Questions from Essential Spanish Lessons 3, 4, and 5
-
Hola, tengo mas preguntas :)
1) "Ellos viven in la Florida", why is the "la" necessary? Is it necessary? "Mi color favorito es el gris", why the "el"? Same question.
2) Habitacion vs Cuarto........are they the same thing? Is there a difference in usage from Latin America to Spain?
3) What is the difference in nino, chico, and muchacho?
4) Antiguo vs Viejo.......is there a difference?
5) Contento vs Feliz.......any difference?
6) Tranquilo: is this rude to say? Does it mean calm down or be quiet?
7) When is "tambien used"? Is it usually before the verb? Or at the end of the sentence?
8) "Me gusta mucho el precio": Can you also say "Me gusta el precio mucho"? Or does that sound weird in Spanish?
9) "Economico", what exactly does this word mean and in what context is it used?
10) "De que color es", is it also ok to say "Que color es"? Or is the "de" necessary?
11) "HablA mas despacio por favor", can you also say "HablE mas despacio por favor"? Note I just changed the a and the e. If you can say both, what is the difference?
-
Hola Chase !I'll try and give them a shot.1) I think you use the gender specific article "el" or "la" with a noun or when you are specifying an object. To use the example that you gave - "Mi color favorito es el gris". Here the color grey is the noun and specific object so it has the article. But let's say you were to say that "The sky is grey", then, I don't think that the article would appear with "grey". The sentence would then be something like "El/La .......... esta' gris" (sorry i don't know the word for sky :P )2) Habitacion is "room". I'm not sure of cuarto3) Not sure4) I think "Antiguo" would be used in relation to inanimate objects whereas "Viejo" is used to specify an aged life form5) Perhaps "Contento" is a feeling whereas "Feliz" is a wish6) That I'd like to know. If not "Tranquilo", what is the expression for "Shut Up!" ;)7) I think it is pretty flexible but, let's wait for an expert's inputs8) Not sure9) Not sure10) I think you can use both, depending on the formality of the situation.Mahima
-
Hola Chase!
Here you will find the answers to your questions.
1) "Ellos viven in la Florida", why is the "la" necessary? Is it necessary?
It is not necessary in this case. Florida is a proper noun and there is no specific rule for proper nouns. Depending on the country Florida can be called "La Florida" or just "Florida"
Eg: Yo vivo en el estado de La Florida / Yo vivo en el estado de Florida
"Mi color favorito es el gris", why the "el"? Same question.
This example is different. El gris is the grey color.
The article is necessary when we are talking about the color itself. GRIS is a noun in this case. We will then use the article in front of the color.
- Mi color favorito es el gris.
- Me gusta el rojo.
We avoid the article when gris is an adjective.
- Mi pelo es gris.
- Compro una camiseta gris.
2) Habitacion vs Cuarto........are they the same thing? Is there a difference in usage from Latin America to Spain?
Both words mean the same. They are both used in Latin America an Spain. Probably certain countries or areas use more one or the other. In Spain we use them both to refer to a room in a house or apartment. We use habitación to refer to a hotel room.
3) What is the difference in nino, chico, and muchacho?
They all mean boy.
Niño, is usually refer to children, before adolescence.
Chico and Muchacho, is used once a kid has arrived to adolescence until the he is a young adult.
4) Antiguo vs Viejo.......is there a difference?
We use antiguo as adjective to describe old things, periods of time, objects, culture, etc. Antiguo stands for "antique". We will never use antiguo referring to a person.
Viejo is used as an adjective and literally means "old". We use viejo for objects, people, animals. We do not use viejo for past periods of time.
5) Contento vs Feliz.......any difference?
Both mean almost the same "happy". However contento can be translated as glad
Estoy contento de verte - I am glad to see you.
Estoy feliz de verte - I am happy to see you.
Feliz is more intense than contento but the difference depends on the context.
6) Tranquilo: is this rude to say? Does it mean calm down or be quiet?
It depens on the context, but tranquilo/can be generally used to say calm down in a nice way.
- Don't worry: Tranquilo, todo funcionara.
- Calm down, is not a big deal: Tranquilo, no es importante.
- Chill out! will translate: Tranquilízate! we use imperative to comand someone to clam down.
-
7) When is "También used"? Is it usually before the verb? Or at the end of the sentence?
Tambien means also and/or too. It can be used in front of the verb or after the verb:
- Yo voy también a la fiesta
- Yo también voy a la fiesta
También can be use to add emphasis to a sentence,
and is often use without the verb to affirm a sentence.
Anna: Yo voy a la fiesta (I am going to the party)
Chase: Yo también (me too)
8) "Me gusta mucho el precio": Can you also say "Me gusta el precio mucho"? Or does that sound weird in Spanish?
It sounds fine to me. But the "proper" way would be "Me gusta mucho el precio"
9) "Económico", what exactly does this word mean and in what context is it used?
Means a good deal, good price, cheap, helps you save some money, helps your economy.
- Este supermercado es muy economico.10) "De que color es", is it also ok to say "Que color es"? Or is the "de" necessary?We use "de" in front, when we mention the object we are asking for¿De qué color es la camisa? means "What color is the shirt?If you do not say "la camisa" then you can just ask ¿Qué color és?¿Qué color es? means "What color is that?"
11) "HablA mas despacio por favor", can you also say "HablE mas despacio por favor"? Note I just changed the a and the e. If you can say both, what is the difference?Habla and hable are commands to the person we are talking to. This conjugation is called Imperative:Tú, hablaUsted hableVosotros, habladUstedes hablenAs you can see we conjugate the imperative depending of the pronoun TÚ or USTED.Habla más despacio (Tú, habla más despacio)Hable más despacio (Usted, hable más despacio)
