Tag: When to Use

Ya meaning in Spanish When to use Ya in Spanish?. Already, right now, still, enough — these are just four of the dozens of possible translations of the Spanish ya. Ya, which is usually an adverb but sometimes a conjunction, is one of those words whose meaning depends almost entirely on the context. Sometimes it doesn't have much of a translatable meaning, becoming a filler word something like pues, adding a slight amount of emotional content to a sentence (although the exact nature of the emotional content may be difficult to determine out of the context). Key Takeaways Ya is usually an adverb, very common in speech, whose meaning depends almost on the context. It can express both resignation and surprise, both agreement and disbelief. - The most common translations…

  When to use Bajo in Spanish?. Bajo is a common Spanish preposition, adjective, and adverb that means being low in some way, either figuratively or literally or under something. Also, bajo is used in common idioms usually as a preposition. How Do You Use Bajo in Spanish? Bajo Used as an Adjective As an adjective, common translations include "low" or "short," and bajo can also be usedto indicate contemptibility or lack of intensity.   Spanish Sentence - English Translation Mi prima es baja para su edad.-My cousin is short for her age. No es necesario tratar esta enfermedad de bajo riesgo con quimioterapia.-It is not necessary to treat this low-risk illness with chemotherapy. El valle bajo es rico en historia.-The low valley is rich in history. Tenemos problemas de baja calidad de la señal inalámbrica.-We…

How do you use A in Spanish? When to use A in Spanish?. The Spanish preposition a is often thought of as the equivalent of "to" — but in fact it has far more uses. A can also be the equivalent of "on," "at," "from," "by" or "in", among others. And in many cases it is not translated at all. Rather than learning how to use the Spanish a by its translation, it is probably best to learn the purposes for which a is used. The following list doesn't cover all its uses, but it does show the uses you are most likely to come across at the beginning stages of learning Spanish. Where a is translated, the translation is indicated in boldface. Using A To Indicate Motion or Location Almost any verb indicating motion, and even nouns, can be followed by a before a…

De in Spanish When to use de in Spanish?.De is one of the most common prepositions in Spanish. Although it usually is translated as "of" and sometimes as "from," its use is far more versatile than the translation might suggest. In fact, in certain contexts, de can be translated not only as "of" or "from," but as "with," "by," or "in," among other words, or not translated at all. One reason de is used more often than its equivalents in English is because the rules of English grammar let us use all sorts of nouns and phrases as adjectives. In that way, Spanish isn't quite so flexible. While in English we may say,"a nine-year-old girl," in Spanish that becomes una niña de nueve años or, literally, "a girl of nine years." Similarly, in English, we…

How Do You Use En in Spanish? When to Use En in Spanish? If you were told that en is a Spanish preposition and were asked what it means, you most likely would guess "in" or "on." And you'd be right in both cases. But en can also be translated as "at," "about," "by," "on top of," "upon," "inside of," and other ways, so its use isn't as straightforward as it may appear. The Spanish Preposition "en" •           The Spanish preposition en frequently means "in" or "on" when referring to physical locations •           En can also be used to mean "in" in certain time expressions. •           En is so used in phrases and following certain verbs with translations that aren't always predictable. These idioms and verb phrases must be learned individually.  …

How do you use Que in Spanish? When to Use Que in Spanish? Relative pronouns are pronouns that are used to introduce a clause that provides more information about a noun. Thus in the phrase "the man who is singing," the relative pronoun is "who"; the clause "who is singing" provides further information about the noun "man." In the Spanish equivalent, el hombre que canta, the relative pronoun is queue. Que Tops List of Spanish Relative Pronouns Common relative pronouns in English include "that," "which," "who," "whom" and "whose" (although these words also have other uses). In Spanish, by far the most common relative pronoun is que.As can be seen in the following sentences, it usually means "that," "which" or "who." Los libros que son importantes en nuestra vida son todos aquellos que nos hacen ser…

How do you use Lo in Spanish? When to use lo in Spanish?. Lo is one of those words that doesn't always have a clear definition — and it can function in at least three different ways, as a subject pronoun, object pronoun, or definite article. When you run across the word in a sentence and don't know what it means, you often need to figure out first how it is being used. Here, in rough order of how common they are, are the ways that lo can be used: Using Lo as a Masculine Direct-Object Pronoun As a direct object, lo can be translated as either "him" or "it." The feminine equivalent is la. ¿Pablo? No lo vi. (Pablo? I didn't see him.) El coche es muy caro. Quiero comprarlo. (The car is very expensive. I want to…

How Do You Use Le in Spanish? When to use le in Spanish? Although le is typically used as an indirect object pronoun in Spanish, it doesn't always seem that way to English speakers: The two languages don't always treat pronouns alike, so there are some situations where an English verb takes a direct object but the Spanish equivalent uses an indirect object. In many cases, it doesn't make a difference whether an object is direct or indirect, because in the first and second persons the two types of pronouns are identical. Me, meaning "me," for example, can be either a direct or indirect object.  But the difference matters in the third person, where in standard Spanish le (meaning him, her, you, or less commonly it) is used as the indirect object but lo or la is the…

How Do You Use El and La in Spanish? When to use el and la in Spanish?. El is the singular, masculine definite article, meaning "the," in Spanish and is used to define masculine nouns, while la is the feminine version. But there are a few instances where el is used with feminine nouns. Gender in Words An interesting thing about Spanish is the fact that words have gender. A word is considered male or female, depending on what the word refers to and how it ends. A general rule of thumb is if a word ends in -o, it is most likely masculine, and if a word ends in -a, it is most likely feminine. If the word is describing a female person, then the word is feminine and vice versa. Definite Articles for Nouns…

How Do You Use Con in Spanish?   When to use Con in Spanish?. The Spanish word con, pronounced much like the English word "cone," not like "con," is one of the most commonly used prepositions. In most uses, it is the equivalent of the English word "with."  The word con is more versatile than the English "with," however, and it may be used in places where "with" might not be used in English. For example, con can be paired with certain verbs, can be used to form phrases that function like adverbs, indicate conditions and form contractions. Con Used With Certain Verbs Con can be used with various verbs where a different preposition or none at all would be used in English. Such usages are unpredictable and need to be learned along with the…