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Aquí tienen la carta.

Aquí tienen la carta.
Here you have the menu.
From Lesson 82:At the restaurant (la carta, el menú del día)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Aquí tienen la carta.

Why does the waiter use tienen (they have) instead of tenéis (you all have) if this is Spanish from Spain?
Even though vosotros and its verb form tenéis are the standard way to say 'you all' in Spain, service staff often use the formal ustedes to show respect to customers. Tienen is the matching verb form for ustedes, so the waiter is politely saying 'Here you (all) have the menu.'
Why is the word carta used for 'menu'? Isn't a menu called el menú?
In Spain, la carta refers to the physical printed menu showing all the individual food options. The word menú usually refers to a specific set meal, like the popular menú del día (menu of the day), where you get a starter, main course, drink, and dessert for a fixed price.
I learned that una carta is a letter. Is it the exact same word?
Yes! Carta can mean a letter you get in the mail, a playing card, or a restaurant menu. You will always know which one it is based on the context. Since someone is handing it to you in a restaurant here, it is definitely the food menu.
Why does the Spanish sentence say Aquí tienen instead of just translating 'Here is'?
While you could technically say 'Here is' (Aquí está), using Aquí tiene (formal singular) or Aquí tienen (formal plural) is the standard, natural way to hand an item to someone in Spanish. It literally means 'Here you have', but it acts just like the English phrases 'Here you go' or 'Here it is'.

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