One of the first things you should do when you start to learn Spanish is to understand and memorize different expressions people use all the time (different ways of greeting people, asking for things and saying how we feel or ways of wishing someone well). So take the time to learn these different idioms and expressions. They are incredibly important since they are used all the time. 

To start, here are some general expressions often used to be polite.  

Next, here are some expressions to apologize for something.

This next set of expressions are used frequently in conversations.  

The following expressions are useful for when we don’t understand or when we’re having trouble communicating. 

*Use the verb “poder” (can, to be able) to ask for something or to offer yourself to do something or help someone. It’s a more polite way of asking for things.  Keep in mind, in English, usually, you’d use “could” to convey this politeness.  But as you can see with these examples below, in Spanish, it’s not necessary to use the conditional tense, just the Present Simple is fine.

Use “puedes” if it’s an informal context or “puede” if it’s a formal one.

Now that you know these useful expressions you should be able to navigate daily life in Spanish a little better. If you haven’t seen our post on “Tú” vs “Usted” we recommend you check it out now to learn more about formal and informal speech in Spanish.  You can also learn more about Greetings in Spanish.