Letting Someone Go Ahead | Learn Spanish in English

Spanish lesson set in a contemporary Madrid everyday setting: In a line at a counter, one adult lets another person with heavy bags go ahead..

EN → ES / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Letting Someone Go Ahead to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Disculpe, puede pasar delante de mí.

dee-SKOOL-peh, PWEH-deh pah-SAR deh-LAHN-teh deh MEE. Excuse me, you can go ahead of me.
B

¿Está seguro? No quiero ocupar su lugar.

ehs-TAH seh-GOO-roh? noh KYEH-roh oh-koo-PAR soo loo-GAR. Are you sure? I don't want to take your place.
A

Está bien, sus bolsas parecen pesadas.

ehs-TAH byen, soos BOL-sahs pah-REH-sen peh-SAH-dahs. It's all right, your bags look heavy.
B

Se lo agradezco.

seh loh ah-grah-DES-koh. I appreciate it.
B

Solo estaré un minuto en el mostrador.

SOH-loh ehs-tah-REH oon mee-NOO-toh en el moh-strah-DOR. I'll only be a minute at the counter.
A

Puedo esperar un poco más.

PWEH-doh ehs-peh-RAR oon POH-koh mahs. I can wait a little longer.
B

Me aseguraré de no hacerle esperar.

meh ah-seh-goo-rah-REH deh noh ah-SER-leh ehs-peh-RAR. I'll make sure I don't hold you up.

Word by Word

Disculpe ‘Disculpe’ means “excuse me” here, used to address the other person politely before speaking. It is the polite form of disculpar used to get someone’s attention. You can use it when approaching someone or interrupting politely.
puede ‘Puede’ means “can” or “may” here: the person is being given permission to go ahead. It is the polite usted form of poder and is followed by the infinitive pasar. A reusable pattern is poder + infinitive, as in ‘puede pasar’.
pasar ‘Pasar’ means “go ahead” or “pass” in ‘puede pasar’. It is the infinitive that follows puede and describes moving forward in the line. This pattern is useful when giving someone permission to move past you.
delante ‘Delante’ means “in front” or “ahead” in ‘delante de mí’. Together with de mí, it identifies the position the other person may move to. A reusable pattern is delante de + person or thing for describing position.
de ‘De’ links ‘delante’ with the person who is being used as the reference point in ‘delante de mí’. Here, ‘delante de mí’ means “ahead of me” or “in front of me”. The pattern delante de + person is useful for describing relative position.
mí ‘Mí’ means “me” in ‘delante de mí’. It refers to the speaker after the preposition de, so the phrase identifies the speaker’s position in the line. Use it after a preposition when referring to yourself, as in delante de mí.
Está ‘Está’ contributes the idea of being or being in a state in ‘Está bien’. With bien, the whole expression reassures the other person that the situation is all right. It is useful when accepting something or telling someone not to worry.
seguro ‘Seguro’ means “sure” in the question ‘¿Está seguro?’. The speaker is checking whether the offer is really intended. This expression is useful when confirming that someone is certain about an offer or decision.
No ‘No’ negates the following statement in ‘No quiero ocupar su lugar’. It shows that the speaker does not want to take the other person’s position. Place it before the verb when making a negative statement.
quiero ‘Quiero’ means “I want” in ‘No quiero ocupar su lugar’. It expresses the speaker’s desire, and it is followed here by the infinitive ocupar. A reusable pattern is querer + infinitive for saying what you want to do.
ocupar ‘Ocupar’ means “take” or “occupy” in ‘ocupar su lugar’. It describes using or taking someone’s place in the line, not simply moving past them. It appears as an infinitive after quiero.
su ‘Su’ means “your” in ‘su lugar’, referring politely to the other person’s place. It comes directly before the noun it describes. The same pattern is used for referring politely to something belonging to the person being addressed.
lugar ‘Lugar’ means “place” in ‘su lugar’. Here it refers specifically to the person’s position in the line. It is useful with possessive words when identifying someone’s place or position.
bien ‘Bien’ means “all right” in ‘Está bien’. Together, Está bien accepts the situation and reassures the other person. This is a common expression for saying that something is okay.
sus ‘Sus’ means “your” in ‘sus bolsas’, referring politely to the other person’s bags. It appears before the plural noun bolsas. Use this possessive form when referring to more than one thing belonging to the person being addressed.
bolsas ‘Bolsas’ means “bags” in ‘sus bolsas’. It identifies the bags that look heavy and explains why the speaker offers to let the person go ahead. The plural form is used because the dialogue refers to more than one bag.
parecen ‘Parecen’ means “look” or “seem” in ‘sus bolsas parecen pesadas’. It presents the bags as appearing heavy based on what the speaker observes. It is used here with the plural subject sus bolsas and the description pesadas.
pesadas ‘Pesadas’ means “heavy” in ‘parecen pesadas’. It describes the bags and matches the plural feminine form of bolsas. Use it after parecen when describing how something appears to the speaker.
Se ‘Se’ means “to you” in ‘Se lo agradezco’, as part of the polite expression for appreciating something done for the speaker. It works together with lo and agradezco; the whole expression means “I appreciate it”. This pattern is useful for thanking someone for a favor.
lo ‘Lo’ refers to “it” or “that” in ‘Se lo agradezco’, meaning the favor or consideration being appreciated. Its meaning depends on the action or favor already understood in the conversation. It combines with se and agradezco in this expression.
agradezco ‘Agradezco’ means “I appreciate” or “I am grateful for” in ‘Se lo agradezco’. With se lo, it thanks the other person for letting the speaker go ahead. This form is useful when expressing gratitude for a specific favor.
Solo ‘Solo’ means “only” or “just” in ‘Solo estaré un minuto’. It limits the amount of time the speaker expects to spend at the counter. Place it before the time expression when emphasizing that the time will be brief.
estaré ‘Estaré’ means “I will be” in ‘Solo estaré un minuto’. It describes the speaker’s expected short stay at the counter. It is a future form of estar and is useful for stating how long you expect to remain somewhere.
un ‘Un’ means “a” or “one” in ‘un minuto’. It introduces the amount of time as one minute. It comes directly before the noun in this time expression.
minuto ‘Minuto’ means “minute” in ‘un minuto’. It measures how long the speaker expects to be at the counter. The pattern un minuto is useful for giving a short approximate duration.
en ‘En’ means “at” in ‘en el mostrador’, identifying the place where the speaker will be. It introduces the location of an action or stay. Use en before a place when saying where someone is or will be.
el ‘El’ means “the” in ‘el mostrador’. It introduces the specific counter being discussed. It comes directly before the noun mostrador.
mostrador ‘Mostrador’ means “counter” in ‘en el mostrador’. Here it is the place where the person will handle a short task. It is useful for referring to a service, shop, or reception counter.
Puedo ‘Puedo’ means “I can” or “I am able to” in ‘Puedo esperar’. It shows that the speaker is willing and able to wait longer. It is followed by the infinitive esperar in the reusable pattern poder + infinitive.
esperar ‘Esperar’ means “wait” in ‘Puedo esperar’. It is the action the speaker says they can do, and it appears as an infinitive after puedo. The same verb appears in ‘hacerle esperar’, where it means being kept waiting.
poco ‘Poco’ means “a little” in ‘un poco más’. It limits the additional amount of waiting to a small amount. The pattern un poco + amount or comparison expresses a small quantity or degree.
más ‘Más’ means “more” and contributes the idea of “longer” in ‘un poco más’. Together with un poco, it says that the speaker can wait a little longer. It is useful after an amount when referring to an additional quantity or duration.
Me ‘Me’ refers back to the speaker in ‘Me aseguraré’. It marks that the speaker is undertaking the action for themself. Together with aseguraré, it forms the expression “I will make sure”, used when promising to take care of something.
aseguraré ‘Aseguraré’ means “I will make sure” in ‘Me aseguraré de no hacerle esperar’. It expresses the speaker’s promise about what they will do. It is used with de followed by an action that the speaker intends to ensure does not happen.
hacerle ‘Hacerle’ means “make you” in ‘hacerle esperar’, with le referring politely to the person being addressed. Together with esperar, ‘hacerle esperar’ means “make you wait”. This pattern is useful when promising not to delay another person.

Grammar Points

puede + infinitivo

¿Puede pasar delante de mí?

PWEH-deh pah-SAR deh-LAHN-teh deh MEE.

Can you go in front of me?

After puede, the following verb stays in the infinitive: pasar.

estaré + expresión de tiempo

Solo estaré un minuto.

SOH-loh ehs-tah-REH oon mee-NOO-toh.

I will only be there for a minute.

Estaré is the first-person future of estar, used to state a short future stay.

Spanish Vocabulary

bolsas noun
BOL-sahs bags

Sus bolsas parecen pesadas.

delante de prep
deh-LAHN-teh deh in front of; ahead of

Puede pasar delante de mí.

disculpe intj
dee-SKOOL-peh excuse me

Disculpe, puede pasar delante de mí.

está verb
ehs-TAH are; is

¿Está seguro?

lugar noun
loo-GAR place; spot

No quiero ocupar su lugar.

mí pron
MEE me

Puede pasar delante de mí.

ocupar verb
oh-koo-PAR to occupy; to take

No quiero ocupar su lugar.

parecen verb
pah-REH-sen look; seem

Sus bolsas parecen pesadas.

pasar verb
pah-SAR to go; to pass

Puede pasar delante de mí.

puede verb
PWEH-deh can; may

Disculpe, puede pasar delante de mí.

quiero verb
KYEH-roh I want

No quiero ocupar su lugar.

seguro adj
seh-GOO-roh sure

¿Está seguro?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Excuse me, you can go ahead of me.

Show AnswerDisculpe, puede pasar delante de mí.

It's all right, your bags look heavy.

Show AnswerEstá bien, sus bolsas parecen pesadas.

I appreciate it.

Show AnswerSe lo agradezco.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

excuse me

Show Answerdisculpe

to go; to pass

Show Answerpasar

are; is

Show Answerestá

to occupy; to take

Show Answerocupar