| |
|
To make it clear, we are going to use this color scheme:
|
Green:
|
The title |
|
Orange: |
The mistake |
|
Yellow: |
Explanation |
|
White: |
Correct examples |
|
|
Ask
and ask for
|
|
I asked for a beer. I ordered a beer. |
*Pregunté por una cerveza.* |
Preguntar = to ask (when you want to know something)
Pedir = to ask for (when you want something) |
|
I asked for a beer. I ordered a beer. |
Pedí una cerveza. |
|
I asked him if he had beer. |
Le pregunté si tenia cerveza. |
|
Realize
|
|
I didn't realize. |
*No me realicé.* |
| "Realizar":
means to carry out, execute, to make, to conduct. If you want to say
"realize" in Spanish you have to say: "Darse cuenta". |
| I didn't
realize. |
No me di cuenta. |
| She carried out
her plan. |
Ella realizó su
plan. |
|
I
remember that day
|
|
I remember that day. |
*Me recuerdo de aquel día.* |
"Recordar" (to
remember) does not have a reflexive pronoun, nor "de".
Recordar a alguien = remember someone |
| I remember that
day. |
Recuerdo aquel día. |
| Do you remember
Juan? |
¿Recuerdas a
Juan? |
|
The
more I see him the more I like him
|
|
The more I see him the more I like him. |
*Lo más que lo veo lo más que me gusta.* |
| Just get used
to the Spanish construction using "Cuanto". |
| The more I see
him the more I like him. |
Cuanto más lo
veo, más me gusta. |
| The more I study
the more I learn. |
Cuanto más
estudio, más aprendo. |
| The less you
smoke the better you feel. |
Cuanto menos
fumas, mejor te sientes. |
|
More
than
|
|
More than twenty. |
*Más que veinte.* |
| Normally we use
"que" eg. "más que yo" = "more than I", but when we use numbers we use
"de". |
| There were more
than 20 people at the conference. |
Había más de 20
personas en la conferencia. |
| He knows more
than I. |
El sabe más que
yo. |
|
The
person I live with
|
|
The boy I live with. |
*El chico que vivo con.* |
| Prepositions
never come at the end of a sentence in Spanish. The preposition must come
before a noun, a pronoun or an article. |
| The boy I live
with. |
El chico con
quien vivo. / El chico con el que vivo. |
| Whom can I speak
to? |
¿Con quién puedo
hablar? |
|
He's
dressed in red
|
|
He's dressed in red. |
*Está vestido en rojo.* |
| When we use
dressed in + "a color" we use "de". |
| He's dressed in
red. |
Está vestido de rojo. |
|
Support
|
|
I supported his decision |
*Soportaba su decisión.* |
|
"Soportar" = "to tolerate" or "to put
up with" or "to stand (have patience for)". In most cases we use "apoyar".
|
| I supported his
decision. |
Yo apoyaba su
decisión. |
| I can't stand
Juan. |
No soporto a
Juan. |
|
Story
|
|
I like adventure stories. |
*Me gustan las cuentas de aventuras.* |
|
Cuento = story or tale
Contar una historia = to tell a story
Cuenta = Cuenta bancaria = bank account
Cuenta = a sum (mathematical calculation)
Cuenta = Bill in a restaurant: Note that we use "cuenta" for a bill
with food and drinks, but for other types of bill we use "factura" eg.
plumbers, in the garage etc.
|
| I like adventure
stories. |
Me gustan los
cuentos de aventuras. |
| I don't have any
money in my account. |
No tengo fondos
en mi cuenta. |
| They always make
mistakes in the bill. |
Siempre se
equivocan en la cuenta. |
| Can you bring us
the bill please? |
¿Nos trae la
cuenta, por favor? |
|
Take
someone / Take something
|
|
I took my son to the airport. |
*Tomé a mi hijo al aeropuerto.* |
To express the
idea of giving someone a lift or taking someone somewhere, we use the verb
"llevar".
To express the idea of taking something such as a pill, a drink, a bus,
etc. we use the verb "tomar". |
|
I took my son to the airport. |
Llevé a mi hijo
al aeropuerto. |
|
My son took a taxi to the airport. |
Mi hijo tomo un taxi al aeropuerto. |
|
Next
|
|
He drank a lot and the next morning he had
a hangover. |
*Bebió mucho y la próxima mañana tenía resaca.* |
| The "próxima/o"
(next) is only used in the present and the future. In the past we must use
"siguiente" (the following). |
| He drank a lot
and the next morning he had a hangover. |
Bebió mucho y la
mañana siguente tenía resaca. |
| They met in 1990
and they will get married next year. |
Se conocieron en
1990 y se van a casar el año próximo. |
|
It was
a success
|
|
The film was a big success in Argentina. |
*La película tuvo mucho suceso en Argentina*. |
| Success in
Spanish is "éxito". "Suceso" is an event. |
| The film was a
big success in Argentina. |
La pelicula tuvo
mucho éxito en Argentina. |
| The event took
place in the city. |
El suceso tomó
lugar en la ciudad. |
|
I will
be here for 6 months
|
|
I will be here for five days. |
*Voy a estar aquí por cinco días.* |
This is the
answer to the question. How long are you going to be here?
In Spanish you have to say "voy a estar aquí" or the meaning is unclear. |
| I will be here
for five days. |
Voy a estar aquí
cinco dias. |
|
In the
morning
|
|
In the morning |
*en la mañana* |
|
The problem is the preposition "en" it
should be "por" or "de".
We use "por" when we speak about an approximate time:
eg: Por la tarde doy un paseo. = I go for a walk in the evening.
We use "de" when we speak about the
exact time:
eg: A las 5 de la tarde doy un paseo. = I go for a walk at 5 o clock
in the evening.
|
| in the morning |
por la mañana: |
| early in the
morning |
temprano por la
mañana |
| at midday |
al mediodía |
| at lunchtime |
a la hora de
comer/a la hora de almorzar |
| in the evening |
por la tarde |
| at midnight |
a medianoche |
| in the early
hours of the morning |
por la madrugada |
|
I live
in the Suburbs
|
|
I live in the suburbs. |
*Vivo en los suburbios.* |
| The "suburbios"
in Spanish is a conflictive area of a city with poverty and other
problems. It is not a good translation of "suburb" or "outskirts" |
| I live in the
suburbs of Bogota. |
Vivo en las
afueras de Bogotá. |
|
To
move
|
|
I'm going to move to another house. |
*Voy a moverme a otra casa.* |
When you want
to say "to move" in the sense of changing where you live you have to use
the verb "mudarse".
"Moverse" is to move as in movement.
"Correrse" is to move over. |
|
I'm going to move to another house. |
Voy a mudarme a otra casa. |
|
The dancer moves with grace. |
La bailarina se mueve con gracia.
|
|
Please move over. |
Córrete por favor. |
|
Regarding / To respect
|
|
I don't know anything regarding this
subject. |
*No sé nada respeto a este asunto.* |
|
You must respect your wife. |
*Debes respectar a tu esposa.* |
| "Respecto a"
(regarding) and "respeto" (respect). |
|
I don't know anything regarding this
subject. |
No sé nada respecto a este asunto. |
|
You must respect your wife. |
Debes respetar a tu esposa. |
|
My
oldest / youngest brother
|
|
My oldest/youngest brother |
*Mi hermano más viejo/joven* |
| You have to use
"mayor" or "menor". |
| My oldest
brother lives in Guatemala. |
Mi hermano
mayor vive en Guatemala. |
| Patricia is my
youngest daughter. |
Patricia es mi
hija menor. |
|
Look
for - Search
|
|
I am looking for my book. |
*Estoy mirando para mi libro.* |
"Mirando para"
doesn't exist, it's a literal translation from English. You can use "buscar"
but it has no preposition.
Note: When the thing we are looking for is a person we add "a" after "buscar". |
|
I am looking for my book. |
Estoy buscando
mi libro. |
|
I am looking at the book. |
Estoy mirando el
libro. |
|
Entradas
|
|
Did you buy the tickets for the
cinema?
|
*¿Compraste los billetes para el
cine?*
|
"Boletos" or "Pasajes"
are for travel tickets. We use "entradas" for ticket to the theater or
cinema or shows.
By the way: A showing in the cinema is the "la sesión" A performance at
the theatre is "la función"
|
| Did you buy the
tickets for the cinema? |
¿Compraste las
entradas para el cine? |
| Did you buy the
train tickets? |
¿Compraste los
boletos para el tren? |
|
|
