0

I find it easiest to learn spanish through literal translations from Spanish to English, even though it doesn't always produce the greatest structure.

El restaurante no queda muy lejos de aquí.

I would interpret this literally as:

The restaurant [is] not located very far from here.

The sentence still makes sense without the "located":

The restaurant [is] not very far from here.

Which would be in spanish:

El restaurante no muy lejos de aquí.

Would this sound nonsensical or awkward in Spanish?

I think the lack of a verb(even a linking verb) here would make it sound awkward in the same sense that "The restaurant not very far from here" is pretty awkward in the absence of a linking verb like "is".

Improve this question
3
  • Learning Spanish through literal translations from English will lead to some bizarre looks from other Spanish speakers. You end up saying silly things like "nuncamente" for "nevermind". Unless you're dissecting the translation to figure out why it doesn't work, you would be better off learning why/how Spanish idioms have developed.
    – Kent A.
    Commented Apr 14, 2015 at 6:19
  • 1
    I'm not sure why you have the "is" within brackets. In this context quedar=to be located, so you cannot just remove "located" and have that correspond to quedar. You need the whole verb for it to make sense.
    – spiral
    Commented Apr 14, 2015 at 8:29
  • @KentAnderson I don't learn through literal translations from English to Spanish. That's the reverse of what I said. Idioms are there own unique beast and I reallize that they must be learned differently. I wouldn't call the above an idiom though. It's a pretty straightforward sentence.
    – AaronLS
    Commented Apr 14, 2015 at 18:26

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

Another Spanish native speaker here. To use the verb "quedar", in that context, can be replaced directly for "estar".

El restaurante no está muy lejos de aquí.

If you have doubts, use the verb "estar", you can't be wrong there.

El restaurante no muy lejos de aquí

That sounds terrible, like a bad western translation. Of course, people WILL understand you, but there are grammar nazies everywhere.

Improve this answer
2

Yes, omitting the verb sounds awkward, even if the context is giving you enough information to understand the meaning.

Even, by hearing something like this

El restaurante no muy lejos de aquí.

You couldn't be sure if it means "queda lejos" or "es muy bueno" or "es de comida japonesa".

I agree that you can't or shouldn't go with a literal translation, but I think that is weird that the thing you want to omit is the verb, that is one of the key pieces of a sentence. You could say something like

(It) is not (located) very far from here.

And people would still understand you with little context, but if you omit the verb you are maiming the sentence in a way that it does not only not sound good, but makes it really difficult to grasp the meaning.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.