Determining the best possible word to express a concept among several choices.
5
votes
3answers
128 views
“Habría” or “Hubiera”
Given the following sentence:
Si lo hubieran anotado, después no les hubiera (habría) costado tanto recordarlo.
we see that the first use of hubieran is well used, but the second one is ...
5
votes
2answers
146 views
Counterpart of “John Doe, Joe Public”?
In English these names are used as a substitute for the average guy. Or as a specimen when filling out a passport form.
What names/expressions are used in Spanish for this purpose?
6
votes
3answers
541 views
Words for strong or weak rain (sprinkling, drizzling, pouring)
This question on English.StackExchange made me wonder about words for rain in Spanish. In English, a light rain can be a drizzle, sprinkle, or mist and a heavy rain can be a deluge, downpour, or ...
7
votes
4answers
171 views
Translating “I hear (that)…”
How do you translate the phrase "I hear (that)..." as in:
I hear that you just got back from your vacation.
I hear that it rained all last week in Seattle.
I hear you got an A on your history final.
...
5
votes
1answer
207 views
“Perdón”, “permiso”, “disculpa”, … ?
I always struggle with the correct usage of the various ways one could say the equivalent of I'm sorry or Excuse me. Of course there are many reasons I would say these things and I was often looking ...
4
votes
1answer
106 views
Different words for “hole”
Spanish has several words that could be translated "hole" in English:
hoyo
agujero
hueco
bache
boquete
brecha
madriguera
What are the differences between these words? In what situations can each ...
2
votes
1answer
123 views
Different words for “sign”
Spanish has several words that could be translated "sign" in English:
letrero
rótulo
señal
indicio
cartel
pancarta
seña
What are the differences between these words? In what situations can each be ...
9
votes
2answers
200 views
“Aún” vs. “todavía”, what's the difference?
Somebody just asked me to correct something, and I found that I changed one of their instances of todavía to aún. I didn't do this because todavía wouldn't have worked in the sentence, but rather ...
8
votes
1answer
365 views
Difference between “hay”, “ay” and “ahí”
These are commonly misused when writing, and can be very confusing for someone that is learning Spanish. These three words have a very different meaning and they are used in a very different context.
...
9
votes
3answers
114 views
idioma, lengua and lenguaje
The words idioma, lengua and lenguaje can all be translated as "language".
Are they interchangeable? If not, what are the differences among them? When to use which?
3
votes
3answers
1k views
Responding to an apology (no problem, don't worry about it, etc.)
What are the common ways of responding to an apology? In English, if someone says "Sorry I didn't/couldn't do (whatever)" (or simply bumps into you accidentally and says "sorry") we'd say things like:
...
2
votes
2answers
140 views
Greetings for presents and cards
What phrases and greetings can you use for christmas presents / cards? Are there "general purpose" phrases which can be used for presents which are used the whole year, like an iPod?
For example:
...
8
votes
3answers
201 views
Are there any subtle differences between “de nuevo” and “otra vez”?
There are two very common ways in Spanish to say the equivalent of "again":
de nuevo
otra vez
But I use them pretty randomly because I've never been able to pick up on any differences in how ...
6
votes
2answers
100 views
Analog to “sustainability”
I asked a question on english synonyms of "sustainability" alrady on ELU. In Spanish, dictionaries and ngrams give out several options:
Comparing with the english ngrams chart I conclude la ...
7
votes
3answers
130 views
Translation of “contact info”
What is the best way to say contact info in Spanish (as in a list of phone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, etc. of a person or business)?
11
votes
3answers
111 views
Is there any subtle difference between the two forms of the imperfect subjuntive?
The imperfect subjuntive has two forms. For example:
Ojalá viniera.
Ojalá viniese.
I think both has the same meaning. However, is there any subtle difference?
7
votes
4answers
229 views
Why should we use estar over ser for being old or fat?
I can understand why we would use estar for temporary states. But there are conditions that people have that are not temporary, such as being old (or for some people, being fat).
¡qué gordo está!
...
8
votes
2answers
216 views
Best translation of “just wanted to”
In English, I often use "just wanted to" to soften the force of a question or statement:
I just wanted to ask if it was okay with you.
I just wanted to make sure you were coming to the meeting ...
1
vote
1answer
373 views
What are some terms of endearment for a girlfriend/wife? [closed]
What are some Spanish terms of enderment you could use for a girlfriend or a wife? In English I'm thinking things like sweetheart, sweetie, darling, cutie, babe, etc..
Any others that are unique to ...
13
votes
3answers
151 views
Is the use of @ instead of 'a' or 'o' in order to refer to both masculine and femenine accepted?
I have seen several times the use of @ instead of 'a' or 'o' for refering masculine and femenine words at the same time. For example:
Hola a tod@s.
Is this an accepted use?
5
votes
1answer
63 views
How are «parecer», «semejante», and «similar» used to express sameness?
What is the difference between different ways of expressing similarity? I see things like,
La niña parece a su hermana.
Compró dos vestidos semejantes.
Quiere una fiesta de cumpleaños similar a la ...
9
votes
1answer
98 views
Usage of “llevar a trabajar” vs “llevar al trabajo”
I have found this example (which is counterintuitive, in my opinion) in "Uso de la gramática española. Elemental", Francisca Castro, Edelsa 2000:
Yo no llevo el coche a trabajar normalmente.
Why ...
5
votes
2answers
247 views
How should we translate “everything but the kitchen sink” or “the whole enchilada”?
There is an idiom that is popular (and old) in English that states "everything but the kitchen sink". This is a phrase that means "everything that could be conceived".
Som examples:
"I realized ...
14
votes
2answers
258 views
What is the difference between: “aquel” and “aquél”
I see both "aquel" and "aquél" used in similar context and was wondering if there is any difference in meaning of those two words.
5
votes
2answers
115 views
How to choose between “carecer” and “faltar”?
I've always used "faltar" to mean "to lack, to be missing".
But in my reading I find that "carecer" seems to mean exactly the same.
When should I use the one or the other? Are there some ...
9
votes
2answers
333 views
When is it written with and without accent: porqué/porque/por qué?
Can anybody explain to me when each of this variations of "porque" should be used?
8
votes
2answers
489 views
How to translate 'to become?' (hacerse, ponerse, convertirse en, etc.)
I've heard several different words used for 'to become' in Spanish. Obviously sometimes there are specific verbs to use, like 'enfadarse' means to become angry, but often you need to use a verb that ...
1
vote
3answers
339 views
Translating “to be excited to…”
What is the best way to translate sentences like:
I'm so excited to see you next week!
He's really excited about graduation.
We're excited to have you come visit for Christmas.
Do emocionado and ...
