Learning Spanish language

Thread: Learning Spanish language

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  1. fduran said:

    Default I need a translation.

    What does 'aqui si vamos hacer sexo hoy en la noche' mean?
     
  2. dmoney101 said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by fduran View Post
    What does 'aqui si vamos hacer sexo hoy en la noche' mean?
    Here if/yes we're going to have sex today at night. is there an accent over the i in si?
     
  3. Zahra2008's Avatar

    Zahra2008 said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by jandros View Post
    Música101, Xiurell? Zahra

    Lessons have been FANTASTIC! But it's been a few days. Will there be more?

    Do I sound impatient? Lo siento ...
    ohh my gosh... Jandros, dear... music in spanish... im sorry.. i dont have any particular choice.. honestly... mmm but maybe:

    Juanes (from colombia)
    Mana (from mexico)
    Sin Bandera
    Enanitos Verdes
    Julieta Venegas
    Enrique Iglesias (from spain)
    Luis Miguel
    Shakira (from colombia)
    Alex Sintek
    Armando Manzanero (romantics)
    Vicente & Alejandro Fernandez (traditional mexican music with mariachi)

    the first love is gone ... am waiting for the last one!!
     
  4. jandros's Avatar

    jandros said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zahra2008 View Post
    ohh my gosh... Jandros, dear... music in spanish... im sorry.. i dont have any particular choice.. honestly... mmm but maybe:

    Juanes (from colombia)
    Mana (from mexico)
    Sin Bandera
    Enanitos Verdes
    Julieta Venegas
    Enrique Iglesias (from spain)
    Luis Miguel
    Shakira (from colombia)
    Alex Sintek
    Armando Manzanero (romantics)
    Vicente & Alejandro Fernandez (traditional mexican music with mariachi)...
    Thank you dear Zahra, I'll just check 'em all out and see how it goes ... mmm ... Santana, Oye como va ... Listen how it goes? Is that a reasonable translation?
     
  5. dmoney101 said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by jandros View Post
    Thank you dear Zahra, I'll just check 'em all out and see how it goes ... mmm ... Santana, Oye como va ... Listen how it goes? Is that a reasonable translation?
    it would better be translated as "hey, how's it going" since that sounds more coherent/fluent, but yea, that's the direct translation
     
  6. jandros's Avatar

    jandros said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by dmoney101 View Post
    ..."hey, how's it going"...
    Gracias. Actually it was sort of a cheap play on words, so to speak. But thanks for clarifying

    Hmmm ... how about another Santana title ...

    Agua que va caer: Water that's gonna fall?

    Or is that too literal again? Seriously, serious question.
     
  7. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by jandros View Post
    Gracias. Actually it was sort of a cheap play on words, so to speak. But thanks for clarifying

    Hmmm ... how about another Santana title ...

    Agua que va caer: Water that's gonna fall?

    Or is that too literal again? Seriously, serious question.
    Yes, that's right--- water that's gonna fall ¡Bien hecho!

    In my opinion, what "oye como va" concerns I'd prefer "listen how it goes" coz the next line is "mi ritmo, bueno pa' gozar, mulata"... so: "Listen how my rhythm goes, good to enjoy (enjoyable may be better tr.), mulata"
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  8. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    @dmoney: going back to the "echate" issue: there's no way it could be from "hacer", since the imperative of "hacer" is "haz"; moreover, when considering the context it wouldn't make sense any way...
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  9. dmoney101 said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by citlalli View Post
    Yes, that's right--- water that's gonna fall ¡Bien hecho!

    In my opinion, what "oye como va" concerns I'd prefer "listen how it goes" coz the next line is "mi ritmo, bueno pa' gozar, mulata"... so: "Listen how my rhythm goes, good to enjoy (enjoyable may be better tr.), mulata"
    that would be right if it was in a song. i thought he meant as a greeting.
     
  10. jandros's Avatar

    jandros said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by citlalli View Post
    @dmoney...imperative of "hacer" is "haz"...
    ...don't mean to interrupt ...

    hacer=to make, but "hazlo" can also mean "Do it"? Imperative, like Just do it? I think I saw it on a sign or something, and the context suggested this ...
     
  11. jandros's Avatar

    jandros said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by citlalli View Post
    ... next line is "mi ritmo, bueno pa' gozar, mulata"... so: "Listen how my rhythm goes, good to enjoy (enjoyable may be better tr.), mulata"
    Yes! 'Listen ... good to enjoy', that was exactly my understanding.
     
  12. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by dmoney101 View Post
    that would be right if it was in a song. i thought he meant as a greeting.
    Hehe... no, Jandros meant in the song by Carlos Santana... you know it? I'm sure you do
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  13. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by jandros View Post
    ...don't mean to interrupt ...

    hacer=to make, but "hazlo" can also mean "Do it"? Imperative, like Just do it? I think I saw it on a sign or something, and the context suggested this ...
    Yes, you're right "hacer" is both in english "make" and "do". Maybe you saw it in the Nike's slogan "just do it" ?
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  14. damarys's Avatar

    damarys said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by xiurell View Post
    "Ya es tarde pero para adelante, uno sufre un día pero el otro llora pero mientras pasan los días, uno se resigna poco a poco"

    Now is late but go on, one day you can suffer and on the other day, cry but as the days go by, you rising yourself little by little (gradually)

    la tarde = the afternoon
    tarde (adv.)= late
    The word "resigna" above in that phrase means "resigns".... which means to "give up" or "abandon".

    So the phrase literally means: "Now it's late but let's go on, one suffers one day, but the next day you cry, but as the days go by, you resign, or give in, little by little."

    How's that?
    Last edited by damarys; 07-19-2008 at 11:31 AM. Reason: writing in my sleep!
     
  15. jandros's Avatar

    jandros said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by citlalli View Post
    ..."hacer" is both in english "make" and "do"...Maybe you saw it in the Nike's slogan "just do it" ?
    Well ... actually, about 15 years ago I worked in a place where 1/3 of 1800 people were Hispanic, and so naturally all of the signs were bilingual. And I always tried to read the Spanish. One sign said "Hazlo!" ... it was about safety rules. I assumed it was like "just do it". So there you go
     
  16. xiurell's Avatar

    xiurell said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by jandros View Post
    También:

    Is there an "easy" lesson for the proper use of -se? I don't even remember what I need to ask ... passive/active, transitive/intransitive, like that?

    Also objective and other non-subject pronouns?

    Xiurell or Zahra? Zahra, you're from Mexico, and I've learned most of my Spanish from Mexican friends, but also a little Puerto Rican, with rare and tiny doses of Colombian and Venezuelan ... a little confusion

    But anyway, I've gotten some great refresher classes from this sticky already, and I appreciate all of it, and thanks for any additional help!
    Uses of the Spanish pronoun 'se’


    1.As a reflexive pronoun

    This is its most common use. Se is used as the reflexive pronoun for third-person uses
    e.g. Pedro se peina. (Pedro comb his hair)
    e.g. Miguel se levanta temprano (Miguel get up early)

    2.As the equivalent of the English passive óbice

    as a way of indicating that some sort of action is done without indicating who or what performed the action.
    e.g. Se vende (to be sold)
    e.g Se alquila (to be rented)
    e.g. El coche se vendió (the car was sold)

    Spanish does have a true passive voice corresponding to the English one: El coche fue vendido ("The car was sold")

    3.As a substitute for le or les

    When the indirect-object pronoun le or les is immediately followed by another pronoun that begins with an l, the le or les is changed to se, apparently as a way to avoid having two pronouns in a row beginning with the l sound.

    e.g. Juan escribe una carta a María
    e.g. Juan la escribe a María
    e.g. Juan le escribe una carta
    but Juan se la escribe (this wouldn’t be correct Juan le la escribe)
    others exemples

    Se lo dijo a él (He told it to him)
    No se lo voy a dar a ellos. (I'm not going to give it to them.)

    4.The impersonal se

    In some sentences, se is used in an impersonal sense with singular verbs to indicate that people in general, or no person in particular, performs the action

    Muchas veces se tiene que estudiar para aprende (Often you have to study to learn.)
    Se puede encontrar plátanos en el mercado. (You can find bananas in the market.)

    5.To intensify the verb

    Magdalena comío tres helados ( Magadalena se comió tres helados) to make to emphasize, or to stress



    A final note:
    Se shouldn't be confused with sé (note the accent mark), which is usually the singular first-person present indicative form of saber ("to know"). Thus sé usually means "I know." Sé can also be the singular familiar imperative form of ser; in that case it means "you be."

    Saludos
     
  17. xiurell's Avatar

    xiurell said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by damarys View Post
    The word "resigna" above in that phrase means "resigns".... which means to "give up" or "abandon".

    So the phrase literally means: "Now it's late but let's go on, one suffers one day, but the next day you cry, but as the days go by, you resign, or give in, little by little."

    How's that?
    Yes, you're right resignarse means 'to resign oneself'; it was a mistake
     
  18. jandros's Avatar

    jandros said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by xiurell View Post
    Uses of the Spanish pronoun 'se’...
    Xiurell, you're a genius. That's all I can say! Sólo: ¡Muchas gracias, muchísimo!

    I also didn't realize before that the accent is soooooo important. I am largely self-taught (other than by a few old friends) because whenever I've tried to take a class, something always got in the way. So I've missed a lot of details. But that's why I've been watching this topic so closley. It's rich!!! It should be wrapped and adorned in gold.

    Saludos
     
  19. damarys's Avatar

    damarys said:

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    I really want to improve my use of accents. I usually just leave them out... not good.
    On my regular PC, I'm able to use Alt plus the numbers key board to get the accents, upside down question marks and exclamation points, etc. However, I don't know how to do it on my laptop.
    I know this is probably a dumb question, but do you all just use a Spanish font or are there some shortcuts for those of use who use North American laptops and programs?
    Apreciaria ayuda con esto. Muchisimas gracias!
     
  20. jandros's Avatar

    jandros said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by damarys View Post
    ...accents.... I don't know how to do it on my laptop.
    I know this is probably a dumb question, but do you all just use a Spanish font or are there some shortcuts for those of use who use North American laptops and programs?...
    Laptop: Have you tried 'NumLock' and also the blue 'func' (function) key? I don't have a laptop in front of me, don't remember the key name exactly. But it's usually near the lower left, left of the space bar. It allows use of any key or function that's blue on the kbd ..... But that can be really inconvenient, very clumsy to use.

    Sometimes I use 'Alt' keys, sometimes I use (copy) 'symbol' inserts from MS Word, sometimes I use a Spanish translation site, if I'm in a hurry. And .....

    Do you know about Windows 'languages' and 'keyboards'? If you use Windows .....or for anyone else who might need it:

    Start > Control Panel > Regional and Languages
    the 'start' path may differ by Windows version or settings, I use 'Classic')

    Languages tab > Details button

    'Install services' ... click the 'Add' button on right

    Select 1 of 20(!) versions of Spanish

    'Keyboard' selection will default to 'Latin American'? It might be gray-out, not available for change.

    ....again, those procedures may vary....

    Now: maybe you'll see the 'Language' toolbar on the bottom taskbar. If not, right-click on the taskbar ... you should find it.

    Anyone: If I confused or omitted anything, please correct it