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36
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7 answers
Why is "De nada" used as a response to "Gracias"?
De means "of", and nada means "nothing", so why, when put together, are they used in response to Gracias?
Malfist
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7 answers
Is there a Spanish equivalent to "-ish"?
In English, we often add "-ish" to the end of a word to make it less exact.
Here are some examples:
I'll be there at 5:00ish.
The shirt was a reddish color.
The woman appeared to be 50ish.
See WikiDefinition for -ish for more…
Rachel
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4 answers
Are there other words in Spanish that can't be written? (like sal-le)
Recently, I learned that there is at least one Spanish word that can be pronounced but not written.
It is the imperative form of 'salirle'. It is pronounced as 'sal-le' and the written form should be 'salle'. But according to pronunciation rules,…
Sergio Cinos
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34
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Why is 'estar muerto' used instead of 'ser muerto'?
I know it is rather rude to think of it this way and I don't want to offend anyone religiously, but being dead is usually thought of as a very permanent condition in the United States.
So why does Spanish use the word 'estar' instead of 'ser' to…
Gordon Gustafson
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34
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11 answers
Can I learn to roll my R's?
Whenever I try to say words like perro or arroyo, I sound like I'm telling a pirate joke. I can identify the sound I'm supposed to make and I've been told how my tongue is supposed to move, but I can't seem to reproduce the sound at all. It's just…
Jon Ericson
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33
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2 answers
¿Por qué es la palabra «mano» femenina?
En español, tenemos una regla en la cual, generalmente, se puede tener fe: Si una palabra termina con -o, es masculina. Sin embargo, palabras que terminan en -e o -a también pueden ser palabras masculinas, pero una que termina con -o es masculina…
Aarthi
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11 answers
Translation Golf XLVIII — We're sorry to see you go
Game over, amigos!
OK, this edition has been kind of an emotional roller-coaster for many of us (to put it really lightly) and the source of many a headache for mods, CMs and veteran users alike... but in the end I think we got some nicely golfed…
user13628
33
votes
4 answers
'Ser' and 'estar' for location
'Ser' and 'estar' for location
The edge-cases of ser and estar still seem to get me. My understanding is that when speaking of a location, I should use estar.
La biblioteca está aquí.
However, a student I am tutoring had a question marked as…
snumpy
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What's the difference between "dentro" and "adentro"?
English:
How can I tell whether I should be using Dentro vs. Adentro? I've read that they both mean 'inside' and looked at some examples, but I still can't always figure out which one to use. Are there any good rules to learn the difference, or…
Gordon Gustafson
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32
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14 answers
'Vos' vs 'tú' usage by country
I lived for a while in Bolivia, and I noticed some people used "vos" instead of "tú" as the second person familiar singular pronoun. Which countries use "vos" instead of "tú", and are there any that use it nearly exclusively?
Eric Di Bari
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32
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9 answers
How do I ask someone not to call me "usted"?
Suppose you're in a situation where you have a formal/business relationship with someone, but the relationship has become more familiar over time. The other person continues to call you usted. How can you politely ask them to begin referring to…
Flimzy
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31
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2 answers
Significance of adjective placement
In Spanish, adjectives typically come after the noun they modify. However, there are some cases where the adjective comes before the noun, and usually (always?) with a change in meaning. Example:
El hombre grande -> The big man
El gran hombre ->…
Flimzy
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31
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5 answers
How did "asistir" and "atender" become opposite of their cognates in English?
"Atender" is translated as to assist in Spanish, while "asistir" is translated as "to attend". These words seem to be cognates of each other, but have opposite meanings when translated. How did this occur? Are there any research articles/ journal…
Paul
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31
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All about datives, or: What's that funny "le" or "me" doing in there?
This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica
This is a canonical question and answer about dative uses of le, les, me, nos, se, te and os that often confuse and confound the Spanish learner.
Dar (to give) is a common example of a…
pablodf76
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31
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12 answers
Are there native-born Spanish speakers that can't trill their R's?
ENGLISH
It seems that one of the greatest difficulties some native-English speakers have is learning to trill their R's. Some, it seems, are completely incapable of performing this task.
Is this ever a problem for native-born Spanish speakers? If…
Richard
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