5 short unrelated questions
Seguro = sure "I'm not sure" Estoy no seguro. Can it also mean sure like yes? Seguro puede. "Sure you can"? Does this come from seguir (to follow)?
I've learned the word for computer to be computadora. I've also seen it translated as ordenador. Are these two words interchangable? The online translation for laptop (computer) is,
portátil. Or at least that's what the web translation says. Is this correct, or is a better word for laptop (computer).Descargar=to download. To upload is subir?
respuesta y contesta: Do they mean the same thing?
5.Comí dos veces desde que te fuiste. I ate two times since you left. Can you leave out the "te" since fuiste can only mean "you left". I don't think you can, but I can't explain why I think that. Also, can "que" be taken out of the sentence? Que is very confusing to me sometimes. It seems like it appears in places that to my baby Spanish brain it doesn't need to be.
Gracias,
peeps
27 Answers
The word "se" has close to a bazillion meanings and uses. One of them is the third person reflexive (or reciprocal) pronoun, and that was the use brought up here with "irse,"
I suppose Spanish grammars written in English and some books use that terminology, but most of the grammars I have, and the textbooks I use as a teacher of Spanish for foreigners never call "irse" a reflexive verb. There is nothing reflexive about it, except the pronoun, which has no function whatsoever. I wouldn't advice anyone to call this verb reflexive. The books I use call these verbs pronominal (a terminology used even in the famous A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish), to differentiate them from those whose objects match their subjects, which are clearly reflexive or reciprocal. Within the pronominal ones, there are sub-divisions with fairly intuitive names, which help understanding their function and usage.
By the way, you forgot to mention the passive reflexive and the impersonal SE, which aren't reflexive or pronominal.
People! People! Baby Spanish learner here. : )
Just kidding, bring it on, Me gusta mucho.
The word "se" has close to a bazillion meanings and uses. One of them is the third person reflexive (or reciprocal) pronoun, and that was the use brought up here with "irse," which is recirpocal; "dormirse" and "comerse" are reflexive because the person doing the action is also receiving the action, like the reflection in a mirror - you are doing the looking, and you are the one being looked at (please forgive the sentence ended in a preposition).
"Se" can also be the the third person indirect object pronoun when both object pronouns are used ("Ellos se lo dieron"), and it is also used in impersonal expressions ("Se habla español;" "Se venden espejos"). Like you pointed out, the fact that a verb has "se" nearby does not make it reflexive, but the verbs being discussed in this thread did happen to fit that category.
Just to make things even nastier, "sé" is its own separate verb, and a nice little irregular verb it is, which only mucks things up further for Spanish-language learners.
The use of the SE in Spanish, in general (call any verb with this pronoun nearby "reflexive verb" doesn't help much)
Are you referring to textbooks not clarifying reflexive verbs in general, or speficially the use of the reflexive pronoun with "comer"'
Although the meaning of "comer" with and without the dative (reflexive pronoun) appears to be the same, there is a subtle distinction, especially in the way the verb is used. The pronoun indicates completion, so it is normally used when a specific amount of food consumed, and it is always omitted when no specific amount is used, or no food is specified at all (intransitive).
I don't understand why textbooks don't even attempt to clarify something so important in Spanish, and so different from English.
It's a hard concept to grasp. Some verbs can be reflexive or not just for fun ("Me comí una manzana" means the same thing as "Comí una manzana"), but many others change meaning whether they're reflexive (or reciprocal) or not, like ir/irse or dormir/dormirse (sleeping v. the act of falling asleep).
Criss.
Thanks Criss,
That totally helps. I'm just learning reflexive verbs in depth. I understand them, but getting them lodged in my brain and making them second nature is a process.
Lazarus,
You are a rockstar!
Thanks.
"Seguro" can be used as a reply meaning "sure," same as in English. "Sí, seguro" = "Yeah, sure." For "Sure you can" you can say, "Seguro que puedes" (although in my personal opinion - take it or leave it - it sounds a little awkward, like an English speaker translating the English phrase. But you will be understood).
I've seen "computer" translated as "computador," "computadora," and "ordenador." I can't remember if the masculine or feminine form of the cognate is the "accepted" one, but they are pretty much interchangeable. "Laptop" would be "computador(a)/ordenador portátil" (portable computer), but it's often shortened to simply "portátil."
Don't know on this one - I think I've heard the "proper" word for "upload" before, but I can't think of it right now.
"Contestar" and "responder" (the verbs) are synonyms, but I have not heard "contesta" as a noun (it is the third-person singular, present tense form of the verb, though). If you are looking for "the response/the answer" then it's "la respuesta."
"Ir" is to go; "Irse" (with the personal pronoun) means to leave. Therefore, taking the "te" out of the above sentence changes the meaning from "I ate/have eaten twice since you left" to "I ate/have eaten twice since you went" (without adding 'where' you went, the sentence sounds incomplete).
You cannot take out the "que." It is a nasty little word, becuase it has to many meanings - what, which, that, and others, and in many cases where "that" would be optional (and even normally ommitted in English), "que" is mandatory in Spanish.
I hope this helps.
Criss.
4. respuesta y contesta: Do they mean the same thing'"Respuesta" means "answer", but only as a noun, i.e. I want an answer = Quiero una respuesta. You cannot use it as a verb, since this is "responder". "Contesta", on the other hand, is a verb, and it means "he answers".
5.Comí dos veces desde que te fuiste. I ate two times since you left. Can you leave out the "te" since fuiste can only mean "you left". I don't think you can, but I can't explain why I think that. Also, can "que" be taken out of the sentence? Que is very confusing to me sometimes. It seems like it appears in places that to my baby Spanish brain it doesn't need to be.
The word "que" can only be suppressed with a very small list of verbs and constructions, but this cases are so rare, that I advice you not to suppress it in any case (and grammarians say that it should never be suppressed). In this case suppressing it is plain wrong. Suppress QUE's in Spanish is like suppressing pronouns in English - imagine "I want you to go" after suppressing them: "Want to go".
Fuiste = you went
Te fuiste = you left
"Fuiste" doesn't meant "you left", as you thought. "Ir" and "irse" are different verbs, so you cannot remove that "te" neither.
1. Seguro = sure "I'm not sure" Estoy no seguro. Can it also mean sure like yes? Seguro puede. "Sure you can"? Does this come from seguir (to follow)'
The correct one is "No estoy seguro". The "no" always precede the verb. It has nothing to do with "seguir", but it is related to "sure", "secure" and "assure", all from Latin "securus", meaning "without care or danger".
2. I've learned the word for computer to be computadora. I've also seen it translated as ordenador. Are these two words interchangable? The online translation for laptop (computer) is, portátil. Or at least that's what the web translation says. Is this correct, or is a better word for laptop (computer).
Computadora has been accepted in Latin America instead of the English word "computer", since we already had the words "computar" and "computador", from Latin origin. Spain copied the French, who created a word equivalent "ordenador", and since we already had that word from Latin, we kept it, I don't know how people say "laptop" in Latin America, but in Spain is portátil (portable).
