Strange English translation Es imprescindible que hayamos entendido esta lección.
It is essential that we have understood this lesson.
I don't know if the English translation above is grammatically incorrect, but it doesn't sound like something a native English speaker would say. A better translation might be:
'It is essential that we understand this lesson.'
It's not a literal translation of the Spanish, but translations between languages often can't be if you want to convey the accurate meaning.
If the emphasis is on the completion of the understanding, perhaps the translation could be:
'It was essential that we understood this/that lesson.'
But here we're using the past tense instead of the present tense in the Spanish sentence.
hello, when i push the button there is no sound. how do i solve this?
In this example the translation is "We couldn't see anything from our seats." Shouldn't it be "We didn't see anything from our seats." Why "couldn't?"
Hola Inma, the element of “trying to avoid responsibility” makes this much clearer for me. It is very common in Irish English - technically Hiberno-English - to say “Oh he had a match football match today,” or “no she’s not here because she had an appointment,” etc etc while speaking in the present. Not to overstate this there is a sense of being sensitive to the other persons likely disappointment. Alan K suggests that this construction is also known in UK English though I haven’t come across it much. I can’t find any equivalent for the future events aspect of the lesson, so it’s a new learning. Saludos. John
I just realized something about English: the preposition depends on the verb. For verbs of placement, we use “into”: He puts the clothing into the box. For verbs of location, we use “in”: The clothing is in the box.
Also we tend to say “on the beach” if we are nearby: Jorge is on the beach. But we say “at the beach” if we are in a different city: My friends are at the beach.
Hope this helps with your translations. When I teach basic English, the use of “in”, “on”, or “at” is one of the most challenging things for Spanish speakers.
The second page didn't work for me - no ''Play'' button. (Chrome browser, Win 11)
Es imprescindible que hayamos entendido esta lección.
It is essential that we have understood this lesson.
I don't know if the English translation above is grammatically incorrect, but it doesn't sound like something a native English speaker would say. A better translation might be:
'It is essential that we understand this lesson.'
It's not a literal translation of the Spanish, but translations between languages often can't be if you want to convey the accurate meaning.
If the emphasis is on the completion of the understanding, perhaps the translation could be:
'It was essential that we understood this/that lesson.'
But here we're using the past tense instead of the present tense in the Spanish sentence.
“Normalmente cena con la familia por la noche.” Not “mi familia”.
We’ve learned this usage for body parts and for articles of clothing. Is the usage the same with family members? Do we say, “Los lunes almuerzo con la hermana”? Thanks.
Lessons say lo que expands/gives more info on some idea expressed in the same sentence, and que= a noun. I get that que=that restaurant (noun) but with lo que: "Aquel restaurante, que/ el cual / lo que (I put-wrong) Al recomendó, tiene unos postres exquisitos. It seems that lo que expands on "that restaurant" by giving more info about it with: "it has some exquisite desserts." I did the same with "Tengo un sillón en casa que/el cual /lo que (I put-wrong) está sucio." With "is dirty" giving more info/ expanding on the chair. Is there a different way of explaining that might click with me?
I've been at it for 3 days and am loving it so far. I'd love to master both foundations and get the stars. How can I do that?
thank you so much for creating this website. it's exactly how I wish I had learned English. Once you start it's so difficult to stop learning, right?
¡que tenga un buen dia!
Find your Spanish level for FREE
And get your personalised Study Plan to improve it
Find your Spanish level