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Perdone, quería hablar con el director.

Perdone, quería hablar con el director.
Excuse me, I'd like to speak to the director.
From Lesson 297:Polite past (quería…, venía a…)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Perdone, quería hablar con el director.

Why is quería used here instead of the present tense quiero?
Using the imperfect tense quería instead of the present tense quiero makes the request much more polite. It softens the statement from "I want" to "I wanted" or "I would like," which is very common in Spain when asking for something or speaking to someone you don't know well.
Why does the sentence start with Perdone instead of Perdona?
Perdone is the formal usted command form of the verb perdonar (to forgive or excuse). The speaker uses it to show respect, which perfectly matches the polite tone of using quería. If they were speaking informally to someone their own age, they would use Perdona.
Why do we say hablar con when the English translation says "speak to"?
In Spanish, it is much more natural to use con (with) rather than a (to) when talking about having a conversation with someone. You are literally saying "to speak with the director."
Why isn't there a personal "a" before el director?
The personal "a" is only required when a specific person is the direct object of the verb. Because el director comes immediately after the preposition con, the personal "a" is not used here.

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