SPANISH questions, answers, grammar and anything related

Chicken Boo said:
Okay, so I stole the title from jassian. My bad.

Habla Espanol? Hablo Espanol, pero muy poco.

*puts the title in a gift wrap (red with ribbons) and hands it over*
From me, for you :)
How do you say that in Spanish?
 
Chicken Boo said:
De mi, para usted! (literally translated 'of me, for you')

To that I say, Gracias!

formal isn't it? Is informal para ti?

My turn's de nada >D

hey is it true what I've heard that continental Spanish has the lisping 'c' because one of the Spanish kings had a lisp and then all citizens had to lisp. It sounds like a bit of an unlikely story. :)
 
You are correct. 'Usted' is formal, 'tu' is informal, if I recall correctly.

I've never heard of the lisping 'c'. I learned Latino Spanish. My teacher in high school said it would be more pertinent to learn Latino Spanish, since there are more Latino Spanish speakers than European Spanish speakers around here (USA).
 
I took Spanish for one year in high school. To be honest, I've forgotten almost everything, although some of it by reading this is slowly coming back to me. Of course, I don't know complicated words, or complicated sentence structures.

Speaking of which, I'm trying to forget the Spanish that I do know, so I won't get confused in German. Unlike some people in the German class to whom I am envious of, I cannot learn two languages at the same time (I was going to say simultaneously, but I'm not even sure if I spelled it right here).
 
Chicken Boo said:

*nod nod*

I tend to mix up spanish and italian a lot

and Japanese and chinese ... eh the handful of words I know
 
I can speak enough Spanish to get into trouble, but not quite enough to get out of trouble. That's why I wanted to start this thread, to practice what I do know, and to learn more.

I can count to ten in Japanese. Learned that years ago in Karate when I was a kid.
 
Chicken Boo said:
I can count to ten in Japanese. Learned that years ago in Karate when I was a kid.

How long did you do karate for? it's similar here, most my japanese are judo, karate or aikido technique names.. I see a japanese thread coming... *Woosh* there it went. Just gotta catch it :p

Maybe you could learn one really silly and completely wrong sentence in Spanish and when you say that that everyone knows (or thinks) you don't really know what you're saying. ;)

How about: i am trying to paint a plane with my absurd pillow
 
I did that style of Karate for about three months. Had to quit when school went back in session. I have dabbled in other styles, though.

i am trying to paint a plane with my absurd pillow

Well, I have no idea about that one, but Bablefish (I know, I know, a non-human translator) says it is:

Estoy intentando pintar un plano con mi almohadilla absurda.

So there you are. :p
 
A stress above a letter changes everything.

Chicken Boo said:
You are correct. 'Usted' is formal, 'tu' is informal, if I recall correctly.

Actually, if you want to use the informal way, you need to write a stress above the "u." The result is this: Tú.

Why?

When you use "tu" (without the stress), it is for property. Examples: Tu casa (your house), esa es tu computadora (that's your computer), es tu bicicleta (it's your bike). So tu = your (but only).

And when you use "tú" (with the stress), it is referring a person. Examples: Ese eres (that's you). A question: ¿ hiciste eso? (Did you do that?). An expression: ¡No soy ! (I'm not you!). So, obviously, tú = you.

It's actually very important to use the stress.

Another example is the word "mi."

Mi (without the stress) = my. Es mi fiesta (it's my party).

Mí (with the stress) = me. Supongo que eso es para (I suppose that's for me). They both almost sound the same in both languages.

And it gets wider than that, but that's it for now. This was only about the stress.
 
Looks like you got it under control :)
Hows bablefish working for your missing sentence?


Estoy intentando pintar un plano con mi almohadilla absurda.
I'm gonna memorize this one. :) It's so silly.
 
Night Terror said:
Actually, if you want to use the informal way, you need to write a stress above the "u." The result is this: Tú.

Why?

When you use "tu" (without the stress), it is for property. Examples: Tu casa (your house), esa es tu computadora (that's your computer), es tu bicicleta (it's your bike). So tu = your (but only).

And when you use "tú" (with the stress), it is referring a person. Examples: Ese eres (that's you). A question: ¿ hiciste eso? (Did you do that?). An expression: ¡No soy ! (I'm not you!). So, obviously, tú = you.

It's actually very important to use the stress.

Another example is the word "mi."

Mi (without the stress) = my. Es mi fiesta (it's my party).

Mí (with the stress) = me. Supongo que eso es para (I suppose that's for me). They both almost sound the same in both languages.

And it gets wider than that, but that's it for now. This was only about the stress.
I thought the "tu" without the stress was the same as "su."

I don't know how to make a tilde on this site without cutting and pasting someone else's.
 
Chicken Boo said:
I thought the "tu" without the stress was the same as "su."

I don't know how to make a tilde on this site without cutting and pasting someone else's.

You can use the Ascii code (that's the number the computer uses for each symbol) On a desktop you can keep the [ALT] key pressed and use the number pad to type in the number then let go. (on a laptop atm, not sure how to do it here) there's lists on the internet

This one for example:
http://www.nightwing.com.au/Webdesign/symbols.html

So for ú you would press [ALT] type 2 5 0 and let go.
Observe it popping up :)
 
Chicken Boo said:
I thought the "tu" without the stress was the same as "su."

Yup, you're right. "Su" is also the same as "your," (property) but that's the formal way. Informal ways are commonly used when a person is close to you, like a member of your family, a dear old friend, a classmate (at least in the schools from Mexico; elementary school, mostly), etc. If you're a kid and you're talking to someone your own age, and you haven't met him before, it's OK to use the informal way (although it's OK for kids to use it all the time), but if you're an adult and someone your own age or close to it begins to talk to you informally without having met him before (like in a job interview, a phone call, etc.), it's considered rude and of a low education, like you're lacking respect. All in all, informal ways are always to be used when you trust the other person enough to speak to him openly.
 
On a side note that's pretty much exactly the way it is in German :)

Another place were you would be informal (in Germany at least) is in clubs,
like sport clubs, or anything where you get together with people of similar interest.
In that case (like this page or a convention or seminar) people would use informal,
denoting the sense of connectedness by whatever the common interest is.
Is it similar in Mexico?
 
My appologies if this is in the wrong section.

Today in town there was a parade hosted by the Mexican community. They were all in their formal clothing and many of the men were riding horses.

I didn't get to see all of the parade as the weather was literally at the freezing point.

Is there a special Mexican holiday around Dec. 7th? The parade wasn't around last year so this is all new to me.
 
I only know three words in Spanish LOL "Adios Mio!" LOL and "Ohla" I think thats how its spelled I have to check babblefish for some more I think other languages is great to learn even French :)
 
Not that I really know, but did you mix two things with : "Adios Mio" ?
It sounds like you're saying "goodbye mine"

Adios is bye and "dios mio" .. not sure about the spelling of dios, something like "oh my god"? or gods?

But someone who knows better spanish can probably tell :)

For the spanish speakers : does Ola have an accent on the 'a' ?
 
Not that I really know, but did you mix two things with : "Adios Mio" ?
It sounds like you're saying "goodbye mine"

Adios is bye and "dios mio" .. not sure about the spelling of dios, something like "oh my god"? or gods?

But someone who knows better spanish can probably tell :)

For the spanish speakers : does Ola have an accent on the 'a' ?

I believe the spelling of dios is the same, since Adios -while used as 'bye', literally means 'to god', thus Vaya con Dios, which is the farewell I tend to use, means 'go with God' or 'may God go with you'.
I'm sure the spanish speakers will correct me if I've got this wrong.