I don't get it. Please help me understandthis.
If someone would say to me Nos van a dar las uvas. I would not know they were saying we are going to be here for ever. or Estar de mala uva= to be in a bad mood. If I was to here this I would not understand. I would fight with my brain wondering what about grapes...
3 Answers
These are modismos or idioms. They mean something other that what the literal translations of the words mean. Short of buying a book of modismos and sitting around memorizing them, you just have to pick them up from natives using them. That's why the first thing they teach you in Spanish is how to form questions like ¿Cómo se dice...? and ¿Qué significa....?
I imagine Spanish speakers learning English want to know what "sour grapes" has to do with "being here forever". There is not always a correspondence between languages.
Yes, Cyndee, I understand your pain. To use the worn out analogy, sometimes getting the "modismos" is like trying to nail jello to the wall. There are so many regional variations. It reminds me of a former neighbor of ours in the US who was from Spain and who travelled from the Mid West to Miami, Florida. He told me later that he couldn't understand a word of the Spanish down there. In other words, the Cuban vocabulary and pronunciation is very different from that of Spain. A Mexican friend who went to Venezuela claims he could hardly understand a word that the Venezuelans spoke to him. Jokes abound regarding misunderstandings between Cubans and Chilenos regarding the meaning of the word "guagua". Mexicans get side stitches with jokes about Spaniards coming to Mexico and confusing "abrazar" and "abrasar". If you travelled to Argentina and used the "uvas" modismo, apparently Benz wouldn't understand you! I guess we'll have to do the best we can, and if you settle in a particular Spanish-speaking area, you'll go with whatever the flow is there!
Hey Cyndee... I'm a native and believe me I would have the same problem you have!! I wouldn't understand what they're talking about... Smile!!
