Spanish language Q&A Forum

Hello Inma,

I have been having difficulty choosing between the two above, I have read the lesson and the questions here.

In the lesson it states "

If we use debido a que, it can never be followed just by a noun, it needs a phrase."

But in your answer to a question here, you mention "debido a que" needs a CLAUSE, which is slightly different from a phrase in the text book I use to understand these things.  In my book it says a PHRASE is any two or more words that don't contain a verb, but a CLAUSE needs to me able to stand by itself and be understood.  Would you take a look and see if PHRASE or CLAUSE is the most appropriate for this lesson?  Gracias.

Yo pienso que nunca alcanzaré el porciento de 100% en la nivel  a1. Con solo una error pierdo veinte puntos. Necesitaba 4 horas a lograr la diamante aunque sólo tuve los más triviales errores en a1.

Kwizbot     Desgraciadamente, no había más pavo en el supermercado 
You             Lamentablemente, no había pavo en el supermercado

I was wondering if  “Lamentablemente” would be acceptable here and if not, why not.

Thank you.

Could we have used the infinitive for "... so I don't catch a cold" ? >> [rendering it as: "... para no coger un resfriado"].

My grammar book (by Butt and Benjamin) implies that 'por' might also be permissible here: i.e. "... por no coger un resfriado" - when it means "out of a wish or a desire to not catch a cold". Thus, I am wondering if [when a negative is involved] - "por no ... +infinitive" might actually be more common than "para no...+ infinitive" ?

Necesito el coche hasta el sábado

Tengo que terminar los informes hasta las cinco

Sometimes the English is contrived to make a point in relation ta a specific lesson.  These can be quite false.  To say Alvaro is working in a bar this summer  means it is now summer and that is what Alvaro is doing.  If asked:  "What is Alvaro going to be doing this summer?" the response could well be : " He's workking in a bar this summer" meaning that is what he is going to do. 

Why not give the English as " Alvaro is going to work" OR " is going to be working in a bar this summer". ?.  it is less artificial and makes much more sense.  (And is less irrtating)

No entiendo la broma.

I answered "alguno," but apparently the answer is "algunos."  I don't understand why based on this quote from the lesson.  Thanks!

"Sometimes, when alguno and alguna are used in affirmative sentences, it has the nuance of "some random something/someone", "one or two" or "the odd one". The idea is non-specific in number and can refer to one or more items. It does agree in gender but not in number: even if it refers to a plural noun, the pronoun is in the singular form, not the plural form."

I am struggling with identifying indirect interrogative sentences in spanish. For example, what makes "Cristina no sabe dónde todavía  va a celebrar su cumpleaños" an indirect interrogative sentence, but not "Viajaremos adonde nos recomiende el agente de viajes. Can you explain this please or refer me to a lesson that does? Thanks.