Spanish language Q&A Forum

Just want to mention that there are a few spacing errors that make identifiers show up in the wrong place.  Ex:  Ella no quiere que nosotros comamos tan rápido. (present subjunctive)

She doesn't want us to eat so fast.

If I understand this correctly,(always a big "if") I think you should make reference to any irregularities in the ending.  E.g., first person singular ends in "e" and third person has no accent.  Maybe there are others.

Once I was in a store here in Mexico and the clerk asked me if I wanted a “canastilla”.  I didn’t know what she meant until she brought me a plastic shopping basket.  My Mexican friends laughed when I said that I would have understood “canastita”.  I still don’t know a rule for when to use -illa.  I do know that “ventanilla” is the word for the small airplane window so I’m guessing that in general the “-illa” suffix is used for physically small things and not for any of the other uses.

 But the suffix -it@ is used a lot.  “Cafecito” is a common word and there are even restaurants that are named “El Cafecito”.  A Spanish teacher once told me that the Mexicans used to use diminutives in order to set themselves apart from the Conquistadores, who made demanding, forceful requests.  

I don't seem to be getting this lesson. I freely admit there are things above my head. When I just don't get it, I want to move on to other things (to stay motivated) hoping sometime in the future I'll get it then. Sadly, I am stuck on a subject that I won't even use much as a beginner. I'd like to skip it.  Just my opinion. Thanks. 

Can "esto" be used as a demonstrative pronoun?  For example, esto libro?

I'm confused about the use of imperfect tense (éramos) in this sentence below, rather than preterite (fuimos). I understand the knocking on the door as a specific, completed action that took place at a specific point in time, which I understand as characteristic of preterite (We knocked on the door/It was us who knocked on the door.). I understand the use of imperfect to discuss ongoing, continuous actions, so I'm confused in this example, because a knock is not an ongoing action that continues over time. I'm sure I'm missing something in my understanding; I'd appreciate some advice! Gracias!

Éramos nosotros los que llamamos a la puerta.

It would be nice to have translation at the end.

The third sentence is not a complete sentence as it lacks a verb. For that reason, I attached it to the second sentence with a coma. To me, that didn't sound right either. Often, I don't grade myself on punctuation because I find that phrases that can stand alone as complete thoughts end with a coma in these exercises, and those that should continue after a coma don't. Because we are transcribing without the opportunity to go back or listen ahead, it is sometimes difficult to know which to use. I usually don't bother correcting punctuation and just correct my Spanish. This paragraph was particularly bothersome. Yes, I do listen to the whole piece beforehand and even take quick notes, but this taxes my short-term memory, especially with the longer readings and higher levels. Professional transcribers constantly pause and backtrack so as not to make mistakes.

Si, me gustaría mucho tener una llama como mascota pero tenía un kangaroo como mascota por muchos años. Creo que son mas carinosas que las llamas.