sobre vs. de?? any help is appreciated

Question

Hi, I'm a Japanese student learning Spanish and I need some help.

I'm trying to translate a phrase that means "commentary on the bar" or "commentary about the bar" in English. "The bar" here is referring to the Spanish pubs, and I guess the context is that I want to explain about the Spanish bars to people who are unfamiliar with them. At first I thought that it would be "un comentario del bar" but the more I think about it the less I'm sure. Would it be "un comentario sobre el bar"? What's the difference??

Nice avatar! :) - Manity, Mar 13, 2015

Welcome to SD amiga. - ian-hill, Mar 13, 2015

Answer 1

Hi, as a native speaker: "de", "sobre" and "acerca" are correct, but as bosquederoble said, "acerca" sounds better in this case.

"Un comentario acerca del bar".

thanks! - suzuki121, Mar 13, 2015

as a follow up question, am I using "comentario" correctly? someone suggested that I use "explicación" instead because "comentario" sounded a bit awkward :/ - suzuki121, Mar 13, 2015

Answer 2

To me as a non-native speaker:

un comentario del bar- is equivocal in meaning and has to be determined by context- is it a commentary/comment about the bar, or one from the bar (one that the bar made)

un comentario sobre el bar, un comentario acerca del bar- sounds more definitively about the bar

thank you! that helped clear the confusion a bit :) - suzuki121, Mar 11, 2015

De nada. :) - bosquederoble, Mar 11, 2015

Answer 3

Hi, I think both answers are correct, but "sobre" would be better.

thank you!! - suzuki121, Mar 11, 2015

Answer 4

If you want to explain to people who are unfamiliar with them you should use "comentario", because I think that people know what a bar is.

If the person doesn't even know what a bar: "Puedes explicarle lo que es un bar. Por ejemplo, un bar tiene muchas sillas y mesas, la gente va a beber con amigos y a pasar un rato agradable", that's an explanation about a bar

If the person knows what a bar is "Los bares españoles son muy buenos, divertidos y la gente es genial". that would be a comentary about a Spanish bar.

Normalmente explicación no sería una buena elección porque creo que todos sabemos lo que es un bar, quizás necesites saber cómo son, si son buenos bares, qué tipo de gente va, etc. En este caso sería un comentario acerca del bar.

Espero haberte ayudado.

¡Muchas gracias! - suzuki121, Mar 13, 2015

Answer 5

Although in certain contexts all three are interchangeable (don't forget 'se trata' too ) do bear in mind that sobre and de can have different meanings depending on context whereas you'll never go wrong with acerca de in your examples (which to my ear also sounds the most hmmm, shall we say elegant, pleasing to the ear ).

Eg. ..... del bar. could mean 'from the bar', .... sobre el bar could mean 'above the bar'. I'm just being pedantic to illustrate the point.

Also I believe that 'de' is a good translation for 'about' when it's broader meaning could 'concerning' - eg concerning 'a person'.

:) - ian-hill, Mar 13, 2015

Answer 6

"del bar" significaría que el comentario de originó en el bar o dependiendo del contexto significaría "acerca/sobre" el bar