March 2021
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El cumpleaños
El cumpleaños There are many compound, masculine nouns in Spanish that are formed by a verb and a noun. Their noun component is usually plural, so it ends in “s,” but their overall grammatical number is singular. Examples of these words are: El cumpleaños, birthday, formed together with the verb cumplir, to fulfill, to accomplish, […] More
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White and Black
There are many standard expressions in Spanish and English that are exactly the same but reversed. Here are some of them: tarde o temprano, sooner or later (lit: later or sooner) sano y salvo, safe and sound (lit: sound and safe) tenedor y cuchillo, knife and fork (lit: fork and knife) vivo o muerto, dead or alive […] More
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El Hombre Araña
Nouns modifying nouns are common in English, but in Spanish we normally use adjectives to modify them. As a general rule, nouns modify other nouns in Spanish only by means of the preposition de. Examples: hoja de papel, sheet of paper, mesa de madera, wooden table, collar de perlas, pearl necklace. Still, we can […] More
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in Culture, Grammar, Mexico, Translation, Vocabulary
Re-, rete-, requete-, archi-, recontra-, super-, hiper-, ultra-
Re-, rete-, requete-, archi-, recontra-, super-, hiper-, ultra- In conversational Mexican Spanish, it’s common to hear the prefixes re-, rete-, and requete-, which intensify the corresponding adjective or adverb to different degrees: feliz happy refeliz very happy retefeliz very very happy requetefeliz extremely happy rápido fast reterrápido very very fast requeterrápido extremely fast If it’s […] More
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in News, Translation
In Spanish, the verb sometimes comes first.
The manual of style of some Spanish language newspapers dictates the use of a word order that is not the usual word order. Spanish sentence structure is very flexible compared to English. Latin, the parent language of Spanish, is much more flexible than its child language. English has a very rigid word order, that’s why […] More
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in Culture, Mexico, Translation, Vocabulary
Sample list of translated proper nouns in Spanish
This is a sample list of proper nouns in Spanish. Very often, I speak using proper nouns that I take for granted, but some of my students just can’t figure out what they mean, even during a conversation and in context. Some proper nouns are easy to identify, like Jorge Washington but I’m listing them […] More
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in Translation
Fingers
Fingers These are the finger names in Spanish: El dedo is finger, los dedos is fingers, los dedos de los pies (fingers of the feet) are toes. dedo pulgar, thumb dedo índice, index finger dedo cordial (corazón) or dedo medio, heart finger, middle finger dedo anular, ring finger dedo meñique, pinky https://www.tumblr.com/enisteyjia/181981985382/g-minor-bach Originally […] More
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Carnes frías. 10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (22)
10 expressions that are not so easy to figure out (22) Here are 10 common random idioms you may have trouble with if you hear them for the first time: Expression Approximate literal translation (what you might think you actually heard) Explanation Cable de la luz What? cable of the light? power cord, power line […] More
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Decir, hablar, contar.
Decir, hablar, contar In English we have to say, to tell, to speak, and to talk. They are confusing to foreign students. The same happens in Spanish. Let me try to outline the differences: Decir: to say or to tell. If the sentence contains an indirect object pronoun, it usually means to tell. She tells […] More
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The 10 Best Cities in the World in 2021, according to Condé Nast.
Which really are the best cities in the world? Our readers voted for their favourite urban destinations – ranking them for architecture, their buzzing food scenes and smart places to stay. How many have you been to? And – do you agree with the list? https://t.co/Yrks4vCvaZ — Condé Nast Traveller (@cntraveller) March […] More
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Actually.
Actually, remember this please English native speakers who are learning almost any other language, including Spanish, please watch out. Your word actual has a very different meaning in almost any other language. Spanish actual current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time Portuguese atual current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this time French actuel current, up-to-the-minute, happening at this […] More
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El agua, las aguas.
El agua, las aguas. Many students (and natives) wonder why we say el agua (water), but in plural we say las aguas (waters). Agua is a feminine noun, and yet, we say el agua, so most people think we should say la agua instead. Most feminine nouns beginning with a stressed a sound (including […] More
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