A clear request names the problem, identifies the room and asks what happens next. This fictional reception exchange concerns air conditioning that is not working. It practises language for getting help, not repairing equipment. The room number and waiting time are invented.
A conversation at reception
| Συγγνώμη, το κλιματιστικό δεν λειτουργεί. | Excuse me, the air conditioning is not working. |
| Σε ποιο δωμάτιο είστε; | Which room are you in? |
| Στο δωμάτιο δώδεκα. Μπορείτε να στείλετε κάποιον; | In room twelve. Can you send someone? |
| Βεβαίως. Θα έρθει κάποιος σε είκοσι λεπτά. | Of course. Someone will come in twenty minutes. |
| Πρέπει να είμαι στο δωμάτιο; | Do I need to be in the room? |
| Ναι, παρακαλώ. | Yes, please. |
Name the problem
Το κλιματιστικό δεν λειτουργεί means “The air conditioning is not working”. The negative word δεν comes before λειτουργεί. Another simple example is Το φως δεν λειτουργεί, “The light is not working”. Start with one observable problem rather than trying to explain a technical cause you do not know.
Identify the room
Σε ποιο δωμάτιο είστε; asks for your room. Στο δωμάτιο δώδεκα gives room twelve. If you are unsure whether the number was understood, repeat it or show the written number. The number in this exercise identifies a room, not an amount of time.
Ask for a next step
Μπορείτε να στείλετε κάποιον; asks reception to send someone. Μπορείτε να με βοηθήσετε; is the more general “Can you help me?” The polite/plural form Μπορείτε fits this exchange with reception. A useful follow-up is Πότε μπορεί να έρθει κάποιος; — “When can someone come?”
Understand the waiting time
Σε είκοσι λεπτά means “in twenty minutes”. It tells you how long from now, not a clock time. Compare σε είκοσι λεπτά with στις δύο, “at two”. The dialogue promises someone will come after that interval; it does not say the repair will be completed within twenty minutes.
Check whether you need to be there
Πρέπει να είμαι στο δωμάτιο; asks whether you need to be in the room. In this fictional exchange, the answer is yes. Do not turn that reply into a general hotel rule: the exercise simply teaches how to ask and understand the answer.
Check the details
- What is not working?
- Which room does the guest identify?
- Does σε είκοσι λεπτά mean “in twenty minutes” or “at twenty past”?
- Does the dialogue say the repair will be finished in twenty minutes?
See the answers
1. The air conditioning: το κλιματιστικό. 2. Room twelve. 3. In twenty minutes. 4. No; it says someone will come in twenty minutes. The repair duration is not given.
Practise another problem
Change the problem to Το φως δεν λειτουργεί and the room to στο δωμάτιο είκοσι. Ask for help and then ask when someone can come. Have a partner answer σε δέκα λεπτά, “in ten minutes”. Repeat the interval back to check it, then ask whether you need to remain in the room.
Practise hotel check-in. Ask for repetition or a slower answer.