There are some Spanish expressions that come from “who knows where” and follow no syntax rule, but they appear often. Here are the most popular ones: ‘a fuerza’, ‘por poco’,'en serio’,'de golpe’, ‘de veras’,'de milagro’,'poco a poco’, ‘de memoria’ and ´tarde o temprano’
They mean “forcefully, almost, seriously, suddenly, really, miraculously, little by little, by heart, sooner or later”. They all add-up “flavor” to the language and there is no other choice but to memorize and try to use them often.
Example:
When asking a question, starting the sentence with ‘me’ helps you keeping it simple, as in ‘¿Me puede decir… ?’ [can you tell me... ?] as opposed to ‘¿Puede decirme… ?, where the ‘me’ is joined with the verb, forming a complex word form called an “enclítical”
It clearly is simpler, to start with the pronoun ‘me’ (or plural form ‘nos’) and continue with a verb in infinitive, instead of the alternative: an enclitical.
What’s a foreigner to do when the Spanish name of something is unknown but -nevertheless- it is part of the conversation? Well, just say “esa cosa”, as locals do when they are talking so fast they don´t want to slow down and remember the exact name of “that thing”
This phrase is used more frequently in Spanish than in English, so you won’t be taken for someone lazy if you use it, just don’t forget to point it out if you can see “that stuff”.
Example:
¿Cuánto vale eso?… esa cosa que cuelga del techo.
Translation:
How much is that?….that thing hanging from the ceiling.
The rule of thumb calls for putting the words right to left when it comes to a string of adjectives, like in ‘el coche nuevo azul marino’ [the ocean blue new car]. But that’s not the case always, as in the example below.
It is because “freshly” clearly refers to “ground” first than to the noun “pepper”, that the order is not quite from right to left, as it would have been the case if “freshly” had been “fresh” as in: “ground black fresh pepper”
“Keep the pronouns at a minimum” is a golden rule for foreigners talking or writing in Spanish. Remember that most of the time the verb is enough to tell male from female and plural from singular.
If the subject has been mentioned keep all pronouns and references to it out, until another subject comes around. You just don’t need it and keeps the phrasing from being unnecessarily repetitive.
Example:Gaia, la pequeña niñera, entró en el cuarto con paso ágil, haciendo sonar sus sandalias. Era casi una niña, como atestiguaba su pelo castaño claro y su alegre carita. Translation:Gaia, the little nursemaid, came briskly into the nursery, her sandals clattering on the floor. She was hardly more than a child, with her light brown hair and merry face.
Artículo’ has more meanings in Spanish than in English, as in ‘Los artículos del diario’ [The newspaper articles], meaning a literary composition; ‘El artículo 3° de la constitución’ [Article 3rd of the constitution] meaning parts of a law.
It can also be used when referring to commercial objects, as in: ‘Artículos perecederos’ [perishable goods]
Most nouns ending in ‘o’ are masculine and those ending in ‘a’ are feminine, but sometimes you have to know origins, as not all nouns are created equal…
There are exceptions, as in: ‘Foto’, ‘polio’ and ‘radio’ [Photo, polio, radio and motorcycle]. This is because they all originate in longer feminine words: ‘Fotografía’, ‘poliomielitis’ and ‘radiodifusión’.
Most nouns ending in ‘o’ are masculine and those ending in ‘a’ are feminine, but sometimes you have to know origins, as not all nouns are created equal…
There are exceptions, as in: ‘Foto’, ‘polio’ and ‘radio’ [Photo, polio, radio and motorcycle]. This is because they all originate in longer feminine words: ‘Fotografía’, ‘poliomielitis’ and ‘radiodifusión’.
You’ll find nowadays new shortened names in use. Don’t take these funny, but classic ones as ‘Beto’ [short for Roberto] or ‘Lupe’ [short for Guadalupe] are being used less, and ‘Robe’ or ‘Guada’ are in fashion instead.
Practically anything goes, and the rule is easy: just chop the final one or two syllables.
Example:Diles Vero y Fede, no Verónica y Federico
Translation:Tell them Vero and Fede, not Veronica and Federico
Saying ‘bajar abajo’ [go down down] or ‘subir arriba’ [go up up] is a frequent mistake done by foreigners, because they are thinking in English.
Just because the preposition is used in English, it doesn´t have to be used in Spanish too. The definition of the Spanish verbs ‘subir and ‘bajar’ imply the direction already.
Don’t forget to shorten these adjectives!, when saying them first. Many adjectives, such as the very popular ‘bueno’ [good] y ‘grande’ [big] are often used before the noun.
In this cases they are to be shortened by taking the last vowel off, as in ‘buen’ and ‘gran’. «If you forget, you’ll regret» because saying or writing ‘un bueno’ or ‘un grande’ sure will sound awful to locals.
While trying to get an attendant´s attention, using his or her job’s name could be considered impolite. Usage in most of Spain and Latin America calls for a general name to be used instead, such as ‘señor’ or ‘señora’, instead of ‘mesero’ or ‘mesera’ [waiter] or any other attendant job name.
If the attendant is a young man or woman, then you can also use ‘joven’ [young man] for a male, or ‘señorita’ [miss], for a female (just remember never to call a male attendant with archaic ‘señorito’, as it is only used these days in a pejorative sense)
How to address a representative of the authority? ‘Oficial’ [officer] is a sure bet whether he or she is ranked or not. They’ll gladly accept it nevertheless.
You can use this word for all kinds in Latin America and any representative with uniform in Spain. ‘Oficial’ is also the translation for ‘Official’, so don’t get confused if you hear it in another context.
Sometimes it is very important to get across your feelings, especially when you have to do it in a foreign language and it is about some pain you are feeling. It is a good thing to know if you need to tell a foreign doctor. You should know how to convey at least three different intensities, as in ‘dolor’ [pain], ‘molestia’ [bothersome,] and ‘sensación’ [feel], all three going from a high to a low discomfort. They all accept to be qualified with ‘intenso’ [intense] or ‘leve’ [mild], in case you want to emphasize.
Rubio’ [blond] is used referring to people’s light hair color, skin color or both. If hair color is very light, then ‘platino’ [platinum] is used more often.
Instead, ‘güero’ is much more used in Mexico and Venezuela. In formal writing or talking, ‘rubio’ is the right word. ‘Güero’ might be used when referring to whitish objects color too.
If you can´t remember the right time of day to use ‘buenos días’, ‘buenas tardes’ or ‘buenas noches’ you can always use the orthographically correct ‘Buen día’ at any time of the day (it can be used on writing too, as an introduction for all kinds of e-mail, formal or not)
If you don´t want to sound that formal, you can say the colloquial that locals use: ‘buenas’. They say it at any time of day, but mostly to their acquaintances
Interjections in Spanish, as in English, are used to show surprise, disagreement, even pain. In general, you can use ‘Ojalá’ and all the vowels: ah, eh, i, oh, uh (although ‘i’ is not an official one, but is used to show disbelief, just the same as English ‘So?’)
Ojalá’ is pretty much used as ‘god willing’ is used in English, but it lacks the religious feeling of its English counterpart. The vowels are followed by an ‘h’ when written: ‘ah’, ‘eh’, ‘oh’ y ‘uh’; they show surprise, estrangement, shock and disbelief, respectively (if you want to sound Caribbean and show an interested surprise, say the one Bart Simpson uses: ¡Caramba!)
What’s a foreigner to do when the Spanish name of something is unknown but -nevertheless- it is part of the conversation? Well, just say “esa cosa”, as locals do when they are talking so fast they don´t want to slow down and remember the exact name of “that thing”
This phrase is used more frequently in Spanish than in English, so you won’t be taken for someone lazy if you use it, just don’t forget to point it out if you can see “that stuff”.
Example: ¿Cuánto vale eso?… esa cosa que cuelga del techo.
Translation: How much is that?… that thing hanging from the ceiling.
Spanish Phrase: Me gusta.
Pronunciation:meh’ goos-tah’
Translation: I like it.
This Spanish phrase is useful for those who are going on a shopping spree. Aside from your bargaining skills, you can also express how you feel about a particular purchase that you are trying to make. If you like a particular item, you say “Me gusta.”
For “I like this bag”, the Spanish equivalent is “Me gusta este bolso.”
Pronunciation: no foon-thyona
Translation: Does not work/ Is not working.
If you’re booked at a local hotel, there would be instances when you do not know exactly why something is not working. It could be the air conditioning, the lights or the heating. So how would you say to a staff or the manager that something is not working?Here goes.
If you want to say that the light doesn’t work, you say “La luz no funciona.” If there’s a problem with the air conditioning, you say “El aire acoondicionado no funciona.”
Spanish Phrase: La cuentaPronunciation: lah’ koo-wen-tah’
Translation: The bill
If you’re eating out in a local restaurant in a Spanish speaking country and you would like to get the bill, you need to say “La cuenta, por favor.” That literally means, “The bill, please.”
As you may already know, the Spanish phrase por favor translates to please in English – and if you’re asking anybody a favor, it does pay to always add that at the end of your sentence.
Even if you’ve already studied the basics of the Spanish language, there are nuances to it that you may not necessarily understand when speaking with a native.As such, it pays to know exactly what you need to say if you can’t hold your own in a conversation anymore.
To express that you don’t understand, you simply say “No intiendo.”
Function: verb
Let’s say that you are out traveling in Spain or in any Spanish-speaking country and you want to ask directions to the restaurant. How will you communicate what you want to ask? Uttering the word quiero – which directly translates to “I want”, is a good place to start as any.
Example: Quiero ir a un restaurante. Translation: I want to go to the restaurant.
Translation: You are welcome.
If someone says “Gracias” or thank you to you, the appropriate response would be to say “You are welcome.” In Spanish, this translates to “De nada.”
Familiarizing yourself with courtesy phrases and proper words like Gracias (Thank you), De nada (You’re welcome), ¡Hola! (Hello), ¡Adios! (Goodbye) and other similar phrases is the best way to soak in the culture of Spanish people – so practice speaking in what is soon-to-be-your-native-tongue now!
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