B1 · Unit 4 · 42 words, 3 texts with translation
Ask your neighbors to keep it down
Politely ask your neighbors for some quiet, complain without starting a fight and reach an agreement, using the conditional ("I would…") and polite requests.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
The conditional (haría): forms and polite requests
You already know quisiera ("I would like", A1, unit 6) and me gustaría ("I'd like", A2, unit 11). Gustaría is a conditional form: it means "would". Now you'll learn to make it from any verb.
Why you need it. "Turn it down" is an order. "Could you turn it down?" is a request, and it's hard to be offended by it.
How to form it. Take the whole infinitive and add the endings. They're the same for -ar, -er and -ir verbs:
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaría | I would talk |
| tú | hablarías | you would talk |
| él / ella / usted | hablaría | he/she/you (formal) would talk |
| nosotros | hablaríamos | we would talk |
| vosotros | hablaríais | you (plural) would talk |
| ellos / ustedes | hablarían | they/you (plural formal) would talk |
The same way: comería (I would eat), viviría (I would live), sería (I would be). The yo form and the él / usted form are the same; the conversation shows who it is.
Irregular verbs are the same ten verbs as in the future tense (units 2–3), with the same stem: haré → haría, podré → podría, tendré → tendría, saldré → saldría, diré → diría, vendré → vendría, pondré → pondría, sabré → sabría, querré → querría, habrá → habría.
Polite requests. After podrías (could you) and te importaría (would you mind) comes an infinitive:
- ¿Podrías bajar el volumen? — Could you turn the volume down?
- ¿Te importaría cerrar la puerta? — Would you mind closing the door?
- ¿Le importaría hablar más bajo? — Would you mind speaking more quietly? (formal)
- Yo no haría ruido a estas horas. — I wouldn't make noise at this hour.
The trap. ¿Te importaría…? literally means "would it bother you?". So to say "sure, go ahead" you answer no: No, claro que no (no, of course not). The answer sí means "yes, I do mind". English "Would you mind…?" works the same way: "Not at all" means OK.
A common mistake: using the past instead of the conditional. English "could" means both "was able to" and "would be able to", but Spanish has two different forms: yo podía is "I could" about the past, yo podría is "I could" in the sense "I would be able to". Spanish has no separate word for "would": it's inside the ending -ría.
Polite quería — and why it's not querría
In a store, at an office or at a neighbor's door, people in Spain often start a request with quería. In form it's the imperfect of querer ("I wanted", A2, unit 12), but it isn't about the past. The past tense just makes "I want" softer, like English "I wanted to ask you…" or "I was wondering…".
Three steps of one "I want":
| Form | How it sounds | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| quiero | I want | with friends, at home |
| quería | I'd like, I wanted to | anywhere; the most common choice in everyday life |
| quisiera, me gustaría | I would like | polite and a bit more formal |
- Hola, quería pedirte un favor. — Hi, I wanted to ask you a favor.
- Buenos días, quería hablar con la dueña del piso. — Good morning, I'd like to speak with the landlady.
- Perdone, quería hacerle una pregunta. — Excuse me, I wanted to ask you a question (formal).
- Quería una barra de pan, por favor. — I'd like a loaf of bread, please.
And what is querría? It's the real conditional of querer, with two r's, because its stem is the same as in the future: querré → querría. It means the same "I would like", but you rarely hear it in everyday speech: people say quería, quisiera or me gustaría instead. You only need to recognize it.
Don't mix them up in writing or by ear:
quería— one r, a quick tap: "I wanted" and the polite "I'd like";querría— two r's, rolled: only "I would like".
A common mistake: hearing the polite quería as a story about the past ("she wanted to, but changed her mind?"). No: if someone says it to you and a request follows, they want it now.
Words in this unit
la molestia — bother, inconvenience, nuisance
Perdone la molestia, soy la vecina del tercero. — Sorry to bother you, I'm the neighbor from the third floor (formal, woman speaking).
quejarse — to complain
Mi vecino se queja de la música. — My neighbor complains about the music.
la queja — complaint
Tengo una queja: la música está muy alta. — I have a complaint: the music is very loud.
respetar — to respect, to follow (rules)
Hay que respetar a los vecinos. — You have to respect the neighbors.
el respeto — respect
Los vecinos se hablan con respeto. — The neighbors talk to each other with respect.
perdonar — to forgive, to excuse
Perdona, ¿puedes bajar la música? — Excuse me, can you turn the music down?
el favor — favor
Necesito un favor. — I need a favor.
hacer un favor — to do a favor
¿Me haces un favor? No tengo llaves. — Can you do me a favor? I don't have my keys.
el permiso — permission
Con permiso, voy a pasar. — Excuse me, I'm coming through.
educado — polite, well-mannered
Mi vecino es muy educado: siempre saluda. — My neighbor is very polite: he always says hello.
maleducado — rude, bad-mannered
¡Qué maleducado! No saluda a nadie. — How rude! He doesn't say hello to anyone.
la paciencia — patience
Tengo mucha paciencia con los niños. — I have a lot of patience with children.
aguantar — to put up with, to stand, to bear
No aguanto más este ruido. — I can't stand this noise anymore.
soportar — to stand, to bear, to put up with
No soporto el ruido por la noche. — I can't stand the noise at night.
evitar — to avoid, to prevent
Para evitar problemas, hablo con mis vecinos. — To avoid problems, I talk to my neighbors.
harto — fed up, sick of
Estoy harta del ruido de la calle. — I'm fed up with the street noise (woman speaking).
estar harto — to be fed up, to be sick of
Estoy harto de este ruido. — I'm sick of this noise (man speaking).
el volumen — volume
El volumen de la tele está muy alto. — The volume on the TV is very high.
bajar el volumen — to turn the volume down, to turn it down
¿Puedes bajar el volumen, por favor? — Can you turn the volume down, please?
la norma — rule, regulation
En mi edificio hay una norma: silencio a partir de las diez. — There's a rule in my building: quiet from ten o'clock on.
la regla — rule, ruler
La regla es simple: después de las diez, silencio. — The rule is simple: after ten, silence.
la atención — attention
¡Atención, por favor! — Attention, please!
llamar la atención — to catch the eye, to surprise, to tell off
El cartel rojo llama la atención. — The red sign catches your eye.
la nota — note, grade
Dejo una nota en la puerta del vecino. — I leave a note on the neighbor's door.
el asunto — matter, issue
Tengo que hablar contigo de un asunto. — I have to talk to you about an issue.
golpear — to bang, to hit, to knock
Alguien golpea la pared toda la noche. — Someone bangs on the wall all night.
el golpe — bang, knock, blow
Oigo un golpe fuerte en la pared. — I hear a loud bang on the wall.
silencioso — quiet, silent
Mi vecino es muy silencioso: casi no lo oigo. — My neighbor is very quiet: I hardly ever hear him.
a propósito — on purpose, by the way
Mi vecino no hace ruido a propósito. — My neighbor doesn't make noise on purpose.
a estas horas — at this hour, at this time of night
¿Quién llama a estas horas? — Who's calling at this hour?
llegar a un acuerdo — to reach an agreement
Mi vecino y yo llegamos a un acuerdo. — My neighbor and I reached an agreement.
considerado — considerate, thoughtful
Mi vecina es muy considerada: nunca hace ruido de noche. — My neighbor is very considerate: she never makes noise at night.
la convivencia — living together, getting along
La convivencia con los vecinos no siempre es fácil. — Getting along with the neighbors isn't always easy.
el portal — building entrance
Mi vecino deja la bici en el portal. — My neighbor leaves his bike in the building entrance.
el rellano — landing
Mi vecina deja las bolsas en el rellano. — My neighbor leaves her bags on the landing.
el techo — ceiling
Hay una mancha en el techo. — There's a stain on the ceiling.
el cartel — sign, poster
Hay un cartel en el portal: «Silencio, por favor». — There's a sign in the building entrance: "Quiet, please."
el altavoz — speaker
Mi vecino tiene unos altavoces muy grandes. — My neighbor has some very big speakers.
el taladro — drill
El vecino usa el taladro a las ocho de la mañana. — The neighbor uses the drill at eight in the morning.
los tapones — earplugs
Duermo con tapones por el ruido de la calle. — I sleep with earplugs because of the street noise.
el insomnio — insomnia
Llevo una semana con insomnio. — I've had insomnia for a week.
los auriculares — headphones
Después de las doce escucho música con auriculares. — After twelve, I listen to music with headphones.
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