Confused about multiple uses of the present tenseHello,
There have been a number of questions in different topic areas along the lines of “Why don’t we use the present progressive tense for such and such an example in Spanish when the English translation is in the present progressive tense?” An example might be “Compro unas playeras” being translated as “I am buying some t-shirts”.
The answer that the instructors give is usually along the lines of, the Spanish present tense can often be translated as the present progressive tense in English.
In addition, I rarely hear the present progressive tense being used from day to day here in Mexico. Google AI agrees with me:
"In Mexican Spanish, the present indicative (voy) is significantly more common for everyday use than the present progressive (estoy yendo). While both can describe actions happening in the moment, the simple present is the "default" choice in most social contexts."
In the kwiz questions I keep answering using the present tense, just out of habit. It's not that I don't know how to use the present progressive tense, it's just that I'm not used to hearing it. This habiit is so strong that sometimes I even miss the instructions.
So maybe the present tense answers shouldn't always be marked wrong, and trigger words such as "en este momento" should be used more often? Also, maybe this idea could be added to the above lesson.
PS You may wonder why I'm studying level A1 if I already speak Spanish daily. It is because I want to strengthen my foundation and in general Kwiziq has been invaluable with this.
For this lesson I got a question something like this:
Te voy a regalar el apartamento que ________.
I am going to buy you the apartment that you like.
(HINT: The speaker is referring to specific apartment that she likes)
And the correct response is "te gusta", so it it seems to me that the correct Hint would be something like:
(HINT: The speaker is referring to specific apartment that the listener likes)
No?
I think this lesson would be better if it started with an explanation of what an impersonal expression is.
Hi Inma,
In the case where aunque + subjunctive is used to refer to a past action that is background information to both the speaker and the listener, is there a part of the "WEIRDO" acronym (wishes, emotions, impersonal expressions, etc.) that this would correspond to, or does this fall outside of those common categories of subjunctive uses?
How do you pronounce the word “vivo” in other words the letter “v”?
This is from an example in a lesson. the response given is: Desde pequeño. That seems incomplete to me. Would it be correct to say: Desde era pequeño.
I didn't realize that the entire proper noun is not capitalized or even just the nouns in the name. Apparently only the first word is?
Ps, I didn't see a response yet to the pair of questions regarding the use of the el/lo pronoun quandary.
I'd just like to point out for your newer students that the following example is in indirect form and not reflexive form:
Me duele mucho la cabeza.My head hurts a lot
We can tell the difference because it does not say "Me duelo", which would be reflexive form, in which the "yo" form of the verb would agree with "me".
Instead it says "me duele", which agrees with "la cabeza". We can see this if we change the order of the words:"La cabeza me duele mucho."
For students who do not know where the "me" comes from you can search for the lesson on Direct Objects.
Hello,
There have been a number of questions in different topic areas along the lines of “Why don’t we use the present progressive tense for such and such an example in Spanish when the English translation is in the present progressive tense?” An example might be “Compro unas playeras” being translated as “I am buying some t-shirts”.
The answer that the instructors give is usually along the lines of, the Spanish present tense can often be translated as the present progressive tense in English.
In addition, I rarely hear the present progressive tense being used from day to day here in Mexico. Google AI agrees with me:
"In Mexican Spanish, the present indicative (voy) is significantly more common for everyday use than the present progressive (estoy yendo). While both can describe actions happening in the moment, the simple present is the "default" choice in most social contexts."
In the kwiz questions I keep answering using the present tense, just out of habit. It's not that I don't know how to use the present progressive tense, it's just that I'm not used to hearing it. This habiit is so strong that sometimes I even miss the instructions.
So maybe the present tense answers shouldn't always be marked wrong, and trigger words such as "en este momento" should be used more often? Also, maybe this idea could be added to the above lesson.
PS You may wonder why I'm studying level A1 if I already speak Spanish daily. It is because I want to strengthen my foundation and in general Kwiziq has been invaluable with this.
'such as using renewable energy'
I put 'como usar la energia renovable' but was marked as incorrect with the correct option being 'como el uso de.. '
When ( if at all ) can I use an infinitive after como?
Gracias
Por algunos dias voy de vacaciones
Por unos dias voy de vacaciones
¡gracias!
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