All Questions
9,001
questions
5
votes
1
answer
841
views
In militaries, do officers address subordinates as tú or usted?
I imagine that one would usted anyone outranking them, but does this politeness extend to addressing subordinates?
My instinct as well is that when speaking to someone of the same rank, one might use ...
- 151
2
votes
2
answers
218
views
Can a verb be made pronominal and keep the meaning of its non-pronominal form as in "Se hacen la compra los unos a los otros"?
Can a verb be made pronominal and keep the meaning of its non-pronominal form? For instance, in the following sentence, why does "hacer" keep it's meaning of "to do"?
Se hacen la ...
- 1,317
0
votes
0
answers
53
views
Phrases context and use [closed]
I would like to use some phrases I came across recently but am unsure if the context is right. In such cases I am not sure of the reliability of Chat GPT.I want to use them when talking about school ...
- 1,019
-2
votes
1
answer
76
views
¿Qué tan aceptable es "es como [algo]" como sustituto de "[se] parece [algo]"? [closed]
Según Google Translate, "It's a little like [something]" se traduce como "Es un poco como [algo]." ¿Es correcto? Además, ¿es también aceptable decir "Comó es un poco como [...
0
votes
0
answers
48
views
Everyday expressions in Latin-America and Spain.? [closed]
I listened to some podcasts, They are Colombian. I wonder if some of these expressions are only used in Latin America or are they also used in Spain. If not what are the Spanish alternatives.
...
- 1,019
3
votes
1
answer
102
views
How to say "he looks tired" - use parecer or ver?
In English we say
He looks tired.
Which is an accurate way to say this in Spanish?
Se ve cansado.
or
Él parece cansado [EN: He appears tired]
Gracias amigos!
- 433
0
votes
2
answers
83
views
making my spanish as neutral as possible(avoid subjuntivo) at the cost of not sounding like native? [closed]
what if my goal in Spanish is to speak in clear terms and rather in simple sentences? I intentionally want to avoid subjuntivo as a hard topic and unecessary complexity.
but can i still sound as c1-b2 ...
- 476
1
vote
3
answers
142
views
Confusion about ''la ha tomado con él'
I understand that the phrase
La he tomado con alguien
is a colloquial phrase which means to have it in for someone.
My question is: does tomado change to tomada depending on the subject?
For example,...
- 1,019
2
votes
2
answers
88
views
día por medio; mes por medio, semana por medio... are these used often for every other day, month or week?
In my Mango online course they're teaching us "día por medio", and in my explorations on Linguee I see there's also a week and month version, meaning every other day, every other week, every ...
- 65
3
votes
2
answers
75
views
Know phrase or saying
If I want to say that I don't know a word, is it "No sé esta palabra" o "No conozco esta palabra".
Also, is it "No sé esta frase" or "No conozco esta frase"
...
- 1,019
4
votes
1
answer
59
views
idiom -Manolito,Manolito..?
I recently listened to an episode of the podcast''Hoy Hablamos''. I cannot find the episode number but there was a phrase I didn't catch.
The meaning of it was something along the lines of meddling in ...
- 1,019
2
votes
2
answers
66
views
Why is "me" needed in "Los libros que has sacado de la casa no me sirven"?
In the following sentence, why is "me" before "sirven"?
Los libros que has sacado de la casa no me sirven.
Thee pronominal verb is not being used here since that means "to ...
- 1,317
4
votes
1
answer
136
views
Why is "le" used instead of "la" in "No puedo hacerle cambiar de opinión"?
In the following sentence, why is the indirect object pronoun "le" used instead of the direct object pronoun "la"? (The sentence is from Olly Richard´s Short Stories in Spanish)
...
- 1,317
1
vote
0
answers
68
views
El Plan ordenador [closed]
¿Qué significa "ordenador" en "En 1750 Santiago Bonavía trazó el Plan ordenador de una nueva ciudad"? No creo que signifique computadora electrónica. ¡Gracias!
- 1,713
2
votes
0
answers
44
views
Does the Portuguese word "você" comes from "vosotros"? [migrated]
I always wanted to know the reason why "vosotros" is not used in Hispanic America, but its biggest cousin Brazil has a very similar word "você"; so I suspect its a remaining form ...
- 476
2
votes
1
answer
86
views
Me gustan las manzanas. No direct object? [duplicate]
While reading through various grammar lessons, I always thought there had to be a direct object, but this case, there is only an indirect object (me)?
"Me gustan las manzans"
- 433
2
votes
1
answer
80
views
Confusion surrounding encantar
So, this makes no sense to me. At my current understanding, me encanta would mean I am loved by he/she/it; because me is the object of the verb encantar, and the verb is in the 3rd person tense.
...
- 155
4
votes
3
answers
719
views
Spanish equivalent of "making jokes/having fun at someone's expense"?
I'm trying to translate "making jokes at someone's expense" as opposed to say "making fun of someone" (burlarse de alguien). Do "reírse a costa de alguien", "...
- 143
2
votes
1
answer
62
views
Subject pronoun in a question?
I was reading this article about subject pronouns on FluentU.
It stated:
When asking questions, put the personal pronoun after the verb. For example:
¿Trabajas tú en la biblioteca? (Do you work in the ...
- 197
10
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Can decimals less than one omit the first zero?
I'm trying to format some text for my company's pricing page.
If we want to express a number that would be written 0.005 in English, my understanding is that it would be written 0,005 in Spanish.
In ...
- 203
2
votes
1
answer
62
views
Descifrar caligrafía de certificado de matrimonio
Estoy haciendo mi árbol genealógico y he dado con mi ancestro Cristóbal Gómez, casado en Alborea, año 1624. El enlace muestra su certificado de matrimonio con Catalina Gómez:
Me interesa saber el ...
- 141
4
votes
2
answers
164
views
Is there a concise way to say "to send a text message"?
Is there a concise way to say "to send a text message (to)" in Spanish, like we say "to text" in English?
I typed "I texted her" into Google Translate, and it said "...
- 209
3
votes
2
answers
72
views
Haber en plural
¿Se debe obligatoriamente conjugar el auxiliar haber en plural cuando el objeto es plural? Es decir, cuál de las siguientes oraciones es correcta:
- En este viaje no ha habido peligros.
- En este ...
- 165
4
votes
2
answers
69
views
Confused about Subjunctive tense with que and certainty
So, I was working on some Spanish work and I found something that I'm not sure about.
The sentence I'm writing says:
No sé qué quiero ser en el futuro.
So this is where I get confused. I know that ...
4
votes
2
answers
456
views
How would you say "I am him" or similar others in Spanish?
So I know that there are direct object pronouns in Spanish. Normally, you could substitue the direct object noun (i.e. the object, like in "I walked the dog," where the direct object is the ...
0
votes
1
answer
70
views
Asesinado vs. fallecido
Quisiera confirmar si "el resultado" de "asesinado"y "el resultado" de "fallecido" son lo mismo. Según este enlace, parece que no. Muchas gracias ~
"Los ...
- 1,713
3
votes
2
answers
88
views
Why is it "si fui quien" and not "si yo fuera quien"?
Here is part of the lyrics of "Vas a Querer Volver" by Maite Perron.
Si fui quien te quería
Fui quien daba todo por ti
Fui quien cada día
Solo quiso hacerte feliz
Quien te confiaba el alma ...
- 955
3
votes
2
answers
69
views
Le gustan pinturas vs. le gustan las pinturas
¿Hay diferencia de significado entre "le gustan pinturas vs. le gustan las pinturas"? Las dos frases las he inventado yo. ¡Muchas gracias!
- 1,713
0
votes
2
answers
52
views
El significado de usar una frase con "en" después del verbo "sentir"
En esta frase: La fuerza de combate de un supersaiyano de tercer nivel es tan apabullante que llega a sentirse incluso en un lugar tan lejano como el Kaioshinkai.
Cuando dice que el fuerza apabullante ...
0
votes
1
answer
33
views
Blanco o Blanca Tequila
I've often seen young tequila referred to as blanco tequila or tequila blanco. It appears on the labels of bottles so I would assume the manufacturer would have made sure of the grammar. I would have ...
- 315
0
votes
1
answer
43
views
Manera correcta de preguntar esta pregunta con "usted"
En la letra de una canción, el artista canta:
¿Quién crees que eres usted?
Eso a mí me suena incorrecto, pero la verdad no estoy seguro como se preguntaría esa pregunta. Quizás, ¿quién se cree usted?...
- 149
0
votes
1
answer
69
views
What cues or clues can we look for to work out the context in which "ya" is being used? [closed]
After reading a brief explanation about the versatility of the word "ya" in Spanish, and how it can basically be used in different contexts to express ideas relating to the past, present and ...
- 141
2
votes
1
answer
89
views
What does le mean in "no le tienen miedo a la muerte"?
I sent a video of people swimming in flood waters to my Spanish speaking language learning partner, to which she responded
No le tienen miedo a la muerte.
The le in this sentence confused me, so I ...
- 955
1
vote
1
answer
74
views
Translating will would [closed]
I'm learning English and my native language is Spanish.
I've recently come across some phrases that are giving me trouble. Here they are, as well as their possible translations in Spanish. Note that ...
- 19
1
vote
0
answers
44
views
Una pregunta sobre "Rodeábanle" [duplicate]
En el libro "El Camino a Cristo" me tropecé con esta oración:
"Rodeábanle las solitarias montañas y cubríale la bóveda celeste con
su manto de estrellas."
Entiendo el significado y ...
- 2,017
1
vote
1
answer
76
views
¿Es correcto decir: "Tu vestido es muy guapo."?
Mi novia dice que debería decir, Tu vestido es muy bonito., diciendo que cosas como
vestido no los describimos como guapos? ¿Es correcto decir, Tu vestido es muy guapo.?
- 439
1
vote
2
answers
51
views
how to refer to the former?
In the following sentence
Cuando era aprendiz asistía un día a una conversación entre su maestro
y un parroquiano, en la cual éste mantenía que todos los hombres eran
iguales.
éste seems to refer to ...
- 135
2
votes
3
answers
51
views
How to understand the grammar of "lo que había oído decir"
I read this sentence
Después de pensar largo rato el aprendiz, al fin preguntó al maestro, si era verdad lo que había oído decir.
Found it is hard to comprehend, because it looks like "lo que ...
- 135
3
votes
2
answers
76
views
Historia de la palabra "lavanda" para referirse de forma común al "espliego"
Según mis recuerdos, cuando era pequeña, para nombrar a la planta silvestre con flores azules en forma de espiga con un intenso olor muy perfumado, que se encuentra a veces caminando por la montaña, ...
- 1,937
0
votes
1
answer
52
views
Mapa concesional
¿Qué es un mapa concesional? Parece que tiene algo que ver con participar en una subasta pública ofreciendo la ejecución de un servicio a cambio de la obtención de dinero u otros beneficios, pero no ...
- 1,713
5
votes
4
answers
726
views
"The headache", as a metaphor for "the most difficult part of a problem"
The problem with any language is the metaphors rarely translate. I am seeking the translation for "headache" specifically used in problem solving.
In English when we say "the headache ...
- 240
4
votes
2
answers
467
views
Why is it “quiero ser tú” and not “quiero serte”
I was told that when the object of a verb is tú, you append te to the infinitive. How come it doesn’t work for ser?
- 41
0
votes
1
answer
100
views
Why put an emphasis mark on the second-to-last syllable? [duplicate]
I am an intermediate speaker of Spanish.
From what I remember, if there is no emphasis mark, the default is to emphasize the second-to-last syllable.
Why then, are there words that have accent marks ...
2
votes
1
answer
44
views
¿Qué significa '¡Plega a Dios que no mintáis!' (El burlador de Sevilla de Tirso de Molina)?
En la jornada primera de El burlador de Sevilla de Tisbea dice cuatro veces:
¡Plega a Dios que no mintáis!
From the context of the sentence seems to mean I pray to God that y'all lie not.
¿Qué ...
- 439
1
vote
1
answer
42
views
Mejor traducción de "planning"
Estoy tomando un curso de español.
If one wanted to say "I'm planning to buy it later", which would be better in Mexico?
(a) Estoy planeando comprarlo más tarde.
(b) Pienso comprarlo más ...
- 433
3
votes
1
answer
53
views
¿Soñoliento o somnoliento?
Leyendo (una traducción de) El Conde de Montecristo me acabo de encontrar con soñoliento, cuando yo solamente conocía somnoliento. Me fijé en el diccionario de la Real Academia y ambas existen. Sin ...
- 155
2
votes
1
answer
60
views
How does indirect/reported speech work when there are multiple verbs, one imperfect?
I understand (in theory) the idea of how reported speech in Spanish works. The verb basically rolls back a degree unless it's imperfect, conditional, pluperfect, or conditional perfect. But what ...
- 21
4
votes
1
answer
74
views
‘le di’ meaning ‘I took’ instead of ‘I gave’ - darle un trago (a algo)
La única vez que probé cerveza fue cuando tenía doce años y le di un trago en secreto a la Old Style de apá cuando fue al baño.
This is translated by google translate as:
The only time I ever tasted ...
- 65
2
votes
2
answers
53
views
Campo / campana / campaña / campamento
Both campana and campaña refers to either bell or campaign.
Both the spelling seems to be correct.
Campo is a field; campamento is a camp.
The title of a blog is: TIENDAS DE CAMPAÑA PARA IR A CAMPINGS
...
- 21
6
votes
2
answers
400
views
Proper "a" and gustar
I've looked around on this site, and I don't see a direct answer to this question, and it's kind of bugging me.
Using "a" in front of proper nouns, when they are a direct object, mostly ...
- 61