La Palabra Del Dia: "beber"

Question

beber ( beh-behr' )

verb ( to drink )

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There are many native English speakers here, most of us can offer great suggestions to the English sentences. I will do my best to go through them all, too. For the Spanish sentences, edit your posts according to the native Spanish speaker's suggestions. Use today's Word of the Day in your own Spanish sentence (and include the English translation as well). Try to use the word in a completely new way and vote on the sentences you like best. The winner will be chosen based upon the correct use of the word as well as the number of votes.

Guidelines:

Write sentences at least 5 words long, but don't write a paragraph either. Write your Spanish sentence, but include the English translation as well. Make the corrections suggested by other users and moderators in the comments section (try not to use personal pronouns unless absolutely necessary). Use your own words! (Don't use a translator, copy from a book, use song lyrics, etc.) Please keep political, religious or personal statements to a minimum. This is a practice game.

How to post a picture

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Examples:

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1. Normalmente bebo tres tazas de café al día.

I normally drink three cups of coffee a day.

2. Anoche bebí demasiado y ahora la cabeza se me explota.

I drank too much last night and now my head is pounding. .

Congrats to Harriette Thompson, 92, who became the oldest woman to finish a 26-mile race at the 2015 Suja Rock 'n' Roll San Diego marathon.

Hola princesa xx - ian-hill, Jun 2, 2015

Hola Ian. xo - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

rac, I have no time to do a picture, a greyhound puppy seems to have joined us a short while ago. - annierats, Jun 2, 2015

Oh, you have a new puppy?? Take a picture for us. :) - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 1

Anoche bebió más de la cuenta. / He drank too much last night.

Bébetelo todo. / Drink it up!

¡Bebamos por el futuro! / Let’s drink to the future!

A drink idiom for all occasions. lol - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Good use of the subjunctive - bebamos - the 1st person plural imperative is only used for ir - (vamos) - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 2

Yo podría dejar de comer carne, azucar, pan... pero nunca podría dejar de beber cerveza. Eso sería demasiado.

I could give up eating meat, sugar, bread... but I could never give up drinking beer. That would be too much.

Some can't give up drinking soda. - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

or, in my case, wine.. - annierats, Jun 2, 2015

or, in my case, water.. - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

Why no definite articles here? (I assume they don't belong or Tiempo would have suggest them) But help me understand the rule, please. Why not la carne, el azucar, el pan? - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 3

En Ávila y en Salamanca, donde estoy ahora, el aire es muy seco. Tengo que beber mucha agua para evitar deshidratarme. Creo que esta región de España está sufriendo una sequía .

In Ávila and in Salamanca, where I am now, the air is very dry. I have to drink a lot of water to avoid being dehydrated. I believe that this area of Spain is undergoing a drought.

More natural would be 'tengo que beber muchA agua para evitar deshidratarme'.. yes 'agua' is masculine but you have to use 'mucha' jeje - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

Thanks. That's another quirk we just have to learn. - jennysk, Jun 2, 2015

Oh no, Stay hydrated, Jenny. :) - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Tiempo: I believe agua is feminine and you only have to say el agua because la agua is not acceptable because of the consecutive a's. This only applies to "la" and not adjectives for some reason, so mucha agua is correct, as you know already. :) - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Oh okay thank you Ken I wonder why it is not the same with 'la almohada' or 'la alcantarilla' for example - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

It is only when the initial syllable is stressed / accented. A-gua vs al-mo-HA-da or al-can-ta-RI-a. I never thought I could teach you something in Spanish:) - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 4

En una boda en Caná de Galilea, no había más vino para beber. Jesús convirtió el agua en vino. Este fue su primer milagro.

At a wedding in Cana in Galilee, there was no more wine to drink. Jesus turned water into wine. This was his first miracle.

John 2 : 1-11. Some bible scholars have concluded that Jesus is not against drinking because of this. Others argue that it was grape juice, not alcoholic/ fermented wine. I wont tell you what I think. - osas-baby, Jun 2, 2015

Great post, amiga! - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 5

Los seres humanos necesitan beber mucho aqua, y cuando hace calor o cuando se hace actividades físicas, habrá que beber más.

Human beings need to drink a lot of water, and when it's hot or when you do physical activities, it will be necessary to drink more.

Hola, Jphip: "los seres humanos...", "cuando hace calor...". Great post! - LuisCache, Jun 2, 2015

A great mini lesson, JP. :) - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 6

Para aquellos de ustedes que están esperando su dosis diaria de tira cómica de Dilbert. Mi contribución con la palabra del día va a seguir.

For those of you who are waiting for your daily Dilbert comic strip fix. My contribution with the word of the day will follow.

• Mi bebida favorita es el whisky escocés, pero sobre todo bebo bourbon, a causa de porque tambíen me gusta también y el bourbon es mucho más barato que el whisky Escocés.

• My favorite drink is Scotch, but mostly I drink bourbon because I like it also and bourbon is much less expensive than Scotch.

• A muchos hombres les gusta beber cerveza viendo los deportes en la televisión.

• Many men like to drink beer while watching sports on television.

• Mientras bebía, decidí decirles contarles varias bromas a mis amigos.

• While I was drinking, I decided to tell several jokes to my friends.

• Jim parece un tonto cuando está bebiendo porque siempre se engulle sus bebidos.

• Jim looks like a fool when he is drinking because he always guzzles his drinks.

Lol - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Could a native speaker please explain why in this case it is debiera and not debería? - mstivers, Jun 2, 2015

mstivers: It could just be a mistake. According to Tiempo the Spanish translations are not very good. I think some guy does this for fun and he is not a professional translator. i noticed several mistakes in the Dilbert I posted yesterday. - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

.. favorita es 'el' whisky..bourbon porque también me gusta y 'el' bourbon es..que 'el' Scotch Whisky( but I'd say 'también me gusta y es mucho mas barato que el whisky Escocés.. - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

.'a causa de 'que' me gusta..' would be correct too but it's very formal and in common speaking nobody would say that in that way (the same for 'debido a que') ;) - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

I don't know, the last 'debiera' debería ser 'debería' :D - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

I would use 'contar' for telling jokes :) - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

That is a good question, mstivers. I did a brief research in Google and I found out that both forms are correct in this case. - LuisCache, Jun 2, 2015

Is is used as a polite form, Usted debiera... instead of Usted debe... - LuisCache, Jun 2, 2015

Luis: you brought up a good point. Deber is the one verb that can mean "should" even in the indicative present, it doesn't need the conditional. And I see how by using the conditional it ensures that it is taken as suggestion rather than "you must." - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 7

Un camello sediento puede beber hasta treinta galones de agua en aproximadamente trece minutos.

A thirsty camel can drink up to thirty gallons of water in about thirteen minutes.

They must have to pee a lot. jeje - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Rac: Nice one.) Or are the camel's humps like big water tanks, separate from their bladders? - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

:D - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 8

Cuando era joven bebía unas diez tazas de café al día; hace unos años, solo bebía tres tazas de café en el desayuno. Antes pensaba que no podía vivir sin el café, pero hace poco el médico me quitó el café. Ahora solo bebo té negro en el desayuno y te verde en la noche, y me volví adicto al té.

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When I was young I used to drink some ten cups of coffee a day; some years ago, I just drank three cups of coffee for breakfast. Before, I used to think that I couldn't live without coffee, but recently my doctor suggested I quit drinking coffee. Since then, I only drink English breakfast tea for breakfast and green tea in the evenings, and I became addicted to tea.

Thanks to Rac!

:) - Raja-jani, Jun 2, 2015

"coffee".... "without coffee".... "suggested to me"... or "suggested I quit drinking coffee".... :) Just minor mistakes. - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Thank you, Rac! - LuisCache, Jun 2, 2015

Do you feel any different? - annierats, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 9

Siempre nos dicen que deberíamos beber mucha agua para mantener la salud, pero es posible beber demasiada agua, y hay personas que han muerto de por hacerlo, incluyendo el famoso caso famoso de alguien que murió de durante un concurso de radio.

They always tell us that we should drink a lot of water in order to keep our health, but it is possible to drink too much water, and there are people who have died from doing so, including the famous case of someone that died during a radio contest.

Didnt she know when to stop? Strange indeed! - osas-baby, Jun 2, 2015

She was feeling quite poorly, but the DJ of the call in show encouraged her to keep drinking. :( - bosquederoble, Jun 2, 2015

Oh dear, that's horrible. - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Bosque: I learn a lot by analyzing your posts. Did you consider using durante or por instead of de here to mean during? With my faulty knowledge of Spanish I would read this as he died of/from/because of the radio show contest:) - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

I thought about durante. Maybe instead of during I should have put from in the English, as that is what I really meant to say. Sometimes I write the Spanish from my concept, then write the English from my concept instead of word for translation from ... - bosquederoble, Jun 2, 2015

the Spanish and get this type discordance. Sometimes I just translate the Spanish I wrote directly and get slightly unnatural stilted English. For the Spanish word I always write the Spanish first. :) - bosquederoble, Jun 2, 2015

Bosque: I understand now...you were trying to say from/because of etc. I do understand how de is used in such situations, as is "por" ¿no? - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Bosque / others: Can "de" can be used in general to mean during (in the right context) or is its use to mean "during" restricted to a few special situations like de día and de noche? (during the day or night) - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

De can be used in some contexts as such, but here it would be understood as from, in my opinion, and I did not say exactly the same thing in my English and Spanish, partly because I had thought of using durante in my original Spanish. Sorry. :) - bosquederoble, Jun 2, 2015

Thanks for the explanation bosque:) - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

pero es posible? or you meant pero 'no' es posible..que han muerto 'por' hacerlo..el famoso caso..murió en/durante un concurso.. :) - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

Tiempo: I'm sure from the sentence that he means it IS possible to drink to much. If you drink too much, too fast, you can drown. Weird, huh? - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Actually what happens is you dilute out your sodium and cause dysfunction of your brain. :) - bosquederoble, Jun 2, 2015

Thanks, Tiempo. :) - bosquederoble, Jun 2, 2015

ok I understand 'but' confused me - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

Would it be better: pero al contrario, la verdad es que es posible...? - bosquederoble, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 10

¡ Se unan, bebedores del mundo ! No tienen nada que perder... excepto sus hígados...

Drinkers of the world unite... You have nothing to lose... but your livers...

Old Irish proverb? - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Quote from Brendan Behan, famous Irish poet (alcoholic). While once visiting Canada he was asked why he'd come. Referring simultaneously to the soda, Canada Dry, and the nation of Canada, he quipped... - Faldaesque, Jun 2, 2015

'Someone asked me if I'd ever drunk Canada dry, so I thought I'd give it a go'... ;-) - Faldaesque, Jun 2, 2015

Falda: I don't think "a perder" works here. The SD dictionary says "que perder" for this exact phrase. I think "para perder" might also work but I'm not sure. - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

I think you rmight be right, thanks... ;-) - Faldaesque, Jun 2, 2015

I'll just fix the other typos at the same time... ;-) - Faldaesque, Jun 2, 2015

Falda: sus hidagos might be OK here, but I remember reading that in situations like this the singular is more common in Spanish because each person has only one liver, not like English where the plural is better. - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Brendan Behan was paraprhasing Marx: 'Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains' - LuisCache, Jun 2, 2015

'únanse,bebedores...' :) - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

In Spanish it is usually translated as: "Proletarios del mundo, uníos; no tienen nada que perder, salvo sus cadenas". :) - LuisCache, Jun 2, 2015

I would say: "Bebedores de todos los países, uníos; no tienen nada que perder, salvo sus hígados" :) - LuisCache, Jun 2, 2015

So, Luis, am I wrong to say that the singular "su higado" would be acceptable here, and perhaps more common since each person has only one liver? - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

You are right: "no tienen nada que perder, excepto su hígado", in singular. - LuisCache, Jun 2, 2015

Thank you Luis, it's funny how once in a while i can remember things correctly. - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 11

Se dice que la gente debe beber dos litros de agua diariamente para la salud, pero después de beber tanto líquido siento como si las ranas saltaran en el estómago.

It is said that people must drink two liters of water daily for health, but after drinking so much liquid I feel that if frogs would hop in my stomach.

....."for their health".... "I feel like frogs are hoping in my stomach" Would sound more natural. By the way, that's a new expression for me. lol :) - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Rac: sure, frogs can hope I guess, but it won't do them much good, they'll still be hopping:) - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Rac: and yes, I realize that I deserve a slap for that one. Please be gentle.:) - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Rofl...no problem....Doh...Thanks for pointing that out, Ken. :) - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

It should be "hopping" Porcu. jejeje - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

..litros 'de' agua (no 'del')...siento 'como' si las...en 'mi' estómago.. :) - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

Tiempo: I have been taught that in Spanish one should say "el or la" instead of "mi" for your own body parts. Is this incorrect? Or is this a special case for some reason? - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

In this case nothing indicates that it is her stomach you can use article if you say 'las ranas 'me' saltaran en el estómago' this last option would be better but it's not too crazy to use possessive adj sometimes ;) - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

Thanks Tiempo, great explanation, I understand completely. (I think) :) - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 12

Cuando usted tiene un resfriado, deber que debería beber mucho mucha agua.

Thanks Tiempo

When you have a cold, you should drink a lot of water.

Answer 13

Uno de estos días espero invitar a todos mis amigos para tomar unas copas conmigo. Hay algunos vinos muy buenos de la región y no son caros, pero la gente que lo prefiere puede beber agua de Santa Lucía, una fuente de agua muy buena .

One of these days I hope to invite all my friends to have a drink with me. There are some very good wines from this area and they are not expensive but those that prefer to do so, may drink water from Santa Lucía, a spring which produces very good water.

I will take you up on that offer Annie, I can compare Spanish wines with Australian! - jennysk, Jun 2, 2015

Annie: do you live full time in Spain? Your profile says Devon, England. - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

pero 'para' la gente que lo 'prefiera puedE' beber ;) - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

She just moved to Spain - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

Thanks Tiempo, there has just been a slight delay here, an interruption, a young galgo has just joined us.. - annierats, Jun 2, 2015

Ken, these profiles tend to be lightyears behind.. I had forgotten I had a profile! - annierats, Jun 2, 2015

I just discovered galgo is a greyhound. Wow, is he yours? - jennysk, Jun 2, 2015

I can't wait until you take a picture of him and show us, Annie. How does feel about him? - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

I meant How does Wolfie feel about him or her? - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Wow great Annie! - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

I'll put up a picture tomorrow, if all goes well, my poor husband said: I need a whiskey so now the new dog is called Vicky. - annierats, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 14

Jim parece un tonto cuando bebe tragando. De todos modos no es conocido por actuar sabiamente a menudo.

Jim looks silly when he drinks by gulping. Anyhow he is not known to act wisely often.

I hate that gulping sound. - rac1, Jun 2, 2015

Raj: I know that you can use por + a noun to mean "by" but I'm not sure if it works with an infinitive. Here you could use tragando instead of "por tragar" and yes, this translates to "by gulping" even though it seems like it just says "gulping" - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

When used with an infinitive por usually means "for" Example: Pablo recibió un premio por ser buen alumno. Pablo received a prize for being a good student. - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

By the way, using the present participle (tragando) following another verb phrase can be used for either "while verb-ing" or "by verb-ing" as is the case here - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Raj...you don't need the "por" - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

yes parece 'un' tonto cuando bebe tragando but I don't know if it should be 'cuando bebe por tragos' since 'bebe tragando' doesn't make much sense in Spanish ''( - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

Or you could say: Parece tonto cuando bebe sorbiendo. - LuisCache, Jun 2, 2015

Tiempo: here is my source for this type of construction (conj verb + present participle to mean by or while. http://spanish.about.com/od/verbs/a/gerund_alone.htm Is it wrong? I don't know how valid spanish.about.com is. - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Tiempo: I think by your suggestion of using tragos you are confirming my understanding that por should only be followed by nouns if you want to say "by" Am I right? - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Tiempo: Luis seems to approve of "bebe sorbiendo" which seems similar to "bebe tragando" What is it that you don't like about it? - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

Thank you all for your interesting input :) - Raja-jani, Jun 2, 2015

Just for kicks I borrowed the first sentence, revised it in English and Spanish, and posted it in my answer. Please take a look Spanish speakers. Gracias. - DilKen, Jun 2, 2015

yes 'sorbiendo' sounds good but shouldn't it be 'to drink by sipping' or are the same?beber tragando y sorbiendo are not the same, That article is good Ken I changed 'tragando' to 'por tragos' because it didn't sound good but they are not the same either - Pablo064, Jun 2, 2015

Answer 15

No bebo la cerveza o café. No me gusta el sabor.

I don't drink beer or coffee. I don't like the taste.