23
This answer has grown enough to require an outline. Here it is:
"¿Qué hora es?" versus "¿Qué hora está?"*
"estar" versus "ser"
"a state" versus "an attribute"
"¿Qué hora es?" versus "¿Qué horas son?"
1. "¿Qué hora es?" versus "¿Qué hora está?"*
I feel tempted, like others, to write that Spanish uses the verb "ser" to ask the time, simply, because that's ...
20
The translations would be
Se habla Español <> Spanish spoken (here)
Hablamos Español <> We speak Spanish
But these phrases are all valid, and almost interchangeable. The overall meaning is never in doubt. People typing up these signs don't normally care about the precision.
Finally, "It speaks Spanish" is not translatable as "Se habla Español", but ...
19
While one of the uses of se is indeed to make a verb reflexive, it has a number of other uses. One of those other uses is — in third person — to make the verb passive. Thus,
El perro se llama Fido
would not be interpreted as equivalent to
El perro se llama Fido a sí mismo
but rather to
El perro es llamado Fido, or
Llaman al perro Fido
...
18
I think that gracias is the most basic, standard way to say thank you in Spanish. If you want more options, you have to seek upwards:
Muchas gracias (thanks a lot).
Muchísimas gracias (thank you very much).
Se lo agradezco (I thank you).
Se lo agradezco en el alma / de corazón / sinceramente / enormemente / etc. (I sincerely thank you / from the bottom of ...
15
That's quite a weird phrase to me simply because I'm from Spain.
Manejar is only used in Latin American countries; conducir is the only word for drive in Spain.
Also, this phrase must have been written by a person from South America because in Spain we use carril instead of canal.
Of course you can use conducir or manejar twice, but it sounds quite ...
14
You have to use "estación" when you refer to one of the four seasons of the year: summer, fall/autumn, winter or spring.
The word "temporada" will be used to refer to some period during which an activity is performed or some business is conducted, as in temporada de esquí. The "temporada" may coincide with a certain season, and then we have temporada ...
14
As you yourself have observed, the verbs are mostly interchangeable (in the strictest sense: the meaning is the same), and the difference is in the frequency of use, which in part has to do with register: volver can be used in colloquial or formal speech, regresar is a bit fancier, retornar is even more refined, formal or literary. (Neither regresar nor ...
13
Absolutely interchangeable as Eric states in his answer. I agree. However, I'd add that empezar is a little more common than comenzar. Actually Ngrams says in written Spanish, in the last 60 years, the frequency of use has been reversed. That is:
And comenzar is slightly more formal. But I have no other sources than native speaker's gut.
13
The word usted is derived from the ancient expression vuestra merced (your mercy), which was used to politely/formally address other people several centuries ago. When you addressed someone as vuestra merced, you were not directly addressing them, but something else ("their mercy"); hence the use of the 3rd person that has been kept to our days.
Many other ...
13
El gato es suyo.
Can have four meanings depending upon who you're talking to or the context:
The cat is yours (formal speaking, if you're using 'Usted' as the person)
The cat is his
The cat is hers
The cat is theirs
El gato es tuyo.
Can only mean:
The cat is yours
13
La expresión más frecuente es dar el pésame, para expresar esta acción de comunicarle a alguien que lamentas el fallecimiento de su pariente:
Me acerqué a Luis en el funeral para darle el pésame por la muerte de su abuelo
Luis, mi más sentido pésame por la muerte de tu abuelo
También se suele decir te acompaño en el sentimiento o incluso mis condolencias. ...
12
ENGLISH -Spanish follows
Check the RAE on Porqué / porque / por qué / por que for a deep explanation of this. There are several combinations (porque vs. por que as one or two words and then que/qué with or without the accent)
1- You use por qué as two words and with the accents for questions:
¿Por qué es eso así?
Me pregunto por qué Jorge está tan enfadado(...
12
In Spanish the complete answer is:
La camisa es de color azul.
You can not make it a word by word translation into English. This is simply how it is in Spanish: when you're talking about the color property of a thing it is always constructed as "<thing> is of <such> colour".
Of course the answer is usually (but not always) shortened as:
...
12
La diferencia consiste en que un balón es aquel que se puede inflar, es decir, que tiene una válvula a través de la cual es posible inflarlo, por ejemplo, el balón utilizado en fútbol, basketball, volleyball, futbol americano, etc. Por otro lado, una pelota no se puede inflar, ya tiene un tamaño y forma predefinidas, tal es el caso de las pelotas de golf, ...
12
No creo que haya un sinónimo exacto (como casi con todo) pero se me ocurren varias traducciones para escoger, dependiendo del contexto. No sé si entiendo bien lo del panda: ¿se refiere a "disfruta, aunque siempre hay alguien a quien le va a caer mal" o "ya verás como incluso esto le cae mal a alguien"?
Un buen término sería "atrabiliario", que suele ...
12
If abbreviating (to mañ.) is something unwanted, then instead of what you have
Mañana por la mañana
You'll gain 2 spaces with
Mañana a la mañana
Or even a 4 char gain, writing
Mañana temprano
The concise way you need may be also achieved using a.m.., the latin *ante meridiem for "antes del mediodía", before noon)
Mañana a.m. (formally ...
11
Ok, I must confess, at first I thought the question wouldn't make sense, but it does and actually it's quite interesting.
In Spanish adjectives, possessives pronouns, and so on are declined according to the noun they qualify. In this case, nuestra is qualifying madre, which is always feminine (unless..., no, always feminine).
Let's compare with other ...
11
Given the great extension of territories where Spanish is spoken, there are for a single type of food, many ways to name it, according to the country (or region in a single one).
There's also an opposite case: the same word refers, in two regions, to different varieties of the same food, or even to two different ones.
For your specific question:
Frijol:
...
11
Puede ser para ofrecer cercanía con el publico al que se dirige. La forma usted es mucho mas formal y desde luego implica respeto, pero eso no quiere decir que la forma tú carezca de él. Creo que en este caso hay mucho contexto en el canal.
Puedo decirte, como nativo hispanohablante, que usted puede tener connotaciones negativas. Cuando yo tenía alrededor ...
11
The difference is quite simple: bien is an adverb, while bueno/a is an adjective.
You should use bien when it stands alone (esto está bien), when it modifies verbs, specially the participle (esto está bien escrito) or as an intensifier, more or less equivalent with muy (lo tenemos bien difícil, equivalent to lo tenemos muy difícil).
You should use bueno/a ...
11
Although they are expressions of the same sense (observing regional differences that have been mentioned), you must remember that these are words with different meanings.
Manejar involves taking action to get something. Originally, these actions were manual (manos = "hands"), and the word relates to manipular ("manipulate") and maniobrar ("maneuver").
...
11
Errata is a correct translation for typo.
Looking up typo:
a mistake (such as a misspelled word) in typed or printed text
And looking up errata:
f. Equivocación material cometida en lo impreso o manuscrito.
The above defintion would imply any written error (both printed and non printed), with error tipográfico allowing to specify that it ...
11
Dado que me siento triste...
Debido a que me siento triste...
Ahora que me siento triste...
Porque me siento triste...
Como me siento triste...
Con motivo de que me siento triste...
Considerando que me siento triste...
En vista de que me siento triste..
Visto que estoy triste...
Puesto que me siento triste...
A causa de que estoy triste...
Como ...
10
You will never go wrong using either of these standard forms:
Si tu hermana me llamara, te lo diría.
Si tu hermana me llamase, te lo diría.
That pair are completely interchangeable: no meaning changes when you switch between –ra and –se in the protasis (the “if” part). However, there are other, rarer scenarios.
The –se forms are always imperfect ...
10
'Enhorabuena' is standard language usage in Spain. It is used mainly for personal achievements, while 'Felicidades' is more for something that has happened to you. So we use 'Enhorabuena' for a promotion, a degree, a marriage or a baby, while Felicidades for birthday, Christmas or winning the lotto.
Despite this, 'Enhorabuena' is receding and 'Felicidades' ...
10
In Spain, at least, por is never used to refer to recipients, it's always para.
He hecho este pastel para ti.
Mi amor es para él.
Todo el dinero que tiene es para sus hijos.
por is used to refer to the reason you have to do something. For example:
Lo hice por él, se lo merecía.
Él is the reason you chose to do something, he deserved something and you did ...
10
We use "saber" when we want to convey knowledge or mastery of skills:
Él sabe hablar español.
Él sabe un poco de español. Lo suficiente como para defenderse.
Mi abuela sabe coser. Mi abuelo sabe jugar al mus muy bien.
Mi padre sabe todos los nombres de los ríos de España.
El profesor me preguntó y quedó contento porque yo me sabía la lección.
For ...
10
Indeed, dawn should be translated as "amanecer" or "alba"
... esperó al amanecer.
... esperó a las primeras luces del alba
Seeing that you already found a really blatant example of bad translation in the version of that book you are working with, it should not be surprising this is another oner.
10
Yes, "tontos" is not a word you would tell to somebody you want to sell a book :)
Instead, I would use:
... para principiantes
Where principianteis a word you can find in the DRAE meaning "beginner":
principiante
(Del ant. part. act. de principiar).
adj. Que principia. U. m. c. s.
adj. Que empieza a estudiar, aprender o ejercer un ...
answered Sep 2 '15 at 14:54
fedorqui 'SO stop harming'
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10
With the correction of lo for el, both
Vivo en el mismo lugar donde vivía hace un año
and
Vivo en el mismo lugar en que vivía hace un año
are correct. So, both are fine and there is actually no "better".
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