how do you say "it is as hot as"

Question

i want to write to my homestay brother that it is as hot at home as it was in oaxaca. any help'

Answer 1

No estoy hablando de España; lo he consultado con tres amigos de México, Argentina y Colombia respectivamente (los tres son universitarios), y los tres están de acuerdo conmigo. Como dije antes, esta frase solo se la he oído a personas que se han educado en Estados Unidos o que hablan inglés desde pequeños; los que no hablan inglés y no están bajo la influencia del idioma, nunca dirían algo así.

"Esta casa es tan calurosa..." sí suena bien (pero "esta" no lleva tilde, porque es un determinante, no un pronombre).

Also, regarding the way people speak and write... I have over 15 texbooks or Spanish written by Mexicans and published in Mexico, and I cannot find a single sentence that doesn't sound like absolutely perfect standard Spanish to me. Also, I have a Mexican colleague at word, and he says that once you get close to the border between Mexico and EUA, their words and grammar start to get funny.

Answer 2

Priscy,
The "at home" in the original question does not mean "at my house," but "here in my city/town." If the meaning were casa, we would have to use the word house, not home. A house is tangible, while a home is intangible (although there are exceptions, as always).

Also, you wrote "ÿsta casa..." Is there a reason for the accent on the E'

Answer 3

Bueno, la gente de España habla de manera distinta. Aquí , muchas veces he oído decir "caluroso".
Claro que pensandolo bien, sería más natural decir:
"ÿsta casa es tan calurosa como lo era en Oxaca".

Answer 4

muchas gracias to everyone!!

Answer 5

That's good! I like it!
If you also want to implicitly include that "it was" you can say:

Hace tanto calor aquí como (lo hacía) en Oaxaca.

Answer 6

What about, "Hace tanto calor aquí como en Oaxaca."

Answer 7

You're right: I've re-read it again, and I've realized that it actually is a past tense. I prefer your version too... except for that "Es tan caluroso", which should really be "Hace tanto calor".

If you write "Es tan caluroso", the question is... "Who or what is so hot'". Wheather conditions are expressed in a different way in Spanish.

Answer 8

I think Priscy is correct here, and it is just the past tense. That is, Caroline was in Oaxaca before, and it was hot there, and now she is saying that the temperature in her home town (not her house) is roughly the same as that in Oaxaca.

If it were the subjunctive, "as if" would have to be used. I know that most Americans can't use the subjunctive in English properly, and mix up "was" and "were," but the "as if" (or "like," etc.) is essential.

So, to modify Priscy's version slightly:

"Es tan caluroso aquí así como lo era en Oaxaca."

Answer 9

"Es tan caluroso Hace tanto calor en casa así como lo sería en Oxaca".

I believe that the "was" is not a past tense, but what we normally express with conditionals and subjunctives in Spanish.

By the way, that "Es tan caluroso" is grammatically correct, but Spanish natives who don't speak English would never say such thing. As a Spanish teacher with a proper formation, I can tell you that anyone would be corrected immediately in any written exam for writing something like that. Maybe in time it will be normal, but in educated standard Spanish is not acceptable... yet.

Answer 10

Yo diría:
"Es tan caluroso en casa así como lo era en Oxaca".

Pero esperemos más opciones...

Answer 11

Hace tanto mismo calor (aquí) como si estuviéramos en Oaxaca.

I wrote "aquí" (here) instead of "en casa" (at house) because I wasn't completely sure of what you meant. If you're talking about the actual house where you live, you can write "en casa"; otherwise, just omit it or write "aquí".