Words mostly about actions which can be conjugated to indicate person, number, tense, mood, etc.
17
votes
1answer
496 views
Preterit of ser and ir
Español
Pretérito de ser:
fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron
Pretérito de ir:
fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron
¿Cómo han evolucionado los verbos "ser" e "ir" para tener ...
16
votes
3answers
425 views
Ser and estar for location
The edge-cases of ser and estar still seem to get me. My understanding is that when speaking of a location, I should use estar.
La biblioteca está aquí.
However, a student I am tutoring had a ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
“Está hecho de…” why not “es hecho de”?
I've seen "Está hecho de ..." used to mean "It's made of ...".
Why is the verb estar and not ser? Isn't this an adjective that's permanent and not going to change?
I can understand phrases like "la ...
13
votes
5answers
276 views
When should I use the word 'yo' in a sentence where the verb conjugation already shows that I am the subject?
Early on while I was learning Spanish, my teachers would always make us use the pronoun 'yo' even if it was redundant:
Yo pienso que...
Yo quiero...
Yo hablo...
etc.
However, a more ...
13
votes
4answers
792 views
I forgot how to say “I forgot”
Okay, so I didn't really forget how to say it... I just wanted a clever question title.
In my Spanish class I was taught that olvidarse is reflexive:
Me olvidé (de la cita).
Me olvidé (las ...
12
votes
6answers
276 views
No supo la respuesta
Why do people say things like:
Se lo pregunté, pero no supo la respuesta
Sabía seems more natural to me, and I've been told that either is fine, but I'm still a bit fuzzy on why somebody would ...
11
votes
3answers
112 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?
10
votes
2answers
233 views
Why does saber mean both “to know” and “to taste”?
Español
Cuando aprendía español, estaba muy confundido cuando aprendí que saber significa "to know" y "to taste". Los dos verbos en inglés me parecen muy diferentes. ¿Cómo puede ser esto? ¿Cuál es la ...
10
votes
2answers
135 views
Traer and llevar - what is the reference point?
I always have problems concerning traer and llevar. I think I understand the general meaning:
Llevar means "to take", such as when an object is being taken (generally by you) to a place other than ...
9
votes
5answers
272 views
Why do oler and saber take the preposition “a”?
As an English speaker learning Spanish, I was always a little confused that it smells and tastes "to" something rather than "of" something:
Huele a humo.
Sabe a ajo.
I would think of "a" as ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
“ir a «infinitive»” vs. future tense
There are two ways to indicate a future action, ir a «infinitive» and the future tense. How do I decide which to use when? Is one form more common when spoken or in writing? Is there a regional ...
8
votes
2answers
323 views
What's the difference between “debe de” y “debe”?
Is there any difference? What's their usage? When should one be used instead of the other one?
Examples:
El niño debe de hacer su tarea.
El niño debe hacer su tarea.
8
votes
2answers
527 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 ...
8
votes
2answers
223 views
Acordar or recordar? What's the correct use? ¿Cuál es el uso correcto?
Español
Comunmente escucho gente decir "¿oye, te acuerdas de esa película?", así como también escucho "¿oye, recuerdas esa película?."
Siempre he creído que la acción de un recuerdo viene del verbo ...
7
votes
4answers
238 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!
...
7
votes
1answer
123 views
“Liking” a musician or other artist
The verb gustar, when used with people, conveys a romantic interest (e.g. Ella me gusta. -> I have a crush on her.). How then, can you convey that you like a musician's music or an artist's paintings, ...
7
votes
2answers
101 views
Grammar of “¡A comer!”
I was recently staying with a Mexican family, and during lunch, the children (ages 8 and 5) were being rather unruly. The grandmother would command them: ¡A comer!
I have never heard a command in ...
6
votes
2answers
156 views
How would you express giving a command to yourself in Spanish?
As there is no singular first person imperative form for Spanish verbs (as far as I know), I was wondering whether there is an equivalent to the, possibly idiomatic, English expression of a person ...
6
votes
3answers
181 views
What's the difference between “estar ansioso de” and “estar ansioso por”?
I know that both 'estar ansioso de' and 'estar ansioso por' mean to be excited for something or looking forward to it, but how do I decide which one to use? Do the two have slightly different ...
6
votes
3answers
84 views
Indicative and subjunctive after time constructions
I have a few questions regarding the use of some verbs after time constructions like "tan pronto como" or "en cuanto."
If I am saying....
Los domingos por la mañana vemos televisión. Tan pronto ...
6
votes
2answers
82 views
Regional differences between escuchar and oír
In school I learned that escuchar was for the English "to listen to" and oír was "to hear." In Central America, however, I frequently heard escuchar being used for "to hear" (e.g. No te escucho ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
Is there a trick to remembering 'llevar' and 'traer'?
After years of living in a Spanish-speaking country, and speaking mostly only Spanish all day, I still struggle with 'llevar' and 'traer'. The rules are clear and all, but it is just very difficult to ...
5
votes
1answer
185 views
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre comer y comerse?
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre el verbo normal comer y su forma reflexiva comerse? Si los significados son iguales, ¿cuál es la diferencia de connotación? Y, ¿se usa el reflexivo de la misma manera en ...
5
votes
2answers
121 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 ...
5
votes
3answers
168 views
What is the difference between “ser casado” and “estar casado”?
I have read that both ser and estar can be used with casado to give different connotations to the phrase "to be married." What exactly are the differences, and when would you use each verb?
5
votes
7answers
265 views
Uso de “concernidos”
Hoy he escuchado la siguiente frase:
"Estamos muy concernidos por..."
Es la primera vez que escucho el verbo concernir usado y conjugado de esta manera, siempre se usa como "me/nos concierne..."
...
5
votes
2answers
285 views
Different words for “stop”
In English, we have a fairly generic verb "to stop" that can be used in many different contexts. For example:
Stop talking to me!
The driver saw the red light and stopped his car.
You really need to ...
5
votes
1answer
238 views
When should you use the preterite or the imperfect to express past time?
There are two ways to express simple past time actions and conditions in Spanish. One is the preterite,
Comí tacos. (I ate tacos.)
Besé a una chica. (I kissed a girl.)
and the other is the ...
5
votes
2answers
127 views
Usage of “ver(se)” for “to seem/look” (te ves, se te ve, te veo, etc.)
The verb ver can be used in a few different constructions to convey how something looks or seems:
Te ves bonita.
Se te ve mal.
Te veo bien.
For the reflexive constructions, the WordReference entry ...
5
votes
2answers
91 views
¿Es válido decir “eso pasó ahorita”?
En Medellín (Colombia) se dice mucho "eso pasó ahorita", pero parecería ser que "ahora" o "ahorita" es más de futuro.
Ejemplo:
Ellos vienen ahora.
o
Ellos llegaron ahorita.
No suena bien.
...
5
votes
4answers
260 views
What is the difference between “ser cierto” and “ser verdad”?
The English "to be true" can be translated to Spanish as either ser cierto or ser verdad. What is the difference between the two? When would you use one instead of the other?
5
votes
2answers
320 views
“Iros” instead of “idos” (imperative of verb “ir”)
I have heard many times the use of the infinitive instead of the imperative in Spanish with the verb "ir". For example:
Si me queréis, irse* (Instead of: Si me queréis, váyanse) [Famous quote of ...
4
votes
1answer
555 views
Spanish phrasal verbs
The most difficult feature of English language (at least for myself) are "Phrasal verbs".
Today I stumbled upon one sentence from a newspaper that made think about Phrasal verbs in Spanish. If we ...
4
votes
1answer
148 views
Gusto variant of the verb gustar
When I thought I finally had it figured out... I was confronted with the following phrase which obviously must mean:
I liked the story of your friend.
Which for me logically translates to.
...
4
votes
2answers
84 views
Should I include “a” after “conocemos”?
Which would be correct?
Nosotros conocemos a los padres de nuestros amigos.
Nosotros conocemos los padres de nuestros amigos.
4
votes
1answer
431 views
Translation of “to catch up” (sharing recent happenings with someone you haven't seen lately)
In English, "to catch up (with each other)" can be used to describe two people that haven't seen each other in a while that are sharing recent events in their lives with each other. For example:
"I ...
4
votes
1answer
126 views
How to interpret “dar a” or “dar a conocer”?
I only know "dar" in its literal sense of "to give".
And I know "conocer" in its literal sense of "to know" or "to get to know".
But in reading Cien años de soledad I came to this passage:
... y ...
4
votes
2answers
118 views
How can I recognize the conjugation of a verb from its infinitive?
According to this Wikipedia article, it is possible to recognize the conjugation of a Spanish verb from its infinitive. Is it possible to determine the conjugation of a verb (such as pedir, or tener, ...
4
votes
1answer
97 views
¿Cómo escribo el subjuntivo presente de 'adelgazar'?
Según del sitio conjugation.org, el subjuntivo presente del verbo adelgazar es:
yo adelgaze
tú adelgazes
él/usted adelgaze
nosotros adelgazemos
vosotros adelgazéis
ellos/ustedes ...
4
votes
1answer
244 views
Why does “mostrar a” mean “to show” and not “to show to”?
Tengo una biblia bilingüe. En el 14 capítulo de Juan, cuenta así una conversación entre Jesús y uno de su discípulos:
--Señor-- dijo Felipe--, muéstranos al Padre y con eso nos basta.
...
4
votes
2answers
113 views
Do Spanish verbs have principal parts?
When I was studying Latin, I would learn the conjugation of each verb by memorizing its principal parts (for example, "amo, amare, amavi, amatus"). In Spanish, are there any principal parts of a verb ...
4
votes
1answer
43 views
If you need to clarify a speaker with a pronoun, do you need to clarify all verbs in the sentence with one?
The following is ambiguous:
Mientras era feliz, eres cansado y era triste.
If you want to clarifiy speakers by adding pronouns to the verbs, would you have to do it to all them, or only until ...
4
votes
4answers
135 views
Why is there a “se” after the verb in “llevarse los libros a casa”?
The sentence comes from an exercise in my Spanish text book:
¿Pueden los lectores llevarse los libros a casa si quieren?
In the above sentence, there's a "se" after the verb "llevar". But I think ...
4
votes
1answer
114 views
Second person singluar imperative of a reflexive verb ending in a diphthong
The question is pretty much in the title. If I have the verb lavarse, I know to make the imperative I use lávate.
But what to do with a verb like afeitarse? Is it afeitate? My spellcheck thinks ...
3
votes
3answers
151 views
Translation of “settling in”
In English, "to settle in" describes what someone does after moving in to a new place or returning from a long vacation:
I just got back, I'm still settling in.
We moved last week! It will be ...
3
votes
4answers
328 views
How do you use the “passive se” with a reflexive verb?
What is the rule for using the "passive se" (e.g. "¿Cómo se dice?") with a reflexive verb that involves another se pronoun? For example, how would you translate "One takes a shower (ducharse) ...
3
votes
2answers
716 views
What does “haiga” mean?
What is the Spanish word haiga? Is it a properly conjugated form of a verb? Or a regional variant or improper conjugation? Where/when is it used?
3
votes
2answers
4k views
When is “me encanta” romantic?
I have heard that me gusta usually has a romantic connotation when referring to people (as opposed to just saying that you get along well with someone). What about me encanta? Does it always have ...
3
votes
4answers
322 views
Present subjunctive in vos form
What is the rule for conjugating verbs in the vos form in the present subjunctive? If it varies by region, what are the differences?
3
votes
4answers
121 views
How is the second person singular formed with rioplatense “vos”?
English
I learned my Spanish in Spain, some years ago. Now I am visiting Uruguay and Argentina and coming across the usage of the pronoun vos, and its corresponding different formation of the second ...
