The word alrededor for "around"
I'm trying to write to someone in Spanish: "...running around in the desert..." but I forgot how to say "around", so I looked it up, it's "alrededor". I looked it up in the dictionary here, and this is part of what it says:
around [??ra?nd] preposición 1. alrededor de (indicating position)
* around the table -> en torno a la mesa
* there were hills all around the town -> la ciudad estaba rodeada de colinas
* around here -> por aquí (cerca)
(indicating motion)
- to look around the room -> mirar por toda la habitación
- to travel around the world -> viajar por todo el mundo
- to walk around the town/the streets -> caminar por la ciudad/las calles
The #2 that says "indicates motion" is the one that would apply, right? but in all of the examples given, not in one of them do they use the actual word "alrededor"!!! This makes me crazy! Can someone explain this to me?
Gracias!
12 Answers
Give me a longer sentence. I can't judge which word by just "running around in the desert." More context needed. Off hand I like "vagar por el desierto" but I need more context.
Corriendo alrededor con tus amigos is wrong. Understable but wrong.
An idiomatic one, (and informal):
Te vi "por ahí", por el desierto, con tus amigos...
Gracias Jeezzle and cogumela. I think I'm getting the "feel" of it. I'm still trying to translate it literally word-for-word. But I definitely see what you both are saying. 
Gracias por tu ayuda!
You're right Jeezzle. "Running around" is a sort of shorthand slang for goofing off, doing whatever you feel like, etc. "Running around with your friends" could mean, driving around at night looking for a party, etc. But it still leaves a question mark in my head, as to why in the examples in my original question (which are directly from this site), none of them actually use the word "alrededor".
Is it wrong to say "...corriendo alrededor con tus amigos...", or is that too literal somehow?
Ok.
"I saw the picture of you in Texas running around in the desert with your friends, it looks like you were having fun."
"correr alredor" would mean running along the perimeter (not, haphazardly within), circumnavigating at a lope/gallop.
Al sol gira alredador del mundo says the sun travels around the world but it doesn't actually it is the opposite way round the world travels around the sun. To travel around the world you would say: Viajar por el mundo.
I can't answer if alrededor can be used in a non "around" sense. Driving around at night = andar manejando por la noche. Hanging out with your friends = Juntarse con sus amigos.
You can also say: Viajar alrededor del mundo.
I'm not sure if alrededor can be used in the sense that you want to use it. Not being a native I always use alrededor to just mean "around" and you don't really mean around. You probably don't really mean running either. Try to break down your sentence into what it would mean at it's basic level. Are they actually running? What does running around in the desert mean? I really can't imagine what they are actually doing.
Al sol gira alredador del mundo says the sun travels around the world but it doesn't actually it is the opposite way round the world travels around the sun. To travel around the world you would say: Viajar por el mundo.
Hola: In the photo of the day, I am trying to say that "he is playing around again" in reference to a man playing around on his wife. Does anyone know how this is said?
