Dispute with taxi driver: Route choice
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Key Phrases
Buenas tardes.
Good afternoon.
¿Podría ir por la avenida principal?
Could we go along the main avenue?
Por aquí hay mucho tráfico.
There is a lot of traffic around here.
Skills You'll Learn
Greeting someone politely in the afternoon.
Saludar a alguien cortésmente por la tarde.
Asking for and confirming a preferred route.
Pedir y confirmar una ruta preferida.
Discussing traffic and expressing route preferences.
Hablar del tráfico y expresar preferencias de ruta.
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you're in a taxi in Mexico, politely asking the driver to take the main avenue while he suggests a faster back route through traffic.
Buenas tardes, ¿podría ir por la avenida principal?
Good afternoon, could we go along the main avenue?
Claro, joven, pero por aquí hay mucho tráfico.
Of course, young man, but there’s a lot of traffic around here.
Prefiero esa ruta, la conozco mejor.
I prefer that route; I know it better.
Mire, por la calle de atrás llegamos más rápido.
Look, if we take the back street, we’ll get there faster.
Sí, pero esa vuelta siempre me confunde.
Yes, but that detour always confuses me.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
Buenas
BWEH-nahs
Good
Tardes
TAR-dehs
Afternoon / evenings
Buenas tardes.
BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs
Good afternoon.
¿Podría ir...
poh-DREE-ah eer
Could I go...
💬 [Podría] literally means [could], but in real requests it often works like polite [would/could]. You can reuse the pattern with another verb: [¿Podría parar aquí?] or [¿Podría tomar esta ruta?].
See breakdown →Por la avenida principal
por lah ah-beh-NEE-dah preen-see-PAHL
By the main avenue
💬 With routes, [por] often means along, via, or through, not just [for]. The same pattern shows up in [vamos por aquí] = [we go this way].
See breakdown →¿Podría ir por la avenida principal?
poh-DREE-ah eer por lah ah-beh-NEE-dah preen-see-PAHL
Could we go along the main avenue?
💬 For routes, Spanish often uses [ir por] for going along or via a place. You can swap in other streets: [¿Podría ir por Insurgentes?].
🇲🇽 This is polite but still clear, which is useful with a taxi driver when you want to guide the route without sounding aggressive.
See breakdown →La avenida
lah ah-beh-NEE-dah
The avenue
Principal
preen-see-PAHL
Main
La avenida principal
lah ah-beh-NEE-dah preen-see-PAHL
The main avenue
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