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March 28, 2012 at 12:00 am #165656VersatileMember
When i type in :
My old truck is for sale.Translated: Mi viejo camión está a la venta
I can then click on a word and get it four different ways. How do i know which one?
Shouldn’t la vienta be se venede?March 28, 2012 at 7:52 pm #165657maravillaMemberDepends on how you phrase it:
I am selling my old truck:
Estoy vendiendo mi viejo camión
I want to sell my old truck:
Quiero vender mi viejo camión
My old truck sells itself:
mi viejo camión se vende
“se” is the reflexive of a verb which means the action is doing it to itself.
March 28, 2012 at 8:47 pm #165658VersatileMemberThanks Marvilla. I guess i didn’t explain myself.
The system always gives four choices. How do i know which choice to make?Most likely you need to try it out.
March 28, 2012 at 9:16 pm #165659maravillaMemberthe four choices don’t matter, what matters is what you want to say. spanish has a completely different sentence structure. if your english phrase is awkwardly worded, the spanish translation will be just as bad.
March 28, 2012 at 9:20 pm #165660maravillaMemberAqui vendo mi camión viejo
Vendo — first person singular Vender = I sell, i am selling
mi camión viejo = my old truck
March 30, 2012 at 1:25 am #165661waggoner41Member[quote=”maravilla”]Aqui vendo mi camión viejo
Vendo — first person singular Vender = I sell, i am selling
mi camión viejo = my old truck
[/quote]There is no way I am going to know Spanish that well before I pass from this mortal coil. I’ll never get past the locals referring to me as Gringo Loco.
March 30, 2012 at 2:55 pm #165662maravillaMembersure you can! it’s great mental exercise. when i read something in spanish now, i always analyze the sentence structure and label the tenses of verbs. i think it’s really important to understand that part of the language — are you doing something now, in the future, in the past, or will you maybe do it, or have done it, etc. i always hated english grammar when i was in school, but i liked french and spanish — don’t ask me why.
April 1, 2012 at 4:49 pm #165663waggoner41Member[quote=”maravilla”]sure you can! it’s great mental exercise. when i read something in spanish now, i always analyze the sentence structure and label the tenses of verbs. i think it’s really important to understand that part of the language — are you doing something now, in the future, in the past, or will you maybe do it, or have done it, etc. i always hated english grammar when i was in school, but i liked french and spanish — don’t ask me why.[/quote]
Obviously you were better in the English grammer classes than most of us. I was very poor in those classes.
I understand that verbs are the most important part of language but from there I am lost.There are 22 forms of verb, in no particular order they are:
Indicative, Perfect Subjunctive, Perfect Subjunctive, Present, Future Perfect, Future Subjunctive, Present Perfect, Subjunctive, Preterit, Past Perfect, Imperfect Subjunctive, Past Perfect Subjunctive, Imperfect, Preterite Perfect, Present Subjunctive, Future Perfect Subjunctive,
Conditional, Conditional Perfect, Imperfect Subjunctive #2, Imperative, Future , Present PerfectI understand past, present and future in English and I learned to speak and write well when it comes to English but have no idea what form of verb I am using by name.
Are you up for teaching us about verb usage? 😆
April 1, 2012 at 5:27 pm #165664maravillaMemberthere are only 7 tenses you really need in spanish –after that, those are mostly literary tenses and are rarely used in speaking. i probably know more spanish grammar than english now, and i found studying spanish far more interesting than anything i learned in school about english. i doubt i could teach anyone anything that they couldn’t learn from studying the grammar charts in 501 Spanish verbs!
April 2, 2012 at 8:28 pm #165665elindermullerMember[quote=”Versatile”]Thanks Marvilla. I guess i didn’t explain myself.
The system always gives four choices. How do i know which choice to make?Most likely you need to try it out.
http://translate.google.com/#en|es|[/quote]
Google translation is great and useful for those who have a basic to advanced knowledge of the language. A word can have several meanings and it is hard to “guess” the one that fits in the text.
April 2, 2012 at 8:37 pm #165666maravillaMemberalso, how you phrase the original question is important. i did see the 4 choices when i just looked and yes se vende is listed and while that would’ve been correct it’s the first part that makes it awkward. all the more reason for you to learn spanish!!! jeje
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