Spanish language Q&A Forum

In the examples we have “llegar a casa”, “salgo de casa”, and there is also the expression “estoy en casa”.  None of these expressions use articles. They also all use verbs of movement or location. 

Do we ever use the definite article with “casa”, for example, to say “I’m going back to the house” by saying “Regreso a la casa”? Or does it change the English translation if we omit the definite article, that is, if we say “Regreso a casa” does it mean “I’m going back home”? 

I know this is off topic but you use many rich examples that provoke questions.

This lesson needs a lot of work. If you put expressions with "desde hace" and "hace" in an online translator they ALL come back with the same sentence in English. It's nearly impossible to tell when you're supposed to use "desde hace." More examples are needed. In fact I can't even tell from the lesson why I would ever use "desde hace" when "hace" works just fine for the same meaning. Moreover I talk to natives every single day and no one has corrected me to say "desde hace" instead of "hace." So maybe I'm crazy but maybe this lesson needs work.

Hi, I have a question concerning this text: 

"at the beginning of the 17th century,"

a comienzos del siglo XVII, 

why is the plural used here and not the singular? 

What rules/lesson pertain to this?

Thank you, NIcole

Does this mean “since i am playing to be able to participate in the next Olympics”. If so is “el” before “poder” necessary or could it be removed and still be correct?

Thanks

Shirley

(A comment, not a question; I made a mistake in my translation, and I now see why I went wrong) >

I had to scratch my head a bit to see why there is no tilde in 'cuando' in the sentence [in the text]:
"Aún recuerdo cuando teníamos que revelar los carretes" [= I still remember when we had to develop rolls of film ...]

-- particularly after noticing the example: "No recuerdo cómo tomas el té ..." [= I can't remember how you take your tea ...] -- in: Difference between cómo and como in Spanish (with and without an accent)

I now realise that, in order to carry the tilde, the 'cuándo' or the 'cómo' must be part of an indirect question - which is indeed the case with the second example, but not the first.

Inma, Shui and Silvia - you do indeed provide us with interesting and useful exercises and explanations: Keep up the good work!

Hello,

Please would you point me to a lesson or explain briefly why "voy a comprarme" is used rather than "voy a comprar".  Is it just clarification that I'm buying a house for me, rather than some random person, or is it absolutely needed?

Many Thanks

Hola Inma,

This appears to be a question but there are no question marks. Is there a reason for this; I am wondering if it is because it is rhetorical?

Saludos

John

Most of the story is in preterito indefinido like I expected when telling about events that happened and concluded, but these two are in preterito imperfecto - is this because it can't be determined for how long they were broken/dirty (and that they may still be)?

A suggestion, add “Cuando plus subjunctive” to the title. It would be easier to search for a lesson on when to use the subj with cuando. 

Shirley.

Hi I am a bit confused between vuestro and tu for yours.  Could I say 'El chico es tu primo'?

Thanks