Basic messages and asking for help | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Por favor, dilo otra vez.

   Please say it again.

   Por favor

   please

   dilo

   say it

   otra vez

   again

   More detail

   Por favor is the polite request marker “please.” It can introduce a request or command without changing the verb form. Example: Por favor, espera. — “Please wait.” dilo means “say it.” It is the affirmative tú command of decir (“to say”), di, with the direct-object pronoun lo (“it”) attached: di + lo → dilo. Because lo refers to the thing being said, it is masculine singular in form; the exact referent is not identified here. The command form is specifically singular informal tú, not usted or ustedes. Example: Dilo claramente. — “Say it clearly.” otra vez means “again” or “one more time.” otra agrees in feminine singular with the understood noun vez (“time/occasion”); this expression is learned as a whole. Example: Léelo otra vez. — “Read it again.” Together, Por favor, dilo otra vez. asks one person addressed as tú to say the same thing again, politely: “Please say it again.”

2. Por favor, escríbelo.

   Please write it down.

   Por favor

   please

   escríbelo

   write it down

   More detail

   Por favor is a polite request marker meaning “please.” It softens the request but does not change who is being addressed or the action’s grammatical form. escríbelo combines the verb escribir (“to write”) with the direct-object pronoun lo (“it”). The form escribe is the affirmative command for tú; when lo is attached, it becomes escríbelo. The written accent keeps the required stress after the pronoun is added. Here, lo refers to the thing the speaker wants written; the supplied sentence does not identify what that thing is. In this context, the natural English phrasing is “write it down,” although Spanish escríbelo itself does not contain a separate word meaning “down.” A useful pattern is verbo en mandato + lo: Léelo means “Read it,” while Escríbelo means “Write it.” Lo is masculine singular in form; it is used here because the requested direct object is presented as a singular “it,” without the source specifying its noun. Together, Por favor makes the utterance polite, and escríbelo gives a tú-singular affirmative command: “Please write it down.”

3. Por favor, muéstramelo.

   Please show me.

   Por favor

   please

   muéstramelo

   show it to me

   More detail

   Por favor is a polite request marker meaning “please.” It softens the request but does not specify who is being addressed. muéstramelo combines the affirmative tú command muestra (“show”) with two attached object pronouns: me (“to me”) and lo (“it,” masculine singular direct object). The command comes from mostrar; its tú affirmative command is muestra. When pronouns attach to an affirmative command, Spanish writes them as one word, and the accent in muéstramelo keeps the original stress. The exact form addresses one person informally as tú; it is not the usted or ustedes command. Here, me marks the recipient of the showing, while lo marks the thing shown. The specific referent of lo is not identified in the supplied sentence. The reusable pattern is muéstrame + lo → muéstramelo (“show it to me”). Example: Muéstramelo mañana. — “Show it to me tomorrow.” Together, Por favor and muéstramelo produce: “Please show it to me.”

4. Por favor, ayúdame.

   Please help me.

   Por favor

   Please

   ayúdame

   help me

   More detail

   Por favor is a polite way to make a request: “please.” It does not itself identify the listener’s number or level of formality. For example, Por favor, espera. means “Please wait.” ayúdame means “help me” here. Its base verb is ayudar (“to help”). The form ayuda is the affirmative command for tú (one familiar listener); adding the direct-object clitic me gives ayúdame, “help me.” me refers to the speaker as the person receiving the help. In an affirmative command, the clitic is attached to the verb, and the written accent preserves the intended stress. Compare the distinct form ayude for an affirmative command addressed to one usted listener. Together, Por favor, ayúdame. means “Please help me.” The request is directed to one tú listener and asks that person to help the speaker.

5. ¿Cómo puedo ayudar?

   How can I help?

   Cómo

   how

   puedo

   can; am able to

   ayudar

   help

   More detail

   Cómo means “how” here: it asks about the manner or way of doing something. In a direct question it carries an accent mark; compare como without the accent, which has different uses. Example: ¿Cómo funciona? — “How does it work?” puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder, “to be able to” or “can.” The form identifies the speaker as “I”; it is not the infinitive. Poder commonly combines with an infinitive to express ability or a possible action: Puedo ayudar. — “I can help.” ayudar is the infinitive “to help.” After puedo, the infinitive names the action that the speaker is able or willing to do. The infinitive does not change to agree with the speaker because puedo carries the person and present-time marking. Example: ¿Puedes esperar? — “Can you wait?” Together, Cómo + puedo asks for the way or means, while ayudar specifies the action: ¿Cómo puedo ayudar? means “How can I help?” It is a concise, natural question offering assistance; the speaker is asking what form their help should take.

6. Por favor, llámame más tarde.

   Please call me later.

   Por favor

   Please

   llámame

   call me

   más tarde

   later

   More detail

   Por favor is the standard polite expression “please.” It softens a request and can be used with many commands: Por favor, espera. — “Please wait.” llámame means “call me” here. It consists of llama, the affirmative command form of llamar for tú singular, plus the attached direct-object pronoun me, meaning the speaker. The accent mark keeps the intended stress when me is attached. The pattern is llama + me → llámame. For comparison, Llámalo. means “Call him/it,” where lo replaces a masculine singular direct object. más tarde means “later.” Más means “more” or “additional,” while tarde means “late”; together here they form a time expression referring to a later time. Example: Hablamos más tarde. — “We’ll talk later.” Together, Por favor + llámame + más tarde gives: “Please call me later.” The speaker politely asks the listener to make a call to the speaker at a later time. In this sentence, the affirmative command is addressed to one tú listener.