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### Polite Requests with "¿Podrías...?" and "¿Podría...?"

When you need to ask for help—especially in a professional or academic setting like a library or an archive—it is best to make a polite request. To say "Could you...?", use the conditional form of the verb **poder** (to be able to).

Use **¿podrías...?** when speaking informally (with **tú**). To say what you need help with, simply follow it with an infinitive verb:

{{item:778518}}

{{item:778523}}

For formal situations (with **usted**), such as speaking to a librarian or archivist you don't know well, drop the final **-s** and use **¿podría...?**:

{{item:778538}}

{{item:778527}}

If your request involves an object pronoun (like **me** for "to me" or "for me"), you can either attach it directly to the end of the infinitive, or place it right before the conjugated verb:

{{item:778529}}

{{item:778539}}

Polite requests (¿podrías...? / ¿podría...?)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (yo soy)

Noun gender and definite articles (el, la)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Question	Answer
information	la información
catalog	el catálogo
Could you look for the information in the catalog?	¿Podrías buscar la información en el catálogo?
librarian	el bibliotecario
Could you ask the librarian, please?	¿Podrías preguntarle al bibliotecario, por favor?
to translate	traducir
page	la página
Could you translate this page?	¿Podrías traducir esta página?
to copy	copiar
article	el artículo
author	el autor
Could you copy the author's article?	¿Podría copiar el artículo del autor?
to indicate	indicar
Could you show me where the catalog is?	¿Podría indicarme dónde está el catálogo?
The librarian is going to read the article.	El bibliotecario va a leer el artículo.
The student asked the librarian for more information.	El estudiante le pidió más información al bibliotecario.
folder	la carpeta
We are going to check the red folder.	Vamos a revisar la carpeta roja.
The author suggested reading an old document.	El autor sugirió leer un documento antiguo.
Could you help the author translate that?	¿Podrías ayudar al autor a traducir eso?
Could you tell me who has the black folder?	¿Podría decirme quién tiene la carpeta negra?
She is going to look for the long articles.	Ella va a buscar los artículos largos.
Could you repeat the information, please?	¿Podría repetir la información, por favor?
Could you indicate the page to me and copy the article, please?	¿Me podría indicar la página y copiar el artículo, por favor?