For want of a better word.

Made my first big faux pas this week.

There´s a man - about 60 - who sits in front of our house every afternoon. Sometimes he carries out DIY for Hilda - the landlady - but most of the time he just sits with a cup of coffee that Hilda sells him for 1 cordoba a cup (3p). He always says hello to me and we try and have a chat but for me his accent is so indecipherable I usually just nod and get on my way.

The other day he was asking for something but I couldn´t work out what. I concluded that it was most likely to be coffee or Hilda.

So I asked him if he wanted more coffee.

´Quiere mas cafe?´He didn´t.

´Quiere Hilda?´ I asked, to which he shook his head and gave me a puzzled ´I don´t understand look´.

I repeated it again slowly using the friendly familiar version of the verb, rather than the formal.

´Do you want Hilda´. He shook his head emphatically.

I couldn't work out what he wanted so said goodbye and assumed he´d knock on the door if it was important.

You´re no doubt ahead of me here.

The following day I went to school and asked my teacher if he could demonstrate the difference between the formal and the informal. He did and I told him I´d been using it that way but was receiving confused looks.

´How did you use it´ he asked.

I explained the situation and he burst out laughing.

´Quiere Hilda means: Do you love Hilda?´

I see. I should have said ´Busca Hilda´. Are you searching for Hilda.

The following day the man wasn´t on the step. I felt terrible but couldn´t find the right words to explain my faux pas to Hilda. Thankfully the following day he returned smiling away and giving me firm handshakes as before. I assume a day away from the doorstep was enough to show me that he´s only after Hilda´s Nescafe and nothing more.