Spanish language Q&A Forum

Hola,

In a Spanish show I've been watching, I often see the Object verb subject construction.  What I would like to know is how prevalent this construction is in everyday Spanish.  Are there situations where it is more commonly used?

Example. 

Nos gustaría que sus cosas las tuvieran los niños. 
Nos gustaría que los niños las tuvieran sus cosas.
*Sus cosas = Las cosas de sus hijas

The subtlety of this concept is lost on me.  Can you explain in more detail the difference between these two sentences, please.

Hacía unos meses que trabajaba con su padre.
He had been working with his dad for a few months.

Trabajaba en la empresa desde hacía tres años.
He had been working in the company for 3 years.

Can I suspend my membership in the French course until I am ready to resume?

Thank you, Inma

In a multiple choice question, give all possible answers. Got two correct, one wrong. Therefore all wrong?

Hi,

In the above sentence could 'ir' replace 'irse'?  If not, why not?

What is the meaning of 'irse' if not 'to go'?  And, when would it be used?

Thank you.

Colin

I'm confused about what the difference is between these two words. 

"Do you have a cellphone?" (formal) = "Tiene usted un celular".

Yes yes yes, I know it's more common to have "Usted tiene" but that is also more ambiguous of a statement vs a question. "Tiene usted" leaves no question of it AND it's presented in the lesson as possible and I was still marked wrong saying I should have just used "Tiene". That is a real basic mistake for a website that I trust to teach me more Spanish than I have learned on Duolingo, especially when Inma already stated below apparently you added it to correct answers a year ago.

One thing I find problematic (and frustrating even) about the dictation exercises is the intonation of the voice after punctuation (e.g., commas, periods, question marks, and even exclamation points) is highly inconsistent with natural speech. For example, typically speakers pause briefly after a comma, and the voice is raised sightly (or even demonstrably) after a question has been posed. These common features of natural/normal speech are too often absent and I think that is a major flaw in Kwiziq dictation exercises.

Pati Ecuamiga

Hola,

(Sorry to revert to English!) Would the above sentence still make sense if 'la' was inserted before 'casa'?  It would then be consistent with the other similar examples, which would make it easier for me to remember.

Gracias y saludos,

Colin

In the exercise we are asked to translate: "Also, they would teach them a new language and accompany them in their daily games." The answer given is "También, les enseñaría un idioma nuevo y los acompañaría en sus juegos diarios." but this should be enseñarían. 

The problem seems to be that the hint in the exercise doesn't match the actual text: "También, el robot les enseñaría un idioma nuevo y los acompañaría en sus juegos diarios."