Spanish word of the day
Quote: NareedHave you considered reading books written in Spanish rather than translations? That ought to give you a better sense of languege use (not a good one, naturally, as you're still faced with biases by the authors).
That's probably a good suggestion. But the number of books that were originally written in Spanish, and have since been translated into English is very small, compared to the other way around. In addition, the books translated from Spanish to English are more literary or intellectual books, instead of popular and children's books.
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The study of English words, particularly with an eye towards teaching it is huge. While Spanish is studied a lot, it hasn't spawned quite the worldwide industry. For instance, there is a list of 3000 words that everyone studying English should know. The list was set by the Oxford English scholarly group. To the best of my knowledge there is no such list for Spanish.
It's much easier to find rankings of English words by how often they are used. For instance, reviving an old post, you can rank the following English words by how often they are used. "Attitude" and "Magnitude" are the most commonly used words with the suffix tude.
| attitude | actitud |
| magnitude | magnitud |
| gratitude | gratitud |
| altitude | altitud |
| multitude | multitud |
| amplitude | amplitud |
| solitude | la soledad |
| latitude | latitud |
| aptitude | aptitude |
| ingratitude | ingratitud |
| ineptitude | ineptitud |
| fortitude | fortaleza |
| longitude | longitud |
| servitude | servidumbre |
| rectitude | rectitud |
| verisimilitude | verosimilitud |
| platitude | trivialidad |
| vicissitude | vicisitud |
Now it is easy to highlight the non-standard translations. As we discussed earlier, "solitude" is actually non-standard in English, Spanish is the normal derivation from Latin. The word "platitude" doesn't have a cognate in Spanish, because it is a derived word from the French word for "flat".
The following English words have the same suffix, but they are all very seldom used in English. It seems logical that many of them would be relatively rare in Spanish.
promptitude habitude mansuetude quietude midlatitude vastitude turpitude negritude pulchritude plenitude solicitude similitude senectitude plentitude lassitude desuetude definitude decrepitude crassitude correctitude consuetude colatitude certitude disquietude dissimilitude etude inquietude infinitude inexactitude incertitude inaptitude hebetude finitude exactitude beatitude
Now that is not an ironclad rule. Sometimes the word is rare in English, but the cognate is common in Spanish.
The word fortitud, servitud are both valid Spanish words, but the DRAE says they are anticuado . But fortitud means Fortaleza física o moral
Quote: pacomartinThat's probably a good suggestion. But the number of books that were originally written in Spanish, and have since been translated into English is very small, compared to the other way around. In addition, the books translated from Spanish to English are more literary or intellectual books, instead of popular and children's books.
It's an excellent suggestion. But not in the way you mean. I meant to read books in Spanish which were written in Spanish. That's one thing that spurred me to learn enlgish. There were many books iw anted to read, which were hard to get or non-existent in Spanish. So I got them in English and, at first, muddled through them. Now I no longer read Spanish tranlsations of anything.
Quote:Now it is easy to highlight the non-standard translations. As we discussed earlier, "solitude" is actually non-standard in English, Spanish is the normal derivation from Latin. The word "platitude" doesn't have a cognate in Spanish, because it is a derived word from the French word for "flat".
Interesting as that is, it's not very helpful in learning another langauge. The trick, if a trick it be, is to forget your native language, or set it aside, and think in the language you're learning.
My dad kept using the word "after" to mean "before" or "prior to," because to him it sounded like "antes" in Spanish, which means "before." I had problems like that, I kept thinking "ingenuity" meant "easy to fool," which is what "ingenuo" means in Spanish. My teacher advised me not to try to speak two langauges at the same time. it's not easy at first. You can get there with practice, and by ditching the Spanish-English dictionary, too.
Anyway, let's have a new word.
Fecha: 18 de Febrero, 2012
Palabra: pertrechos
Today's SWD is in honor of the angriest RV salesman on earth, Jack Rebney. This is a video of outtakes from a Winnebago sales video. This is almost exactly what my father becomes when he gets lost or is stuck in bad traffic.
My favorite part of the video is at the 4:07 point, where a French word is evidently put into the script. The Spanish word for accoutrements I think would be pertrechos, which also refers to ammunition.
Ejemplo time.
Todo lo que necesité era una cámara, pero gasté mucho dinero para los pertrechos. = All I needed was a camera, but I wasted a lot of money on the accoutrements.
Quote: WizardMy thing is if I try to learn out of a Spanish textbook I'll get bored and quit.
<sigh> Not a textbook. A novel, a collection of short stories, a collection of essays, a children's book, a comic book. Anything at all.
Quote:The Spanish word for accoutrements I think would be pertrechos, which also refers to ammunition.
The dictionary (yes, I had to look it up), defines it as ammunition, weapons and other gear needed by a soldier. A second definition is instruments needed for any operation. That's literal, with "operation" meaning any kind of specific task, not necessarily surgery or a military or intelligence operation.
Quote:Todo lo que necesité era una cámara, pero gasté mucho dinero para los pertrechos. = All I needed was a camera, but I wasted a lot of money on the accoutrements.
I'm going to get grilled on this and I won't have an answer. Anyway:
"Todo lo que necesitABA era una cámara..."
The rest is fine, assuming the word applies.
Quote: WizardMy favorite part of the video is at the 4:07 point, where a French word is evidently put into the script. The Spanish word for accoutrements I think would be pertrechos, which also refers to ammunition.
The word accoutrement has been recorded in English documents for almost 5 centuries. It is clearly taken from the French word which at the time was spelled accoustrement but is spelled exactly the same in Modern French (without the extra 's'). Given it's very long use it is now considered part of the English language.
The word pertrechos is of uncertain origin. It does not correspond to a Latin, Arabic or Italian word.
Quote: NareedI'm going to get grilled on this and I won't have an answer. Anyway:
"Todo lo que necesitABA era una cámara..."
No grilling necessary. Straight from the verb book: A description of mental, emotion, or physical condition in the past requires the imperfect, instead of the preterite tense.
Quote: pacomartinNo grilling necessary. Straight from the verb book: A description of mental, emotion, or physical condition in the past requires the imperfect, instead of the preterite tense.
That seems rather vague to me. Isn't talking about something in the past tense going to usually fall under one of those categories? I'm still struggling for a good rule of thumb to know when to use both imperfect and preterit.
Quote: WizardI'm still struggling for a good rule of thumb to know when to use both imperfect and preterit.
It isn't easy, and I make a lot of mistakes.
The only simple rule that I know of is the Repetition and continuity rule. An action that was happening, used to happen, or happened regularly in the past, as it was ongoing.
The following two English forms are good candidates for translating into imperfect:
(1) Past progressive: I was eating. "Nareed has corrected me more than once here, where she used the Spanish past progressive: Estaba comiendo."
(2) The "used to" form: "I used to eat".
But "simple past" in English can go to either the imperfect or the preterite.
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From Wikipedia on Imperfect: A physical or mental state or condition in progress in the past. Often used with verbs of being, emotion, capability, or conscience. The following verbs are often used in the imperfect in several Romance languages:
English equivalent , Spanish
to love , amar
to desire , desear
to want , querer
to prefer , preferir
to hope , esperar
to feel , sentir
to regret/lament , lamentar
to be , ser/estar
to be able to , poder
to be familiar with , conocer
to know (as a fact) , saber
to believe , creer
to think , pensar
to imagine , imaginar
to stand/stay , quedar
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This website says that it is optional if I want to use the imperfect past or the continuous imperfect for these examples.
I was watching TV when he arrived
1) estaba viendo la tele cuando él llegó
2) veía la tele cuando...
I was leaving the house when he rang
1) estaba saliendo de la casa cuando llamó
2) salía de la casa...
Quote: WizardThanks, Paco. Let's say that I'm really not sure and just want to go with the best odds. For example, my tutor says if you completely on the fence between para y por, your chances of being right are better with por. So, between the preterite and imperfect, which one is used more often?
I'm not sure that majority use will help you here. One will seem out of place. Look at the following English sentences in simple past, simple continuous past, and the past perfect continuous, or past perfect.
1) I waited there for more than two hours when she finally arrived. (simple past)
2) I was waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived. (progressive past)
3) I had been waiting for more than two hours when she finally arrived. (perfect past)
4) I had waited there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.(perfect progressive past)
The sentences all pretty convey the same thoughts, and I would be hard pressed to say which are most common.
Only sentences #5, #6 are very explicit.
5) I used to wait for up to two hours, before she finally arrived. (wait is imperfect past)
6) I did wait for two hours, and she never arrived. (wait is preterite past)
Preterit vs. imperfect
English speakers tend to use "por" more often because it sounds like "for".
- I went to the store because I was out of beer.
- I am sick today because I ate bad sushi yesterday.
- I said "I love you," but I lied.
- I did not pay the ferry man, because he didn't get me to the other side.
- There was a little black spot on the sun yesterday.
- Mama sewed the rags together.
- In the summer time we didn't have shoes to wear.
- Lucy put her lipstick on a little too bright.
- He said, "We'll be able to fly."
- She kept her motor clean.
- You should have put a ring on it.
- She read my poker face.
- Sonny always remembered the words his mama said.
p.s. For bonus points, name the song and artist these examples are based on, for #3-13.
| I went to the store because I was out of beer. | fui | estaba | pretérito | imperfecto | ||
| I am sick today because I ate bad sushi yesterday. | estoy | me comí | presente | pretérito | ||
| I said "I love you," but I lied. | le dije | te amo | mentí | pretérito | presente | pretérito |
| I did not pay the ferry man, because he didn't get me to the other side. | no le presté | me hacia | pretérito | imperfecto | ||
| There was a little black spot on the sun yesterday. | hubo | pretérito | ||||
| Mama sewed the rags together. | cosió | pretérito | ||||
| In the summer time we didn't have shoes to wear. | no usan | presente | ||||
| Lucy put her lipstick on a little too bright. | puso | pretérito | ||||
| He said, "We'll be able to fly." | dijo | vamos a ser | volar | presente | presente-infinitivo | infinitivo |
| She kept her motor clean. | mantuvo | pretérito | ||||
| You should have put a ring on it. | debe haber | presente-infinitivo | ||||
| She read my poker face. | leyó | pretérito | ||||
| Sonny always remembered the words his mama said. | se acordaba | dijo | imperfecto | pretérito |
Quote: WizardNareed, how did he do?
I don't know. I gave up trying to make sense of the posted table when it didn't make sense (if that makes sense).
The second is how he translated the first verb.
The third is how he translated the second verb, if there was one.
The fourth is how he translated the third verb, if there was one.
The fifth is the tense of the first verb.
The sixth is the tense of the second verb, if there was one.
The seventh is the tense of the third verb, if there was one.
Let's look at the last sentence, for example.
Sonny siempre se acordaba los palabras su madre dijo. = Sonny always remembered the words his mama said.
Quote: Wizard
- I went to the store because I was out of beer.
- I am sick today because I ate bad sushi yesterday.
- I said "I love you," but I lied.
- I did not pay the ferry man, because he didn't get me to the other side.
- There was a little black spot on the sun yesterday.
- Mama sewed the rags together.
- In the summer time we didn't have shoes to wear.
- Lucy put her lipstick on a little too bright.
- He said, "We'll be able to fly."
- She kept her motor clean.
- You should have put a ring on it.
- She read my poker face.
- Sonny always remembered the words his mama said.
Fuí a la tienda porque no tenía cerveza
Estoy enferma hoy porqué comí sushi en mal estado ayer (obviously very word after sucsi is superfluous <w>)
Dje "te amo" pero mentí
No le pague al lanchero porque no me llevó al otro lado
Mamá cosió los trapos
En el verano no teníamos zapatos.
Lucy se puso demasiado bilet (the last word is highly debatable)
El dijo "podremos volar."
Ella amntuvo su motor limpio
Debiste haberle puesto un anillo
Ella leyó mi cara de poker (that's a literal translation, as the expression has no Spanish equivalent)
Sonny siempre recordó las palabras de su madre.
My browser doesn't spell check in Spanish, so there may be a few (dozen) typos.
1. I used 'estaba' (was) and Nareed used 'tenía' (had). That's stupid on my part, because I translated it literally from English, instead of the Spanish idiom.
2. Same verbs
3. Nareed made a typo, but otherwise same verbs.
4. Nareed used 'pagar' while I used 'prestar', but we both used imperfect past tense.
-
5. Nareed didn't translate
6. Same verb, same tense
7. Paco:" no usan", Nareed: "no teníamos" - My mistake
...
Quote: pacomartinI don't see a case where I used the wrong tense. In many cases Nareed used different root verbs.
I'll take your word for it.
Quote:5. Nareed didn't translate
I missed it:
Había una mancha en el Sol ayer.
Quote: NareedFuí a la tienda porque no tenía cerveza
May I ask about the accent mark on the i? I hear the Academia Real has recently reversed itself, for the second time, on the accent marks on one-syllable verbs like fuí. They are now considered correct. How many points would I lose with you if I wrote fui without the accent mark? SpanishDict.com still leaves them off.
Quote: WizardThanks for those translations. Seem to me the pretérito was used most of the time.
You're welcome.
Quote:May I ask about the accent mark on the i? I hear the Academia Real has recently reversed itself, for the second time, on the accent marks on one-syllable verbs like fuí. They are now considered correct. How many points would I lose with you if I wrote fui without the accent mark? SpanishDict.com still leaves them off.
I pretty much put it on all verbs in the past tense out of habit. I'm not always right.
You don't lose any points. I often simply forget to use them.
Palabra: asentir
Today's SWD means to agree. No to be confused with sentir, which means to feel, and that is not to be confused with sentar, which means to sit.
A question for the advanced readers is how does asentir differ from estar de acuerdo.
Ejemplo time.
Asentí a pasear el perro a menudo. = I agreed to walk the dog more often.
Quote: WizardA question for the advanced readers is how does asentir differ from estar de acuerdo.
Ejemplo time.
Asentí a pasear el perro a menudo. = I agreed to walk the dog more often.
Asentí means to agree, but also to "assent". I think in your example other synonymous verbs would be more commonly used. It sounds a little funny in English "I assented to walk.."
1) Estuve de acuerdo
2) Acepté
3) Accedí
I don't think the final phrase is complete "a menudo" means "often", but you want to say "more often":
1) más a menudo
2) con más frecuencia.
Quote: WizardA question for the advanced readers is how does asentir differ from estar de acuerdo.
Not much. It's a matter of usage. 99 out 100 people will say "estoy de acuerdo," or more often "no estoy de acuerdo," rather than use a form of "asentir." I dare say the person who uses "asentir" will use it wrong, too.
Quote:Asentí a pasear el perro a menudo. = I agreed to walk the dog more often.
It looks ok to me. But I thought you were more of a cat person. Not that dogs and cats can't get along, depending on the cat (she migth enjoy having an animal for a pet as a novelty, I suppose). Usually cat people hate dogs and dog people hate cats.
Palabra: largar
Today's SWD means to become scarce. There are some other meanings, but where I encountered it, larguense was a translation of "shoo shoo."
Ejemplo time
Me largué por que el jefe fuí en un mal humor. = I made myself scarce because the boss was in a bad mood.
Quote: WizardThere are some other meanings, but where I encountered it, larguense was a translation of "shoo shoo."
I think it is normally somewhat stronger, like Get Out
Quote: WizardFecha: 20 de Febrero, 2012
Palabra: largar
Today's SWD means to become scarce.
I had no idea.
Quote:There are some other meanings, but where I encountered it, larguense was a translation of "shoo shoo."
"Lárguense," or "lárgate" in the singular, means ""go away," or "get lost." The implication of the word is either anger, impatience or disgust.
Quote:Me largué por que el jefe fuí en un mal humor. = I made myself scarce because the boss was in a bad mood.
Well, to begin with you sued the wrong pronoun in "fuí" which is in first person. So you're saying "I went away becasue the boss I went in a bad mood." Second, few people would apply the word "largué" to themselves. If someone rudely or angrily tells you to get lost you may chose to leave, but you wouldn't describe your action as "I got lost." You'd say "I left."
So: "Me largué porque el jefe vino de muy mal humor," or "Me largué porque el jefe venía de muy mal humor."
Better yet: "Me fuí porque el jefe venía de muy mal humor."
Quote: NareedSo: "Me largué porque el jefe vino de muy mal humor," or "Me largué porque el jefe venía de muy mal humor."
Better yet: "Me fuí porque el jefe venía de muy mal humor."
Thanks. Yes, the first person conjugation of ser was a stupid mistake, and one I seem to make often.
I see you're using venir (to come) for the boss. Did you assume the boss showed up to work in a bad mood, or is it an idiomatic thing that a bad mood comes upon a person?
May I ask why ser/estar was incorrect?
I hope Paco will find interest in the fact that one of your versions uses the preterit and one uses the imperfect.
Quote: WizardI see you're using venir (to come) for the boss. Did you assume the boss showed up to work in a bad mood, or is it an idiomatic thing that a bad mood comes upon a person?
May I ask why ser/estar was incorrect?
You were using "ir" not "estar." For that you'd need to have said "...el jefe estaba de mal humor."
Quote: NareedYou were using "ir" not "estar." For that you'd need to have said "...el jefe estaba de mal humor."
I meant to use ser. The past tense conjugation of ser is the same as ir. I could imagine there might be situations where the speakers intent was not made clear due to this. For example, if I said, "El rey fue feo." How would you know if the king was ugly or went to ugly (let's say there is a village named "feo")?
Quote: WizardI hope Paco will find interest in the fact that one of your versions uses the preterit and one uses the imperfect.
(1) "Me largué porque el jefe vino de muy mal humor"
(2) "Me largué porque el jefe venía de muy mal humor"
Well the two sentences say slightly different things.
The first sentence implies that the boss came into the office in a bad mood, as an isolated event. (possibly a traffic altercation)
The second sentence implies that the boss has been in a bad mood since he came into the office this morning.
In English we tend to use an adverb to convey the distinction.
Quote: WizardMay I ask why ser/estar was incorrect?
"Me fuí porque el jefe venía de muy mal humor."
As Nareed pointed out the past preterite tense of ir and ser is the same words, as well as the "imperfect subjunctive" (the 'fuera' conjugation).
The past versions of "to go" and "to be" are pretty similar in meaning in English as well.
He went to the store.
He was at the store.
Quote: WizardFor example, if I said, "El rey fue feo." How would you know if the king was ugly or went to ugly (let's say there is a village named "feo")?
I would say "el rey era feo," or "el rey estaba feo."
You're right "fue" can be used as well. But it's not too common. In your earlier example, since people go to their offices, the assumption was that the boss went or arrived in a bad mood.
Quote: WizardFor example, if I said, "El rey fue feo." How would you know if the king was ugly or went to ugly (let's say there is a village named "feo")?
Quote: Rocketlanguages
Identical Twins: IR and SER
One of the strangest things to happen to Spanish verbs is to take on the exact same irregular preterite form, and this happens with the very common verbs ir and ser. Who knows why these two verbs evolved over the course of time to have the same preterite past tense form, but they do make life complicated if you’re unfamiliar with them.
Going or Being? The Problem with FUI
Now that you’ve memorized the verb forms for ir and ser, you may be wondering how in the world you will ever know whether a sentence with the word fui means “I went” or “I was.” Quite simply, by context! You’ll have to figure out which verb is meant by the rest of the words in the sentence. It’s not as hard as it sounds. See if you can guess the meaning of the verbs in the examples below:
1. Nosotros fuimos a la piscina la semana pasada.
2. Ayer fue un día muy aburrido.
3. Tú fuiste la persona que me robó.
Answers:
1. We went to the pool last week. ir
2. Yesterday was a very boring day. ser
3. You were the person who robbed me. ser
The sources of the accidents in the conjugation are different Latin verbs:
1) vadere "to advance"
2) ire "to go"
3) fui suppletive perfective of esse "to be". (The preterites of "to be" and "to go" are identical in Spanish and Portuguese.)
The same thing happened in English. The verb "to go" merged with the verb "to wend". The present tense "wend" is now archaic, but the past tense "went" is used as the past tense of "to go".
And, of course, three different verbs merged to form the "to be" conjugation: So now we have: am, are, is, was, were, be, and been as "accidents" of the same verb. The English construction "Have you been to France?" has no simple present form. In addition the archaic forms thou art (second-person singular present indicative), thou beest (second-person singular present indicative), thou wert / wast (second-person singular past indicative), he, she, it beeth (third-person singular present indicative).
Vernacular English preserves some of the older grammar associated with "to be".
Fecha: 21 de Enero, 2012
Palabra: Aguantar
Today's SWD means to tolerate. I usually see it in the context of suffering other people.
A question for the advanced readers is how does aguantar differ from soportar y tolerar, neither of which I seem to see as often.
Ejemplo time.
Uno debe aguantar muchos imbéciles, si la libertad de expresión gratis esta ser preservada. = One must suffer a lot of morons if the freedom of free speech is to be preserved.
I'm sure I blew the ending, but I didn't know how to say "is to be" any better.
Quote: WizardA question for the advanced readers is how does aguantar differ from soportar y tolerar, neither of which I seem to see as often.
Well they are certainly synonymous.
DRAE definition Aguantar: Soportar, tolerar a alguien o algo molesto o desagradable.
But aguantar (related to English word gauntlet) seems to be a much loftier word. One website defines the word as to endure one's fate bravely and with a certain style. The word is possibly of Italian origin.
I get the impression you might tolerate a bad smell, or endur (soportar) an annoying barfly. But to challenge the great battles in life are more appropriately described as throwing down the gauntlet.
Quote: WizardA question for the advanced readers is how does aguantar differ from soportar y tolerar, neither of which I seem to see as often.
As Paco hints, it also means "to endure." Be it morally, emotionally or physically. For example, if you're given a big weight to carry, you may be asked "¿lo vas a aguantar?"
Quote:Uno debe aguantar muchos imbéciles, si la libertad de expresión gratis esta ser preservada. = One must suffer a lot of morons if the freedom of free speech is to be preserved.
Look up "fallas de origen" :) "Freedom of free speech" is a pleonasm. Then you made some mistaked. let's see:
"[..], si la libertad de libre expresión será preservada." And that's plaonasmic (is that a word?) as well. So:
[..] si la libre expresión será preservada."
Quote:I'm sure I blew the ending, but I didn't know how to say "is to be" any better.
See above. But you made a more egregious error by using "gratis" to mean "free." The English "free" translates as two words in Spanish. 1) Gratis, meaning at no charge or no cost, and 2) Libre meaning without coercion or out of one's own will. So you in effect said "if freedom of no charge speech is to be preserved." :)
I wonder if we could make a bilingual comedy routine. I'd give you English sentences to translate, you'd mangle them and the audience would crack up :)
Quote: Nareed
Look up "fallas de origen" :) "Freedom of free speech" is a pleonasm. Then you made some mistaked. let's see:
"[..], si la libertad de libre expresión será preservada." And that's plaonasmic (is that a word?) as well. So:
[..] si la libre expresión será preservada."
I believe pleonastic (noun); pleonastic (adjective); and pleonastically (adverb); are all English words, but not pleonasmic. In any case the word is technical, and seldom used.
I have not seen the verb pair esta ser before, but it seems to be used in some blogs and posts.
The conjugation será is the future tense, which I would translate as "will be". I don't know if the following phrases work any better.
ha de ser == is to be
va a ser == will be
The phrase "fallas de origen" == "failures of origin" seems to be used in television broadcasts. It is customary in English to write sic (abbreviated from sic erat scriptum == "thus was it written" ) to indicate that the text is copied verbatim without any attempt to correct the grammatical errors.
Tu comentarios estaban cargados de sarcasmo.
Quote: WizardWelcome to the SWD Buzz. Stick around a while. Try to speak some Español while you're here.
To abide by my own rules, here is a link to the famous winking Bettie Page (nudity warning).
That Spanish Bettie looks to be in the style of Little Annie Fannie.
I intend to get Roseeta Stone CD's or equivalent on CD's to listen to in car going to yards sales and hopefully a trip to Vegas later this year. I took 1 years of Spanish in High School but don't remember anything actually. Probably because the Xaverian Brothers placed more emphasis on the Latin class. Amo Amas Amat and Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres are burned into my brain. LOL
PS Thanks for the link. I never realized I was an art lover. A real bargain at only $2,000.
I think the photographer is talking to whoever is breaking down the door.
Quote: pacomartinI believe pleonastic (noun); pleonastic (adjective); and pleonastically (adverb); are all English words, but not pleonasmic. In any case the word is technical, and seldom used.
Good. That means I coined a new word :P
Quote:ha de ser == is to be
My bad. Long work days, long electrology sessions that leave me half-dead...
Quote:The phrase "fallas de origen" == "failures of origin" seems to be used in television broadcasts.
It came from there. In many office jobs it means the end result was wrong because the input or source material was wrong.
Quote:Tu comentarios estaban cargados de sarcasmo.
And here I thought I was just kidding!
La reina de las curvas y otras pioneras del erotismo de papel
Maybe Betty will help get people to tune into the SWD thread.
Palabra: mezclar
Today's SWD means to mix.
A question for the advanced readers is whether there is a connection to the liquor Mezcal. Perhaps it was meant to be mixed in with other stuff to make cocktails. Although, on my trips to San Felipe in my younger days we would just drink it straight from the bottle. We didn't even bother with a glass. I never got up the nerve to eat the worm.
Ejemplo time
¿Cuantos dar la moza de cócteles como una propina por una bebida mezclada? = How much should I tip the cocktail waitress for a mixed drink?
p.s. I have another idiom question: Si por mí fuera,.... That best I can do is "If for my outside..."
Quote: Wizardp.s. I have another idiom question: Si por mí fuera,.... That best I can do is "If for my outside..."
If it were up to me.
Quote: NareedIf it were up to me.
Can you expand on that? Where does the fuera come into play?
Quote: WizardA question for the advanced readers is whether there is a connection to the liquor Mezcal.
I don't know, but I very much doubt it. Mezcal is an indigenous liquor, like tequila or pulque, and its name is likely derived from some pre-hispanic term.
Quote:Perhaps it was meant to be mixed in with other stuff to make cocktails. Although, on my trips to San Felipe in my younger days we would just drink it straight from the bottle. We didn't even bother with a glass. I never got up the nerve to eat the worm.
I can't help you there. I've never had mezcal (or pulque, either; I have tried tequila).
Quote:¿Cuantos dar la moza de cócteles como una propina por una bebida mezclada? = How much should I tip the cocktail waitress for a mixed drink?
We should seriously explore the possibility of a bilingual comedy routine :)
Literal retranslation: "How manys to give the cocktail girl as a tip for a mixed drink?"
Ok. What you probably didn't know is that in regualr Spanish there is no specific term used for "cocktail waitress." You just say "mesera." "Moza" is a rather archaic term and it means "girl." The male form, "mozo" means what you'd expect, but it also applies, sometimes, to male waiters and janitors.
Anyway: ¿Cuanto le debo dar de propina a la mesera por una bebida mezclada?"
I don't get the mixed drink. Do you tip more for a mixed drink than, say, a shot of whiskey?
Quote:p.s. I have another idiom question: Si por mí fuera,.... That best I can do is "If for my outside..."
"if it were up to me," or "if it depended on me," or "if I had any say in the matter."
As to your latter question (no need to inflate post counts on this thread, yes?), you're using a conditional (si=if) and some tense of the verb "estar." Granted I missed such use recently, but not this time. So "if it were up to me," is a good, literal translation.The other options are not literal, btu they mean the same thing.
Quote: WizardCan you expand on that? Where does the fuera come into play?
afuera == outside
fuera == imperfect subjunctive of verb "ser" (either first or third person)
If you look at a standard conjugation of "to be" in English, you tend to think of present and past (see table). But there is also the subjunctive mood in phrases such as "If I were you". The verb tense is not past tense, but rather a "speculative" statement. In English we use the past tense of the verb, but in Spanish (and all other Romance languages) they have special sets of endings.
In this particular case the verb differs from the adjective for "outside" by the single letter "a".
| Infinitive: | be | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Participle: | being | ||
| Past participle: | been | ||
| Person,Number | Present | Past | |
| 1st,singular | I | am | was |
| 2nd,singular | you | are | were |
| 3rd,singular | he/she/it | is | was |
| 1st,plural | we | are | were |
| 2nd,plural | you | are | were |
| 3rd,plural | they | are | were |
Quote: WizardA question for the advanced readers is whether there is a connection to the liquor Mezcal. Perhaps it was meant to be mixed in with other stuff to make cocktails. Although, on my trips to San Felipe in my younger days we would just drink it straight from the bottle. We didn't even bother with a glass. I never got up the nerve to eat the worm.
They are "false friends". One word is from Latin, the other is from the Aztec language.
mezclar=from Vulgar Latin: misculare
mezcal=from Aztec (Nahuatl): metl (“maguey (agave)”) + ixcalli (“stew”).
I think they can both be spelled with an 's' instead of a 'z'
Mezcal and pulque are made from the same plant as tequila (agave), but by entirely different processes. The leaving the worm in the bottom of Mezcal was first done in the 1930's as a marketing strategy. They are so pickled that they are virtually tasteless. The phrase is "con gusano". Some people believe it gives a better taste. Tequila is never made "con gusano", only Mezcal. Pulque is a poor man's drink, cheap and powerful and with a wicked hangover.
It is a dead giveaway that you are ignorant of Mexican liquors if you talk about tequila with a worm.
Abiding by your request not to have photos of alternative food:
Mesclar is a cognate with Mestizo, the typical Latin American name for the mix of European and Indigenous peoples. Mexico has by far the largest percentage of Mestizo population, with over 2 out of 3 people being Mestizo.
