Writing sentences in Spanish

neonman

Hi all,

I'm currently teaching myself spanish and everything is going well so far I have a good basic level now. (I think)

However when thinking up sentences to use in Spanish what I think is correct is either totally wrong or a bit wide of the mark.

An example

Sending an email to the other half I am trying to write in Spanish and English to practice my Spanish. Note the other half isn't a Spanish speaker so its purely for my own benefit.

I wanted to say 'Here you go...'

I thought it would be: Aqui usted ir as each word on its own mean here, you (formal) and go. But when I looked it up to see if i was correct via google translate it had it as Aqui tienes - but my understanding of tienes is 'you have'

So I'm a bit confused and wondering if any of you can comment on it? Is what I wrote totally incorrect?

Thanks
Neon

Magico Gonzalez

Lots to work on here.

First of all, don't try to translate colloquial or informal expressions from one language to another as it doesn't work. For lots of different reasons. You need to learn the informal and informal expressions for each situation and definitely not rely on google translate, again, for a lot of different reasons!

Ignoring that there are still a few things wrong with your translation.

You said:

"Aqui usted ir"

Problems with this.

1. Does "Here you go" sound like a formal expression where you might use Usted? Not to me.

2. Most importantly you are not conjugating the verb to go. You (formal) go would be usted va.

3. In Spanish you cannot use to go or to be (here you are, here you go etc) as in English. The spanish equivalent uses to have, tener..i.e. Here you have it.

4. I suppose it depends on the context, but you could say "aqui lo tiene" (here you have it) but "aqui tiene" or indeed "aqui esta" ( both translate as "here it is") is ok. I would prefer including the object because these expressions are more vague without it.

Make sure you conjugate your verbs, do not try and translate colloquial expressions (if you think about "here you go" it actually would make more sense to a spanish speaker reading english as "you go here". Have a look at your pronouns, at least direct objects and then later indirect objects.

Suerte!

neonman

Thank you so much.

Makes a lot of sense. The context of the email was a request for some attachments so I just said here you go....as you rightly point out it is more informal anyway as it is to my wife and also for a better word 'english slang' doesn't translate well over to spanish.

I know I can't master a new language over night but it can get frustrating at times.

I do like the language a lot.

Magico Gonzalez wrote: »

Lots to work on here.

First of all, don't try to translate colloquial or informal expressions from one language to another as it doesn't work. For lots of different reasons. You need to learn the informal and informal expressions for each situation and definitely not rely on google translate, again, for a lot of different reasons!

Ignoring that there are still a few things wrong with your translation.

You said:

"Aqui usted ir"

Problems with this.

1. Does "Here you go" sound like a formal expression where you might use Usted? Not to me.

2. Most importantly you are not conjugating the verb to go. You (formal) go would be usted va.

3. In Spanish you cannot use to go or to be (here you are, here you go etc) as in English. The spanish equivalent uses to have, tener..i.e. Here you have it.

4. I suppose it depends on the context, but you could say "aqui lo tiene" (here you have it) but "aqui tiene" or indeed "aqui esta" ( both translate as "here it is") is ok. I would prefer including the object because these expressions are more vague without it.

Make sure you conjugate your verbs, do not try and translate colloquial expressions (if you think about "here you go" it actually would make more sense to a spanish speaker reading english as "you go here". Have a look at your pronouns, at least direct objects and then later indirect objects.

Suerte!

Magico Gonzalez

neonman wrote: »

Thank you so much.

Makes a lot of sense. The context of the email was a request for some attachments so I just said here you go....as you rightly point out it is more informal anyway as it is to my wife and also for a better word 'english slang' doesn't translate well over to spanish.

I know I can't master a new language over night but it can get frustrating at times.

I do like the language a lot.

You'll get there man, especially if you're learning with your wife. I learnt over here in Argentina, again with my wife for the most part with classes and tv etc. Don't be shy, keep using the language and keep learning. I would recommend taking a few classic to do battle with the grammar, a solid foundation really stands to you.

In that situation, aqui tienes would be perfect. Try to forget the exact English you want to use and try and absorb the spanish versions. I still run into plenty of trouble trying to translate directly.

Ps..in a formal setting I would say "adjunto los archivos" , I attach the files.

Suerte muchacho!

woodstock1708

Buenos días,

Te recomiendo los foros de wordreference.com.

Allí puedes encontrar muchas frases coloquiales y sus equivalentes en castellano.

No te caigas en la trampa de pasar mucho tiempo estudiando la gramática, ni de intentar traducir palabra por palabra. El vocabulario es mucho más importante que la gramática, en cualquier idioma. Mantén un cuaderno de vocabulario, no con palabras sueltas sino con palabras en contexto e incluyendo frases completas como "adjunto los archivos" o "adjunto te envío los documentos".

Algo que hago yo con frecuencia si no estoy cien por cien segura de una frase que he escrito en español es meter la frase en Google (entre comillas) para ver cuantos resultados hay. Si hay páginas en español con mi frase, se que he acertado.

Si buscas un bueno libro de auto-aprendizaje, te recomiendo la serie USO de Francisca Castro. Fue mi profesora en la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas en Madrid y aunque sea un libro de gramática, tiene mucho contexto también.

Sí tienes un iPhone, descarga Smigin. Te ayuda a construir frases básicas y esta bastante bien.

No dudes en enviarme un mensaje privado si quieres comprobar algo. Soy profesora de inglés para extranjeros aquí en Dublín pero viví en Madrid durante muchos años y también he sido profesora de español en un instituto y en una universidad estadounidense.

Mi español escrito no es perfecto pero aún así, me encantaría ayudarte.

Un saludo

neonman

I'm actually surprised how much I could read and understand from your post in Spanish. I used Paul Nobles Audio course and now I've started using Michel Thomas one, I mainly learn when driving to and from work and if I have sometime during the day I used the app Duolingo on my phone. What I really like about the audio courses above is the fact that you are speaking Spanish straight away and building up longer and longer sentences in Spanish.

I'm going to Spain for a weeks holidays this year and looking forward testing out my Spanish even if its only to order food, ask for directions and the likes.

woodstock1708 wrote: »

Buenos días,

Te recomiendo los foros de wordreference.com.

Allí puedes encontrar muchas frases coloquiales y sus equivalentes en castellano.

No te caigas en la trampa de pasar mucho tiempo estudiando la gramática, ni de intentar traducir palabra por palabra. El vocabulario es mucho más importante que la gramática, en cualquier idioma. Mantén un cuaderno de vocabulario, no con palabras sueltas sino con palabras en contexto e incluyendo frases completas como "adjunto los archivos" o "adjunto te envío los documentos".

Algo que hago yo con frecuencia si no estoy cien por cien segura de una frase que he escrito en español es meter la frase en Google (entre comillas) para ver cuantos resultados hay. Si hay páginas en español con mi frase, se que he acertado.

Si buscas un bueno libro de auto-aprendizaje, te recomiendo la serie USO de Francisca Castro. Fue mi profesora en la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas en Madrid y aunque sea un libro de gramática, tiene mucho contexto también.

Sí tienes un iPhone, descarga Smigin. Te ayuda a construir frases básicas y esta bastante bien.

No dudes en enviarme un mensaje privado si quieres comprobar algo. Soy profesora de inglés para extranjeros aquí en Dublín pero viví en Madrid durante muchos años y también he sido profesora de español en un instituto y en una universidad estadounidense.

Mi español escrito no es perfecto pero aún así, me encantaría ayudarte.

Un saludo

iusedtoknow

neonman wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm currently teaching myself spanish and everything is going well so far I have a good basic level now. (I think)

However when thinking up sentences to use in Spanish what I think is correct is either totally wrong or a bit wide of the mark.

An example

Sending an email to the other half I am trying to write in Spanish and English to practice my Spanish. Note the other half isn't a Spanish speaker so its purely for my own benefit.

I wanted to say 'Here you go...'

I thought it would be: Aqui usted ir as each word on its own mean here, you (formal) and go. But when I looked it up to see if i was correct via google translate it had it as Aqui tienes - but my understanding of tienes is 'you have'

So I'm a bit confused and wondering if any of you can comment on it? Is what I wrote totally incorrect?

Thanks
Neon

I think in the context you mean, the closest would be "Aqui lo tienes". My spanish wife will say this when she is handing something to someone or responding to an email with an address or something.

Are you learning castillian spanish (spain spanish ) or Latino Spanish? There
are some differences that you will come across that will make learning confusing sometimes

For one thing, spain spanish is a lot less formal and make less usage of usted/vosotros and more use of tu (except if talking to elderly people, but they will insist on using tu)

There are some vocab differences as well, but they will be (for the most part) mutually understandable. The closest I could think would be someone from outback australia coming to the aran islands (or vice versa) in some cases

You seem to be doing great so far. Enjoy Spain ( i lived there for 8 years). One tip i'll give you, insist on speaking spanish. In a lot of places, the waiting staff have some english and like to try use it themselves, just answer in spanish and they'll pick up that you want to continue that way.

Suerte!

neonman

Thanks iusedtoknow,

I am learning both, the differences are pointed out during the lessons. The likes of the 'th' sound given in Barcelona and also when words have z on them. Also when asking for a ticket in Latin America vs Castillian Spanish they are different but if I was to get them the wrong way around most likely the person will know what I am trying to say and hopefully correct me.

I am going to try and use it as much as possible when checking into the hotel I will try use Spanish :-)

something like:

Hola
Soy Keith, He reservado una habitación para cuatro personas, para 6 noches. Quickly followed by Donde esta el bar! ;-) and when I get there un botella de vino tinto (just on word for red i would have said rojo until i heard it as tinto..what is the difference between the two words for red?

I am comfortable asking to book a table for dinner for say 7 o'clock etc. Desearía reservado una mesa para la cena para las siete.

Some of it could be wrong or there might be a different way of asking but I'm only a beginner so any feedback welcome.

iusedtoknow wrote: »

I think in the context you mean, the closest would be "Aqui lo tienes". My spanish wife will say this when she is handing something to someone or responding to an email with an address or something.

Are you learning castillian spanish (spain spanish ) or Latino Spanish? There
are some differences that you will come across that will make learning confusing sometimes

For one thing, spain spanish is a lot less formal and make less usage of usted/vosotros and more use of tu (except if talking to elderly people, but they will insist on using tu)

There are some vocab differences as well, but they will be (for the most part) mutually understandable. The closest I could think would be someone from outback australia coming to the aran islands (or vice versa) in some cases

You seem to be doing great so far. Enjoy Spain ( i lived there for 8 years). One tip i'll give you, insist on speaking spanish. In a lot of places, the waiting staff have some english and like to try use it themselves, just answer in spanish and they'll pick up that you want to continue that way.

Suerte!

iusedtoknow

neonman wrote: »

Thanks iusedtoknow,

I am learning both, the differences are pointed out during the lessons. The likes of the 'th' sound given in Barcelona and also when words have z on them. Also when asking for a ticket in Latin America vs Castillian Spanish they are different but if I was to get them the wrong way around most likely the person will know what I am trying to say and hopefully correct me.

I am going to try and use it as much as possible when checking into the hotel I will try use Spanish :-)

something like:

Hola
Soy Keith, He reservado una habitación para cuatro personas, para 6 noches. Quickly followed by Donde esta el bar! ;-) and when I get there un botella de vino tinto (just on word for red i would have said rojo until i heard it as tinto..what is the difference between the two words for red?

I am comfortable asking to book a table for dinner for say 7 o'clock etc. Desearía reservado una mesa para la cena para las siete.

Some of it could be wrong or there might be a different way of asking but I'm only a beginner so any feedback welcome.

you're doing great! You know the tenses well which is brilliant for just doing it by yourself. A more natural way of saying would be to use the present tense at the hotel ("hola, tengo una reservacion en el nombre de...."), the same with making a reservation (quiero reservar....). The future tenses in spanish are used surprisingly sparely in day to day life. I tended to do that when I was learning, and then realized that my in-laws would talk mostly in the present or a couple of past tenses 80% of the time.

As for tinto - they'll understand "rojo" as well, however tinto is only used for wine and rojo for everything else. A drink you may enjoy is tinto de verano (summer red). It is red wine and casera (lemonade).

neonman

I understand the past/present and future tense a good bit, the way I have learnt it is that using He or Ha for I have or you have is that it is used for past like he preparado el cafe para usted (again I should use usted when talking to someone I dont know and only us tú when the other person starts to use it with me?) and tengo is used mostly for something that you actually have i.e. possession of something. But its early days so still getting use to it to be honest.

0lddog

I was wondering when the tenses might raise their heads.

My heart is broken trying to figure out when to use the "pretérito imperfecto" and when the "pretérito indefinido"

I've come across a lot of on line resources on this but this thick K9 just cant figure it.

Any suggestions as to how to get this straight in the old head ?

woodstock1708

Hi Olddog,

Along with good old "por y para", this is the other minefield for English speakers learning Spanish. I'm still plagued by doubt with these two at times, and I have an advanced level.

One of my teachers told me, when in doubt, just use the simple past (preterito indefinido). It might not be correct, but the person you are speaking to is going to understand. It's much more important to keep your communication flowing than worry about which tense is better.

A good way of thinking of it is to use the preterito imperfecto for when you need to "set the scene" in the past. I just did a quick search online and copied this paragraph, from the biography of a teacher at a school in Spain.

I've underlined some examples of the imperfecto where she's "setting the scene" or giving description background information.

Soy Laura y nunca pensé que acabaría dando clases de español. Cuando estaba en la universidad, pensaba que iba a hacer muchas cosas… E hice muchas cosas, pero no las que había pensado al principio. Cuando era pequeña, me encantaba Indiana Jones, me fascinaba aquél personaje que no sólo sabía muchas cosas sino que vivía increíbles aventuras. Yo quería ser como él, quería saber muchas cosas pero también ser capaz de trepar por una pared o a un árbol, o pelearme a espada con un bandido, o prender fuego a unas catacumbas.

For example, with Julius Caesar's famous "I came, I saw, I conquered" in Spanish you would use the preterito indefinido: Vine, vi y vencí.

Think of using the preterito indefinido to show things that happened (and finished) in the past or to move action forward in the past.

Mixing it together:

Cuando tenía 28 años, decidí cambiar mi vida. Me mudé a Madrid.

(Setting the stage by saying what my age was (preterito imperfecto)... but then moving the action forwards (preterito indefinido)

Bananaleaf

Usamos el imperfecto también cuando hablamos de emociones en el pasado, ejemplo: estaba feliz o tenía ganas de volver a casa.

También pienso que es más normal usar el imperfecto con el tiempo, hacía mucho calor. Sin embargo, he oído hubo buen tiempo. No sé exactamente la diferencia - quizás hay más énfasis en el tiempo usando el imperfecto (escenario)

Con el ejemplo arriba usando la frase de César 'vine, vi y vencí' Cuando hacemos cosas uno después del otro, usamos el pretérito. Ejemplo: regresé, comí, cambié la ropa y me fui.

Espero haber añadido algo

Bananaleaf