I was assigned a paper to write.

Question

Hello Everyone! I hope you all are doing well! I have never tried this before, but others have, and I know better than to ask for translation help But, I have already written my "paper", which is actually more like a paragraph, but that is all I'm required to do. I was instructed to write a bit about a famous landmark in a Spanish speaking country. So, living in the United States, I live closer to Mexico than any other country, so, I picked Mexico as my country, and the Rio Grande as my landmark I only used the translator to help me with words I did not know, and to finish up small details. That was not against my rules Anyway, to the point I would like a few of you to read over my paragraph, and tell me what you think. On the places that I did something wrong, please let me know, down below. Thanks! Here's my paragraph on the Rio Grande.

El Río Grande es un río famoso que es parte de frontera de México y los Estados Unidos. El Rio Grande es uno de las sistemas de río más largo de América del norte. El Río Grande tienen muchos nombres. El río es conocido como el Río Grande, el Río Grande del Norte, y el Río Bravo. En la el década de 1800 el Río Grande fue la frontera entre México y la Texas República en la guerra mexicano-americana. Después del Guerra había terminado, el río se quedo el frontera de El Paso hasta el Gulfo de México.

(Here's what it's supposed to say in English)

The Rio Grande is a famous river that is part of the border between Mexico and the United States. The Rio Grande is one of the longest river systems in North America. The Rio Grande has many names. The river is known as the Rio Grande, the Rio Grande del Norte, and the Rio Bravo. In the late 1800's the Rio Grande was the border between Mexico and the Republic of Texas in the Mexican-American War. After the war was over, the river remained the border from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico.

How did I do?

This is how you ask for help. Good on you melton1995!! :) There are some great people on here (I call them the "gurus") and you are definitely in great hands!!! :) - Jason7R, Dec 17, 2010

:) Thank you :) - melton1995, Dec 17, 2010

Answer 1

Here is another thought you might consider. If I were writing this in English, I would introduce the Rio Grande by name once, then refer to the river as "it" in the next two sentences. Repeating the name seems clumsy to me.

I know Spanish also has the ability to refer to a subject already introduced by using a word like "it". Since I am studying that now in Spanish, I don't feel comfortable making a re-write recommendation, but maybe one of the gurus on this site could contribute a solution.

Here's the English recommendation I'm making:

The Rio Grande is a famous river that is part of the border between Mexico and the United States. It is one of the longest river systems in North America and has many names. It is called the Rio Grande, the Rio Grande del Norte, and the Rio Bravo. In the late 1800's it formed the border between Mexico and the Republic of Texas in the Mexican-American War. After the war was over, the river remained the border from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico.

Just a suggestion.

Okay, so I changed more that I mentioned. If re-written in Spanish, what would be used in the place of "it"?

First, I am a novice in Spanish, so don't take this to the teacher without one of the gurus looking at it. Here is my rewrite in Spanish, likely beyond my current skill level.

El Río Grande es un río famoso que es parte de frontera de México y los Estados Unidos. Lo es uno de las sistemas de río más largo de América del norte y tiene muchos nombres. El río es conocido como el Río Grande, el Río Grande del Norte, y el Río Bravo. En la el década de 1800 lo formó la frontera entre México y la Texas República en la guerra mexicano-americana. Después del Guerra había terminado, el río se quedo el frontera de El Paso hasta el Gulfo de México.

I hope that helps!

Yes, I thought of that, but I wasn't sure how to go about it......I guess I figured, better to be clumsy than wrong :) Thank you though! I'll try it! - melton1995, Dec 17, 2010

Answer 2

The third sentence should read 'El Rio Grande tiene muchos nombres' as opposed to
'El Rio Grande tienen muchos nombres.'

Thank you, Leanahtan! - melton1995, Dec 17, 2010

Answer 3

El Río Grande es un río famoso que es parte de la frontera entre México y los Estados Unidos. El Rio Grande es uno de los sistemas de río más largos de América del norte. El Río Grande tiene muchos nombres. Es conocido como el Río Grande, el Río Grande del Norte, y el Río Bravo. A fines del siglo 19, el Río Grande fue la frontera entre México y la República de Texas, en la guerra mexico-americana. Después que la guerra terminó, el río se mantuvo como frontera desdeEl Paso hasta elGolfo de México.

Great! Thanks! Well, not that I missed so much, but that you were able to help :) - melton1995, Dec 17, 2010

Answer 4

This is just a thought and only a thought....please let people respond to this before changing it. The first sentence says,

El Río Grande es un río famoso que es parte de frontera de México y los Estados Unidos.

I was wondering if you could say, "....que esta en el borde de México y los Estados Unidos." Again, just a thought. Hope this helps you get more responses and I see that Leanahtan stated the "tienen" to "tiene" change. The river is an entity and not multiple things so "tiene" would be used there.

¡Está bien! Muchas gracias, Jason! - melton1995, Dec 17, 2010