Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby Antea » 2016-03-28, 9:56

Yes, it's like you said in German, something like "I know it already" ("ya lo sé")
Last edited by Antea on 2016-03-28, 9:58, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby ich » 2016-03-28, 9:57

Muchas Gracias

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby Antea » 2016-03-28, 9:58

De nada :wink:

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby ich » 2016-03-28, 10:05

A new question just popped into my head that I have been wondering about for a while. Could you tell me the difference between "bueno," "pues," and "entonces."?

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby Antea » 2016-03-28, 10:14

"Pues" and "entonces" are used as connectors or conjunctions :hmm: , between two parts of the sentence, like in English "so" and "then".

"Bueno" is an adjective meaning "good". It can also be used like a connector like in "bueno pues". (Like saying "Ok")

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby ich » 2016-03-28, 10:34

I am not really sure when to use each connector. For me, they all sound interchangeable in my head.

Like this:

Bueno, ahora tengo que irme. (Well, I have to go.) That whole sentence is probably wrong. :P
Entonces, ahora tengo que irme.
Pues, tengo que irme.


I'm thinking though that I am more likely to be wrong and that they are not interchangeable.

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby Antea » 2016-03-28, 10:55

They are not wrong. They convey more or less the same thing (It's like the use of "well", "ok"' "so", "then"). It depends of the subtle meaning you are trying to imply and of the connection with the previous sentence. For example, in the first sentence
[quote="ich"]

Bueno, ahora tengo que irme. (Well, I have to go) It's the same as in English[/color
]
Entonces, ahora tengo que irme. [color=#004040]Here, it implies that you have told something before, and that because if that, you have to go. For example: "Van a cerrar la tienda. Entonces, tengo que irme"


Pues, tengo que irme. Here, is pretty much the same. For example: "No vas a llegar a tiempo. Pues, tengo que irme" (or, "Pues entonces, tengo que irme")

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby ich » 2016-03-28, 11:19

Oh thanks. That explanation helped me a lot. :)

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby ich » 2016-03-30, 16:27

While I was working on my exercises three questions popped into my head.

What is the difference between una pluma and un bolígrafo?

Do both of these sentences sound equally right or is one better than the other?:
a. Debo también mucho dinero a mi amigo.
b. También debo mucho dinero a mi amigo.

And lastly, my book suggests that the word "usualmente" gets placed at a different place than I had thought, so I was wondering if mine could be an alternative or if there is some sort of grammar rule I should know about adverb placement.

Here is the book's suggestion: Cuando leo un libro, usualmente como pizza o bebo un vaso de leche.

I put: Cuando leo un libro, como usualmente pizza o bebo un vaso de leche.

Thanks for your help!

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby Antea » 2016-03-30, 17:08

"Una pluma" it's a fountain pen, and a "bolígrafo" is a modern pen. In fact (according to Wikipedia), the word "pen" comes from the latin word "penna" , meaning "feather" (like "pluma"), because in ancient times, people used to write with feathers soaked in ink.

For the use and order of "también" and "usualmente", for me is a question of "nuance" of the language, which thing you're trying to emphasize more in the sentence, and what word order "sounds" better.

For example, in English would these two sentences be the same? :hmm:

- I own also a lot of money to my friend
- Also, I own a lot of money to my friend

And what about "usually"

- Whenever I read a book, usually I eat pizza or I drink a glass of milk
- Whenever I read a book, I eat usually pizza or I drink a glass of milk

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby linguoboy » 2016-03-30, 17:14

Antea wrote:For example, in English would these two sentences be the same? :hmm:

- I owe also a lot of money to my friend
- Also, I owe a lot of money to my friend

No; the first example marks the speaker as non-native.

Antea wrote:And what about "usually"

- Whenever I read a book, usually I eat pizza or I drink a glass of milk
- Whenever I read a book, I eat usually pizza or I drink a glass of milk

See above. The idiomatic placement of adverbs like these is between subject and verb, i.e.:

"I also owe a lot of money to my friend"
"Whenever I read a book, I usually eat pizza..."

Perhaps a better way to phrase the question is to ask: How would you formulate the sentence differently depending on the topic? That is, you're talking about how you owe your friend a lot of favours because of what they've done for you. Then you go on to say you owe them a lot of money, too. How would you say that? Or you're talking about how you owe a lot of money to your colleague and then you go on to say you owe a lot to your friend as well. Would the sentence be different?
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby Antea » 2016-03-30, 17:41

linguoboy wrote:See above. The idiomatic placement of adverbs like these is between subject and verb, i.e.:


Thank you for your remarks. I see that English has stricter rules reffering to adverbs. But do also people when they speak always put the adverbs in the same place in the sentence? Or in a coloquial way or in an oral speach is it allowed to change its place? :hmm:

linguoboy wrote:Perhaps a better way to phrase the question is to ask: How would you formulate the sentence differently depending on the topic? That is, you're talking about how you owe your friend a lot of favours because of what they've done for you. Then you go on to say you owe them a lot of money, too. How would you say that? Or you're talking about how you owe a lot of money to your colleague and then you go on to say you owe a lot to your friend as well. Would the sentence be different?


Yes, that was what I was trying to say. In Spanish, that will be something like:

1) Debo un montón de dinero a mucha gente, y también a mi amigo
2) A mi amigo le debo muchas cosas, y también mucho dinero

Well, it depends of the context and what you're trying to emphasize in the sentence.

With the "usually" sentence, for me the first sentence "sounds" better. But maybe you're trying to emphasize in the second sentence that you usually eat pizza, and not another kind of meal. Whereas in the first sentence, you're saying that you usually eat pizza and drink milk, meaning the two things, the pizza and the milk.

Well, now I'm a little bit "liada" with all this :silly: . Y eso que soy nativa.... :D

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby ich » 2016-03-31, 13:06

Thanks to both of you. And I learned even an additional thing. I didn't know that I could use deberle in much the same way.

A mi amigo le debo mucho dinero.

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby linguoboy » 2016-03-31, 15:34

ich wrote:Thanks to both of you. And I learned even an additional thing. I didn't know that I could use deberle in much the same way.

A mi amigo le debo mucho dinero.

This is a basic rule of Spanish grammar: If the indirect object comes first, it's echoed by an indirect object pronoun, e.g.:

A sus padres les ocultaba muchas cosas.
A tu amigo le gusta salir contigo.
Al gato le podemos ofrecer lugares alternativos en los que estar acostado.

A pleonastic pronoun can also anticipate an indirect object, but this is optional (and more colloquial), e.g.: "¿Cuáles son las frases que más les molestan a las mujeres que les digan los hombres?"
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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby ich » 2016-04-04, 14:14

linguoboy wrote:This is a basic rule of Spanish grammar: If the indirect object comes first, it's echoed by an indirect object pronoun, e.g.:

A sus padres les ocultaba muchas cosas.
A tu amigo le gusta salir contigo.
Al gato le podemos ofrecer lugares alternativos en los que estar acostado.



Are there certain verbs that require these pleonastic pronouns like "gustar" as opposed to "deber"?

Debo mucho dinero a mi amigo.
A mi amigo le debo mucho dinero.

A mi amigo le gusta dinero. Can I say this any other way, while adding the indirect object to the sentence like maybe this?:
Le gusta a mi amigo dinero. That is completely wrong, right?

Aside from this grammar point, I have two additional questions:

1. What is the difference between "chicos" and "niños?"
2. I was translating a sentence in my grammar book: Many people suffer. I wrote "Mucha gente sufre." They wrote as a suggested answer "Muchas personas sufren." Is my choice completely wrong or just another option? Or is there suggestion just simply a better option for the context?

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby Antea » 2016-04-04, 18:29

"Gustar" and "deber" are two differents verbs, and with both we can use the pronoun "le" as a way to emphasize the indirect object. For example:

- A mi amigo le gusta la comida china
- A mi amigo le deben mucho dinero
- A mi amigo le gusta el dinero

If you say it the other way round, like "le gusta a mi amigo el dinero", well it sounds more unnatural. But I guess that Spanish has more flexible rules in relation to the word order, and I suppose it could be accepted depending of the context, for example at oral. Also, it would be better if you add some punctuation, like: "Le gusta, a mi amigo, el dinero".

The difference between "niños" and "chicos", is that the first means children, and second means boys (which can include a wide range of age, as we use it in a flexible way, from kids to adults. And that is to avoid saying "señor" which is more formal).

"Gente" uses the singular: La gente (even if the meaning is a lot of people). It's like saying in English " a group ", which is singular.

"Muchas personas" in plural, like in English "a lot of persons".

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby ich » 2016-04-05, 20:12

Thanks again, Antea!

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby ich » 2016-04-29, 17:56

I was wondering what the difference is between "hobby" and "pasatiempo". My dictionary only has "hobby" in it but I have always learned it as "pasatiempo." Is there also a difference between "baloncesto" and "básquetbol?"

Thanks! :)

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby Antea » 2016-04-29, 19:08

A hobby is an activity that you like doing usually, in your free time, for example, gardening, studying languages, playing football. A "pasatiempo" is something you do when you're bored to make the time pass faster, for example crosswords, or sudoku.

"Baloncesto" and "basquetbol" (or "básquet" as we usually call it in Spanish), have the same meaning.

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Re: Preguntas sobre el español [Questions about Spanish]

Postby TheStrayCat » 2016-04-30, 2:06

Hola!

Tengo una pregunta sobre un uso particular del subjuntivo.

La oración "Estoy de acuerdo con que la educación sea laica" significa que en realidad la educación puede ser laica o religiosa, pero mi opinión es que debe ser laica, o no es correcto?

También, si digo "Estoy de acuerdo con que la educación es laica", esto significaría que la educación es de verdad laica y lo veo, pero puedo tener otra opinión personal sobre esto?

Gracias!


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