Questions tagged [preguntas-canónicas]

Preguntas canónicas (usada solo mediante consenso) // Canonical questions (used only by agreement)

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21 votes
2 answers
12k views

What are the accent placement rules in Spanish?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica Some people have trouble determining when accent marks (tildes) should be used and where. What are the rules for accent placement in ...
27 votes
16 answers
3k views

Resources for learning Spanish / Recursos para aprender español

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica This is a specifically created Community Wiki which gathers resources for learning Spanish and it has been approved by the Community ...
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

Redundant indirect object pronoun: is "le" redundant in "preguntémosle al estúpido / a él"?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica In a movie scene from "Revenge" ("La Venganza", 1990, with Kevin Costner) the character Tiburón Méndez was discussing ...
31 votes
2 answers
9k views

Etymologically, why do "ser" and "estar" exist? / Etimológicamente, ¿por qué existen "ser" y "estar"?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica Ser and estar both mean "to be" in English. I understand this and also understand when to use each. Why, however, do these two ...
31 votes
1 answer
5k views

All about datives, or: What's that funny "le" or "me" doing in there?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica This is a canonical question and answer about dative uses of le, les, me, nos, se, te and os that often confuse and confound the Spanish ...
86 votes
6 answers
27k views

Why is "agua" masculine in singular form and feminine in plural? "El agua" / "Las aguas" ¿Por qué decimos "el agua" si es una palabra femenina?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica English Is there any rule that says that feminine nouns that start with "A" are converted to masculine or is it just done for ...
23 votes
1 answer
1k views

Revisions of Spanish orthography / ¿Qué revisiones ha tenido la ortografía española?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica Recent repeals of long-standing orthographic rules in Spanish have gotten me curious. I know of the latest revision, dated 2010. I know ...
7 votes
3 answers
69k views

How many verbal forms are there in Spanish? // ¿Cuántas formas verbales hay en español?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica It turns out that I am learning English and I have doubts about the verbal forms of that language, but seeing this I realized that I am ...
8 votes
1 answer
878 views

Are there three past continuous tenses in Spanish? When can I use Pretérito imperfecto / imperfecto progresivo / indefinido progresivo?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica Are there three different past continuous tenses? When I tried to learn the past continuous, I came across three different tenses that ...
21 votes
1 answer
1k views

What are the differences between "ser" and "estar"? When to use each? // ¿Cuáles son las diferencias entre "ser" y "estar"? ¿Cuándo se usa cada uno?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica This is a canonical question about the differences and usage of ser and estar. Feel free to collaborate both in the question as in the ...
10 votes
1 answer
4k views

When should you use the preterite or the imperfect to express past time?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica There are two ways to express simple past time actions and conditions in Spanish. One is the preterite, Comí tacos. I ate tacos. ...
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

What is the semantic difference between present perfect and pluperfect?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica What is the semantic difference between a pair like that below: - He hablado - (Yo) Había hablado I suppose the English translation ...
21 votes
3 answers
9k views

When is it written with and without accent: porqué/porque/por qué? / ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre "porque", "porqué", "por que" y "por qué"?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica Can anybody explain to me when each of this variations of "porque" should be used? ¿Puede alguien explicar cuáles son las diferencias ...