Calle Mayor starts at Sol (A1)
In Puerta del Sol, someone wants Calle Mayor, not Calle de Alcalá. A woman says it starts there and runs toward the Royal Palace.
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About this article
What you'll learn
The present tense, querer, and a disculpe question for asking the way.
On the ground at Sol is the zero kilometer of Spain's main roads, and the statue of the bear and the strawberry tree. Calle de Alcalá also leaves the square. A woman points to Calle Mayor, toward the Royal Palace, with Plaza Mayor very close. The sign on the corner says Calle Mayor.
After reading
Article learning block
Phrases, words, grammar, and quick practice from this text.
Phrases for training
Add useful phrases to SRS or mark them as already known.
Disculpe
newexcuse me
Disculpe is the usted form of disculpar. Spanish speakers use it, or perdone, to open a question to a stranger in the street.
Starting with disculpe makes the whole question sound polite before you have said anything else.
Estoy perdido.
newI am lost.
This simple phrase uses estar + perdido to describe the current situation.
It lets you explain the problem before asking for directions.
¿Puede ayudarme?
newCan you help me?
Puede + infinitive turns the request into a polite one. The pronoun me joins onto the end of the infinitive as a single word: ayudar + me gives ayudarme.
The same pattern gives you ¿puede decirme?, ¿puede repetirlo? and ¿puede ayudarnos?
¿Está lejos?
newIs it far?
Está lejos asks whether the place is far from the current location.
It helps you decide if the route is walkable.
gire a la derecha
newturn right
Gire is a polite command form; a la derecha means to the right.
You will hear this often when someone gives directions.
Es la segunda calle a la derecha.
newIt is the second street on the right.
La segunda calle gives the order, and a la derecha gives the side.
This phrase helps you follow step-by-step street directions.
Muchas gracias por su ayuda.
newThank you very much for your help.
Muchas gracias is strong thanks; por su ayuda explains what you thank them for.
It closes a directions conversation politely.
No puede perderse.
newYou cannot miss it.
Word for word it says you cannot lose yourself, but it means the place is very easy to find. Perderse is reflexive: perder plus se.
People close a set of directions with this phrase, and the word for word reading sends you looking for a lost object.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Street
calle
street
Calle means street; it is central to asking for an address.
It appears in many directions and street names.
Straight
recto
straight ahead
Recto tells you to continue without turning.
It is one of the most common words in directions.
Left
izquierda
left
Izquierda means the left side or left direction.
It helps you understand turns and landmarks.
Right
derecha
right
Derecha means the right side or right direction.
It is needed for almost any street direction.
Square
plaza
square
Plaza means a town or city square; here it is Plaza Mayor.
It is useful vocabulary for city navigation.
Next to
al lado
next to
Al lado says that one place is beside another place.
It helps you locate a place using a nearby landmark.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Dónde question
¿dónde está la calle Mayor?
where is Calle Mayor?
This present question uses dónde + está + place.
It gives you a reusable pattern for asking where something is.
Present action
Busco la calle Mayor, número quince.
I am looking for Calle Mayor, number fifteen.
Busco is the yo form of buscar in the present tense.
It helps you state what you are trying to find.
Usted command
Siga recto por esta calle.
Go straight along this street.
Siga is the usted command form of seguir. The vowel swaps over: -ar verbs end in -e (gire, tome, camine) and -er and -ir verbs end in -a (siga, beba, escriba).
Strangers give directions in usted, so this is the form you hear on the street, and the same vowel swap builds any other command you need.
Negative with no
No, no está lejos.
No, it is not far.
No before the verb makes the sentence negative: no está.
It helps you understand short answers about distance.
Where a place is: quedar
¿sabe dónde queda la calle Mayor?
do you know where Calle Mayor is?
Quedar here does not mean to stay or to arrange to meet. With a place it means to be located, so queda works like está: ¿dónde queda? equals ¿dónde está?
Asking sabe dónde queda softens the question. Quedar for location is understood everywhere in the Spanish-speaking world, though in Spain ¿dónde está? is the more usual way to ask.
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