Spanish word of the day
Quote: NareedQuote: WizardThat is interesting about it not being implied that portarse means to behave well. It certainly is the case in English that "behave" implies "behave well."
ON that, I realized something later on. If you'd said "Si nos comportamos, Maryann..." you'd have had it right. "Comportar" also means "to behave" but when used by itself, as when an annoyed mother lovingly yells to her misbehaving child "¡Compórtate!" it means "behave well!" Sorry about the omission.
In English, comportment means "good behavior". To comport oneself would be to behave well.
Quote: NowTheSerpentI believe that in Mexico, tomate becomes jitomate.
Not really.
The red tomatoes are usually called "jitomates." They come in two main varieties, "bola" and "guaje." The latter is also called "guajito" and "saladette." But this isn't so hard and fast. Catsup is known also as "salsa de tomate." Tomato soup will usually be called "sopa o crema de tomate."
Green tomatoes are called "tomates" or "tomates verdes." They're sold either with leaves or "clean."
Quote: NareedQuote: NowTheSerpentI believe that in Mexico, tomate becomes jitomate.
Not really.
The red tomatoes are usually called "jitomates." They come in two main varieties, "bola" and "guaje." The latter is also called "guajito" and "saladette." But this isn't so hard and fast. Catsup is known also as "salsa de tomate." Tomato soup will usually be called "sopa o crema de tomate."
Green tomatoes are called "tomates" or "tomates verdes." They're sold either with leaves or "clean."
That's interesting. Now that I think about it, the signs at El Super with "jitomates" were over the red tomatoes. I don't deal with any other kind, so I must have overgeneralized quite a bit. Thx. :)
Quote: NareedQuote: NowTheSerpentI believe that in Mexico, tomate becomes jitomate.
Not really.
The red tomatoes are usually called "jitomates." They come in two main varieties, "bola" and "guaje." The latter is also called "guajito" and "saladette." But this isn't so hard and fast. Catsup is known also as "salsa de tomate." Tomato soup will usually be called "sopa o crema de tomate."
Green tomatoes are called "tomates" or "tomates verdes." They're sold either with leaves or "clean."
That's interesting. Now that I think about it, the signs at El Super with "jitomates" were over the red tomatoes. I don't deal with any other kind, so I must have overgeneralized quite a bit. Thx. :)
Quote: WizardThat is interesting about it not being implied that portarse means to behave well. It certainly is the case in English that "behave" implies "behave well."
There is a logical progression here.
portar means "to carry"
portarse means "to carry yourself" which is used metaphorically as "to conduct yourself well"
comportar means "to carry on together" which implies that you conduct yourself well with other people.
In English we have adopted the Latin word as "comport" in the English custom of dropping the suffix. We have also retained the noun "porter" as someone who carries things.
The English verb "behave" was adopted from Anglo Saxon from "be-" as an intensive prefix plus "have" in sense of "to have oneself in a particular way". Also the Anglo Saxon "behabban" meant "to contain" and when used about yourself meant "to contain" your baser emotions and exercise self restraint.
Quote: pacomartin
portar means "to carry"
I thought llevar is to carry. For example, if you want to order food "to go," you would say para llevar. Entonces, como son llevar y portar differente?
Quote: WizardI thought llevar is to carry. For example, if you want to order food "to go," you would say para llevar. Entonces, como son llevar y portar differente?
I think we've gone over this distinction before.
Either that, or I'm having a very strong case of deja vu.
Quote: Nareed
I think we've gone over this distinction before.
Either that, or I'm having a very strong case of deja vu.
Es probablemente mia culpa. This sounds vaguely familiar to me too. However, I have to hear something about 20 times before it is filed under permanent memory.
I will ask my tutor about how I expressed the future in my ejemplo previously.
Quote: WizardEs probablemente mia culpa. This sounds vaguely familiar to me too. However, I have to hear something about 20 times before it is filed under permanent memory.
I moved over 4 years ago and I still can't always recall my "new" phone number :)
I could go over it again, but I might not go exactly teh same. The perils of posting at work and tired, you know...
Oh, but I can tell you something else. I got into a small discussion with my electrologist on whether it was right to say "la anestesia." We decided it was, and she swore she'd never heard a client say "el anestesia." But it's also right to say "el anestésico." which would be "the anesthesia" and "the anesthetic" respectively. Things are going very well in that respect, too, especially now that I've finally figured out how to use "la anestesia" :P
Quote: NareedI got into a small discussion with my electrologist on whether it was right to say "la anestesia." We decided it was, and she swore she'd never heard a client say "el anestesia." But it's also right to say "el anestésico." which would be "the anesthesia" and "the anesthetic" respectively. Things are going very well in that respect, too, especially now that I've finally figured out how to use "la anestesia" :P
In English if you end a noun with "ist", usually with cist or gist, then it generally becomes somebody who practices in that field. Like somebody who practices biology is a biologist. Someone who practices anestesia is an anesthesiologist. Is there a rule of thumb in Spanish? I would guess the word would end is ista. Por ejemplo, someone who practices with dientes is a dentista. But a professional driver is not a manejista but a conductor (correct me if I'm wrong).
In other news, I asked the niece of my tutor about my last SWD ejemplo. She said that both "va a hacer" and "hara" are acceptable. To be specific, "va a hacer" implies that the subject is going to do whatever soon, and the future tense implies further out into the future.
Quote: WizardI would guess the word would end is ista. Por ejemplo, someone who practices with dientes is a dentista. But a professional driver is not a manejista but a conductor (correct me if I'm wrong).
Well, in English someone who drives professionally is not a drivist, either :)
But, yeah, in Spanish things aren't so neat. A manicurist would be a manicurista. But I can't think of more examples off-hand. Oh, "conductor" is technically correct, but the more usual word is "chofer," which I'm sure you can guess where it comes from. A truck driver, for example, would be a "chofer de trailer," a bus driver is a "chofer de camión." A race-car driver would be a "piloto," which usually means pilot but it's used that way for some reason.
Quote: WizardIn other news, I asked the niece of my tutor about my last SWD ejemplo. She said that both "va a hacer" and "hara" are acceptable. To be specific, "va a hacer" implies that the subject is going to do whatever soon, and the future tense implies further out into the future.
I think it is a little more complicated. Linquists call the inflective form of the future, a morphological form and the "va a hacer" a periphrastic form. My tutor said that Mexicans only use the periphrastic form. What I've read is that it is a complex interaction between perceived "social class" of the speaker, the "country dialect" of Spanish, and the "evolved form of the Spanish". By the third statement I mean the older forms of Spanish inland in South America where traditions are preserved (similar to older versions of English in Appalachia or parts of the deep South).
Quote: Periphrastic and morphological future forms in Bogotá Spanish: A preliminary sociolinguistic study of upper class speakersAs for Colombian Spanish, only a handful of studies have focused on examining periphrastic and morphological future forms. Montes (1962), one of the first authors to analyze this subject matter by means of natural data, studied various future forms in popular speech novels, newspapers, magazines and personal letters. Although his study does not provide a quantitative account of the forms, it concludes that the morphological form is rarely found in texts that represent popular speech (mainly from Western Colombia), and that the periphrastic form is predominant in this country. In Central Colombia, specifically in the area of Bogotá, the morphological form is still found to be abundant, which the author attributes to the traditional and archaic characteristics of this particular dialect.
Quote: WizardQuote: pacomartinportar means "to carry"
I thought llevar is to carry. For example, if you want to order food "to go," you would say para llevar. Entonces, como son llevar y portar differente?
"Portar" means to carry something with you, i.e. to "bring" it."LLevar" means to carry something away, i.e. to "remove" it. I assume you are thinking from the perspective of the restaurant owner. They ask you "Para llevar?" or do you want to take it away from me?
Quote: pacomartinQuote: WizardQuote: pacomartinportar means "to carry"
I thought llevar is to carry. For example, if you want to order food "to go," you would say para llevar. Entonces, como son llevar y portar differente?
"Portar" means to carry something with you, i.e. to "bring" it."LLevar" means to carry something away, i.e. to "remove" it. I assume you are thinking from the perspective of the restaurant owner. They ask you "Para llevar?" or do you want to take it away from me?
What about para salir?
Quote: NowTheSerpentWhat about para salir?
That means "to exit," or "to go out."
It is used, though: Compré este vestido para salir a bailar = I bought ths dress to go out dancing.
Quote: WizardEntonces, como es traer differente de portar?
"Portar" denotes to carry somethign on you, like a gun or a checkbook. But hardly anyone uses the word "portar" anyway. I think it's been mostly relegated to a legal term. For example, if you carrya gun without a permit (and I don't know if such permits even exist), you're charged with "portación ilícita de armas."
Derivations of the word are much in use. A portable device is called "portatil," whether you carry it on you, like a cell phone, or with you, like a laptop.
If I were you I'd simply keep in mind the meaning of "portar" and refrain from using the word. Most people will understand "llevar" just fine.
Quote: NowTheSerpentThat's interesting. Now that I think about it, the signs at El Super with "jitomates" were over the red tomatoes. I don't deal with any other kind, so I must have overgeneralized quite a bit. Thx. :)
You're welcome.
BTW I suppose you should uderstand this advertising phrase "¿Vas al super o a La Comer?" Comercial Mexicana has been milking it for years now. They should get tired of it any month... Walmart's "Bueno, es que Hiper es más que Super, ¿no?" campaign sort of fizzled early on.
Estado: Yucatan
Palabra: agujero
Today's state is Yucatan, which makes up most of the northern part of the Yucatan peninsula. Speaking of peninsulas, I've always wondered why most of the world's peninsulas go north to south. Yes, I know you can name lots of exceptions, and it depends on how exactly a "peninsula" is defined, but it takes just a look at a globe to see that I have a valid point.
According to Wikipedia, a very large meteor struck the Yucatan 65 million years ago, which caused the dinosaurs to die in the ensuing climate change. The Chicxulub crater actually lays off the coast of Yucatan and was discovered in the last 1970s. The word for crater in Spanish is a cognate: cráter. So, let's make the SWD agujero = hole.
Ejemplo time.
Hice uno agujero en uno jugando Wii Golf = I got a hole in one playing Wii Golf. Yes, the word "golf" is the same in both languages.
Quote: WizardEjemplo time.
Hice uno agujero en uno jugando Wii Golf = I got a hole in one playing Wii Golf. Yes, the word "golf" is the same in both languages.
Hice un hoyo en uno jugando golf de Wii I think that "hoyo" is the appropriate noun. I believe an "agujero" is more of a hole you make with a pin.
I am also not sure if "Hice" or "Tengo" is the more commonly used verb. It's possible that both are appropriate, since we can either say "I made a hole in one" or "I got a hole in one".
One thing that I learned is that people often use certain words in pairs. There is not always a good reason, but only people who hear the language all the time get the connection. For instance there is no valid reason we don't have "grocery sacks". It is just as sensible as "grocery bags", but you never hear it that way.
Quote: WizardEjemplo time.
Hice uno agujero en uno jugando Wii Golf = I got a hole in one playing Wii Golf. Yes, the word "golf" is the same in both languages.
That's so close I hesitate to say anything... Oh, well. agujero does mean hole, but in golf the holes are called "hoyos." So: "hice un HOYO en uno...."
Golf is the same in both languages. But miniature golf is known as "golfito," which comes out as "little golf;" and that's close enough, too.
What I don't know is the difference between agujero and hoyo. I vaguely recall hearing "agujero" is rather vulgar, but that was long ago. A mouse hole, like those you see in Tom and Jerry cartoons, is called "agujero de ratón."
Quote: NareedGolf is the same in both languages. But miniature golf is known as "golfito," which comes out as "little golf;" and that's close enough, too.
I think the Wizard meant "Wii" as in Nintendo golf.
Golf stuff for children is marketed as "Wee Golf"
Quote: NareedI vaguely recall hearing "agujero" is rather vulgar, but that was long ago. A mouse hole, like those you see in Tom and Jerry cartoons, is called "agujero de ratón."
It is not listed in my slang book or in the urban dictionary, but google searches invariably shows up in off color websites.
The DRAE definition keeps talking about pins and pincushions.
agujero.(De aguja).
1. m. Abertura más o menos redondeada en alguna cosa.
2. m. Deuda, falta o pérdida injustificada de dinero en la administración de una entidad.
3. m. Fabricante o vendedor de agujas.
4. m. alfiletero (‖ canuto para alfileres).
alfiletero.
1. m. Especie de canuto pequeño de metal, madera u otra materia, que sirve para tener en él alfileres y agujas.
2. m. acerico (‖ almohadilla para alfileres).
acerico. (Del dim. de *hazero, almohada, y este del lat. vulg. *faciarĭus, de facĭes, cara).
1. m. Almohada pequeña que se pone sobre las otras grandes de la cama para mayor comodidad.
2. m. Almohadilla que sirve para clavar en ella alfileres o agujas.
Quote: pacomartinI think the Wizard meant "Wii" as in Nintendo golf.
Ooops!
Yes, I realize it's a videogame golf.
I was just adding for trivia that miniature golf is not known as "golf en miniatura," but rather as "golfito."
Alfiletero means pin cushion. Aguja is needle, both the sewing kind and those used in record players (if anyone recalls what those are).
Quote: NareedAlfiletero means pin cushion. Aguja is needle, both the sewing kind and those used in record players (if anyone recalls what those are).
So an agujera is made by an aguja.
Would a "hole in a wall" be "hoya en una pared" or "agujero en una pared"?
About Wii golf, I wrote a post about my actual hole in one about a week ago, and Nareed was kind enough to congratulate me, as I recall. Here is a YouTube video of the game I'm referring to.
About your Wiki link, Paco, that doesn't mention either term, but I enjoyed reading it anyway.
Quote: WizardI have heard the expression agujero negro for a black hole. That would seem to go against the idea that agujero is a small hole, like the kind caused by a pin prick.
A black hole is essentially small. The "size" refers to its mass. Or so I've gathered. The next best thing to a black hole is a neutron star, and those are tiny in diameter, for stars.
Quote:Then again, maybe the source was not clear on the distinction between hoyo y agujero.
I don't think there's a distinction. When the very forgetable Disney movie came out, here it was called "El Hoyo Negro." But as you note it can also be called "agujero negro." For good measure, purists call it "pozo negro." There I disagree, because "pozo" is a well. I think I've heard it called "abismo negro," too, but that's just ridiculous.
It falls as a matter of usage, I guess. Golf holes are called "hoyos," other kinds of holes are called "agujeros." I wouldn't worry about it.
Paco, both are right.
Agujero comes from aguja, but as far as I know it doesn't denote a pinprick.
Good point about a black hole being small. I was indeed thinking of mass, but holes clearly usually are thought of in size, so mia culpa.
Quote: WizardThanks Nareed. While I find such distinctions interesting, it probably a waste of my bandwidth to worry about the difference between hoyo y agujero and cascada y cataratas.
You're welcome. But bandwidth's cehap, unless you're on a cell phone connection...
Quote:Good point about a black hole being small. I was indeed thinking of mass, but holes clearly usually are thought of in size, so mia culpa.
"MI culpa" :)
I'm not that well-versed in the size of a balck hole. But it stands to reason that a huge gravitational collapse ought not leave a large corpse behind.
Come to think of it, maybe the bad Disney movies was called "El Abismo Negro" in Mexico... I first saw in on video anyway. My dad was big on Disney and we'd just bought a VHS, so....
Quote: WizardAbout your Wiki link, Paco, that doesn't mention either term, but I enjoyed reading it anyway.
The article actually uses two different words for "hole(s)".
Quote: Spanish Wikipedia article
Algunos vienen con un agujero, rodeado de orificios más pequeños para tornillos, que permiten fijar el juguete sexual, así como la posibilidad de intercambiar los consoladores.
That just confuses things further. "Orifice" in English only implies biological holes. So now we have three words for hole in Spanish.
Quote: WizardWhile I find such distinctions interesting, it probably a waste of my bandwidth to worry about the difference between hoyo y agujero and cascada y cataratas.
You do lead the charge into some of the exotic areas of vocabulary. Granted, I lead the way into some more obscure grammatical constructs.
A good use of your bandwidth is to look at the Oxford 3000 vocabulary list. Researchers spent years devising this list as the most useful 3000 words to learn for speakers of English as a Second Language. Given the huge prestige of the Oxford Dictionary, the researchers were hoping to develop some standardization of English pedagogy.
While it was designed for English, it makes a good vocabulary list if you can translate the entire list into Spanish.
Quote: Oxford 3000 selection process
The words which occur most frequently in English are included, based on the information in the British National Corpus and the Oxford Corpus Collection. (A corpus is an electronically-held collection of written or spoken texts, often consisting of hundreds of millions of words.)
However, being frequent in the corpus alone is not enough for a word to qualify as a keyword: it may be that the word is used very frequently, but only in a narrowly defined area, such as newspapers or scientific articles. In order to avoid including these restricted words, we include as keywords only those words which are frequent across a range of different types of text. In other words, keywords are both frequent and used in a variety of contexts.
In addition, the list includes some very important words which happen not to be used frequently, even though they are very familiar to most users of English. These include, for example, words for parts of the body, words used in travel, and words which are useful for explaining what you mean when you do not know the exact word for something. These words were identified by consulting a panel of over seventy experts in the fields of teaching and language study.
Thanks for the 3,000 words Paco, but I would quickly lose interest in Spanish if I had to work through 3,000 flash cards or a list that long. My philosophy of learning a language is to keep it as fun as possible, especially if you're not required to learn it, as in my case.
Quote: WizardToo add to the hoyo vs. agujero discussion, my tutor said a hoyo is generally in the earth and a hoyo is generally in the ground.
You lost me :)
I want to put in a suplemental Plabra del día, well, a phrase:
Buen Fin
Literally it means "good end," or good ending." Actually it means "have a good weekend." IN this case "fin" is short for "fin de semana" meaning "weekend."
This year, however, it also means, sort of, "Black Friday."
There's this idea to kick-start the economy by having lots of slaes, offers, incentives and so on over a long weekend (Monday is the annviersary fo the Mexican "Revolution"). Of course that won't work. it may kick-start sales, but more likely it won't even do that. Some epople may do some early xmas shopping. If so, that will cause a drop in sales by December...
Naturally the idea is to recreate the start of the Xmas shopping season in America, which nominally starts on Black Friday right after Thanksgiving. It makes some sense, but it flies on the face of tradition and patterns people are used to. Consider Mexicans buy Xmas presents, then throw New year's parties or dinners, and then buy toys for their children for January 6th (something related to Xmas, but I've no concise explanation; the holiday is called "Dia de Reyes" after the Three Wise Men of legend). And the start of the shoppign season for all that is December 13th, right after the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Dec. 12th. The period is known, rather informally, as "maratón Guadalupe-Reyes."
Adding "El Buen Fin" 3 weeks earlier won't do much to change such ingrained behaviors. it would be like moving Thanksgiving to the first Thursday of November so people would begin to shop sooner. they may do that, but they won't shop more than they need or want to.
But since I don't buy Xmas presents, I don't like parties and I don't have children, it may be nice for a change to go bargain hunting in November rather than February :)
So, "Que pasen buen fin"
Quote: WizardToo add to the hoyo vs. agujero discussion, my tutor said a hoyo is generally in the earth and a hoyo is generally in the ground.
Thanks for the 3,000 words Paco, but I would quickly lose interest in Spanish if I had to work through 3,000 flash cards or a list that long. My philosophy of learning a language is to keep it as fun as possible, especially if you're not required to learn it, as in my case.
I think you mistyped those guidelines.
Most 4 to 5 year olds have a 3000 word vocabulary. I kind of wish Instituto Cervantes would develop a similar list for Spanish.
Quote: Wikipedia article on crapsLas mesas de craps tienen superficies en las que los jugadores pueden dejar sus fichas de apuestas.
Los jugadores cogen los turnos según los tiros del dado que realiza el "Tirador".
Todos los jugadores de un juego apuestan contra la casa.
En Craps, un tirador lanza un par de dados para establecer un Punto - y las apuestas giran alrededor de las posibilidades de que el tirador repita dicho Punto antes de lanzar un 7.
I have some questions (for anyone).
(1) The word ficha seems to be different than the English word chip. A "Ficha técnica" looks like a technical manual or a television guide, and a "fichero informático" looks like a computer file. The English word chip originally meant a small piece of wood. Como se dice "computer chip" in español?
(2) The vebs "tirar" and "lanzar" confuse me. The dictionary says "tirar" could have a vulgar meaning. I've asked several Spanish speakers, and they say that the words are interchangeable. Is it traditional in Spanish to call the shooter a "tirador" and the action of throwing the dice using the verb "lanza"? How do the Spanish verbs align with the English verbs "throw","toss","fling" and "launch"?
(3) The phrase near the end "que el tirador repita dicho Punto". What is the meaning of the word "dicho" in this phrase? I would translate as "until the shooter repeats the point", but the verb "dicho" seems unnecessary. Would you translate the phrase "until the shooter repeats 'said' point"?
(4) The IC dictionary defines "Tirador" as a "Fencer". While the word "fence" has been in English usage for over 700 years, the idea that "fencing" means "receiving stolen goods" is only recorded from 1851. Is that what you would call a "fence" in Spanish?
Quote: pacomartinI have some questions (for anyone).
It seems anyone's not here...
Quote:(1) The word ficha seems to be different than the English word chip.
Ficha is a word for "token," as in a physical object that represents some valuable. Arcade games, for example, are designed to work with US quarters. Here arcades sell tokens for use in their games. These are called "fichas"
Quote:A "Ficha técnica" looks like a technical manual or a television guide,
We sometimes make use of "fichas técnicas" for our products. They're spec sheets, varying from a general description of an item, to a detailed one including parameters such as protein content and other things like that. I'v eno idea how the word "ficha" fits in there, but it's commonly used.
Quote:and a "fichero informático" looks like a computer file.
Yeah, that's mostly a Spaniard afectation. In Mexico it's called an "archivo", while a directory is called "folder." "Archivo" means file, filing cabinet and a large place where files are kept.
Quote:The English word chip originally meant a small piece of wood. Como se dice "computer chip" in español?
In Mexico it's called "chip." I happened to note the other day my newest debit card has a chip on it, and when I put it in the ATM the screen says "Validando Chip." No doubt Spaniards use a different word. "Microcircuito de ordenador," probably. I'm not at war with "big" words, but I mislike "embigenning" simple terms. :)
Quote:(2) The vebs "tirar" and "lanzar" confuse me. The dictionary says "tirar" could have a vulgar meaning. I've asked several Spanish speakers, and they say that the words are interchangeable.
Not to my knowledge. And I think we've been through this before, too. So briefly, then:
"Tirar" means both to throw and to pull. So for example target practice is called "tiro al blanco," because you pull on a trigger if you use a gun, or a string if you use bow and arrow. If you were to throw something in the wastebasket, you'd say "tíralo a la basura."
"Lanzar," means to throw and to launch. Thus you can say "lanzar un satélite," but for throwing it's used more in conenction with sports. You woulnd't say "lánzalo a la basura," when throwing something away, but the javelin thrwo, for example, is called "lanza de jabalina." (or is it "javalina? I'm not sure).
Quote:Is it traditional in Spanish to call the shooter a "tirador" and the action of throwing the dice using the verb "lanza"?
A dice shooter would be a "tirador." When playing baord games with dice, the expression es "tira los dados."
Quote:How do the Spanish verbs align with the English verbs "throw","toss","fling" and "launch"?
Ah, that's not brief :)
Quote:(3) The phrase near the end "que el tirador repita dicho Punto". What is the meaning of the word "dicho" in this phrase? I would translate as "until the shooter repeats the point", but the verb "dicho" seems unnecessary. Would you translate the phrase "until the shooter repeats 'said' point"?
Yes. It's overused, but not considered superfluous.
Quote: Wikipedia craps part II
Etapas
Existen dos etapas en potencia de este juego de craps.
La primera etapa se llama "la tirada de salida", en la que los jugadores realizan una apuesta en la Línea de Pase.
Después de hacer las apuestas en la Línea de Pase de la mesa, el Tirador tira el dado, que debe dar contra el fondo de la mesa y rebotar antes de quedarse en el lugar definitivo.
Tenga en cuenta que el dado se debe recoger con una sola mano.
I have a few questions for Nareed
(1) The phrase dos etapas en potencia translates literally as "two power stages". Is this the common way to phrase this concept?
(2) The phrase Pase de la mesa. I am not sure what is "passing" here. Is it the dice being passed with the stick to the shooter? Is "dice" understood? Wouldn't "dice" be plural?
(3) The word fondo seems strange to me. Would it also be correct to say contra el pared atrás which is close to the English "against the back wall"? Is it more natural to think of the furthest wall as the "back wall" or the "bottom wall"?
The dictionary translate "fondo" as "bottom" but also as "fund". I don't see the connection between those two concepts.
The word back has differences in regional English as well. In American English if you say "the cat is in back of the sofa" or "the cat is behind the sofa" they are interpreted the same way. British English tends to eschew the phrase "in back of".
Quote: pacomartin(1) The phrase dos etapas en potencia translates literally as "two power stages". Is this the common way to phrase this concept?
In this case it means "potential." Ejemplo "Un feto es un ser humano en potencia" = "A fetus is a potential human being."
Quote:(2) The phrase Pase de la mesa. I am not sure what is "passing" here.
He means the table's pass line. The phrase translates as "After making the table's pass line bets." I don't know why the author chose to use "de la mesa," since obviously the bets are placed on the table. It's redundant.
Quote:Is it the dice being passed with the stick to the shooter? Is "dice" understood? Wouldn't "dice" be plural?
Another error. It should be "los dados."
Quote:The dictionary translate "fondo" as "bottom" but also as "fund". I don't see the connection between those two concepts.
It also means "end" and "background." So the author's saying the dice ought to hit the back end of the table.
In attaining this information a new word popped up, salto. This is evidently equivalent to cascada, but preferred in Argentina, where I am told they never say cascada.
Quote: WizardIn attaining this information a new word popped up, salto. This is evidently equivalent to cascada, but preferred in Argentina, where I am told they never say cascada.
"Salto" means jump. There are a number of falls with "salto" in their name, so maybe it's come to mean that, too (I imagine as a place where water "jumps" off the face of a cliff). But the meaning is jump.
Quote: WizardI think I can shed some light on the difference between a cascada y catarata. A cascada is a single waterfall, and catarata is a whole group of them.
In attaining this information a new word popped up, salto. This is evidently equivalent to cascada, but preferred in Argentina, where I am told they never say cascada.
In my earlier comment on the cascada and catarata I found examples that countered that general rule. The wikipedia listed several words that are used, including "salto", but no rule was scientifically followed. A lot has to do with the local custom.
For instance there was a picture of single fall only a few inches high called a frozen catarata.
Interestingly enough, "cascada" is a Spanish word derived from an Italian word (not a Latin word). I think that is the first time I've seen that etymology.
catarata.(Del lat. cataracta, y este del gr. καταράκτης).1. f. Cascada o salto grande de agua.
cascada.(Del it. cascata, caída). 1. f. Caída desde cierta altura del agua de un río u otra corriente por brusco desnivel del cauce.
Estado: Zacatecas
Palabra: cobre
Today's state is Zacatecas. It is home of NY Jets QB Mark Sanchez. Zacatecas largest industry is mining, including oro (gold), plata (silver), and cobre (copper). I am making "cobre" the SWD, because I already knew oro y plata.
Ejemplo time.
Si llevas esta pulsera de cobre, nunca vas a enfermar. = If you wear this copper bracelet, then you will never get sick.
It is very common to say that the greatest export of Zacatecas is people. Over half of s Zacatecanos live outside of the country. Because it is a good day's drive from Texas, it is a frequent stopover place.
The capital city of the same name is a beautiful old mining city that is now a university town.
There is not a real strong presence of indigenous people in this state. The geography is dominated by the forests and mountains.
The old bullring has been turned into a hotel. The food is great, but wine is very expensive here. In general steer clear of wine in Mexico.
Quote: pacomartinSi usted usa esta pulsera de cobre, entonces nunca se va a enfermar.
That looks just like what I got when I put my sentence through GoogleTranslate. I promised Nareed I wouldn't use that as an excuse for my ejemplos, but I still consider what it has to say when I'm having trouble. In this case:
1. I'm not big the formality of Ud. Yes, I know there are situations where it is appropriate, but when in doubt I prefer the friendliness of tú. My example also doesn't sound like the kind of thing you would say in a stuffy formal setting.
2. We use the word "use" a lot in English (see I just did), but it seems like I don't see usar much in Spanish, except in Google translations. I am not saying it is wrong, but I thought that usually people use llevar for wearing clothing/jewelry. Why, I don't get, as llevar is supposed to mean "take," but I've learned that certain verbs like this one are just troublemakers, with lots of other usages.
3. I was on the fence about using the entonces, which I take to mean "so" and maybe "thus." In this case neither word seemed to fit, so I nixed it. Then again, I know I've seen it in proper translations when I wasn't expecting it.
4. I wasn't sure why the se was in there, so I nixed that too. I thought my vas, or your va implied who wouldn't get sick.
Quote: WizardThat looks just like what I got when I put my sentence through GoogleTranslate. I promised Nareed I wouldn't use that as an excuse for my ejemplos, but I still consider what it has to say when I'm having trouble. In this case:
Good choice :)
Quote:1. I'm not big the formality of Ud.
Again, good choice. As a quick rule of thumb, you use "tú" with family, friends, and people much younger than you, especially children and teens. Everyone else rates "usted."
Quote:2. We use the word "use" a lot in English (see I just did), but it seems like I don't see usar much in Spanish, except in Google translations. I am not saying it is wrong, but I thought that usually people use llevar for wearing clothing/jewelry. Why, I don't get, as llevar is supposed to mean "take," but I've learned that certain verbs like this one are just troublemakers, with lots of other usages.
The word "wear" gave me trouble when I learned English. There is no exact literal translation. Paco's right by suggesting "usar," but in this example you could also go with "poner": "Si te pones esta pulsera...." This means "If you put on this bracelet..." and it would assume you won't take it off at night when you get ready for bed.
But overall if you habitually wear some kind of clothing, makeup, jewelry, perfume, etc, you'd say "uso."
Quote:3. I was on the fence about using the entonces, which I take to mean "so" and maybe "thus."
It means "then." It can go in your phrase, but it's not necessary. In fact, when I use "Si/Entonces" or "If/Then" in a sentence, I feel like I'm programming in BASIC :)
Quote:4. I wasn't sure why the se was in there, so I nixed that too.
Good choice. You can use it, but again it's not necessary. Most native speakers would use it, in the form of "te" if you're pairing it with "tu," but you'd be understood and it is correct not to use it.
So:
"Si usas esta pulsera de cobre, nunca vas a enfermar."
I'd reply to that, BTW, like this: "Si crees eso, tengo un puente en Brooklyn que está a la venta." :P
Si usas
Si llevas
I usually think of posting to a forum as more formal, so I am inclined to use the formal address. I have looked at many different forums about the best SPanish verb for "to wear". I read passionate arguments for "llevar", and equally passionate people who claim the "levar" sounds very strange. It seems to vary a lot by country of origin.
BTW: The English verb use is the most commonly used verb with a Latin root. The Anglo Saxon verb has drifted into obscurity. In most other cases, we tend to use the Anglo Saxon verb more commonly, and the Latin based verb for more elevated speech.
esta pulsera de cobre,
este brazalete cobrizo,
i would go with the first translation as well, but I have also seen these words in dictionaries
entonces nunca se va a enfermar.
entonces nunca te vas a enfermar.
entonces nunca conseguirás enfermo.
I would use entonces because I hear it a lot. But it reminds my of my recent question to Nareed about using "dicho". It seems like an unnecessary word.
Once again you can use the morphological future tense (inflection), or the periphrastic future tense (va or vas a + infinitive). I still think you are going to hear the morphological future in Argentina. Personally, I would have trouble recognizing it, since I always forget those endings. It is easier when you see them in writing since they have the accents, but impossible to hear verbally.
Quote: Nareed"Si crees eso, tengo un puente en Brooklyn que está a la venta." :P
Cuánta cuesta? Why isn't it por venta? Or maybe para. Here in Vegas you see signs on very-used cars that say, I think, para vender. If that is wrong, the mistake is mine.
