Ejercicios de huecos

Question

I came across this phrase, looked up the translation of "huecos" and I got "space, hollow, gap...". Putting any of those translations with "exercise" does not seem to make sense. Is there another meaning to "ejercicios de huecos"?

Answer 1

"Ejercicios de huecos" appears to be "fill in the blanks". I remember failing one of these dismally about 50 years ago (I exaggerate) in my Spanish language proficiency exam at UN in Chile where I just could not produce "cual" in a sentence which begged for a simple inclusion of the equivalent for "which one".

Example:

---- fue la contesta que mas le gusto?

Well "cual" is of course the missing word. Vote for me if you like this.

Is "ejercicios de huecos" the standard way of saying "fill in the blanks"? Is that idiomatic? - Rikko, Apr 15, 2010

Based on a Google search, I agree, it means fill in the blanks (space, gap, hole) - Moe, Apr 15, 2010

I interpreted Google's result earlier as "exercises in gap" and just could not figure out what that meant. :-) - Rikko, Apr 15, 2010

Answer 2

HI rikko, they are refering to rellenar los huecos, not (often) used in Spain.

Rellene los espacios en blanco

this is what we would say.

Ah, OK. Then the answer of geofc earlier would really be correct. Gracias! - Rikko, Apr 16, 2010

Answer 3

The phrase is in the book we are using in my Spanish class. I am studying a chapter ahead when I encountered it.

The heading of the part where it is indicated goes: "Clasifica los siguientes ejercicios para aprender español, según tus preferencias;". Then a list of about 25 items follow, among them - "los juegos de lógica", "los textos", "los dictados", "los crucigramas", etc. "Ejercicios de huecos" is one of the items in the list. I don't think it's any of the poisons though. Would superficial exercises make sense in the context of it being included is such a list?

I chose frivolity over prison most days - nizhoni1, Apr 15, 2010

no matter what context - nizhoni1, Apr 15, 2010

:-) - Rikko, Apr 15, 2010

Answer 4

Rikko, I would say "Ejercicio de llenar espacios en blanco". Fill in the blanks: Llenar espacios en blanco.

Thank you, but can "ejercicios de huecos" be used to mean the same thing? - Rikko, Apr 15, 2010

Well, I would not use "huecos" in this case. "Espacio en blanco" sounds appropiate. - 00e46f15, Apr 16, 2010

Answer 5

I see that hueco can also mean frivolous or superficial. Does this fit?

Thanks! Please see part 2 of my question below. - Rikko, Apr 15, 2010

Answer 6

Depending on what country you are in, "hueco" can also mean "homosexual" or "prison," so I suppose if this were the case that your phrase could possibly mean "Prison exercises" or "Homosexual practices," pick your poison. Hope this helps.

Though I don't think these are the correct translations, it's good to know these other meanings of "huecos". Thank you! - Rikko, Apr 15, 2010