Literalness of English interpretationsHello Lawless Spanish,
I JUST found your excellent web site.
I've been using various means to learn Spanish over the last 1.5 years,
but your site seems to be the best resource so far. I'm still at A1 however.
Here's a
thought that I'd be interested to know your opinion on. Often while
reading an English interpretation of a Spanish phrase or sentence, I
think I would like to have the more literal translation rather than the
Spanish being re-worded in order to be a grammatical English sentence.
Because I don't care about English grammar or want my English reinforced
when I'm trying to understand how a Spanish speaker constructs their
thoughts linguistically. Do you know what I mean?
Take the example from the first exercise I happened to land on, Corro para estar en forma. It
would be helpful to see a more literal translation, then I get a better
idea of the words and structure a Spanish speaker uses. In the example,
"estar en forma" is re-interpreted as "to keep fit." That is quite a
departure from the literal. I think an English speaker is quite capable
of recognizing a more literal translation "to be in form" because it is
identical to the common English phrase "to be in shape." So while I know
authors are trying to be helpful with English re-interpretations, I
often feel cheated out of knowing a more literal construction and
wording, and in the process authors may even be making less-accurate
interpretations (such as "to keep fit" instead of the better "to be in shape.").
What do you think?
Hola,
Would the sentence above still make sense in Spanish if it were reordered thus:
El otro día mi abuela me llamó tres veces.
Saludos,
Colin
This word seems to change all the time! I had the wrong answer so next time it came up in a question I put the answer it gave me last time and it said wrong and gave the answer as the one I chose in the first place! This has happened several times. How and why does this word change?
Hello Lawless Spanish,
I JUST found your excellent web site. I've been using various means to learn Spanish over the last 1.5 years, but your site seems to be the best resource so far. I'm still at A1 however.
Here's a thought that I'd be interested to know your opinion on. Often while reading an English interpretation of a Spanish phrase or sentence, I think I would like to have the more literal translation rather than the Spanish being re-worded in order to be a grammatical English sentence. Because I don't care about English grammar or want my English reinforced when I'm trying to understand how a Spanish speaker constructs their thoughts linguistically. Do you know what I mean?
Take the example from the first exercise I happened to land on, Corro para estar en forma. It would be helpful to see a more literal translation, then I get a better idea of the words and structure a Spanish speaker uses. In the example, "estar en forma" is re-interpreted as "to keep fit." That is quite a departure from the literal. I think an English speaker is quite capable of recognizing a more literal translation "to be in form" because it is identical to the common English phrase "to be in shape." So while I know authors are trying to be helpful with English re-interpretations, I often feel cheated out of knowing a more literal construction and wording, and in the process authors may even be making less-accurate interpretations (such as "to keep fit" instead of the better "to be in shape."). What do you think?
I've listened over and over and can't hear the Y in "José y María".
Is it not there or am I just unable to hear it?
Why is Nos volvemos incorrect? Also, Would Nosotros volvemos be incorrect? The answer was simply Volvemos.
Hi,
Is there a way to replace the above pronouns when there is little context. For example, by using 'de él, de ella ...'?
Thanks.
Saludos,
Colin
Why do you use Un before the "jugador de fútbol"
To me it seems like such a long process for gustar to become "natural".
I literally have to parse every gustar sentence so that the pronoun tells me who is being liked, the verb then tells who is being liked (not who is doing the liking!):
me gustas = by me you are liked = I like youte gusto = by you I am liked = You like meEven though the pronoun-object at the beginning tells who is doing the liking, that becomes the object in English. So, the verb ending confirms what the subject really is . . . Is there any easier way or does ease of use eventually come with familiarity?No ha conseguido quitarla a la misión
Los soldados salen detrás de él corriendo, pero no consiguen ver nada a causa de la oscuridad y la lluvia
No consigo olvidar nuestra conversación
i found these sentences when reading a book. this is my first time seeing how conseguir is used with another verb infinitive. may i ask for a explanation? is this usage where conseguir + infinitive carries the meaning of manage to do something (verb) similar to poder + infinitive?
definitivamente vale la pena si visite españa. Hay aeropuerto
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