Is it simply "para aquí"?
I often get asked something when I'm making a payment, but I can't make out what it is they're asking me. I assume that that's related to "for here or for taking away", but what that is precisely? And how can I ask that and respond to that in Spanish?
Short answer. It means
You want this for here or to go?
So, this is always said when you buy food in shops, but not shops like supermarkets, but shops where you can actually eat the food inside (if you want).
So you've got two options:
So the salesman is basically asking wether you are going to eat the food there or you want to take it away (having it packed, "to go").
The same applies for drinks.
The usual sentence is
¿ (Es) para tomar aquí o para llevar?
which means
(Is it) for here or to go?
Because the salesman needs to know if (s)he has to pack it for you and put it in a bag, or just serve you the food directly.
So the answer is easy: it is in the very question.
Para tomar aquí = for here.
Para llevar = to go.
You can always add "por favor" at the end, that's more polite, but that's pretty much it. It's quite simple.
A common binomial used for this case is ¿Para servir o llevar? The one you need is ¿Para servir?
However, this, depending on the region and on what you're having, may show variations:
—¿Para servir (aquí)?
—¿Para tomar (aquí)?
—¿Para comer (aquí)? (I wouldn't use this, but I listed it anyway.)
And you respond to these with a simple Sí; you don't need anything more complicated than that.
It is impossible to know exactly what you are actually being asked. You assume that that's related to "for here or for taking away" but you could be being asked if you want a printed receipt or something else with your order.
Es eso todo?
Quiere algo más?
Assuming that you are actually being asked if you want if "for here or to go" you would be hearing questions like:
Lo va a tomar aquí?
Lo quiere para llevar?
Se lo pongo en una bolsa?
To which you could simply reply
(Es) para tomar aquí
since one of the meanings of tomar is
- tr. Comer o beber. Tomar un desayuno, el chocolate. U. t. c. prnl.
To make sure that that is actually what they are asking, you could say
Pregunta si lo quiero para llevar? No, es para tomar aquí.
Pregunta que si es para tomar aquí? No, lo quiero para llevar por favor.
You could say consumir instead of tomar
- tr. Utilizar comestibles u otros bienes para satisfacer necesidades o deseos.
but it sounds much less pleasant ("to be consumed here" instead of "to have it here".
You could additionally say
No lo necesito para llevar
And they will understand that you'll have your food/drink at the cafe.
