Sentence length - English vs SpanishNice topic, especially in these times when we are locked up inside. And thanks, I'm learning more about the subjunctive everyday!
But now then, this is a long sentence...!
Antes de haber tenido la moto, nunca me hubiese atrevido a viajar solo y ahora lo que más me gusta es coger la moto, mi mochila y viajar sin rumbo por las montañas, pararme y quedarme pasmado mirando el paisaje, y dormir al raso viendo las estrellas.
... which would likely be broken into two (or even three) sentences in English. This is not a criticism. I've found sentences of this length are not at all unusual in Spanish.
I'm a writer (in English) and having read quite a lot of Spanish in newspapers and in novels, I'm often surprised how long Spanish sentences can be compared to their English counterparts. Funnily enough, when Spanish people correct my Spanish writing they often join up my sentences by replacing the full stops with commas! I also find the Spanish very reluctant to start sentences with 'Pero', preferring instead to have it introduce a phrase, usually only after a comma. By contrast, in English, shorter sentences and 'But' and 'And' with a capital are becoming ever more common in contemporary writing (even though we used to be taught in school never to do it).
It's interesting the small things we start to notice as we study more and get more familiar with our target language.
Saludos a todos
Is it interchangeable to say something like
"Quizá mañana entienda más.""Quizás mañana entienda mas."
Just as 'tal vez' and "quizás" are interchangeable, with no fast rules on them, is it the same for using quizá and quizás or is there some guide for when they can/can't be used?
also, is it impossible to use quizá/quizás/tal vez using future tenses?
examples:
"Quizá iré a la biblioteca pasado mañana"
"Tal vez conocerás aquel varón cuando venga"
"Quizás recibiré una mejor evaluación cuando mejore mis debilidades en mi trabajo"
Why does the accent change from comprárselos to cómpreselos depending on the conjugation? Does the stressed syllable always change in the imperative form?
I have read the answer given to Ralph. At the very least this is a VERY bad example to give in a lesson. The answer demonstrates that either tense could be used depending on the message the writer wishes to convey.
In an A1 writing exercise about ordering at a restaurant, I encountered the phrase "How can I help you?" with the hint "Lit. What do you wish?" I was not prepared with an answer so I learned a new phrase!
Are the phrases interchangeable?
Thank you,
Allysen
"Mathematics" can be taken as a singular noun. Therefore it seems that a correct format in Spanish would be
"te gusta mathematics".
Hi, thanks for all your answers.
What does Aún así (both accented) mean in Concierto de Año Nuevo? Thanks,
Shirley.
llevar and tomar mean ¨take¨, are they the same?
In the case of aunque preceding a hypothetical, can you give some guidance on when the present subjunctive is used as opposed to the imperfect subjunctive?
Nice topic, especially in these times when we are locked up inside. And thanks, I'm learning more about the subjunctive everyday!
But now then, this is a long sentence...!
Antes de haber tenido la moto, nunca me hubiese atrevido a viajar solo y ahora lo que más me gusta es coger la moto, mi mochila y viajar sin rumbo por las montañas, pararme y quedarme pasmado mirando el paisaje, y dormir al raso viendo las estrellas.
... which would likely be broken into two (or even three) sentences in English. This is not a criticism. I've found sentences of this length are not at all unusual in Spanish.
I'm a writer (in English) and having read quite a lot of Spanish in newspapers and in novels, I'm often surprised how long Spanish sentences can be compared to their English counterparts. Funnily enough, when Spanish people correct my Spanish writing they often join up my sentences by replacing the full stops with commas! I also find the Spanish very reluctant to start sentences with 'Pero', preferring instead to have it introduce a phrase, usually only after a comma. By contrast, in English, shorter sentences and 'But' and 'And' with a capital are becoming ever more common in contemporary writing (even though we used to be taught in school never to do it).
It's interesting the small things we start to notice as we study more and get more familiar with our target language.
Saludos a todos
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