Regional Variations

When most people learn Spanish, or any other language, they oftentimes do not realize that many words they learn may not mean what they think it means in every country.  Just like English, there are hundreds - or even thousands - of words that vary regionally.  This happens even within the United States (think soda vs. pop vs. coke).

Today, we will be looking at ten words that have different meanings, depending on which region or country you are in (or on who you are talking to and where they are from).  We'll look at the general meaning taught in textbooks - and then variations that you should keep in mind.  You don't have to memorize these meanings to become fluent in the language, but it is important to at least know that certain words may not always mean in other regions what they mean in the region you normally speak in.

Here is a limited list of words that have various meanings and translations:

English	Textbook translation	Alternative translation	Alternative meaning
Apricot	albaricoque	chabacano: Mexico	in Spain, un chabacano is an insulting word
Baby	bebé	guaga: Chile	in Puerto Rico, una guaga is a bus
Cake	pastel, torta	queque: Puerto Rico	in Mexico, una torta is a sandwhich
Department Store	almacén	tienda de departamento: Costa Rica	in Uruguay, un almacén is a grocery store
Grocery Store	tienda de abarrotes	compras: Costa Rica bodega: Cuba  víveres: Dominican Republic pulpería: El Salvador abarrotería: Panamá colmado: Puerto Rico supermercado: Spain almacén: Uruguay abastos: Venezuela	Bodega, a grocery store in Cuba, is normally a wine cellar.
Glasses	anteojos, lentes	gafas: Colombia espejuelos: Cuba	in Mexico, lentes is used and anteojos is archaic.
Car	carro, auto	coche: Spain	coche is a car, but used more formally in Mexico
Jacket	chaqueta	chamarra: Mexico saco: Panamá suéter: Guatelmala	in Spain, un saco is a bag
Sidewalk	acera	banqueta: Mexico	in Spain, una banqueta is a bench
Orange	naranja	china: Puerto Rico	una china is usually a Chinese girl

Story translated from Latin: "Pandora's Box"

Hola.. bienvenidos al blog de Viper Spanish.  

Today, I decided to translate a story from a book called "38 Latin Stories" into Spanish.. After reading the Spanish version, we'll break it down from Spanish into English to make sure it's understood. Then, for fun, I'll show you the Latin version. Some of the Spanish grammar may be too advanced for you to grasp if you're new to the language, but most Spanish students will be able to get most of it.  The grammar reviews are brief, but hopefully you can get some practice.  If it's too hard now, come back and check it out later when you've improved.  Okay... here's the Spanish version of the story... try to understand as much as you can... 

 La Caja de Pandora 

Jápeto tiene dos hijos, Prometeo y Epimeteo. Prometeo es un hombre muy prudente; Epimeteo es un hombre imprudente.  Júpiter le regala a Epimeteo una mujer hermosa, Pandora.  A menudo, Prometeo le advierte a Epimeteo sobre Pandora: "O, Epimetheus, ¡vas tú por mal camino!  No puedes ver el peligro.  No debes aceptar esta mujer."  Epimeteo ama a Pandora; él no piensa en el peligro.  Júpiter le da a Epimeteo una caja; no se permite abrirla.  Sin embargo, Pandora está curiosa: "Qué contiene la caja? Mucho dinero?  Una gran cantidad de joyas?"  La mujer abre la caja.  ¡Muchas variedades de maldad salen!  Pero adentro de la caja Pandora guarda la esperanza.  Aunque la vida esté llena de maldad, siempre tenemos la esperanza.

Did you understand el cuento?  Let's check out some of the sentences before doing a full translation...

It starts out easily enough...

Jápeto tiene dos hijos, Prometeo y Epimeteo.  

tener = to have.  When conjugated in the third person, singular, we have tiene.  Dos hijos means two sons...so, Iapete has two sons, Prometheus and Epimetheus.

Prometeo es un hombre muy prudente; Epimeteo es un hombre imprudente.

Prudente means wise or prudent.  This sentences is saying that Prometheus is a very wise man and Epimetheus is an unwise man.

Júpiter le regala a Epimeteo una mujer hermosa, Pandora.

Any time some one is giving something to some one else (regalar means to give as a gift), we use an indirect object pronoun - in this case, le.  Indirect object pronouns (me, te, le, nos, os, les) tell for whom something is done or given.  Le means it is for the third person.  For example, yo le di a Juan mi carro means I gave Juan my car (literally, I (le) gave to Juan my car).  The le goes before the verb and is usually followed by a before naming the person or thing receiving something.

In this Case, Jupiter is giving to Epimetheus una mujer hermosa - a beautiful woman.  (Notice that the adjective follows the noun).  Her name is Pandora.

A menudo, Prometeo le advierte a Epimeteo sobre Pandora: "O, Epimeteo, ¡vas tú por mal camino! 

Notice the le again.. this time Prometheus is warning (advertir... in the third person singular, we have advierte) Epimetheus regarding Pandora.  He is giving the warning to him, which is why the indirect object pronoun is used. 

He tells him.. "vas tú por mal camino."  Although vas translates literally as "you go," in Spanish the simple present tense is oftentimes used in a progressive sense.  In other words, he is saying "you are going."  That is why you may here some one ask "¿Qué haces?," which translates literally as "What do you do?"  Obviously, they are really asking, "What are you doing?"

Here, he is saying "you are going down a bad road." 

No puedes ver el peligro.

 Just like in English - the first verb is conjugated and the second remains in the infinitive: 

 Tú / no puedes / ver / el peligro

You / are not able / to see / the danger.  

No se permite abrirla.

When something is generalized and not specific to a person, se is often used.  You may see businesses put up signs that say "se habla español," which means Spanish is spoken here.  It is not saying that any particular person speaks Spanish; just that it is spoken there.  The sentence here, in reference to the box, is saying that it is not permitted to be opened in a general sense - no one should open it.

Aunque la vida esté llena de maldades, siempre tenemos la esperanza.

Aunque can mean "although" or "even if."  When you want it to mean "although," the following verb should be conjugated into the indicitive form (a verb stating a factual state, not a hypothetical or possible one).  

For example, aunque ella es muy alta, no juega basquetbol.  (Although she is very tall, she doesn't play basketball).  Here, it is a fact that she is very tall, so we use the third person indicative (not subjuctive) of ser (es, not sea). 

In this sentence, the subjunctive is used (esté, not está), so we know that it is saying "even if," not "although."  So, the sentence says: Even if life is full of evils, we always have hope.

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So, hopefully you were able to understand the entire story... here's the full translation:

Iapetus has two sons, Prometheus and Epimetheus. Prometheus is very wise man; Epimetheus is an unwise man.  Jupiter gives a beautiful woman, Pandora, to Epimetheus.  Prometheus oftentimes warns Epimetheus about Pandora: "Oh, Epimetheus, you are going astray!  You do not see the danger.  You shouldn't accept the woman."  Epimetheus loves Pandora; he does not think about the danger.  Jupiter gives to Epimetheus a box.  It is not permitted to be opened.  Pandora, however, is curious: "What does box contain? Much money? A large number of jewels?"  The woman opens the box.  Many forms of evil escape!  But Pandora saves the hope inside the box.  Even if life is full of evils, we always have hope. 

And, in case you are curious like Pandora.. the Latin version:

Iapetus duos filios, Prometheum et Epimetheum, habet. Prometheus est vir magnae sapientiae; Epimetheus est vir sine sapientia. Iuppiter Epimetheo bellam feminam, Pandoram, dat. Prometheus Epimetheum de Pandora saepe monet: "O Epimetheu, erras! Periculum non vides. Non debes feminam accipere." Epimetheus Pandoram amat; de periculo non cogitat. Iuppiter Epimetheo arcam dat; non licet arcam aperire. Sed Pandora est curiosa: "Quid in arca est? Multa pecunia? Magnus numerus gemmarum?" Femina arcam aperit. Multae formae mali provolant et errant! Sed Pandora spem in arca conservat. Etiam si vita plena malorum est, spem semper habemus.


 

hay, había y hubo

Hola estudiantes

The previous two blogs have focused on creating sentences in the present perfect.  This construction required the use of the verb "haber," which normally conjugates into the present tense as he, has, ha, hemos, han. 

This week, we will continue to look at the verb haber, and other common ways the verb is used.  The conjugations that I just listed are mainly used, as mentioned in the previous blogs, to combine with the past participle of a verb in order to form the present perfect.  If you don't understand what that means, don't worry about it.  (If you are worried about it, check out the previous two blogs, which go into further detail).  What this week's blog will look at, however, is three alternate conjugations of haber:  

hay, hubo, había

These three conjugations are generally very simple to use.  The verb "haber" basically means "to be," but not in the same sense as "estar" and "ser." (For information on these two verbs and their usage, check out http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/serest1.htm.)

Instead, it means to be as in to exist.  Examples of sentences which would use "haber" would be:

• There are stars in the sky.
• There was a huge cow in the middle of the road.
• There is still time to complete the job. 

Sometimes the verb "estar" can also be used to mean to exist, but the sometimes subtle difference in use can be mastered through experience and practice.

 Now, to take a look at how to use each word individually:

hay

The word "hay" translates to "there is" or "there are."  It is the impersonal present tense conjugation of "haber."  You cannot assign this word to a person - it is a special conjugation that is used to describe the existence of something or some one.  Here are examples:

Hay dos perros en el jardín.  There are two dogs in the garden.  

Hay tres plumas en la mesa.  There are three pens on the table. 

Hay un gato en mi cuarto.  There is a cat in my room.

Remember, "hay" is used when there is or are something in existence.  You do not use "hay" for sentences that utilize a personal pronoun (such as "I am sick." or "She is crazy.") .   

     había
 
Había is the imperfect conjugation of "haber."  It refers to past events that continuously happened or that may continue to be happening now.  In English, we often say "would" or "used to" to use the imperfect tense (When I was little, there would be decorations all over town during this time of year.)  It can also be used to describe an event that was occuring... such as "There were three people dancing" ("Había tres personas bailando."). 

Examples of the use of había:

Había dos platos en la mesa.  There were two plates on the table.

Había un par de zapatos afuera, pero no sé si alguien ya se los llevó.  There were a pair of shoes outside, but I'm not sure if somebody already took them away.

Había una razón por hacer eso.  There was a reason for doing that.

(Note that even when more than one thing is being referred to, you still say había and not habían.  This rule is often broken, even by native speakers.  Habían is supposed to only be used when combined with a past participle, as taught in the previous two blogs.)

    hubo

The word "hubo" is like "había," except it is about events of the past that occurred and then ended.  There is a definite beginning and and a definite end to these occurrences.

Hubo un terremoto en mi puebo.  There was an earthquake in my town.  

Hubo un accidente en la carratera.  There was an accident on the freeway.

Hubo una fiesta en mi casa ayer.  There was a party at my house yesterday.

 Notice that all of these events happened once and then ended.  They were not events of the past that continued to happen, or events that continue to happen today.  Therefore, we use "hubo."

 This was a brief lesson - there are several other websites, forums, and blogs that discuss the use of hay, había and hubo.   You should check these out for further practice if you are still unsure of their usage.  Remember, it is not correct to pluralize these words.  You can't say "Hubieron tres fiestas ayer."  Well, you are not supposed to anyway.  People often do, and it is okay if it is accepted colloquially.  However, keep in mind that it is not grammatically correct.  You should say "Hubo tres fiestas ayer."  

Adiós for now...

 

El Presente Perfecto: Part 2 - Combining the past participle and the verb "haber"

Hola amigos...

Hoy, vamos a continuar la lección de la semana pasada.  Today, we are going to continue last week's lesson...

We talked about how to form the past participle...  if you need to, review that lesson first, as forming the past participle is mandatory for creating sentences using the present perfect.

In addition to knowing how to form the past participle, we have to know how to conjugate in the present tense the verb "haber."  Let's go ahead and look at how to do that:

haber (el presente)

yo he

tú has

él/ella/usted ha

nosotros hemos

vosotros habéis

ellos/ellas/ustedes han 

While the verb haber means "to exist" or "to be" ("Debe de haber un banco por aquí..." = "There must be a bank around here..."), these conjugations are not used like most verbs.  That is, when you say "yo he...," it almost always will be followed by a past participle, thus creating a sentence in the present perfect ("Yo he viajado." = "I have traveled.")

The present perfect is most often used to describe events that happened in the past, but continue to happen or continue to be true into the present.

For example, the following English sentences would fit that description:

• I have traveled to Mexico three times.  (Still true today)
• She has been eating for two hours.  (Happened in the past, but still going on.)
• We haven't had a chance to call yet.  (Going on in the past and still going on.)
• They have never seen that movie!  (Never have in the past and still haven't...)

So, how would we say those sentences in Spanish?  Of course, the answer is by using the present perfect tense that we just learned...

Let's look at the sentence: I have traveled to Mexico three times.

So, the present perfect is formed by the two words have traveled.  This verb translates very cleanly into Spanish - the first word would be the verb haber, conjugated into the present tense, while the second would be the verb viajar (to travel), conjugated into the past participle.

So, the translation would be:

(Yo) he viajado a México tres veces.

Of course, unlike English, the Yo is optional in Spanish, because it is clear who the speaker is talking about because of the Spanish verb he, which is conjugated in the first person.

She has been eating for two hours = Ella ha estado comiendo por dos horas.

We haven't had a chance to call yet. = Ya no hemos tenido la oportunidad de llamar.

They have never seen that movie!  = ¡Ellos nunca han visto esa película!

Notice that while in English the past participle and the verb to have can be separated by another word (They have never seen...), this is not allowed in Spanish.  The past participle always follows the verb haber (Ellos nunca han visto...).

PRUEBA

Try to translate the following sentences into Spanish

• I have not eaten.
• She has read that book five times.  
• We have not stolen anything! 
• They have been running for six hours.

I will close today's lesson with a quote from Scottish sailor John Paul Jones after being taunted and asked to surrender:

"Aun no he empezado a pelear”

viperspanish@gmail.com

 

El Presente Perfecto: Part 1 - the Past Participle

Hola estudiantes...


I apologize for the long delay in blogs.  I've been extremely busy in the design of the new Viper Languages website, which will be up soon and will include free lessons, games and articles regarding languages such as Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, German and much more.

Today's lesson will be mainly for more advanced students, although any one can take a look and attempt to understand and advance your ability with the Spanish language.  We will be discussing the verb haber and how to form the present perfect tense.. (or, en español, el presente perfecto).

Se forma con el verbo "haber"en presente, más un pasado participio.  (It is formed with the verb "haber"en the present, plus a past participle.)

Knowing how to form a past participle is an obvious requirement for using the present perfect.  This week, the forming of the past participle will be the focus. Next Friday, we will combine it with the verb haber in order to create complete sentences. The end goal will be say things like "I have eaten" or "I have been to Mexico three times." 

The word "been" in the previous sentence (I have been to Mexico...) is the past participle.  In English, we form it various ways depending on the verb.  However, the past participle often times ends in "en" or "ed."  Examples are:

• Eaten (I have eaten.)
• Taken (I have taken four trips to Spain.)
• Walked (I have never walked that far.)
• Sprayed (I've already sprayed the whole house and it still stinks!) 

In Spanish, it is easier to form, because there are fewer irregular conjugations.  Most verbs can be transformed into the past participle very easily.  Here's how...

-ar verbs

For verbs ending in "ar" (hablar, bailar, andar..), the "ar" is replaced with "ado"

• hablar = hablado
• andar = andado
• intentar = intentado
• alabar = alabado

-er verbs 

For verbs ending in "er" or "ir" (ir, salir, comer, comprender), the "er" or "ir" is replaced with "ido"

• entender = entendido
• vender = vendido
• beber = bebido
• salir = salido

 See if you can complete the following table by saying aloud the missing conjugations:

 

infinitivo	pasado participio
estar	estado
distinguir	distinguido
poder	podido
ayudar
asegurar
saber
responder
apoyar

Not too hard, right? Remember, though, there are some irregulars.  Here are the main eleven irregular present particples:

1. decir = dicho
2. escribir = escrito
3. hacer = hecho
4. leer = leído
5. morir = muerto
6. oir = oído
7. poner = puesto
8. romper = roto
9. ver = visto
10. abrir = abierto
11. volver = vuelto

That is the basics of how to form the past participle.  Next week, we'll combine this conjugation with the verb haber (conjugated in the present tense) in order to complete the lesson and create sentences in the present perfect..