how can I flexibly use " check" in spanish? I always get lost, below I have some sam[ples.
1, I already sent you the mail, please check it.
it should be following expression in spanish:
ya te envié el correo electrónico, por favor compruebalo// por favor cheque''''.
2, one day I went to the shop with one foreigner from Colombia, she bought a lot of stuff, after she paid, then I said to her " por favor cheque todas cosas que comprasate para a ver si hay algo que no esta aqui'", but she couldnot understand.
when someone cannot find something, then I say to him " please check your pocket", in this situation, I can say " compruebe tu bolsillo, por favor".
"por favor verifique/cheque/ comprueba si hay algun error en los documentos" I personally think maybe I should use "verifique".
16 Answers
James: Fair enough. Now explain to me why chequear is "bad." You say that it is unnecessary, but that is subjective. Obviously, the people who use it find it useful.
James, useful for what ? WE already have like 10 verbs....to say the same...why should we want to include this Spanglish word?
I am with Lazarus a 100 %!
So you don't, not in this instance and leave the Columbians alone. Spanish is a language with variant dialects depending in which Spanish-ruled country you came from. Enough said.
Let's start with the first:
Hace tiempo que te (le) mande el correo electronico, por favor de revisar su correo!
Por favor de revisar sus compras, para segurar que nadea le al faltado.
While your intention was well meaning, you were thinking in English and not in Spanish. The error was yours.comprueba means-prove. Is this what you want to say? The word you are looking for is "revisa", revisa su bolsillo.
Por favor de revisar y verifique que no haga errores en los documentos.
You always want to strive for formality.
so drop that annoying thing about your America vs Spain crusade that you seem to be fighting for
Er, you are the one who is always starting this, by denouncing Latin American variations as incorrect. I am merely responding to your crusade.
If it improves the language, it is good, no matter where it comes from; if it worsens it, it is bad
Fair enough. Now explain to me why chequear is "bad." You say that it is unnecessary, but that is subjective. Obviously, the people who use it find it useful. Maybe it has a slightly different nuance. You yourself said that there are six other words in Spanish with the same meaning. Why not pick one and chuck all the others? The answer is that it is good to have greater nuance.
As Samdie says, Spanish itself is nothing but a corruption by "colonials" of "pure" Latin, so maybe you should go back to speaking Latin. But wait, Latin itself was a corruption of earlier languages, and on and on.
Languages are alive, and constantly changing. I'm not saying that everything should be considered correct, because there are certainly many things said in both Spanish and English out of pure ignorance. But I don't see how that applies to chequear.
James Santiago said:
Does that mean "How much they spoke Spanish like Spaniards'" Are American changes to English incorrect if they are not used in England? No offense, but the view held by the Spaniards on this forum regarding dialects of Spanish spoken in the Americas seems rather outmoded to me. Kind of like thinking about the "colonials" and their "corrupted" speech. If Colombians have adopted chequear as a verb they find useful, I see no pity in that.
James, it means that anything that involves introducing unnecessary words on the expense of others that have evolved over time to describe things with precision, to me, it is bad, whether this happens in America, Spain, in Jupiter, or in another Galaxy, so drop that annoying thing about your America vs Spain crusade that you seem to be fighting for, because this has nothing to do with it. If it improves the language, it is good, no matter where it comes from; if it worsens it, it is bad... to me, at least.
Colombians, including many people form MY FAMILY, speak very differently from the way we do in Spain, but this has nothing to do with speaking better or worse; it is all about the richness and precision of the way people talk.
Who said anything about "corrupted speech" in Colombia? God! I just hope you are never given the switch to launch atomic weapons, because you'll find someone who wants to attack you in no time.
lazarus1907 said:
The verb "chequear" and "chequeo" is already widely used, and it is a word that has been borrowed from English, a language that borrowed from French, and this, from Persian, all from a chess game. The question, in any case, is: why borrowing a verb which already can be expressed in at least 6 different ways? Keeping those already existing words keep us closer to the literature spoken in previous centuries and all its richness, whereas using "chequear" adds nothing new or necessary to the language.
Ah, my fellow linguistic conservative,
As I'm sure you know we are fighting a losing battle/rearguard action against the attractiveness of "cool". Or, as the Japanese would say, "nowi na" (which is their borrowing of English "now" [meaning up-to-date/fashionable and which has largely supplanted existing ways of saying the same thing in "real" Japanese]) expressions. We all know that it's inevitable (one might even argue that, were it not for such tendencies, the the folk of the Iberian peninsula would still be speaking Latin.) Mostly what bothers me is not so much the introduction of redundant loan-words as the all-to-frequent blurring of distinctions in meaning that all too often occur in the "development" of language. Sic transit gloria lingua.
It is a pity. Colombia used to be well known for how well their inhabitants could speak Spanish.
Does that mean "How much they spoke Spanish like Spaniards'" Are American changes to English incorrect if they are not used in England?
No offense, but the view held by the Spaniards on this forum regarding dialects of Spanish spoken in the Americas seems rather outmoded to me. Kind of like thinking about the "colonials" and their "corrupted" speech. If Colombians have adopted chequear as a verb they find useful, I see no pity in that.
James Santiago said:
En cualquier caso, estaría mal conjugado; debería ser "chequee". Pero Angela usó la forma informal diciendo "Ya te envié...," así que ¿no debería estar en la forma de tú?
I vagely remember than in Mexico they use the verb "checar" as opposed to "chequear" in other countries; this one should be "chequé" in theory, but in any case, without the accent is wrong.
:
It is used like any other transitive verb: "chequeo, chequeas, chequea, chequamos, chequeáis, chequean / "chequeé, chequeaste, chequeó,...".
It is a pity. Colombia used to be well known for how well their inhabitants could speak Spanish.
gracias, todo, parace que mi amiga de Colombia siempre usa " chequear", pero cuando compruebé en la diccionario, parece que " chequear" no esta tan normal, eso es porque quiero saber claro como debo usar " chequear".
lazarus1907 said:
The verb "chequear" and "chequeo" is already widely used, and it is a word that has been borrowed from English, a language that borrowed from French, and this, from Persian, all from a chess game.The question, in any case, is: why borrowing a verb which already can be expressed in at least 6 different ways?
>
En cualquier caso, estaría mal conjugado; debería ser "chequee".
Pero Angela usó la forma informal diciendo "Ya te envié...," así que ¿no debería estar en la forma de tú'
The verb "chequear" and "chequeo" is already widely used, and it is a word that has been borrowed from English, a language that borrowed from French, and this, from Persian, all from a chess game.
The question, in any case, is: why borrowing a verb which already can be expressed in at least 6 different ways? Keeping those already existing words keep us closer to the literature spoken in previous centuries and all its richness, whereas using "chequear" adds nothing new or necessary to the language.
Heidita said:
En mi opnion ha sido un error incluir la palabra en el DRAE, pero incluída está
I also believe that it is not a happy idea, but the Academies, despite what other people might think, don't mould the language to their own taste, but describe how it is used by people, advising on their most logical use. There isn't much point in insisting that food doesn't rot even if it is a bad thing for some; it does rot eventually. The RAE has not always given the best advice, but I prefer the advice from people who speak Latin, Greek, and have spent half of their lives studying the logic and evolution of the Spanish language, rather than from those who can barely read a book without finding several hundred words they don't understand, and still be arrogant enough to tell others how to speak or write.
I agree with Heidita (mostly, since there are times when chequear can be used). In number 1, the English "check it" could have two meanings: look for it (to see if you received it), or look at it (to see if it contains what you are looking for). I would therefore translate it as follows. The proper Spanish would depend on the intended meaning.
Ya te envié el correo electrónico. Por favor búscalo / míralo.
- You could say: Por favor, lee los documentos y dime si hay errores.
Quentin said:
highlight the work "cheque" then double click it to see the dictionary definition. You will see that the word is only listed as a noun, not a verb.
En mi opnion ha sido un error incluir la palabra en el DRAE, pero incluída está:
chequear.
(Del ingl. to check, comprobar).
tr. Examinar, controlar, cotejar.
prnl. Hacerse un chequeo.
Ya te envié el correo electrónico. Por favor, compruébalo.
Por favor, mire/compruebe todo lo que compró para a ver si falta algo.
Mire/revise/compruebe su bolsillo, por favor.
Por favor, verifique/ compruebe si hay algun error en los documentos.
Chequear es un anglicismo innecesario, y me alegra que algunos no lo entiendan, la verdad. En cualquier caso, estaría mal conjugado; debería ser "chequee".
