What determines masculinity
or feminity in Spanish?
What determines masculinity or feminity in Spanish? Is
it applied to all nouns or verbs or adjectives or what?
I realize that most words, but not all, feminine/masculine
words end in a/o and those that don't follow normalcy
have to be memorized, but I am confused as to what it
is that makes it normally feminine or masculine.
Question asked on June 1, 2008
at 6:17 AM
Why Do I say 'el
alma' if 'alma' is a feminine word?
Category: Spanish
Gender
Grammar Genius,
Why do some words like ´agua´ and ´alma´
become masculine in their singular form? How do I
know which words follow this rule?
Question asked April 9, 2008 at
09:05 AM
What words "trigger"
the use of the subjunctive?
What are "trigger" words for subjunctive?
I know that you ALWAYS use subjunctive after certain
triggers (i.e. para que). Do I use subjuntive
after despues de que?
Question asked on February 29, 2008
at 12:55 PM
Qué or cuál : which
is what?
My teacher explained que and cual to us, but I still
am very confused. What are the differences? Please help!
Question asked on January 18, 2008
at 10:27 AM
When does one write
an accent on demonstratives 'demonstrativos' (éste,
ése, aquél)?
What is the difference between the demostratives with
an accent and without an accent? When do I use the one
with the accent?
Question asked on December 19, 2007
at 6:13 PM
Does the verb 'recomendar'
require the use of the subjunctive in the dependent clause?
Does the verb "recomendar" require the use
of the subjuntive in the dependent clause? For ex.,
"Recomendamos que busque tratamiento dental para
su hijo/hija." Or should I use "busca"?
Question asked on December 18, 2007
at 7:12 PM
Tu or tú:
when do you put the accent on the 'u'?
What is the difference between "Tu" with
and accent mark on the "u" and "Tu"
without an accent mark at all, and how do you know which
to write in a situation?
Question asked on December 9, 2007
at 6:00 PM
What is the difference
between ese and aquel?
What is the difference between " ese " and
"aquel"? I asked spanish people but they dont
know how to answer in english...
I hope you will. (please keep it basic). thx.
Question asked on November 29, 2007
at 4:10 AM
For Spanish Speakers,
what is the the hardest part about learning English?
What is the hardest part of speech for Spanish speakers
to learn when learning English, and why?
Question asked on November 19, 2007
at 8:05 PM
How does the Spanish
subjunctive work after verbs of knowing or believing (dudar,
saber, pensar, etc.)?
Does "nunca dudaba que" take the imperfect
subjunctive or no? I've seen examples of both.
Question asked on November 8, 2007
at 3:48 PM
How does the Spanish
future tense differ from the English future tense ?
Could you review the various ways of expressing the future
tense (hablaré, voy a hablar, he de hablar).
Also, can you explain when I use habra + participio? Is
this the same as the future perfect in English?
Question asked on October 24, 2007
at 6:17 AM
Do interrogative words
(que, cual, quien) take an accent when they are not used
in questions ?
Can you put an accent on the word qué or quién
when you use these in the middle of a sentence?
Example: No supe qué le ocurrió or
would you say No supe que le ocurrió?
What is the rule?
Question asked on October 11, 2007
at 6:23 PM
When do I use the
subjunctive in place of the infinitive?
Do I need to use the subjunctive after Poder+verb?
For example: El sistema le puede ayudar valora... Or
do I need to use the infinitive? El sistema le puede
ayudar valorar...
Question asked on September 26, 2007
at 1:37 AM
Why do Spanish speakers
sometimes use le for lo (leísmo)?
I saw a sentence
¿Y a qué le llamas hacer una tontería?
and I do not understand how it could be an indirect
object.
Is it possible that it is le used instead of lo ( I
think
they call it leísmo)?
Thanks
Question asked on September 20, 2007
at 4:41 PM
How do I conjugate
´ser´ and ´estar´ in the passive voice ?
Can I conjugate the passive voice in any tense other
than the present?
Question asked on September 14, 2007
at 11:56 AM
How do I use 'ser'
and 'estar' in the passive voice?
The passive voice has got me tied up in knots. My professor's
site said that estar + participle needs to be used in
certain cases, but I couldn't understand those cases.
Does it follow the same rules as ser vs estar in the
indicative?
Question asked on September 14, 2007
at 11:56 AM
What is the difference
between the impersonal 'se' and the passive 'se'?
My all-spanish workbook refers to ser + particple
as the formal technique. It also mentions two other
The first is called 'se' en frase pasiva. There's
also a section for a 'se' impersonal where it's se +
verb in just 3rd person singular, and I can't for the
life of me tell what the difference is between these
2 se + verb options?
Question asked on September 14, 2007
at 11:56 AM
Can the future and
conditional tense be used instead of the Spanish subjunctive?
Can you explain the rules for using the future and
conditional tenses in place of the subjunctive. For
example, I have seen "Quizás sea simpático
pero no me gusta.¨ And, someone told me that the
sentence ¨Será simpático pero no me
gusta¨ means the same thing. Thanks for the help!
Question asked on September 12, 2007
at 7:06 AM
How do I use the
subjunctive after negative statements?
Grammar Genius,
I am a little confused about how to use the subjunctive
after negative statements such as "nadie, nunca,
etc." Why do I use the subjunctive in "Nunca
haré lo que me mandaran si no me dan alguan razón
para ello,¨ (I will never do what they ordered
me to do if they do not give me a reason for it) if
doubt is not involved in the sentence?
Question asked on September 9, 2007
at 6:14 PM
How do I use the
subjunctive to describe the unspecific?
I have seen the Spanish Subjunctive used to describe
things that I am looking for. For example, ¨Busco
un libro que sea bueno¨ and ¨Quiero
encontrar un médico que especialice en rodillas.¨
Could you give some more examples and clearly explain
the rule?
Question asked on September 8, 2007
at 3:04 PM
Can 'ser' be used
to describe what seems to be a temporary condition or
state ?
I understand that 'ser' is used to describe permanent
states or qualities while 'estar' is used to describe
temporary conditions. But, I've seen 'ser' used in situations
that seem to be conditions. For example, 'ella es feliz.'
Could you go over this grey area? It would be greatly
appreciated.
Question asked on September 4, 2007
at 5:54 AM
Does 'esperar que'
always take the subjunctive?
I saw the sentence "Espero
que llega a tiempo" and I was wondering why
it did not take the subjunctive ("Espero que llegue
a tiempo").
Question asked on September 2, 2007
at 1:36 AM
Do I need to use
the subjunctive to translate whatever, however, or whether?
Grammar Genius,
Someone told me that I need to use the subjunctive
to translate whatever or however. For example, how would
I translate "I am going to the beach whether you
come or not?"
Question asked on August 27, 2007
at 10:12 PM
Does 'estuve
bueno' and'fue bueno' mean the same thing?
When are ser and estar interchangable?
I have heard Spanish speakers say both 'estuvo bonito' and 'fue bonito' to describe
an experience or day. Are they both correct? If so, could you give other examples of when ser and estar are interchangable?
Question asked on August 30, 2007
at 12:42 PM
Do I need to use
the subjunctive to translate whatever, however, or whether?
Grammar Genius,
Someone told me that I need to use the subjunctive
to translate whatever or however. For example, how would
I translate "I am going to the beach whether you
come or not?"
Question asked on August 27, 2007
at 10:12 PM
Why do spanish speakers
use the present tense to refer to a future event?
Grammar Genius,
Is ¨le llamo mañana¨correct? Or, "nos
estamos en contacto"? Why do I use the present
tense to refer to the future?
Question asked on August 23, 2007
at 07:49 AM
How do I use cuando
with the subjunctive?
Grammar Genius,
Why do I say ¨Cuando vuelve¨ if there isn´t any doubt
about my returning?
Question asked on August 19, 2007
at 07:31 AM
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I made the double mistake of saying es trienta y cinco
when refering to my friend's age and everyone burst
out laughing. I found out that in Costa Rica, es trienta
y cinco means you are crazy.
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