41
votes
Accepted
Etymologically, why do "ser" and "estar" exist? / Etimológicamente, ¿por qué existen "ser" y "estar"?
Way back in the times of the Latin language, there were two different verbs, but not with the same meaning as today:
sum, es, esse, fui1, meaning "to be" (Spanish: "ser", "estar", "haber"). This was ...
- 77.4k
21
votes
Accepted
Translation of the phrase "I'm happy."
It depends on the context of the question .
The verb "estar" in that phrase is commonly used for that particular moment.
Estoy feliz. (I am happy at the moment.)
However, "ser" can be used for ...
- 326
16
votes
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 stub for the answer. Feel free to collaborate, and remember to add links in case you add information coming from already answered questions.
If you want to go deeper into the roots of ...
16
votes
How does "Te vas a cansar" mean "You're going to get tired"?
Te vas a cansar or, alternatively, Vas a cansarte, illustrates two grammatical concepts:
Pronominal verbs, like cansarse, which means "to get tired, to become tired"; contrast this with plain cansar ...
- 39.4k
15
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "regresar," "volver," and "retornar"?
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 ...
- 39.4k
14
votes
"Voy a dormir" vs "me voy a dormir" - huge difference or not?
If you check the ir verb in the dictionary, you will see that there is one fundamental meaning as a pronominal verb:
Moverse de un lugar hacia otro apartado de la persona que habla.
That is, "...
- 77.4k
14
votes
Accepted
Why is Argentinian pronunciation different from other countries?
No, your ears are perfectly fine. In fact, it is notable that you have noticed the difference between the two different forms of the imperative tense.
There are indeed some differences between the ...
- 77.4k
14
votes
How do verbs like 'gustar' actually function?
Your supposition that the translation would be
Las manzanas no le gusta a Sonia
is almost correct. With the apples being the subject, the verb simply needs to agree to be perfectly cromulent.
...
- 30k
14
votes
Accepted
What is the "a" in ¿"A dónde vamos?"?
It's not 'we'; the 'we' is implied by 'vamos', which is the first person plural form of the verb 'ir' ('to go').
It's 'to', as @Traveller mentions in the comments, so it literally translates as 'To ...
- 1,241
13
votes
Accepted
What type of construction is verb+"se", like in the word "veíase"?
En el español literario, es algo más frecuente encontrar enclisis, o el posicionamiento de un pronombre átono después del verbo (y en tal caso, se escribe junto al verbo, tildando si es necesario). ...
- 30k
13
votes
Accepted
¿Existe un verbo para "hablar en voz alta"?
Para el caso concreto del teatro, la expresión que buscas es proyectar la voz.
Este es el término que se usa tanto en teatro como en canto para hacer referencia a la técnica vocal que hay que ...
- 1,756
13
votes
¿Se ha propuesto alguna palabra para los aterrizajes en otros cuerpos celestes además de la Tierra, la Luna y Marte?
Si consideramos que "aterrizar" es la acción de tocar "tierra" (no necesariamente "la Tierra"), ese verbo puede aplicarse a la acción de posarse sobre cualquier planeta, a menos que su superficie sea ...
- 29.3k
12
votes
"Iros" instead of "idos" (imperative of verb "ir")
TL;DR
The "problem" is so extended that RAE finally decided to consider that that's actually the way people speak, making it a valid version for the imperative.
Long answer
To update this ...
- 48k
12
votes
Accepted
¿Por qué traducimos "I didn't know" como "no sabía" en lugar de "no supe"?
I didn't know si se puede traducir como No supe. La diferencia esta en que en Español hay dos formas con sentidos ligeramente diferentes.
Ocurre durante un período:
No sabía qué hacer durante el ...
- 10.6k
12
votes
¿Se dice "me alegro que" o "me alegro de que"?
El mismo artículo de la RAE que vinculas contesta tu pregunta en el punto 1. a):
Algunos de estos verbos, cuando se usan en forma pronominal (alegrarse, preocuparse, etc.), sí exigen un complemento ...
- 4,423
12
votes
Grammar in a Juanes song
I think you may be confusing nunca (Eng = never) with nadie (Eng = nobody).Juanes sings that "You never know what you have until you lose it".
- 5,772
12
votes
If "dar" means "to give", what does "daros" mean?
It's the second person plural object pronoun 'os' (as opposed to the subject pronoun 'vosotros'). It means 'you (plural)'. You would also use it where in English you might use 'to you' or 'for you' ...
11
votes
Accepted
¿Se dice "me alegro que" o "me alegro de que"?
Hay dos opciones en este caso.
Me alegro de que las cosas te estén yendo bien
Me alegra que las cosas te estén yendo bien
En la primera, tenemos el verbo reflexivo, con la cláusula subordinada ...
- 30k
11
votes
Accepted
Why do the verbs in Spanish only end in "ar, er, ir"?
From a historic point of view, the Spanish language comes from the Latin language. In Latin there were three possible terminations for verbs: -are, -ere, -ire. These terminations have reached our days,...
- 77.4k
11
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between "Va a un bar" and "Se va a un bar"?
Compare the definitions of ir ("to go") and irse ("to leave").
In the first sentence you provided, Va a un bar, "va" is a conjugated (3rd person singular, present) form of the verb ir and the ...
- 646
11
votes
Accepted
Origin of “vámonos”
Probablemente en el pasado se decía "vámosnos", respetando la formación de la palabra, pero en la norma actual la s intermedia se pierde (me imagino que porque la repetición del sonido suena un poco ...
- 16.6k
11
votes
Accepted
¿Hay alguna diferencia sustancial entre las dos primeras acepciones de "barrer"?
Pues sí veo una diferencia, aunque es sutil, como dices.
La primera acepción se enfoca en el lugar que se está limpiando. En este caso el lugar es quien recibe la acción. Ejemplo: Barrer el piso.
La ...
- 6,978
11
votes
Accepted
How to pronounce "criar"?
Yes, criar is pronounced (by everybody I know, at least) with two syllables, /kri.ar/. This is a violation of the rule that says that a so-called "weak"¹ vowel (/i/ or /u/) always forms a diphthong ...
- 39.4k
10
votes
What is the difference among "perdón", "disculpa" and "lo siento"?
"Disculpe" is used more when you want to ask something. If you want to be polite, talking to someone you don't know you can say:
-Disculpe, me podría decir la hora, por favor.
-Sorry, could you ...
- 101
10
votes
Are any verbs conjugated the same in preterit and present tenses?
In the indicative mood hablamos is both present and past and is the rest of the sentence that tells you the time.
Nosotros hablamos del partido = We talk about the game.
Ayer hablamos del partido = ...
- 10.6k
10
votes
¿Cuál es el antónimo de mentir?
Después de un rato dándole vueltas, no he podido encontrar el antónimo buscado ni en el español actual ni en diccionarios anteriores. Tampoco encuentro ni en inglés, francés o italiano un verbo que ...
- 77.4k
10
votes
Accepted
Pensarlo vs. pienso?
Pienso is to think as you correctly said.
Yo pienso = I think
But Pensarlo is to think about it
Déjame pensarlo = let me think about it
Yo voy a pensarlo antes de tomar una decisión = I'll think ...
- 10.6k
10
votes
Voseo del subjuntivo del presente de verbos irregulares (ser, ir) en Chile
En Chile el voseo verbal es generalizado para todos los modos y tiempos, incluido el subjuntivo y exceptuando el imperativo.
Los ejemplos que tú indicas ("no quiero que te vayái", "no seái triste", "...
- 16.6k
10
votes
"Andaba" with "cerrando"
Andar + gerund is a kind of progressive construction, just like estar + gerund (estaba cerrando un negocio). They are close in meaning but not identical. In English you would probably translate both ...
- 39.4k
10
votes
How come I can't find some reflexive verbs like decirse, odiarse and mentirse in the dictionary?
In the "official" Diccionario de la Lengua Española (DLE), pronominal versions of verbs (i.e., meanings of the verb that require the use of me, te, se, etc.), are marked with the ...
- 12.1k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible