Should it not be “¿Dame un poquito de agua, por favor?”?

JohanC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Should it not be “¿Dame un poquito de agua, por favor?”?

Asked 5 years ago
InmaKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hola Johan

That is what the sentence in the lesson is saying, unless you mean it should have question marks? Is that what you meant?

We don't need question marks here as it is a request using the imperative. I know it may sound a bit rude for English speakers to make a request like that, but it is totally normal in Spanish. It is literally saying: "Give me a bit of water, please", but the English translation used is the one that you would use in English as a polite request, with "Can you, Could you...?". This is why you see question marks in the English but not in the Spanish.

Hope this helps

Un saludo

Inma

NicoleB1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Hola Johan, that was a good question (just saw it today).  Helped me. Thanks!

Nicole

KentB2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

The cultural nuances of Spanish versus English are so valuable, like this example of “asking” for a glass of water. Please keep providing those kinds of perspectives whenever possible!

Should it not be “¿Dame un poquito de agua, por favor?”?

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