[19.4] guste. The personal use of gustar; see vocabulary.
[20.1] señor... señor. The first señor refers to Manuel, and illustrates a conventional way in which servants address their masters; the second refers to González. On the stage the servant would make his reference clear by gestures.
[21.1] cuenta usted con 'you have at your disposal.' The idiom contar con assumes many shades of meaning that are developed from the literal meaning 'count with' or 'reckon with.' When contar con occurs in this book, the list of translations in the vocabulary should be consulted, and the most suitable one chosen.
[21.2] ¿a qué? The personal a is used for clearness and emphasis. Cf. Ramsey, § 1318: "Verbs of naming, calling, considering, etc., may take two direct objects—the true object and the predicate or thing asserted. The true object takes the distinctive a."
[21.3] pasar por. Distinguish here between the two meanings 'pass through' (i.e. 'go through with,' 'put up with') and 'pass for' or 'be regarded as.' Here pasar por means 'put up with.'
[22.1] Me basto. Personal use of bastar; see vocabulary.
[22.2] Mire usted que 'Look out' or 'Bear in mind that.' Mirar sometimes assumes peculiar meanings in exclamatory or semi-exclamatory expressions; note the translation of que.
[23.1] hacer saber 'make known.' One of the most common formations in Spanish, and yet frequently hard to translate; hacer with the infinitive is variously rendered by 'make,' 'have,' 'get,' 'cause to,' or 'let' with the passive.
[24.1] el señor ministro. Before a title or before the name of a relative of the person addressed, señor should not be translated unless the use of 'Mr.' is natural, as in a few cases of direct address; cf. 'Mr. President,' 'Mr. Secretary.'
[24.2] Si acaso 'Well perhaps.' If a clause is supplied the meaning of this expression will be clear; we might say—'If by chance I read any, I read....'