sobre o acerca de (and interaction with speakers)

Question

The other day when I went grocery shopping, I ran into my Mexican friend. It really reinforced the idea that I need more interaction with native Spanish speakers because it's much easier to learn correct speech this way. I know a lot in my head, but I forget it when I have to speak. For instance, I know that to say I'm shopping was some form of the verb ir + comprar. But I forgot the "de". I would say "Voy de compras." Now, I've got it!

Also, we got into a short conversation about Spanish movies. I told him about Pan's Labyrinth which he has not seen, and I wanted to say, "Next time (I see you), I will ask you about it." I think I said something like, "El proximo vez, lo te preguntaré." (which took me like, two whole minutes to spit out)

It was very nice to get instant correction! He corrected the "el proximo vez" part for me. So, I should have said (correct if I'm wrong): "La proxima vez que te veo, te lo preguntará."

My question is: Would it have been better to say: "La próxima vez que te veo, te preguntará sobre (o acerca de) ella (la película). ??

I really need more Spanish speaking amigos! The instant correction and feedback is so essential to learning to speak (vs. learning to read).

Answer 1

Acerca de is correct - as is sobre. Either works well here.

• gracias! - Jennivee Mar 23, 2010

Answer 2

HI jenny, you got to review the verbs

La próxima vez que te veo, te lo preguntaré.

• my mistake- i actually did say it as preguntaré, just didn't type it that way!!! - Jennivee Mar 23, 2010
• and the intant correction on here is most helpful too! Y la corrección instantánea es muy útil aquí, también. - Jennivee Mar 23, 2010

Answer 3

I'm pretty sure "cerca" only deals with physical distance, so "sobre" would be better in this case.

As for the second question, it depends how specific you need to be. If the movie was mentioned in the sentence right before saying this, "ella" would have enough context to support it. But if you had trailed off to another subject and needed to re-specify, "la peli" would be useful to recontextualize.

A wise friend of mine once told me the most common-sensical thing about learning another language, but if often escapes us: Think about what you want to say in English first, THEN translate it.

You can effectively answer your own question that way quite often provided you are familiar with Spanish enough to translate well.