me des pido
I received a letter from a friend from Guatemala. This is the only portion that I can't translate. It was towards the end of the letter. The last 3 lines were: "me des pido. con mucho cariño. tu amigo". I don't know if the period (.) acts as a comma or not. I understand that "des" is the subjunctive form of "dar", but what the reflexive verb does to the meaning is beyond me. Help!!
19 Answers
Lazarus - I appreciate your great skills in the Spanish language,
Hi DR, Lazarus is the most knowledgeable member on this forum and I guess on the web what grammar concerns, without him, many people would not get all those extremely good answers they get and he is widely appreciated and a small forum like this can only be proud to have him as a member. His tutorial are the best you can fin.
But:
but your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired! Where I am from, we don't intentionally insult another person's friend.
..he gets overexcited (to say the least) at natives who don't even try to spell or write or speak correctly. Your friends case in different in my opinion, he is not simply "not trying", he is actually doing the best he can which must be celebrated.
I mean to say, Lazarus's words often come over as insulting or smug , but I assure you this is not his intention.
However in the name of the forum. I would like to apologize for his words, which were too harsh even considering that he was only trying to defend the Spanish language. (which is his true intention)
Those mistakes are not necessarily due to dyslexia:
Just to lighten the mood, what sort of society gives a person who can't spell a name that 50% of society can't spell.
Those mistakes are not necessarily due to dyslexia:
Just to lighten the mood, what sort of society gives a person who can't spell a name that 50% of society can't spell.
For instance, h's missed off at the beginning of words, b instead of v or vice versa, ll instead of y or vice versa.
Those mistakes are not necessarily due to dyslexia: in Spanish, the v sounds exactly like the b, and in most regions, the ll sounds exactly like the y, so it is not wonder they mix it. The only way to learn which one to use is by reading a lot, checking the dictionary, and making an effort not to make mistakes.
I hope none of you mind me inserting a comment here on the subject. I have been corresponding with a young friend in Cuba for over a year and at times have been greatly challenged by misspelled words. Sometimes it has been a typo but often it is a badly spelled word. For instance, h's missed off at the beginning of words, b instead of v or vice versa, ll instead of y or vice versa. As I myself am dyslexic I am very lenient and have learnt to try out different variables when translating. On the whole, corresponding in Spanish has taught me a lot, augmenting and enhancing the learning process. I have only been learning Spanish for one year and can communicate quite well both verbally and in writing. I believe that my progress would not have been as rapid without the regular correspondance.
Try "Me despido." If you still can't get it, post again, and I'll give you another clue.
Yes, the period after cariño should be a comma, or sometimes writing in Spanish uses a colon there.
The other period would be the option of the writer. It would be fine like that, but I have also seen it written, "Me despido con mucho cariño, Tu amigo, Juan"
I'm glad you still do! I do as well.
Rocco, you provided exactly what I was looking for - some guidance, and the opportunity to figure it out with some help. What I was going to say many posts ago: I love the forum!!
Bingo. Despedirse means to say goodbye, take leave, (in a letter) to close, etc. Many times it is used with the preposition de.
Despedirse de alguien = to take leave of somebody/to say goodbye to somebody (usually from the perspective of the subject leaving or dealing with the separation).
Despedir, on the other hand, means to say goodbye to somebody in the sense of sending/seeing them off, like at the airport, for example. It also means to send somebody away, to let somebody go (from a job, for example), or to give off/shoot off (odor, object, etc.)
Una despedida is a goodbye, a farewell, or a party/gathering for the same.
P.S.- Just noticed this example under this site's dictionary listing for despedirse: se despide atentamente -> yours sincerely/faithfully (en carta)
I didn't intend to insult anyone, but to warn those who want to learn that the Spanish above is below standard. While I respect and appreciate the problems this person has, his/her Spanish should not be posted here without a warning for those who want to learn, sorry.
I agree, but that could have been done without a derrogatory comment about his friend. For crying out loud, it was one inserted space, a couple of uncapitalized letters (which could have been lost in the typing), and one period that should have been a comma (again, in a handwritten note, maybe it was a comma). I've not seen you direct such comments at a person over stuff ten times worse. You just paint the screen red, and rightfully so.
No one was setting up his writing as a model for those who are learning. I think anyone who sees the red ink would know that it was incorrect. And a simple statement indicating the same would not have drawn such a reaction. Again, think about who posted it--not a regular MySpace junkie. If people didn't post anything incorrect, we would have no mistakes to learn from. I think the question served to teach anyone reading that if they can't make sense out of what's written, they might need to try different spellings or combine/separate words to solve the puzzle.
One more point, and I'm done. If I had only been exposed to pristine Spanish in my life, sure, I might speak more like Lazarus, but I would not have been able to get the certification I have (the highest available in my state) or work in the profession I do (very well paid). In my work, I am required to translate letters written much worse than this, and interpret speech that comes off the street, not even worthy of the four-letter word you used earlier. There is merit in being familiar with that level of language, even though it is not what we want to promote, accept, or approve.
I understand your point, and will be happy in the future to flag a quote as potentially poor grammar. But, as I said before, I don't know enough yet to discern this on my own every time. A response on your part like, "this isn't correct grammar, and should have been..." would serve the same purpose and not get people on the defensive.
I appreciate the help of the forum members. Let's end this thread.
...but your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired!
Beds.... what? Sorry, I have none of those! 
Where I am from, we don't intentionally insult another person's friend.
I didn't intend to insult anyone, but to warn those who want to learn that the Spanish above is below standard. While I respect and appreciate the problems this person have, his/her Spanish should not be posted here without a warning for those who want to learn, sorry.
He is in a mentoring program for youth who had been in gangs or otherwise living on the streets. I doubt very much that he had much if any formal education. I appreciate the effort he takes to communicate with me (spending precious money to email me from the internet cafe in his village).
Again, I don't doubt that his efforts are worth praising, but his writing should not be used as a model for those who are learning. Warn people about potential misspelling and unacceptable grammar, and I'll gladly shut up.
Now Lazarus, let's be understanding.
I don't say this in a condescending or sarcastic manner, but many people in the poor country of Guatemala are lucky to have the opportunity to get enough schooling to write that well. I know some of them. One very good friend of mine from Guatemala had a second-grade education when he came to this country, but he taught himself to read here because he wanted to be able to read the Bible, and he pestered me to death asking questions about English, and unlike many of his compatriots, he speaks English very well now with a pretty good accent. He claims he was my first "success story" teaching English. (What he may or may not know is that he helped me a lot in learning Spanish, too!)
At least nothing (else) was misspelled, and he even put the tilde on the ñ. I'm guessing it was a handwritten letter, and so it might have appeared to be a space there where there wasn't.
I understand what you say, and I sympathize with all those who couldn't get a proper education, and never had a chance to get out of the vicious circle.
What I don't understand is why most people who post in this forum want to know how to decipher misspelled Spanish with appalling grammar. Isn't this forum supposed to be for people who want to learn languages'Yes, and point taken. But the DR isn't one of those that post chatroom trash for us to decipher. He didn't even post the whole letter for us to do the work for him. He made an attempt at the one phrase that gave him trouble, which he didn't know was misspelled (or that he perceived a space where there wasn't one), and he gave it in context. As for the periods and commas, 90% of the people that post on the forum don't get those right either, and I've never known a big deal to be made of it.
To be sure, I understand the purpose of this site--learning. But many of us who are learning have to deal with less-than-par Spanish on a daily basis and come here not only to get help with that, but also to learn/reinforce what is correct so we don't develop the same level of poor language.
Again, that is different from the chatroom/email/letters from jail that others post that deserve to be lambasted. At any rate, Lazarus, we appreciate your passion for language, and sometimes we have to chalk up some of your responses to that. We can live with a harsh response now and then, seeing how patient you are to help us with so many things.
Lazarus -
You posted back before I had a chance. (You must type faster than me!)I am very much a new learner, so I can't decipher poor grammar from a phrase that I just don't understand. That's why I used the forum.
