Use of definite articles: el & la and los & las 16 July 2023
Dear Kwiziq Lesson Writing Team:
I am uncertain as to when I must (or should) use the definite articles "el/la" or "los/las" when translating from English to Spanish. See following examples from the "Fire Heroes/Héroes del fuego" exercise:
Example 1:
"...protect buildings and save lives in danger"
I wrote: "...proteger los edificios y salvar las vidas en peligro."
The Kwiziq answer was: "...proteger edificios y salvar vidas en peligro."
Example 2:
"These professionals protect forests and natural areas..."
I wrote: "Estos profesionales protegen los bosques y las áreas naturales..."
The Kwiziq answer was: "Estos profesionales protegen los bosques y las áreas naturales..."
As you can see, in neither of the English translations is a definite article included.
In Example 1, my use of "los" was accepted, but my use of "las" was not. Upon studying the final Kwiziq translation, I noticed that neither "los" nor "las" had been used in the translation of that phrase. Then in Example 2, I used "los" and "las". To my delight (and surprise) I saw that in the Kwiziq translation "los" and "las" were used as well.
So --- I am confused and uncertain as to WHEN (under what specific circumstances?) is it necessary, appropriate, or customary to use el/la and los/las. I know they must be used at the start of a sentence and (I believe) after some uses of gustar, but what about other circumstances?
Please upload lessons that offer specific examples (and explanations) about when to use these definite articles.
Your attention to this request would be very greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Pati Ecuamiga
Why can't we use 'ricas' in place of 'deliciosas'?
I think the cave that we were going to see pasada mañana is as far from the speaker as from the listeners, and it is far. Caves are usually somewhere outside of a city. So I used aquella and even after I read the lesson I i think that it was the correct answer.
"Cuando ella abra sus regalos en navidad a menudo tiene perfume."
This seems to describe something that has already happened many times. So why is it subjunctive "abra"
this comment has been deleted just in time before making a fool of myself.
Hiya,
I used ‘como imaginarías’ to translate ‘as you may imagine’. I had my English conditional head on. Would that be acceptable and understandable?
Many thanks,
Dan
16 July 2023
Dear Kwiziq Lesson Writing Team:
I am uncertain as to when I must (or should) use the definite articles "el/la" or "los/las" when translating from English to Spanish. See following examples from the "Fire Heroes/Héroes del fuego" exercise:
Example 1:
"...protect buildings and save lives in danger"
I wrote: "...proteger los edificios y salvar las vidas en peligro."
The Kwiziq answer was: "...proteger edificios y salvar vidas en peligro."
Example 2:
"These professionals protect forests and natural areas..."
I wrote: "Estos profesionales protegen los bosques y las áreas naturales..."
The Kwiziq answer was: "Estos profesionales protegen los bosques y las áreas naturales..."
As you can see, in neither of the English translations is a definite article included.
In Example 1, my use of "los" was accepted, but my use of "las" was not. Upon studying the final Kwiziq translation, I noticed that neither "los" nor "las" had been used in the translation of that phrase. Then in Example 2, I used "los" and "las". To my delight (and surprise) I saw that in the Kwiziq translation "los" and "las" were used as well.
So --- I am confused and uncertain as to WHEN (under what specific circumstances?) is it necessary, appropriate, or customary to use el/la and los/las. I know they must be used at the start of a sentence and (I believe) after some uses of gustar, but what about other circumstances?
Please upload lessons that offer specific examples (and explanations) about when to use these definite articles.
Your attention to this request would be very greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Pati Ecuamiga
What other kinds of quizzes would you like to see on this site? One issue that I have encountered in the 'self-test' quizzes is that I can lazily rely on getting the answer by knowing that I'm going to get a question on a recent grammar point, etc, which means I'm not really thinking with any great depth, only assuming that the answer will be in reference to a recent lesson. For example, if I've just learned that por can refer to 'approximate location' I will know that that is going to be the answer when I encounter that kind of question (which might be amongst several conjugation type questions so will be even more obvious). I think the best way to address this is for the site to offer more general thematic quizzes to help consolidate certain points. For example, there could be a quiz on Por v Para which you could take after Stage A2. I would add these to the library as 'Consolidation Exercises'. Unfortunately, I think that our brains will always take the easiest route to the answer which isn't always the best way to learn.
Trick questions like this one don't help and no one is going to put that adjective in front of axe in Spanish. Smh. I like this web site but the way you guys format questions is really annoying at times. The questions should reflect how a native is MOST LIKELY to say something, not "well let's mess with these people trying to learn a language and confuse them at the same time."
There is a hole in your explanation.
You say:
"In sentences where the indirect object is represented by "a + pronoun", and it is at the beginning of the sentence...."
but you do not explain what happens if "a + pronoun" is at the end of the sentence.
Is the indirect object pronoun required or optional in that case?
eg: Can "Me lo ha comprado a mí." be written as "lo ha comprado a mí."?
Regards,
Fred.
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