Love-Spanish.com: Is There A Stationary Shop Around Here?

Monday, 15 April 2013

Is There A Stationary Shop Around Here?

Introduction

This post is about giving information about facilities in the vicinity, and more specifically about the availability of a stationary shop nearby.

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a work colleague. The other person is looking for a place to buy some stationary items. He/ she doesn't know the locality, but believes that you do and says to you something like: "is there a stationary shop around here?"

In Spanish, the other person could choose to say:

¿Hay una papelería por aquí?

OUR TIP

The question is an invitation for you to say whether or not there are any stationary shops in the vicinity. A yes/no answer may be strictly sufficient. However, with little effort, your answer could be a lot more informative.

Here are some examples of how you could reply:

Sí, hay una papelería cerca de aquí (yes, there is a stationary shop near here)
Sí, hay una papelería bastante cerca (yes, there is a stationary shop quite near)
Sí, hay una papelería muy cerca (yes, there is a stationary shop very near)
Sí, hay una papelería a la vuelta de la esquina (yes, there is a stationary shop around the corner)
Sí, hay una papelería al otro lado de la calle (yes, there is a stationary shop on the other side of the street/ road)
Sí, hay varias papelerías bastante cerca (yes, there are several stationary shops quite near)
No, por aquí no hay ninguna papelería (no, there aren't any stationary shops around here)
No, por aquí no hay papelerías (no, there are no stationary shops around here)