Esta perra ni ladra.

Question

My girlfriend (a mexicana) said this today. I would have said: Esta perra ni aún ladra. I put both through the translator and got similar results with both coming up with, "This dog doesn't even bark", along with several other alternatives like, This dog neither barks.

Which is more common. ...ni ladra or ...ni aún ladra?

I think your girlfriend meant ni siquiera ladra - francobollo, Jan 18, 2013

Answer 1

I think your girlfriend meant ni siquiera ladra.

Ni aún ladra is a bad construction. Conversely, aún ni is correct.

Esta perra aún ni ladra (ni come sola, ni sale de la casa) implies that she's a puppy not yet capable of typical dog behavior (or that she may be recovering from surgery and relearning typical dog behavior)

Esta perra ni ladra is a perfect construction meaning she is so well behaved that she does not even bark. Conversely, if the dog was expected to bark to guard a house, then Esta perra ni ladra is a complaint on how quiet this dog is when it should be the opposite.

I hope this helps.

Perfect explanation. Thanks. - gringojrf, Jan 18, 2013

Answer 2

sorry for my bad English (my native language is Spanish, I'm learning English) but I hope you understand me.

is more common and correct to say "ni ladra". some people often do not have a good use of Spanish, because of where they lived can mispronounce a word or words that should not be used in a sentence. For example in some places (in towns is more common):

• Fuera(out) is correctly but in some places they say "ajuera".
• Entonces(then,now) is correctly but in some places they say "tonces". This is very common, but it is wrong.

---

okay, if you add some word to a sentence in spanish , can mean another thing or losing the meaning. e.g.

• ni ladra(definitely the dog not bark)
• ni aún ladra(hard to understand )(difficult to understand because it is meaningless)
• aún no ladra(waiting to bark)(waiting for the dog to bark at some point)

Remember to capitalize you sentences, amigo. - rac1, Jan 17, 2013

Thanks. - gringojrf, Jan 17, 2013

Thank you. Would you like corrections on your use of English? - PeterRS, Jan 17, 2013

sure, I would like - zangetsu, Jan 17, 2013

Answer 3

"This dog doesn't even bark",

If this is what your girlfriend means, I would say "Este(a) perro(a) ni siquiera ladra" but there are always regionalisms even within the same country.

What would be the difference between ni siguiera and ni aún? - gringojrf, Jan 17, 2013

I believe that was the intent of the statement. That is why I would have said. Ni aún ladra but she only said, Ni ladra.. - gringojrf, Jan 17, 2013

Ni siquiera ..... not/does not even )))) ni aún .... still doesn´t )))) "aun" without tilde has various meanings; check the RAE, but you have no context, so you won´t be able to know - 005faa61, Jan 18, 2013

Thanks Julian. - gringojrf, Jan 18, 2013

Answer 4

Esta perra ni ladra ni muerde?? Aún! I think it could be taken as a warning..

But I'm only guessing. The best, or , worst is yet to come..

Yes I agree in the sense of neither.nor. but what about in the "not even" sense. - gringojrf, Jan 17, 2013

Gring, you know your girlfriend, I don't.. - annierats, Jan 17, 2013

would be nice to know the situation in which the phrase was used. for more understanding. - zangetsu, Jan 17, 2013

It was a stand-alone sentence. Not part of a conversation so there is no other context. - gringojrf, Jan 17, 2013