"De" or "Como"?

Question

I just learned a new sentence:

"De niño, yo dormía mucho." (As a child, I used to sleep a lot)

I would like to know:

(1) How to say "As a child, Tommy learns by playing games"?

(2) How to say "Since a child, Tommy has been learning by doing things"?

(3) How to say "When Tommy was a child, he was very playful"?

(4) When to use "de" or "como"?

(5) Is it always unnecessary to use "un/una" when I say "As a child/student/parent, ..." ?

Answer 1

"As a child, Tommy learns by playing games"? sounds wrong to me in English.

Same thing with "Since a child, Tommy has been learning by doing things"?

Would you really use them like that?

"When Tommy was a child, he was very playful" = Cuando Tommy era chico/un niño, era muy juguetón.

Hola, chileno. Thanks for telling me that you think the first two sentences sound wrong to you. I thought they were clear enough. Ok, what I want to say is "Tommy is a child and he learns things by playing games" and - joygogo, Sep 16, 2013

"Tommy has been learning by doing (not just talking) since he was a child." Do they sound right to you or not? - joygogo, Sep 16, 2013

When I saw the example sentence "De niño, ...", I thought it would be translated as "Since I was a child" or "When I was a child" instead of "As a child", so I was wondering when to use "como". Am I clear enough? - joygogo, Sep 16, 2013

You are clear enough, but I agree with Chileno regarding how the sentence should be written. - rac1, Sep 16, 2013

Thanks, rac1. But I don't think my puzzle is solved. Well, forget it! - joygogo, Sep 16, 2013

I am sorry, I assumed you were an English native. - chileno, Sep 16, 2013

I'm not, so I depend on English translation heavily to learn Spanish. I welcome any teaching from you, including English and Spanish. : ) - joygogo, Sep 17, 2013

I understand you completely. It is an advantage to know more or less a second language to try to acquire a third one. - chileno, Sep 17, 2013

Answer 2

I agree with chileno for the most part. I can imagine a situation where your first sentence would make sense. But chileno suggestion is better.

There are a ton of expressions that I hear and can understand but would never use. It is better to think about how you would say something and use forms that you are comfortable with rather than trying to understand every nuance of the language and adopt language that is not natural to you.

For example the two sentences in your first two comments are you talking naturally. Translate these and use them.

Hola, gringojrf! The reason why I submitted the question is because I keep seeing example sentences beginning with "De niño,..." and the translation the teacher gave me is "As a child, ..." For example, "De niño, Victor iba al parque." and - joygogo, Sep 16, 2013

"De niño, yo iba a la escuela." I just wondered what "de" meant here. Does it refer to "Since/When I was a child,..."? If I want to say "The man talks as a child", then will it be "El hombre habla como un niño"? - joygogo, Sep 16, 2013

I would say, "The man talks like a child" or "The man talks as if he were a child." - rac1, Sep 16, 2013

Thanks for the correction, rac1. So, is "El hombre habla como un niño" a correct sentence for "The man talks like a child"? BTW, I don't know how to say "The man talks as if he were a child" in Spanish. Would you please tell me? - joygogo, Sep 16, 2013

De niño is As a child. - gringojrf, Sep 16, 2013

Answer 3

I don't know how to say "The man talks as if he were a child" in Spanish. Would you please tell me?

El hombre habla como fuera un niño. is my best guess for your sentence above.

I got this by putting your sentence above into the translator: So I was pretty close.

El hombre habla como si fuera un niño.

Thank you for responding. So, which one is correct? "El hombre habla como si fuera un niño"? - joygogo, Sep 17, 2013

Yes I think ...como si fuera... is correct. - gringojrf, Sep 17, 2013

Answer 4

"De niño, yo dormía mucho." (As a child, I used to sleep a lot)

This is a perfect translation.

"Since a child, Tommy has been learning by doing things"?

For this I would say "Since childhood" / "Since he was a child" .......... "Desde su niñez" / Desde que era niño".

Hola, JulianChivi. Thanks for your reply. May I consult you another question? do they sound natural to you if I say “As a student, I should study hard”, “As a teacher, I should teach my students patiently”? - joygogo, Sep 17, 2013

And I got their translation from SD translator: "Como estudiante, yo debería estudiar mucho", "“Como un profesor, debería enseñar a mis estudiantes con paciencia”. Since one sentence starts with “Como …” and the other with “Como un …” , - joygogo, Sep 17, 2013

which one is grammatically correct? - joygogo, Sep 17, 2013

Your first 2 sentences sound OK to me, although ".......... I should have patience with my students" sounds more natural - 005faa61, Sep 17, 2013

"Un" is not necessary in either sentence - 005faa61, Sep 17, 2013

Muchas gracias! I am glad I have learned a lot! - joygogo, Sep 17, 2013

¡No hay de qué! Espero que te haya ayudado a borrar algo de la confusión - 005faa61, Sep 17, 2013

Hola, Julian, I have one more question. Today, I listened to a song "Eres Tú" and the lyrics begin with "como una promesa, eres tú, eres tú". Then, does "como" need an "un/una" when it comes with a thing, not a person? Por favor! - joygogo, Sep 18, 2013

Joy, "como" has nothing to do with "un/una" following it. Context determines this usage - 005faa61, Sep 19, 2013

Answer 5

Concerning "De niño"

I think that you might understand it better as "from [the time he was a] child", but this is obviously an expression that does not translate directly into English.

To make it less frustrating you might try posting your attempts at translating each of your sentences in Spanish and English and see what native speakers like chileno suggest. Maybe you can come up with several ways to use de, como, cuando, desde in your sentences.

From childhood, it does... ;) - chileno, Sep 16, 2013

or "since childhood" - chileno, Sep 16, 2013

Hola, Jubilado and chileno. Thank you both. I think "Since childhood" is a good translation for "De niño". And I would like to try to make sentences but before I can make it, I need to read many correct sentences for me to copy. - joygogo, Sep 17, 2013