Log inSign up

Quería pedirte un favor.

Quería pedirte un favor.
I wanted to ask you a favor.
From Lesson 297:Polite past (quería…, venía a…)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Quería pedirte un favor.

Why use the imperfect tense (quería) instead of the present (quiero)?
Using the imperfect tense here is a common way to soften a request and sound polite, much like saying "I wanted to ask..." in English. If you use the present tense (Quiero pedirte un favor), it sounds very direct and a bit demanding, like "I want to ask you a favor."
Why is "to ask" translated as pedir here instead of preguntar?
Spanish uses two different verbs for "to ask." You use preguntar when you are asking a question to get information. You use pedir when you are asking someone to do something, give you something, or grant a favor. Since the speaker is requesting a favor, pedir is the correct choice.
Could the pronoun te go anywhere else in this sentence?
Yes! When you have a conjugated verb (quería) followed by an infinitive (pedir), the object pronoun can either attach to the end of the infinitive (Quería pedirte...) or go right before the conjugated verb (Te quería pedir...). Both are completely natural and mean the exact same thing.

Learn Quería pedirte un favor and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →