit. ‘that is’)
Mire/mira (formal/fam.) ‘look here’
No sé‘I don’t know’
¿Sabe/s?‘you know?’ (esp. L. Am.)30.8.1 Pues is often used as an opening, to express doubt or hesitation and in exclamations.
Pues mira, lo que tienes que hacer es esto.
Well look, what you have to do is this.¿Qué te parece? – Pues, no lo sé.
What do you think? – Well, I don’t know.
¿Te gustaría venir conmigo? – Pues, ¡claro que sí!
Would you like to come with me? – Well, of course!In some parts of Latin America, particularly in the Andean countries, pues tends to be
used at the end of the sentence, as a kind of reinforcement of the preceding sentence:No ha venido, pues.
He/she hasn’t come.No es culpa mía, pues.
It’s not my fault.30.8.2 Bueno, like pues, can express doubt or hesitation, or it can be used to start or resume a
conversation:
Bueno, no estoy seguro.
Well, I’m not sure.
Bueno, ¿qué me estaba diciendo usted?
Now (then)/right (then), what were you telling me?30.8.3 The use of the word¡hombre! is very common in Spain, not just to express hesitation
but also to convey other emotions, such as happiness, sadness.
BASIC STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNICATION 30.8