Do you want to get ready
Such as, "Do you want to get ready and go up into town?"
4 Answers
Hi Squib.
Due Diligence:
This question can be answered easily enough by a quick trip to the dictionary at the top of the page. If you look at the dictionary entry for the word ready, under the adjectival uses, you will find an example in which this expression is used:
•to get (oneself) ready -> prepararse or (prepared) alistarse; (Am) arreglarse (smarten up)
If you notice, several verbs are suggested here. From this point, it would be a good idea to investigate further each of the suggested verbs. For example, if you look up the word preparar, you will find the following listed under its pronominal uses:
1). to prepare oneself, to get ready (para algo for sth)
- ¡prepárate! -> get ready! (disponte)
- prepararse para hacer algo -> to prepare o get ready to do something
Here you can see that an expression is provided that is very similar to what you are after. What's more, there is even one additional verb offered that you might be interested in investigating to round out your understanding.
From here, it might be helpful to cross check the usage against a decent Spanish language dictionary such as the DRAE or Pequeño LaRousse. Here is what the entry in the DRAE suggests:
Preparar
7). prnl. Disponerse, prevenirse y aparejarse para ejecutar algo o con algún otro fin determinado. Blockquote
As you can see, the DRAE seems to be in accordance with the information that you have previously found, and there is the additional benefit of finding yet another couple of verbs to investigate in order to help you further your understanding. As a final measure, and once you have chosen or worked up an expression as a viable option it would then be a good idea to enter your chosen expression into a search engine such as google (i.e. using them as the search terms). For example, suppose that you thought that "quieres prepararte" was a good nucleus to build a sentence around, you could enter this into google and you would get the following result.
About 24,200 results (0.28 seconds)
This gives you some indication as to the degree to which this expression might be used. However, you have to remember that often times, the internet, in general, is not necessarily the best source as to what is considered acceptable usage. That is why it would be a good idea to further limit your search to books, newspapers or scholarly journals. This is because, generally speaking, these sources usually (though not always) enjoy a more rigorous editing process than is true of other sources. If you were to limit your search to books for example, you would find that google lists 30 results. From here it would be a good idea to examine and compare some of these individual uses in their natural context and see what you can learn from them. Here are a few of the quotes that could be obtained from such a search.
Juan Antonio de Zunzunegui. Obras completas, Volume 6
—Me hace mucha ilusión ver, con mis propios ojos, cómo viven los ricachos. >>—Quieres prepararte para el día de mañana que lo seas tú?
Llegaron los hippies y otros cuentos. Manuel Abreu Adorno - 1978
... en el trabajo y nena si quieres prepararte dos más te sigo contando ...
Revista nacional. Manuel Abreu Adorno - 1978
Si quieres prepararte café, encontrarás listo el fogón.
El filo de tu locura. Roberto Quezada - 1988
A ratos siento que todavía no estoy preparado para un cambio de esa clase. — ¿Quieres prepararte, o lo estas resistiendo? " — Lo resistí al principio, para decirte la verdad, vaya.
El Duque Siciliano: Madeleine Ker - 2006
–Pero la fiesta es esta noche. ¿No quieres prepararte para ir? -Estoy segura de que tendré suficiente tiempo. -Querrás estar lo más bella posible -dijo Mela con firmeza-.
Disciplina positiva. Jane Nelsen, Ed.D., M.F.C.C. - 2006
... Quieres prepararte para ir a la cama o no?", por supuesto que no quiso, obviamente la opción que ofrecí estaba más allá de las necesidades (de ambas) de irse a dormir, además esta opción ...
Epistolários. Julio Torri, Serge I. Zaïtzeff - 1995
Si quieres prepararte para venir, dedícate a conversar en inglés diariamente (o cuando puedas), y cuando me avises te preparo el terreno. Este año las cosas se pusieron favorables, y en la coyuntura favorable traje a Samuel Vasconcelos...
La sabiduría del samurái. Thomas Cleary - 2009
Si quieres prepararte para trabajar, debes hacerlo cuando los gallos empiezan a cantar, si no llegarás tarde. Por ello y desde la antigüedad, la norma de levantarse temprano siempre ha consistido en hacerlo con el canto del gallo.
If still unsatisfied with your expression after having compared and studied several examples in context, you can then try reworking it to come up with possible alternatives. Just remember that whatever alternative you have come up with is best to be double-checked with real world examples as outlined above.
At the end of this process, if you still have not come up with a suitable phrase or if you are just looking for verification, you could always post the expression on the forum to make it available for critiquing.
If you follow these steps, especially those steps related to studying words and phrases in various contexts, you will likely attain a better and more lasting understanding of the many aspects of the language and how it works. In addition, when somebody levels the accusation at you that, "Hey! this is a learning site and not a free translation service," you will never have to worry your conscience wondering whether or not you really did do your due diligence in researching a phrase before posting your question (as listed under rule #1 in our forum rules and guidelines policy)
"Do you want to get ready and go up into town?"
"getting ready" can encompass a variety of preparations Putting on lipstick, combing one's hair, emptying one's bladder, changing one's clothing, etc. If you really mean, specifically, put on certain clothes, then you should say "get dressed" or some such more specific phrase. I would have preferred "Quieres ponerte listo" to "Quieres estar listo" but given the original question (as stated), one can hardly object to it's not meaning, specifically, "getting dressed" (since that's not what was asked).
It says "Quieres estar listo", but I have no idea if it's actually used like that.
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