Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): ¿Podría usted decirme si la farmacia está dentro o fuera del supermercado? - Could you please tell me if the pharmacy is inside or outside the supermarket?

It’s politely formal. In Spain, usted is used for respect (with older people, officials, customer-service situations), while many day-to-day interactions with strangers use tú. Using the conditional podría softens the request. In a supermarket, both formal (¿Podría…/¿Me podría…?) and neutral-polite (¿Puede…/¿Me puede…?) are fine; choose based on how formal you want to sound.

What’s the difference between ¿Podría…? and ¿Puede…? (and between usted and tú)?

¿Podría…? = more courteous/indirect (“Could you…?”).
¿Puede…? = straightforward polite (“Can you…?”).
With tú: ¿Podrías…? (polite/soft) and ¿Puedes…? (neutral). All are correct; the conditional versions sound more deferential.

Is it better to say ¿Podría decirme…? or ¿Me podría decir…??

Both are equally natural. Spanish lets object pronouns go:

Before a conjugated verb: ¿Me podría decir…?
Attached to an infinitive/gerund/imperative: ¿Podría decirme…? Avoid me decir (ungrammatical).

What does si mean here? Why no accent?

Here si means “if/whether” (introducing an indirect yes/no question), so it has no accent. Sí with an accent means “yes.” In this sentence you must use si (no accent).

Why is it está and not esté?

Because indirect questions with si take the indicative. You’re asking about a real-world fact (even if unknown), so está is correct. Esté would be wrong here.

Why estar and not ser?

Use estar for location. La farmacia está… indicates where it is. Ser is for identity/characteristics, not physical location.

Do I need de after dentro/fuera?

Yes, when followed by a noun:

dentro de
- noun
fuera de
- noun So: dentro del supermercado / fuera del supermercado.

What is del?

It’s the mandatory contraction of de + el. You must say del supermercado, not de el supermercado.

Do I have to repeat del supermercado after fuera?

No. Ellipsis is natural:

…dentro del supermercado o fuera. Repeating it (…o fuera del supermercado) is also fine for clarity. Don’t use sino here; you need o (“or”).

Could I ask with dónde instead of si?

Yes, if you want an open location answer:

¿Podría decirme dónde está la farmacia? Use si when you’re asking to choose between two options (inside or outside).

Where can usted go in the sentence?

Either position works:

¿Podría usted decirme…?
¿Podría decirme usted…? You can also omit it: ¿Podría decirme…? The verb form already signals formality.

Can I drop usted and still be polite?

Yes. ¿Podría decirme…? (no subject pronoun) remains polite/formal because podría is the usted form. Informally: ¿Podrías decirme…?

Any Spain-specific pronunciation tips for this sentence?

In most of Spain, ci/ce sound like English “th”: farmacia [far-MA-thya], decirme [de-THIR-me].
d between vowels is soft: supermercado can sound like [su-per-mer-CA-o].
fuera = [FWE-ra]; usted often weakens the final d.

Anything to watch with punctuation and accents?

Spanish needs opening and closing question marks: ¿…?
Keep the accent in está (it’s stressed).
si (“if”) has no accent; sí (“yes”) does.

Is adentro/afuera okay in Spain?

You’ll hear afuera, but fuera is more standard in Spain. Adentro is much less common in Spain; prefer dentro.

Should I say farmacia or parafarmacia in Spain?

Farmacia = a licensed pharmacy (green cross), usually a separate shop in Spain.
Parafarmacia = non-prescription health/beauty section, often inside supermarkets. If you mean the in-store section, ask for the parafarmacia: ¿La parafarmacia está dentro o fuera del supermercado?

Is there a shorter, still polite version?

Yes:

Perdone, ¿la farmacia está dentro o fuera del supermercado? Add por favor if you like: …del supermercado, por favor.

What does me in decirme do? Can I omit it?

Me is the indirect object (“tell me”). Without it—¿Podría decir si…?—you’re asking “Could you say whether…,” which sounds odd as a request. Keep me to make it a request directed to you.