¿Podría usted decirme si ese taxi acepta tarjeta?

Podría is the conditional form of poder and is often used to make a request sound more polite and less direct.

• ¿Puede usted decirme...? = Can you tell me...?
• ¿Podría usted decirme...? = Could you tell me...?

In English, could often sounds more polite than can, and Spanish works in a similar way here.

Yes, it can be left out.

Spanish often omits subject pronouns because the verb form already shows who the subject is. So all of these are possible:

• ¿Podría usted decirme si ese taxi acepta tarjeta?
• ¿Podría decirme si ese taxi acepta tarjeta?

Including usted adds emphasis and makes the formality very clear. It can sound especially polite when speaking to a stranger.

Because me is attached to the infinitive decir.

In Spanish, object pronouns like me, te, lo, la, nos can be attached to an infinitive:

• decirme = to tell me
• ayudarme = to help me
• explicarle = to explain to him/her/you

So ¿Podría usted decirme...? literally contains could you tell me...?

You could also restructure the sentence:

• ¿Me podría usted decir si ese taxi acepta tarjeta?

That is also correct and natural.

Yes, si often means if, but after verbs like decir, saber, preguntar, and ver, it can introduce an indirect yes/no question.

So here:

• si ese taxi acepta tarjeta = whether that taxi accepts cards / if that taxi accepts cards

This is like English:

• Can you tell me if that taxi takes cards?

So this si does not mean a condition. It means whether/if in an indirect question.

Spanish distinguishes distance more clearly than English:

• este = this, near the speaker
• ese = that, near the listener or a bit farther away
• aquel = that over there, farther away

So ese taxi means that taxi. It suggests the taxi is not right next to the speaker, or that both people can identify it.

A learner should also know that in real conversation, these choices can be a bit flexible depending on context.

In Spanish, after some verbs like aceptar, it is very common to leave out the article when talking about a general service or payment method.

So:

• acepta tarjeta = does it take cards / card payment?
• acepta efectivo = does it take cash?

If you said acepta la tarjeta, it would usually sound like you mean a specific card, not card payment in general.

Also, in everyday Spanish you may hear:

• acepta tarjetas
• acepta tarjeta
• se puede pagar con tarjeta

All are possible, though they are slightly different in tone or emphasis.

Yes, it is natural and understandable. In Spain, people also very commonly say:

• ¿Acepta tarjeta?
• ¿Se puede pagar con tarjeta?
• ¿Aceptan tarjeta?

The sentence you were given is grammatically correct and polite. In everyday speech, a shorter version is often more common:

• Perdone, ¿acepta tarjeta ese taxi?
• Perdone, ¿se puede pagar con tarjeta en ese taxi?

It is quite formal and polite.

The formality comes mainly from:

• podría instead of puede
• usted
• the indirect structure decirme si...

It sounds appropriate when speaking to a stranger, such as a hotel receptionist, station worker, or passerby.

A less formal version would be:

• ¿Me puedes decir si ese taxi acepta tarjeta?

That uses tú instead of usted.

Yes. Spanish word order is often more flexible than English word order.

These are all possible:

• ¿Podría usted decirme si ese taxi acepta tarjeta?
• ¿Podría decirme usted si ese taxi acepta tarjeta?
• ¿Me podría usted decir si ese taxi acepta tarjeta?
• ¿Me podría decir si ese taxi acepta tarjeta?

They all mean basically the same thing. The original version is very standard and polite.

Me means to me or me, depending on how you think about it in English.

In this sentence:

• decir = to say / to tell
• decirme = to tell me

So:

• ¿Podría usted decirme...? = Could you tell me...?

Spanish uses pronouns very often where English may use a full phrase like to me.

Yes.

• tarjeta usually means card in general
• tarjeta de crédito means credit card
• tarjeta de débito means debit card

In many everyday situations, tarjeta is enough because people understand it as card payment in general. If you want to be more specific, you can say:

• ¿Ese taxi acepta tarjeta de crédito?
• ¿Se puede pagar con tarjeta de débito?

Spanish questions are written with two question marks:

• opening: ¿
• closing: ?

So the full question is:

• ¿Podría usted decirme si ese taxi acepta tarjeta?

This helps the reader know from the start that the sentence is a question. In speech, of course, you do not say the punctuation; you simply use question intonation.

Sometimes, yes, especially in formal or careful speech. But in everyday conversation, people often prefer shorter versions.

Natural shorter alternatives in Spain include:

• Perdone, ¿ese taxi acepta tarjeta?
• Perdone, ¿se puede pagar con tarjeta en ese taxi?
• Disculpe, ¿acepta tarjeta ese taxi?

The original sentence is correct, polite, and useful, but it is a little more elaborate than what many people would say in a casual real-life situation.