Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

In the last lesson, we learned how to get a table at a restaurant; but my dear listeners, please know that, because of the popularity of Greek food, it can be difficult to get a seat, especially on the weekends. The best thing you can do, without a doubt, is to make reservations for the time you want to go and eat.
In today's lesson, we'll cover making a reservation in a restaurant.
Normally, if you make a phone call in order to make a reservation for the evening you would say, Παρακαλώ μπορώ να κλείσω ένα τραπέζι για το βράδυ; (Parakaló boró na klíso éna trapézi ya to vrádi?).
Παρακαλώ μπορώ να κλείσω ένα τραπέζι για το βράδυ; (Parakaló boró na klíso éna trapézi ya to vrádi?)
Literally, παρακαλώ (parakaló) means "please." We follow this with μπορώ (boró), which in English means "Can I."
Let's break it down by syllable, bo-ro.
μπορώ (boró)
Να κλείσω (Na klíso) is the subjunctive form of the verb "to book'' and literally means "to close." Let's break it down by syllable. na kli-so.
Να κλείσω (Na klíso)
We follow it with ένα τραπέζι (éna trapézi), meaning "a table." Let's break down these two words by syllable: e-na tra-pe-zi.
ένα τραπέζι (éna trapézi)
Finally, we have για το βράδυ (ya to vradi), which is the equivalent of "for the evening." Για το βράδυ (Υa to vrádi).
Για το βράδυ (Υa to vrádi).
Let's recap the phrase one more time.
Παρακαλώ μπορώ να κλείσω ένα τραπέζι για το βράδυ; (Parakaló boró na klíso éna trapézi ya to vrádi?)
Παρακαλώ μπορώ να κλείσω ένα τραπέζι για το βράδυ; (Parakaló boró na klíso éna trapézi ya to vrádi?)
Normally, they'll ask you how many people are in your party and the time of the reservation.
Για πόσα άτομα; (Υa pósa átoma?) - "For how many persons?"
Για πόσα άτομα; (Υa pósa átoma?)
Let's break it down by syllable. Υa po-sa a-to-ma?
Now let's imagine you are a party of two. In Greek, you would use Δύο άτομα (Dío átoma), which in English means "two persons."
Δύο άτομα (Dío átoma)
Δύο άτομα (Dío átoma)
Finally, let's see how they will ask you about the time of your reservation.
Για ποια ώρα; (Ya pia óra?)
Για ποια ώρα; (Ya pia óra?) - "At what time do you want to make a reservation?."
Για ποια ώρα (Ya pia óra) literally means "At what time." Let's break down these words and hear them one more time, Ya pia ór-a?
Για ποια ώρα; (Ya pia óra?)
Now let's answer the question! Let's imagine you want to reserve a table at eight o'clock.
Για τις οκτώ η ώρα, παρακαλώ. (Ya tis októ i óra, parakaló.) - "At eight o'clock, please."
Για τις οκτώ (Ya tis októ) means "At eight." Let's break down these words and hear them one more time, Ya tis o-kto.
Για τις οκτώ (Ya tis októ)
We follow this with η ώρα (i óra), which would literally translate as "the time."
Η ώρα (I óra).
η ώρα (i óra)
Παρακαλώ (Parakaló), means (as we know by now), "please."
Παρακαλώ (Parakaló)
Παρακαλώ (Parakaló)
Let's hear the whole phrase one more time.
Για τις οκτώ η ώρα, παρακαλώ. (Ya tis októ i óra, parakaló).
Για τις οκτώ η ώρα, παρακαλώ. (Ya tis októ i óra, parakaló).
Okay, to close out today's lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it out loud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so Καλή τύχη (kalí týchi), which means "good luck!" in Greek.
"Can I make a reservation for this evening?" -
Παρακαλώ μπορώ να κλείσω ένα τραπέζι για το βράδυ; (Parakaló boró na klíso éna trapézi ya to vrádi?)
Παρακαλώ μπορώ να κλείσω ένα τραπέζι για το βράδυ; (Parakaló boró na klíso éna trapézi ya to vrádi?)
Παρακαλώ μπορώ να κλείσω ένα τραπέζι για το βράδυ; (Parakaló boró na klíso éna trapézi ya to vrádi?)
"For how many persons?" - Για πόσα άτομα; (Υa pósa átoma?)
Για πόσα άτομα; (Υa pósa átoma?)
Για πόσα άτομα; (Υa pósa átoma?)
"For two." - Δύο άτομα (Dío átoma)
Δύο άτομα (Dío átoma)
Δύο άτομα (Dío átoma)
"At what time do you want to make a reservation?" - Για ποια ώρα; (Ya pia óra?)
Για ποια ώρα; (Ya pia óra?)
Για ποια ώρα; (Ya pia óra?)
"At eight o'clock, please." - Για τις οκτώ η ώρα, παρακαλώ. (Ya tis októ i óra, parakaló)
Για τις οκτώ η ώρα, παρακαλώ. (Ya tis októ i óra, parakaló)
Για τις οκτώ η ώρα, παρακαλώ. (Ya tis októ i óra, parakaló)
All right, that's going to do it for today!
Remember to stop by GreekPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. Αντίο! (Antío!)

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