La palabra del día: desconfiar

Question

desconfiar - to mistrust/distrust someone; to doubt

desconfiar en SpanishDict

Post your sentences and vote for the ones you like. The correct answer will be chosen tomorrow on the basis of the biggest number of votes.

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Si uno desconfía de la gente, no puede hacerse amigo de nadie.

If one doesn't trust people, they can't make friends with anyone.

hacerse you wrote past tense, translated present tense, Why no impersonal se if uno is the sjubject.? pueden for they can't. - 0074b507, Dec 18, 2009

Because the Spanish equivalent of "make friends" is "hacer amigo de alguien". And in the English translation I used "they" which is considered correct if - Issabela, Dec 18, 2009

correct if I don't want to use "he or she" or "one" again. - Issabela, Dec 18, 2009

Thank you. I see. That's English''s impersonal they for she, he. Going blind. You did use present tense. Sorry. - 0074b507, Dec 18, 2009

correction of my comment above: the Spanish equivalent of "make friends" is "hacer amigo de alguien" - Issabela, Dec 18, 2009

that's ok, Q - I wonder how many things I miss out when I check my students' homeworks :) - Issabela, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 1

No es que le desconfío a él, pues es que no lo aguanto en absoluto.

It´s not that I don´t trust him, it´s just that I can´t stand him at all.

desconfío (all but 1st person plural) has an accent mark in the present tense (indicative) - 0074b507, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 2

Dudo o desconfiar de alguien que es uno de los estados más incómodos de la mente lo que sé. Doubting or distrusting someone is one of the most uncomfortable states of mind I know.

97% correct -- Dudo should read Dudar to match the verb tense also the first "que" is not needed. - alferraro, Dec 19, 2009

dudar - Issabela, Dec 20, 2009

Answer 3

Because the Spanish equivalent of "make friends" is "hacer amigo de alguien"

hacerse amigo de alguien. ¿Lo mismo está mal en el diccionario?

desconfiar de alguien/confiar en alguien

No, and I[m going to spend the whole evening "con las orejas gachas" and wearing "las orejas de burro" - Issabela, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 4

Desconfio a la esposa nueva y joven de mi padre. Sospecho que ella sólo desea su dinero.

I distrust my fathers new young wife. I suspect she just wants his money.

desconfío (apparently all but 1st person, plural has an accent mark in present tense.) - 0074b507, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 5

Desconfío de que llegue a tiempo

I am doubtful whether he will get here on time.

Answer 6

En una primera reunión, tenga confianza en todos, desconfía nadie.	On a first meeting, trust everyone, distrust no-one.

desconfíE de nadie - 00494d19, Dec 18, 2009

1st person singular preterit = desconfíe| 2nd pers sing imperativo = desconfía| Which should I use? - Moe, Dec 18, 2009

I reckon 2nd person singular imperativo as your original post since you are making a suggestion for use now and not something in the past. - caza, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 7

Desconfio de mi esposo,pienso que el tiene otra mujer. I don't trust my husband,I think that he has another woman.

(Desconfío) accent on the "í"; "esposo" is fine I like to use "marido" just a personal preference; (... creo que él ... ) I like "creo que" here but pienso is fine and accent on the "é" is required. Great job! - Daniel, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 8

En este momento en mi barrio hay muchos ladrones y por eso desconfio los extranjeros.

In my area at the moment there are many thieves that is why I distrust strangers.

desconfío (apparently all but 1st person, plural has an accent mark in present tense.) - - 0074b507, Dec 18, 2009

Thank you - just checked in conjugations, you are quite right, strange, I wonder if it is to do with pronounciation? - caza, Dec 19, 2009

Answer 9

Sólo uso SpanishDict.com, desconfía de las imitaciones.

Only use SpanishDict.com, beware of imitations.

usa o use - 00494d19, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 10

El dice que va a devolver el dinero que pidió prestado de mí, pero desconfío de el.

He says he's going to repay the money he borrowed from me, but I don't trust him.

Greg, your post is correct:) I am deleting Daniel's suggestions, too cofusing. - 00494d19, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 11

In the word of the day, the 2-nd example sentence is: Desconfío de que venga. - I doubt he will come.

Should not the verb be Desconfié ? Regards to all!

I believe that "desconfío" is correct. "venga" is in the subjunctive so why have "desconfié" in the subjunctive. - Daniel, Dec 18, 2009

Thanks! So much to learn-solittle time to do it ! - Don-Linton, Dec 18, 2009

desconfié would be the preterite; not the subjunctive (desconfíe) - 0074b507, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 12

• Es por bien razón que Lucía desconfía la Bruja Blanca, que se llama sí misma Reina de Narnia.

• (It is for a good reason that Lucy distrusts the White Witch, who calls herself the Queen of Narnia.)

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Note: There are paperback versions of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (El León, la Bruja y el Ropero) in English and Spanish which has a very good and easy to read Spanish translation. Even better (for the serious Spanish student) the audio book is also in Spanish with a very clear pronunciation in Spanish -- good to listen to while you are driving around in your car or in bed before you fall asleep.

Thanks, Daniel. I'll look for the auio book. - --Mariana--, Dec 18, 2009

Marianne -- I got the audio book from my library. - Daniel, Dec 18, 2009

desconfía de according to previous answers. - 0074b507, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 13

Goyo said:

Thanks, Daniel. Our dictionary says: desconfío de él -> I don't trust him . Also, why would the pronoun be needed with 3rd person preterite? That seemed clear to me. You may be right, but I'd like to know why.

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• The "él" with ( .... que (él) pidió prestado) may be optional -- it just sounds better to me in this instance.

• As you know my grammar is terrible. Most of the time I spend working on Spanish is for speaking and having conversations, I work hard on smooth conversation skills and really hard on pronounciation of words. When I speak Spanish there is no time to think about verb conjugations or grammar -- so I just go by what sounds right, not knowing the reason or grammar (the verb conjugations are not much of a problem for me any more). I know this is more than you needed to know -- I just thought you should know that I am not a grammar wizard. Maybe Qfreed or Samidie will see this and respond.

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I like the help I get here at SpanishDict. and the wonderful people here that help me with my grammar.

pronoun is not needed and should not be used;) - 00494d19, Dec 18, 2009

Thank you Heidita. Well Goyo we got our anwser -- and of course I was wrong, nothing new. Everyone should question my grammar -- but that is how I learn. - Daniel, Dec 18, 2009

Yeah, me too. By you questioning it, we both got a chance to learn more. Thanks Daniel. :) - Goyo, Dec 18, 2009

Answer 14

Because the Spanish equivalent of "make friends" is "hacer amigo de alguien"

hacerse amigo de alguien. ¿Lo mismo está mal en el diccionario?

desconfiar de alguien/confiar en alguien

No, (did I say it was?) and in my example of the sentence I used hacerce. I missed the "se" in my comment below.