no entiendo el ingles

Question

What does 'no entiendo el inglés' mean in English?

I hope you don't mind my edit. Please remember to use proper capitalization, grammar, and punctuation when posting. Not only are people learning Spanish here, but also learning English, and we don't want to confuse anyone. Thanks :) - SonrisaDelSol, Jun 19, 2011

I'm not sure what that "n" before "entiendo" means. Can you clarify? - SonrisaDelSol, Jun 19, 2011

I changed the "n" to "no" so it would correspond with the title. - SonrisaDelSol, Jun 19, 2011

Answer 1

Is it customary to include the article "el"? It was my understanding that one omits it in a sentence like this. - Zander

Most grammar article answer that with descriptions similar to this one:

Often before names of languages: The article generally is used before names of languages. But it can be omitted immediately following a verb that is used often with languages, such as hablar (to speak), or after the preposition en. El inglés es la lengua de Belice. (English is the language of Belize.) El alemán es difícil. (German is difficult.) Hablo bien el español. (I speak Spanish well.) But, hablo español. (I speak Spanish.) No puede escribir en francés. (He can't write in French.)

The list of verbs after which the definite article is omitted is never specified. Therefore, you are likely to see some people using the definite article (especially older people like myself that learned a different rule) while others omit it.

I found an old schoolbook (reprinted 1965). The list of words that you did not use the definite article after with languages were "hablar, en and de".

thank you for this comment! I've often wondered about that myself :-) - billygoat, Jun 19, 2011

Buena respuesta - EL_MAG0, Jun 19, 2011

Answer 2

Entiendo el ings

Hola! This means "I understand English".

"Entiendo" is the present tense, yo form of the infinitive "entender" which means "to understand". "El inglés" means "English. Put them together and you get "I understand English".

What does the "n" before "entiendo" mean? If it was supposed to be "no"...then it would now say, "No entiendo el inglés". This means "I do not/don't understand English".

Good question...I hope I helped

Is it customary to include the article "el"? It was my understanding that one omits it in a sentence like this. - Zander, Jun 19, 2011

Zander, I thought so, too. However, my teacher corrected me once and told me it's needed. So, I'm just going with my teacher...but honestly, I'm confused when it's supposed to be used. - SonrisaDelSol, Jun 19, 2011

Answer 3

delete-already answered

Did you mean to wirte «no entiendo el inglés»? Literally, «I do not understand English», but I would phrase it as «I don't speak English»

¡Bienvenido al foro!

Welcome to the forum!

Answer 4

My immediate guess was no entiendo el inglés, so I changed the title.

I don't understand English.

Heidita saves the day ! - SonrisaDelSol, Jun 19, 2011

I edited the question so it says "no", also. Is that ok? - SonrisaDelSol, Jun 19, 2011