La Palabra del Día; idear

Question

(idear) (transitive verb) to devise, to invent, to think up, to conceive, to brainstorm, to invent

Post your sentences in Spanish and English, then vote for the ones you like. The best answer will be chosen tomorrow on the basis of the greatest number of votes and language correctness.

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And don't forget to correct your posts as suggested. Do NOT use subject pronouns!

Están ideando sus órdenes para almuerzo.

They are devising their orders for lunch.

are we sure there's not a typo in the definition....should it not be "invent" rather than "invert"? - Echoline, Dec 12, 2010

You are right, Echo. I can't fix that. Good eye, amiga! - sanlee, Dec 12, 2010

Great idea sanlee, you are on the ball as usual. Thank you . :lol: - ray76, Dec 12, 2010

Hey Echo...I fixed the typo anyway....Thanks...... - sanlee, Dec 12, 2010

Answer 1

Cuando mis perros idean un plan, seguro que surgen problemas.

When my dogs devise a plan, trouble is sure to follow.

The literal translation would be: 'los problemas seguro que le siguen', but it doesn't work. The idiomatic (correct) expression is: 'seguro que surgen/hay problemas' (surgir=to arise) - bill1111, Dec 12, 2010

Answer 2

Dr. Brown es muy inteligente porque pudo idear un coche que puede viajar en el pasado y en el futuro

Dr. Brown is very intelligent because he was able to invent a car that can travel in the past and in the future

If you simply said Brown, or Emmett Brown (Gosh, do I feel geeky for knowing his first name!), you wouldn't need an article, but with 'Dr.' you do: 'El Dr. Brown..'. Also, in this context 'ya que' is preferable to 'porque', although 'porque' is good too. - bill1111, Dec 12, 2010

Also, both in Spanish and in English the prepositions would be a little different: 'al pasado y al futuro' and 'back to the past and into the future'. 'ideó' is also preferable to 'pudo idear' - bill1111, Dec 12, 2010

The full sentence: 'El dr. Brown es muy inteligente, ya que ideó un coche que puede viajar al pasado y al futuro.' - bill1111, Dec 12, 2010

Answer 3

La Reserva Federal ha ideado un plan para estimular la economía y reducir el desempleo.

The Federal Reserve has devised a plan to stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment.