Holding a place in line | Learn Spanish in English

Spanish lesson set in a contemporary Madrid everyday setting: In a line, one adult asks another to hold a place while they go back for a wallet..

EN → ES / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Holding a place in line to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

¿Puedes guardarme el lugar por un minuto?

PWEH-dess gwaar-DAR-meh el loo-GAR por oon mee-NOO-toh Can you save my place for a minute?
B

Puedo guardar tu lugar mientras estás fuera.

PWEH-doh gwaar-DAR too loo-GAR mee-EN-tras ess-TASS FWEH-rah I can hold your spot while you are away.
A

Me olvidé la billetera.

meh ol-bee-DEH lah bee-yeh-TEH-rah I left my wallet behind.
B

Intenta volver pronto.

een-TEN-tah bol-BEHR PRON-toh Try to come back soon.
A

Voy a buscarla ahora.

boy ah boos-KAR-lah ah-OH-rah I will grab it now.
B

Me voy a quedar aquí en la fila.

meh boy ah keh-DAR ah-KEE en lah FEE-lah I will stay here in line.
A

La encontré y volví enseguida.

lah en-kon-TREH ee bol-BEE en-seh-GHEE-dah I found it and came right back.
B

Puedes volver a la fila aquí.

PWEH-dess bol-BEHR ah lah FEE-lah ah-KEE You can step back in here.

Word by Word

Puedes “Puedes” asks whether the other person can do something, here saving the speaker’s place. A common reusable pattern is “Puedes” followed by an infinitive, as in “Puedes volver” in the dialogue.
guardarme “Guardarme” means save or hold something for me, here the speaker’s place in line. It combines the action in “guardar” with “me” to show who benefits; a reusable pattern is “guardar” plus a person or thing being kept.
el “El” means “the” before “lugar” in “el lugar,” referring to a specific place. A common pattern is “el” followed by a masculine noun.
lugar “Lugar” means the place or spot being held in line. It is used in “el lugar” and “tu lugar”; a reusable pattern is “guardar un lugar” for keeping a place.
por “Por” introduces the length of time in “por un minuto,” meaning for one minute. A common reuse pattern is “por” plus a period of time.
un “Un” means “a” or “one” in “un minuto,” referring to one minute. It commonly comes before a singular masculine noun such as “minuto.”
minuto “Minuto” means minute, the short period for which the place should be held. A reusable pattern is “por un minuto” when asking for something to last for one minute.
Puedo “Puedo” means “I can” in “Puedo guardar tu lugar,” offering to hold the other person’s place. A common reusable pattern is “Puedo” followed by an infinitive for an ability or offer.
guardar “Guardar” means to hold or save something, here keeping “tu lugar” in line. A useful pattern is “guardar” plus the thing being kept, as in “guardar tu lugar.”
tu “Tu” means “your” in “tu lugar,” identifying the place as belonging to the other person. It commonly comes directly before the noun it describes.
mientras “Mientras” means “while” and connects the act of holding the place with the time the other person is away. A reusable pattern is “mientras” followed by another action or situation.
estás “Estás” means “you are” in “estás fuera,” describing the other person’s situation while away. A common pattern is “estás” followed by a place or state.
fuera “Fuera” means away or outside in “estás fuera,” referring here to being away from the line. It can be reused after a form of “estar” to describe someone’s location as away or outside.
Me “Me” refers to the speaker in “Me olvidé la billetera,” showing who experienced the forgetting. Its role is part of this expression about leaving the wallet behind, rather than meaning the whole expression by itself.
olvidé “Olvidé” expresses that the speaker forgot or left the wallet behind in “Me olvidé la billetera.” A useful reuse pattern is “Me olvidé” followed by the thing that was forgotten.
la “La” has two roles in the dialogue: it is the definite article in “la billetera,” and it is the feminine object pronoun attached in “buscarla” and placed before the verb in “La encontré.” In each case, it refers to the wallet.
billetera “Billetera” means wallet, the item the speaker went back to get. A reusable pattern is “la billetera” when referring to a specific wallet.
Intenta “Intenta” tells the other person to try to do something, here to return soon. A common pattern is “Intenta” followed by an infinitive, as in “Intenta volver.”
volver “Volver” means come back or go back, here returning to the line. It follows “Intenta” in “Intenta volver” and can be reused after expressions that ask or plan for a return.
pronto “Pronto” means soon, so “volver pronto” means come back soon. It commonly comes after the action it describes to indicate that it should happen soon.
Voy “Voy” means “I am going” in “Voy a buscarla ahora,” introducing the speaker’s immediate plan. A common reusable pattern is “Voy a” followed by an infinitive.
a “A” connects “Voy” with the planned action in “Voy a buscarla,” giving the pattern “Voy a” for saying what the speaker is going to do. Here it does not mean a separate destination.
buscarla “Buscarla” means go or get it, referring to the wallet in this dialogue. It combines “buscar” with “la,” and a reusable pattern is an infinitive followed by an object pronoun when the object is attached to the action.
ahora “Ahora” means now and shows that the speaker will look for the wallet immediately. A common reuse pattern is placing “ahora” with an action that is happening or planned at the present time.
quedar “Quedar” means stay or remain in “Me voy a quedar aquí,” where the speaker promises to stay in the line. It appears after “voy a” in the reusable pattern “voy a quedar” for a plan to stay.
aquí “Aquí” means here, referring to the speaker’s current place in the line. It can be used with a verb of staying or being to identify the location.
en “En” means in or at in “en la fila,” identifying the place where the speaker will stay. A common pattern is “en” followed by a location, such as “en la fila.”
fila “Fila” means line or queue, the place where both people are waiting. A reusable expression is “en la fila” for being in a line.
encontré “Encontré” means “I found,” referring to finding the wallet. A common reusable pattern is “encontré” followed by the thing that was found, as in “La encontré.”
y “Y” means “and” and joins two completed actions in “La encontré y volví enseguida.” It is commonly used to connect actions or pieces of information.
volví “Volví” means “I came back” or “I went back,” here describing the speaker’s return to the line. A useful pattern is “volví” followed by a place or time expression when explaining where or when the speaker returned.
enseguida “Enseguida” means right away or immediately, showing that the speaker returned without delay. It commonly follows an action to say that it happened immediately.

Grammar Points

infinitivo + pronombre

¿Puedes guardarme el lugar?

PWEH-dess gwaar-DAR-meh el loo-GAR

Can you save my place for me?

In Spanish, an object pronoun can attach directly to an infinitive: guardar + me = guardarme.

mientras + verbo

Mientras estás fuera, guardaré tu lugar.

mee-EN-tras ess-TASS FWEH-rah, gwaar-dah-REH too loo-GAR

While you are away, I will save your place.

Mientras introduces an action happening at the same time as another action.

Spanish Vocabulary

billetera noun
bee-yeh-TEH-rah wallet

Me olvidé la billetera.

estás verb
ess-TASS you are

Puedo guardar tu lugar mientras estás fuera.

fuera adv
FWEH-rah away; outside

Puedo guardar tu lugar mientras estás fuera.

guardar verb
gwaar-DAR to hold; to save

Puedo guardar tu lugar mientras estás fuera.

guardarme verb
gwaar-DAR-meh to save my place for me

¿Puedes guardarme el lugar por un minuto?

intenta verb
een-TEN-tah try

Intenta volver pronto.

lugar noun
loo-GAR place

¿Puedes guardarme el lugar por un minuto?

mientras conj
mee-EN-tras while

Puedo guardar tu lugar mientras estás fuera.

minuto noun
mee-NOO-toh minute

¿Puedes guardarme el lugar por un minuto?

olvidé verb
ol-bee-DEH I forgot; I left behind

Me olvidé la billetera.

puedes verb
PWEH-dess you can

¿Puedes guardarme el lugar por un minuto?

puedo verb
PWEH-doh I can

Puedo guardar tu lugar mientras estás fuera.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I left my wallet behind.

Show AnswerMe olvidé la billetera.

Try to come back soon.

Show AnswerIntenta volver pronto.

I will grab it now.

Show AnswerVoy a buscarla ahora.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to save my place for me

Show Answerguardarme

while

Show Answermientras

to hold; to save

Show Answerguardar

you are

Show Answerestás