‘Yes’ y ‘no’, dos palabras muy elementales que en inglés no deberían ir solas. ‘Please’, ‘thanks’ u otros vocablos deberían acompañarlas, si no queremos parecer maleducados.
Yes?
The word ‘Please’ isn’t only important when you ask a favour. It’s also important when someone offers you one. For example, in a restaurant a waiter or waitress will ask you “Would you like to see the menu?” or “Would you like to see the wine list?” In a shop or office, someone may ask you “May I help you?” The answer is probably “Yes,” but if you say “Yes,” you will seem rude. If you say “Yes, please,” then you will appear polite and this is very important in English: it’s probably more important than grammar.
No?
But what if the answer is “No”? Again, if you just say “No,” you will seem rude, but if you say “No, thank you,” or “No, thanks,” you will seem polite and this is good. But in a shop, you will need to say more. If the assistant asks you: “May I help you?” and you answer “No, thank you,” there is also a risk that you will appear rude. In this situation it’s better if you explain: “No, thanks, I’m just looking.” And in a restaurant a waiter or waitress may ask you: “Would you like some more wine?” or “Would you like to see the dessert menu?” Again, “No, thanks” can appear rude. You should say something like “No, thanks, I’m fine.”
AN ANSWER
And what happens when someone says “Please,” “Sorry” or “Thank you” to you? In Britain there is a statistical probability that this will happen every day, or even every hour!
When someone thanks you, you can use a number of phrases: “You’re welcome” and “Don’t mention it” are the most traditional. More modern ones include “No problem” or “No probs”. In Australia people also say “No worries,” or “No worries, mate,” and these phrases are now popular in Britain and other countries.
And what do you say when somebody says “Sorry” to you? Again, this is a statistical probability. Here the best phrases are “That’s OK,” “No problem” and “Don’t worry about it.”
GLOSSARY
waiter: camarero
waitress: camarera
rude: maleducado, grosero
polite: educado, cortés
mate: amigo, compañero