Spanish language Q&A Forum

__________ mucho esta noche.

I answered: "He bebido"

I answered this because:

"The use of El Pretérito Perfecto in Latin America depends on regional variations but in general we can say it's restricted to actions started in the past that continue in the present or are not finished, or recent past actions the speaker wants to emphasise." 

"I drank a lot tonight" seems like a recent past action...

What am I failing to understand here?

There's also this part:

"However, in general most Latin American Spanish speakers don't really observe this difference between El Pretérito Indefinido and El Pretérito Perfecto. Most of Latin America tends to just use El Pretérito Indefinido, while in the Andean region speakers tend to just use El Pretérito Perfecto."

So... I have two contradictory sets of information given to me... which one do I use?

I think Alfredo got trapped! He only proposed after Susana got pregnant . . .

So, pura vida is used instead of hola or cómo estás? How would one translate pura vida in a casual conversation? As "hello", "how are you" or as "awesome" or something else? 

The phrase: y así devolver a esas personas un poco de su ayuda en el pasado.

I can't figure out from the literal tx whether the "de" should be "por":

y así devolver a esas personas un poco por su ayuda en el pasado.

If the intent is thank the older generation for their past help, surely "por" is more appropriate, no? Or does "de" somehow imply "for"?

What does this expression mean?

A well-written, well-articulated offering but way too much resonance on the microphone creating a "booming" that makes it hard to discern words.

What does that expression mean?

why do you add "me" as in me comería, or me compraría. Just for emphasis? Can one do away with the "me"?

Why can I say un hombre entusiasmado ( gender agrees)  but have to say un hombre entusiasta ( adjective always feminine ) ?

Gracias

I'm having trouble understanding circumstances when I need to insert definite articles (i.e., los, las, etc.) when translating a phrase in English that does not include the articles. Below is an example of what I'm referring to from this translation exercise:

[English sentence] "However, it is important for governments, companies and people to work together ..."

[Kwiziq Spanish translation] "No obstante, es importante que los gobiernos, las empresas, y las personas trabajen juntos..."

Why was it necessary to insert the definite articles "los" and "las"? I notice that sometimes they are included in the Kwiziq translations, and sometimes they are not. Please explain the grammatical rules that govern use of definite articles in such circumstances.

Thank you,

Pati Ecuamiga