B1 · Unit 13 · 44 words, 3 texts with translation
Buy and sell secondhand things
Buy and sell used things from ads, haggle over the price politely and furnish a new apartment.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Haggling with the conditional: ¿me lo dejaría en…?, ¿te importaría…?, podría
You already know the conditional, the "would" form (haría, podría), and the polite request ¿te importaría…? from unit 4. Here they help you haggle: when you ask for a lower price, the conditional sounds soft and lets the seller say no without anyone getting offended.
How haggling goes.
- Ask the price: ¿Cuánto pide por el armario? — How much are you asking for the wardrobe? (formal) Here pedir means "to ask" a price.
- Name your price: ¿Me lo dejaría en ciento cuarenta? — Would you let me have it for a hundred and forty? (formal) Dejar en + price means "to let someone have something for that price".
- The seller answers in the present tense, because the decision is theirs: Te lo dejo en ciento sesenta — I'll let you have it for a hundred and sixty.
Why the conditional. ¿Me lo dejas en ciento cuarenta? sounds almost like "let me have it!". ¿Me lo dejaría…? asks "would you agree?", and it's easy to answer "no" to that. English works the same way: "Would you take a hundred and forty?" is softer than "Give it to me for a hundred and forty."
| You want | You say |
|---|---|
| a discount | ¿Podría bajar un poco el precio? — Could you bring the price down a little? (formal) |
| to name a price | ¿Me lo dejaría en cincuenta? — Would you let me have it for fifty? (formal) |
| a small favor | ¿Te importaría guardarnos esto hasta mañana? — Would you mind holding this for us until tomorrow? |
| to pick a time | ¿Podría ser por la tarde? — Could it be in the afternoon? |
Convenient or not: venir bien and venir mal. Me viene bien — it works for me; me viene mal — it's a bad time for me. The subject is the time or the day (la tarde, el sábado), and the person goes in me, te, le, nos, os, a bit like English "Saturday suits me": ¿Os viene bien el sábado? — Does Saturday work for you? (to several people) Here the verb has nothing to do with coming. If you say no, suggest your own time right away: Hoy me viene mal, ¿y mañana? (Today is bad for me. How about tomorrow?)
Trap. ¿Te importaría…? works like English "Would you mind…?": to agree, you say no. No, claro que no — No, of course not. Answering sí would mean "yes, I do mind".
Common mistake: asking the seller ¿me lo dejas? with no price. That means "will you leave it for me?", not "will you go lower?". The price after en is a must: ¿me lo dejas en cuarenta?
Two pronouns in a row when buying and selling
You already know the order "to whom, then what": me lo, te la, se lo (unit 10). Buying and selling uses the same order, and there are three new things here.
1. The pair depends on the thing. For one wardrobe, say lo (el armario); for the mirror, also lo (el espejo); for a table, la (la mesa); for two things together, los. The seller repeats the same form:
- ¿Me los dejas en ciento ochenta? — Will you let me have them for a hundred and eighty?
- Te los dejo en ciento noventa. — I'll let you have them for a hundred and ninety.
2. Todo at the end makes lo clearer. Os lo guardo todo — I'll hold it all for you (to several people). Here lo isn't one thing but everything you've talked about, and todo confirms it.
3. Se to someone you call usted, te to a friend. Speaking formally, the seller says se lo dejo en… (le + lo becomes se, unit 10); speaking informally, te lo dejo en…. Older sellers often switch to tú on their own, and then you can answer the same way.
- Se lo dejo en doscientos euros. — I'll let you have it for two hundred euros (formal).
- Os las dejo en veinte euros. — I'll let you have them for twenty euros (to several people). Here las could be, for example, las sillas (the chairs).
- ¿Nos lo guardas hasta el viernes? — Will you hold it for us until Friday?
Trap. Te lo dejo en casa — I'll leave it for you at home. That's not haggling anymore: after en comes a place, not a price.
Words in this unit
el espejo — mirror
Me miro en el espejo. — I look at myself in the mirror.
la lámpara — lamp
Enciendo la lámpara del salón. — I turn on the living room lamp.
la alfombra — rug, carpet
La alfombra del salón es roja. — The living room rug is red.
la cortina — curtain
Cierra la cortina, que entra mucho sol. — Close the curtain, a lot of sun is coming in.
la estantería — bookcase, shelves
La estantería está llena de libros. — The bookcase is full of books.
la percha — hanger, coat rack
Pon la chaqueta en la percha. — Put the jacket on the hanger.
el escritorio — desk
Mi escritorio está lleno de papeles. — My desk is covered in papers.
el bolsillo — pocket
Tengo las llaves en el bolsillo. — I have the keys in my pocket.
el cuadro — painting, picture
Pongo un cuadro encima del sofá. — I'm putting a picture above the sofa.
el garaje — garage, parking space
El piso tiene garaje incluido. — The apartment comes with a garage.
el sótano — basement
Las bicicletas están en el sótano. — The bikes are in the basement.
el microondas — microwave
La cocina tiene microondas. — The kitchen has a microwave.
el lavavajillas — dishwasher
El piso tiene lavavajillas. — The apartment has a dishwasher.
la secadora — dryer
Tenemos lavadora, pero no secadora. — We have a washing machine, but no dryer.
la bañera — bathtub
Quiero quitar la bañera y poner una ducha. — I want to take out the bathtub and put in a shower.
el lavabo — bathroom sink, restroom
El lavabo del baño pierde agua. — The bathroom sink is leaking.
el fregadero — kitchen sink
El fregadero de la cocina está atascado. — The kitchen sink is clogged.
la servilleta — napkin
¿Me pasas una servilleta? — Can you pass me a napkin?
el mantel — tablecloth
Pon el mantel en la mesa. — Put the tablecloth on the table.
el sombrero — hat
Mi abuelo lleva un sombrero. — My grandfather wears a hat.
la bota — boot
Me he comprado unas botas negras. — I've bought myself some black boots.
el guante — glove
Necesito guantes para limpiar. — I need gloves for cleaning.
el pijama — pajamas
Salió al pasillo en pijama. — She went out into the hallway in her pajamas.
quitar — to remove, to take off, to take away
Quita los libros de la mesa, por favor. — Take the books off the table, please.
preparar — to prepare, to get ready, to make
Hoy preparo las cajas para la mudanza. — Today I'm getting the boxes ready for the move.
llenar — to fill
Voy a llenar la botella de agua. — I'm going to fill the bottle with water.
faltar — to be missing, to be lacking
Me falta un papel. — I'm missing a piece of paperwork.
entero — whole, in one piece
El plato está entero, ¡qué suerte! — The plate is in one piece, how lucky!
la sopa — soup
De primero hay sopa. — For the first course there's soup.
la salsa — sauce
¿Quieres salsa con la carne? — Do you want sauce with the meat?
la miel — honey
Tomo el té con miel. — I have my tea with honey.
la galleta — cookie, cracker
Compro galletas para el desayuno. — I buy cookies for breakfast.
la pizza — pizza
Esta noche cenamos pizza. — Tonight we're having pizza for dinner.
el pastel — cake, pastry, pie
Compro un pastel para el cumpleaños. — I'm buying a cake for the birthday.
el cerdo — pig, pork
No como carne de cerdo. — I don't eat pork.
la gallina — hen, chicken
Las gallinas ponen huevos. — Hens lay eggs.
el jabón — soap
No hay jabón en el baño. — There's no soap in the bathroom.
el peine — comb
¿Tienes un peine? — Do you have a comb?
el piano — piano
Mi hermano toca el piano. — My brother plays the piano.
el tamaño — size
¿Qué tamaño tiene la mesa? — What size is the table?
escoger — to choose, to pick
Escoge tú la película. — You pick the movie.
venir bien — to suit, to work for someone, to be convenient
¿Te viene bien el sábado? — Does Saturday work for you?
venir mal — to be inconvenient, to not suit
Hoy me viene mal, mañana sí. — Today is bad for me, tomorrow works.
vender — to sell
Mi vecino vende su coche. — My neighbor is selling his car.
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