All Questions
40
votes
11answers
743 views
How important are accents in written Spanish?
English
I notice that native Spanish speakers often leave off accents in writing. Outside the context of edited material, it almost seems like accent pedantry is the sign of someone who has learned ...
32
votes
3answers
791 views
Why is “agua” masculine in singular form and feminine in plural? “El agua” / “Las aguas”
English
Is there any rule that says that feminine nouns that start with "A" are converted to masculine or is it just done for phonetic (ie beauty) reasons?
Does this happen in all Spanish speaking ...
26
votes
3answers
509 views
Origin and usage of “¿” and “¡”
English
I was wondering what the reason is that the inverted exclamation mark ¡ and the inverted question mark ¿ were introduced into the Spanish language and not into most other languages.
Any ...
24
votes
4answers
1k views
Why “buenas noches” when it's only one night?
Why are buenas noches and buenas tardes said when they refer to only one night/afternoon?
¿Por qué se dice "buenas noches" y "buenas tardes" cuando solo se refieren solo a una noche o tarde?
21
votes
10answers
2k views
How should I ask someone to repeat something they've said?
When I learned Spanish in school, I was taught to never say ¿Qué? when I needed someone to repeat something they just said. Rather I was taught to say ¿Cómo? Later, my wife taught me to say ¿Mande? ...
20
votes
2answers
713 views
Why is the “X” in México and Texas pronunced as the letter “J”?
English
Even as a native speaker I don't know the reason of this. Another example would be Xavier.
Español
Aunque el español es mi primera lengua, no sé por qué razón sucede esto. Otro ejemplo ...
20
votes
9answers
398 views
Any difference between aquí and acá
I've been taught that aquí and acá are completely interchangable.
From personal observation, acá seems to be used more often than aquí in the context of "I live down this road." Example:
Vivo ...
18
votes
4answers
296 views
Question words: “qué” versus “cuál”
English
Often "qué" is translated to English as "what" and "cuál" is translated as "which." However, I know that this is not always the case. Here are some examples. (Please correct me if I am ...
17
votes
9answers
908 views
Are there native-born Spanish speakers that can't trill their R's?
It seems that one of the greatest difficulties some native-English speakers have is learning to trill their R's. Some, it seems, are completely incapable of performing this task.
Is this ever a ...
17
votes
8answers
509 views
How should I translate “table” (as in a data table)?
What should be the correct word in Spanish to translate "table" (as in an arrangement of text or data in rows and columns)?
Somewhere I've read that "cuadro" should be preferred to "tabla", but which ...
17
votes
10answers
899 views
How to pronounce the consonants “y” and “ll”?
I have heard y/ll pronounced in two different ways:
[j] (like 'y' in "yellow")
[ʒ] (like 's' in "measure")
Do native speakers use both interchangeably? Or is it pronounced [j] in some regions and ...
17
votes
5answers
524 views
What's the difference between “dentro” and “adentro”?
English:
How can I tell whether I should be using Dentro vs. Adentro? I've read that they both mean 'inside' and looked at some examples, but I still can't always figure out which one to use. Are ...
17
votes
5answers
286 views
What does “lo” in “(no) lo es” refer to?
English:
In this sentence, for example:
El dinero no lo es todo en la vida.
What does this "lo" refer to?
Can it be omitted ("El dinero no es todo")?
Español:
En esta frase, por ejemplo:
...
17
votes
1answer
459 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
6answers
1k views
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre tú, usted, y vos?
Ya he oido las palabras tú, usted, y vos, pero la traducción de todas esas palabras a Inglés es la misma: you.
¿Cuándo es mejor usar tú o vos en vez de usted, o viceversa?
16
votes
5answers
457 views
How do I ask someone not to call me “usted”?
Suppose you're in a situation where you have a formal/business relationship with someone, but the relationship has become more familiar over time. The other person continues to call you usted. How ...
16
votes
5answers
3k views
When to use ya and todavía
What are the rules for when to use ya and todavía? (Or ya no and todavía no)?
In many contexts, ya translates to yet or already, and todavía translates to still, but this simple understanding has ...
16
votes
3answers
414 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 ...
16
votes
3answers
206 views
How did “asistir” and “atender” become opposite of their cognates in english?
"Atender" is translated as to assist in spanish, while "asistir" is translated as "to attend". These words seem to be cognates of each other, but have opposite meanings when translated. How did this ...
15
votes
8answers
2k views
How to translate “I can't wait…”
A literal translation always falls flat, and confuses people (I've learned this the hard way).
I can't wait [to see the movie] => No puedo esperar [a ver la pelicula]
This always leaves the ...
15
votes
6answers
427 views
“vaso de agua” or “vaso con agua”? Which is correct?
English
What's the correct way to express that something "serves as a container for something else"?
Example:
¿Quieres un vaso de/con agua?
Should we use de or con? Are both correct? Why?
If ...
15
votes
5answers
321 views
Why is “Enrique” pronunced as though it has a double “r”?
Why is "Enrique", even though its 'r' position is at the middle of a word, pronounced as a double "r"? What are the orthographic rules you need to know to determine if an "r" must be pronounced as a ...
15
votes
1answer
446 views
¿Por qué es la palabra «mano» femenina?
En español, tenemos una regla en la cual, generalmente, se puede tener fé. Si una palabra termina con -o, es masculina. Sin embargo, palabras que terminan en -e o -a también pueden ser palabras ...
14
votes
4answers
837 views
Why don't Spanish words start with “sp”?
I've noticed that there aren't any words in Spanish that start with sp. Latin words are altered to include an e in front of the sp. Even loan words are often modified to esp...:
spaghetti => ...
14
votes
2answers
262 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.
14
votes
4answers
796 views
When to use “igual” and “lo mismo”?
English
I often get corrected when using either the word igual or mismo, and haven't really figured out when to use which yet.
What are the rules for when and how to use igual, and when and how to ...
14
votes
2answers
265 views
How do I know whether to attach a direct object pronoun to the infinitive?
I often struggle to decide what sounds right when I need to use direct object pronouns. Lessons on these pronouns have not been much help because they teach that when using a direct object pronoun it ...
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
367 views
Is there a Spanish equivalent to “-ish”?
In English, we often add "-ish" to the end of a word to make it less exact.
Here are some examples:
I'll be there at 5:00ish.
The shirt was a reddish color.
The woman appeared to be 50ish. ...
13
votes
5answers
621 views
Why is 'estar muerto' used instead of 'ser muerto'?
I know it is rather rude to think of it this way and I don't want to offend anyone religiously, but being dead is usually thought of as a very permanent condition in the United States. So why does ...
13
votes
4answers
262 views
Does using “tío” imply a negative opinion?
I've seen the word tío used to mean "guy" or "bloke", but can't recall (in my admittedly limited experience) having seen it used to imply a positive opinion of someone.
If I refer to someone as "Ese ...
13
votes
5answers
268 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
3answers
343 views
Proper placement of inverted question mark
What is the proper placement of the inverted question mark in sentences that are not completely questions? A common example:
Hello, how are you?
(¿)Hola, (¿)cómo estás?
Or:
That's ...
13
votes
3answers
152 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?
13
votes
1answer
119 views
¿Cuál palabra es “ouo”?
Leyendo una edición antigua de Las Sergas de Esplandian, me encontré una palabra que no pude entender. Aquí lo muestro con imagen:
Transcrito al alfabeto moderno, se lee:
Sabed que ala diestra ...
13
votes
1answer
295 views
Why are certain words ending in “a” masculine?
English:
I'm referring to words like "el tema" or "el lema". Most words ending in "a" are feminine.
This is actually the opposite of a similar question,
¿Por qué es la palabra ...
13
votes
2answers
283 views
Are there other words that can't be written? (like sal-le)
Recently, I learned that there is at least one Spanish word that can be pronounced but not written.
It is the imperative form of 'salirle'. It is prononunced as 'sal-le' and the written form should ...
12
votes
8answers
157 views
¿Se usa 'guácala' fuera de México?
En español mexicano, cuando uno siente algo repugnante es típico usar una palabra onomatopeica: 'guácala' (imita el sonido de vomitar). Es equivalente a decir 'yuck' en inglés. ¿Qué tan común es ...
12
votes
6answers
729 views
Is there a difference between “español” and “castellano”?
English
I always thought the two could be used interchangeably (meaning "the Spanish language"). But I recently got into an argument with someone where they insisted there was a difference (although ...
12
votes
4answers
1k views
What's the difference between “vamos” and “vámonos”?
Español
Cuando estaba estudiando Español, aprendí que "let's go" es "vamos," pero cuando fui a México, lo único que oído estaba "vámonos." Pregunté a una persona bilingüe allá, pero ella no supe la ...
12
votes
3answers
184 views
“Guion” vs “Guión” - Are there other words which could be written in multiple ways?
My dictionary uses guión while Wikipedia writes guion.
I tried Google ngram and was nearly convinced that Wikipedia was wrong because nobody else seems to use that spelling today.
I was really ...
12
votes
2answers
2k views
¿Cómo se pronuncia un número de siglo?
Cuando leo artículos de Wikipedia, o libros historicales, es muy común encontrar una frase como siglo [numeración romana]. Por ejemplo,
Aljedrez, tal como se conoce actualmente, surgió en Europa ...
12
votes
4answers
553 views
¿Cómo se pueden identificar palabras árabes en español?
Español
Yo sé que los musulmanes, cuando conquistaron España, impactaron en gran medida al idioma. Hay palabras en español que son prestadas (y ahora son una parte del idioma). ¿Hay un método con ...
12
votes
3answers
173 views
Does an accent mark change the pronunciation of single-syllable words?
I know that some single-syllable words (most pronouns, for example) come in two varieties, with and without an accent mark on the vowel.
"Él" has a different meaning than "el", but is it pronounced ...
12
votes
5answers
420 views
How to translate the idiom: “missing the point”?
What would be the correct way to translate into Spanish the idiom: "to miss the point"?
I'm often tempted to write "perder el punto", but it doesn't sound quite right.
For example: "To bring ...
12
votes
4answers
476 views
Is “¿Qué hora es?” or “¿Qué horas son?” preferred?
Admittedly, it has been a very long time since I've studied Spanish, but I distinctly recall that we always used "¿Que hora es?" for "what time is it?".
However, on a trip to the Dominican Republic, ...
12
votes
3answers
314 views
Internet Chat laughter in Spanish
In English we tend to use:
lol = laughing out loud;
rofl = rolling on the floor laughing;
lmao = laughing my a** off;
roflmao = rolling on the floor laughing my a** off.
These are just some of the ...
12
votes
1answer
259 views
How to avoid the lexical redundancy in the literal Spanish translation of “to ask a question”?
In English we have different words for the verb to ask and the noun question.
But in Spanish to ask is preguntar and question is pregunta.
This always causes me to stumble when speaking Spanish and ...
12
votes
4answers
174 views
What's the correct way to say printed?
What's the preferred past participle of imprimir, imprimido or impreso?
For example:
Tengo imprimido el email que me enviaste.
Tengo impreso el email que me enviaste.
12
votes
1answer
89 views
Is “al” a relatively new word?
I am curious about the history of the word "al". For example, was there a time when "a el" was the proper usage and "al" came later (presumably because of the slurring of speech)?
