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Alex orders a coffee from Diego, who works behind the counter at a café.
por favor ("please," learned as a fixed courtesy phrase) is used freely in this and every lesson without a vocabulary entry. Note that o ("or") changes to u before a word starting with o- or ho- — you'll see this pattern later in the course.
How do I read these pronunciations? See the pronunciation guide.
1. Quisiera + Noun — Polite Requests
Quisiera ("I would like") is a soft, polite way to ask for something — much gentler than quiero ("I want"). It's the standard way to order food or drinks in Spanish.
2. Numbers 0–20
Here are the numbers from zero to twenty. You'll use them constantly — for prices, ages, and times.
3. Gender of Nouns & Articles — el/la, un/una
Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine, and the article that goes with them ("the" or "a") must match. Masculine nouns usually pair with el/un; feminine nouns usually pair with la/una. Café is masculine (un café); leche is feminine (la leche).
4. Adjective Choices with o ("or")
O means "or," used to offer a choice between two or more options — just like in English, you simply list them side by side.
5. Cuesta / Cuestan — Prices
Cuesta ("it costs") comes from the verb costar. Use cuesta for one item and cuestan for more than one — you'll see cuestan in a later lesson.
A. Fill in the Blank · Rellena el espacio
Fill in the blank with a word from this lesson's vocabulary.
- 1. un café, por favor.I would like
- 2.¿Pequeño, mediano o ?large
- 3.¿Con o leche?sugar
- 4.¿Cuánto ?does it cost
- 5.Cuesta dólares.three
B. Multiple Choice · Opción múltiple
Choose the best answer.
- 1.How do you say "I'd like a coffee, please" in Spanish?
- 2.How do you say "Small, medium, or large?" in Spanish?
- 3.How do you say "Just a little milk, thanks" in Spanish?
- 4.How do you say "How much does it cost?" in Spanish?
- 5.How do you say "It costs three dollars" in Spanish?
C. Rearrange the Sentence · Ordena la frase
Rearrange the words into a correct sentence, adding the punctuation shown in parentheses.
- 1.Tap tiles below…
- 2.Tap tiles below…
- 3.Tap tiles below…
- 4.Tap tiles below…
- 5.Tap tiles below…
D. True or False · Verdadero o falso
Based on the dialogue, mark each sentence T (true) or F (false).
- 1.Alex orders a small coffee.
- 2.Alex wants milk in the coffee.
- 3.Alex does not want sugar.
- 4.The coffee costs three dollars.
- 5.Alex does not want anything else.
E. Matching · Empareja
Match each question on the left with the best response on the right.
F. Translation · Traducción
Translate items 1–3 into Spanish, and items 4–5 into English.
- 1.I'd like a coffee, please.
- 2.Small, medium, or large?
- 3.How much does it cost?
- 4.Cuesta tres dólares.
- 5.Aquí tiene. Gracias.
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Which coffee, and when
Ordering coffee in Spain means choosing a form rather than a size. Un café solo is a small black espresso, un cortado the same cut with a splash of milk, and un café con leche half coffee and half hot milk in a bigger cup. That last one is a breakfast drink: ordering it after dinner marks you out, where a solo or a cortado is unremarkable at any hour. The place to drink it is a bar, which in Spain means a café that also serves alcohol, open from breakfast until late and functioning as the neighborhood's front room.