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, I’m confused about the English translation, which uses the noun make-up (maquillaje in Spanish). However the Spanish uses the verb se maquilla, which I thought means to put on make up (Because of all the makeup she puts on..). Muchas gracias, Shirley.
Do you mean that *ese* is used when both conditions are true or just one?
“ese, esa, esosand esas are translated as that and thoseand they all refer to:1. objects/people that are near the listener (not the speaker)
2. objects/people that are far from the speaker (medium distance)”
Is it common to use hacer as "gave" in this question? Why not use diste (dar)?
definitivamente vale la pena si visite españa. Hay aeropuerto
Hola. Please help me this, im confused
Te dejé tus llaves. I know it means " I left your keys ", but what's te doing in this sentence?
Does it change the meaning or grammatically wrong if I don't have "te" in this sentence.
Sincerely thank you
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?
Why does "la" translate to "your" and not "the" In English? Example "quítate la ropa" translates to "take off your clothes" but "la ropa" translates to "the clothes" so why isn't there "the"?
How can I unsubscribe from Spanish and keep only French? Do I need to delete the account in the spanish section? I am afraid that will delete my French lessons too...
Thank you in advance for your help :).
Hello, I'm trying to get a better understanding of when to use different constructions.
Specifically:
Si Amalia va al mercado, comprará pescado fresco.
Si Amalia fuera al mercado, compraría pescado fresco.
These two constructions express the same idea. How do we know which one to choose? Is our choice solely based on the probability of the action in the "si" clause?
Thanks.
I just did an exercise and 'No todavía me he vestido para la fiesta' was wrong. The correct answer was 'Todavía no me he vestido para la fiesta'. I don't understand the difference. Help please.
Find your Spanish level for FREE
Test your Spanish to the CEFR standard
Find your Spanish level