Indicative vs subjunctive: comparing meanings The subjunctive is one of the most fun things to me about Spanish. I'm interested what I can do with it, and how it can work for me!
Is it right to assume that the meaning of pretty much the same conditional sentence in English can be switched from 'likely' to 'unlikely' in Spanish simply by applying the subjunctive? For instance......
LIKELY?: Si nos tomamos unas vacaciones, podríamos ir a España = If we took some holiday, we could go to Spain
UNLIKELY?: Si nos tomáramos unas vacaciones, podríamos ir a España = If we took some holiday, we could go to Spain (but that's just wishful thinking!)
I mean, am I right that the second sentence in Spanish would suggest that actually getting some time off from work is highly unlikely?
...... es un poco dificil pero, si supiéramos utilizar el subjuntivo, podríamos expresarnos mucho mejor en español! ¿Verdad?
Saludos
Entender means understand, but in this example: Ella entiende de arte. - means: She knows about art. Why?
Thank you so much!
Necesito el coche hasta el sábado
Tengo que terminar los informes hasta las cinco
After reading this chapter and the comments I think there is an English usage that is very similar and helps to explain it a little more clearly. We have the structure "to have got(ten)...done." (instead of I have done 3 things). Like in Spanish, it usually means that you've done several things toward your goal and you have gotten them out of the way.
e.g.
I've painted three rooms. He pintado tres habitaciones.
I've gotten three rooms painted, or I got three rooms painted. Tengo pintadas tres habitaciones.
You can apply that formula to all the other examples. Helped me to understand this much better.
Same thing with:
The book has (gotten) me interested.
El libro me tiene interesado.
In the phrase "Este domingo iré a comer a casa de mis padres", why isn't there an article (la) before "casa"?
I'm failing to see why 'aquel' was marked incorrect in the test question about my parents visiting that village. The sentence doesn't state or imply any distance, so surely either aquel or ese should be acceptable.
Example in the quiz: ¿Cuanto tiempo has tardado en hacer ese proyecto?
Could that also be said as ¿Cuanto tiempo tardaste en hacer ese proyecto?
In other lessons, it’s been mentioned that Peninsular Spanish more commonly uses the Pretérito Perfecto where LatAm Spanish uses the Pretérito indefinido in similar contexts. Would that difference apply here?
On another course, an example conversation between novio and novia goes: “usted sabe que lo amo. Vayamos al cine, hay una película nueva que quiero que veamos. Me muero por que usted la vea”. It was partly my frustration that there was no explanation of the use of usted here that led me to look for another course. Can anyone here explain this to me? Is this a regional peculiarity? Maybe Colombia? Thanks.
Apropos of ' "Lo que" vs "la cosa que" ', I sometimes see "cosa que" used to mean "which", as in
Querían detenerme por robo, cosa que no hice.
Is this usage correct? If so, is there a lesson that discusses it?
More examples here:
https://context.reverso.net/translation/spanish-english/%2C+cosa+que
Thanks!
The subjunctive is one of the most fun things to me about Spanish. I'm interested what I can do with it, and how it can work for me!
Is it right to assume that the meaning of pretty much the same conditional sentence in English can be switched from 'likely' to 'unlikely' in Spanish simply by applying the subjunctive? For instance......
LIKELY?: Si nos tomamos unas vacaciones, podríamos ir a España = If we took some holiday, we could go to Spain
UNLIKELY?: Si nos tomáramos unas vacaciones, podríamos ir a España = If we took some holiday, we could go to Spain (but that's just wishful thinking!)
I mean, am I right that the second sentence in Spanish would suggest that actually getting some time off from work is highly unlikely?
...... es un poco dificil pero, si supiéramos utilizar el subjuntivo, podríamos expresarnos mucho mejor en español! ¿Verdad?
Saludos
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