"I think" + indicative/subjunctive: I think something is lost in translationQue Onda
I've been studying Spanish for a while and this concept has still eluded me. I was taught that the structure "creo que..." triggers indicative because the speaker believes it to be true while "no creo que..." is subjunctive because it is not a belief asserted by the speaker. However, in English, we might say "I think..." in two different scenarios with different meanings.
"I think..." could signify me asserting my belief about something such as, "I think the best designer is Gucci," where one could replace, "I think" with "In my opinion" to create a sentence with the same meaning. This example more or less aligns with what I believe the function of the indicative is.
However, we often use "I think..." to indicate our speculation or doubt about a situation. For example, if someone asks "Hey, did Joe leave already" I might respond "I'm not sure, I think so." In this case, I'm expressing doubt by using "I think" in this context. I'm not trying to say "I [definitely] think Joe left" because I'm not sure if he actually did, and I'm not necessarily sure if I'm giving the right information so I want to imbue this statement with doubt, wait...
While writing this I'm realizing that all the examples I've written could be written in another way that is conducive to the formula for using the subjunctive. Rather than translating "I think that..." as in my second example with Joe, it would be better for me to use a structure that starts with "dudo que..." or "es posible que..." to better convey the meaning of uncertainty or doubt that I'm intending to. I suppose the issue I had was that "creo que" always meant to me "I think" or "I believe" when really a better translation would be just "to believe" since "to think" has some ambiguity in its meaning when translated to English.
I know this is post was pretty drawn out and I've already answered my question, but I'll still post it anyway just in case someone more knowledgeable wants to add on or correct something I've said. Or, maybe someone else will find it useful.
Saludos
Nathan
Kwiziq: ...las piezas cerámicas de colores.
Me: ...las piezas de cerámica coloreada.
Can you explain the difference please?
Saludos
You wrote : "¡Cómo no, por supuesto!" but isn't it the same thing two times? What is the difference between "cómo no" and "por supuesto"?
I would have thought that A had similar structure to B, as in action#1 was interrupted by action#2:
A: Te ________ hasta que me aburrí y me fui.
I was waiting for you until I got bored and left
B: Ella estaba lavándose el pelo cuando él llegó.
She was washing her hair when he arrived.
But the answer to A was “estuve esperando” not “estaba esperando.”
Does it mean that in B the woman didn’t stop washing her hair even the man arrived, but in A the waiting totally completed?
Que Onda
I've been studying Spanish for a while and this concept has still eluded me. I was taught that the structure "creo que..." triggers indicative because the speaker believes it to be true while "no creo que..." is subjunctive because it is not a belief asserted by the speaker. However, in English, we might say "I think..." in two different scenarios with different meanings.
"I think..." could signify me asserting my belief about something such as, "I think the best designer is Gucci," where one could replace, "I think" with "In my opinion" to create a sentence with the same meaning. This example more or less aligns with what I believe the function of the indicative is.
However, we often use "I think..." to indicate our speculation or doubt about a situation. For example, if someone asks "Hey, did Joe leave already" I might respond "I'm not sure, I think so." In this case, I'm expressing doubt by using "I think" in this context. I'm not trying to say "I [definitely] think Joe left" because I'm not sure if he actually did, and I'm not necessarily sure if I'm giving the right information so I want to imbue this statement with doubt, wait...
While writing this I'm realizing that all the examples I've written could be written in another way that is conducive to the formula for using the subjunctive. Rather than translating "I think that..." as in my second example with Joe, it would be better for me to use a structure that starts with "dudo que..." or "es posible que..." to better convey the meaning of uncertainty or doubt that I'm intending to. I suppose the issue I had was that "creo que" always meant to me "I think" or "I believe" when really a better translation would be just "to believe" since "to think" has some ambiguity in its meaning when translated to English.
I know this is post was pretty drawn out and I've already answered my question, but I'll still post it anyway just in case someone more knowledgeable wants to add on or correct something I've said. Or, maybe someone else will find it useful.
Saludos
Nathan
Oportunidad is a feminine noun. Why was it marked wrong when I wrote grande? The correction was to gran.
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
In the A0 lesson "Expressing dates in Spanish" the definite article is used: "El 7 de febrero de 1986", but in this lesson it isn't: "Hoy es 25 de septiembre". Is the definite article only used when the date isn't preceded by "ser"?
"Mathematics" can be taken as a singular noun. Therefore it seems that a correct format in Spanish would be
"te gusta mathematics".
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