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1500 questions
90
votes
13 answers

How important are accents in written Spanish?

English I notice that native Spanish speakers often leave off accents in writing. Outside the context of edited material, it almost seems like accent pedantry is the sign of someone who has learned Spanish as a second language or has their…
Jon Ericson
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6 answers

Why is "agua" masculine in singular form and feminine in plural? "El agua" / "Las aguas" ¿Por qué decimos "el agua" si es una palabra femenina?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica English Is there any rule that says that feminine nouns that start with "A" are converted to masculine or is it just done for phonetic (ie beauty) reasons? Does this happen in all…
David Grajal
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5 answers

Origin and usage of "¿" and "¡"

I was wondering what the reason is that the inverted exclamation mark ¡ and the inverted question mark ¿ were introduced into the Spanish language and not into most other languages. Any explanations for this? Me estaba preguntando cuál es la razón…
dusan
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5 answers

Why "buenas noches" when it's only one night?

Why do we say buenas noches and buenas tardes when they refer to only one night/afternoon? ¿Por qué se dice "buenas noches" y "buenas tardes" cuando se refieren solo a una noche o tarde?
Bogdan Lataianu
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53
votes
14 answers

Is there any difference between 'aquí' and 'acá'?

ENGLISH I've been taught that aquí and acá are completely interchangable. From personal observation, acá seems to be used more often than aquí in the context of "I live down this road." Example: Vivo por acá. I don't think I've ever heard a…
Flimzy
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52
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12 answers

How should I ask someone to repeat something they've said?

How should I ask someone to repeat something they've said? When I learned Spanish in school, I was taught to never say "¿Qué?" when I needed someone to repeat something they just said. Rather I was taught to say "¿Cómo?" Later, my wife taught me…
Jon Ericson
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51
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11 answers

Is there a difference between "español" and "castellano"? // ¿Hay alguna diferencia entre "español" y "castellano"?

I always thought the two could be used interchangeably (meaning "the Spanish language"). But I recently got into an argument with someone where they insisted there was a difference (although I didn't quite understand what that difference was). So,…
Orion
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46
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5 answers

Understanding ya vs. todavía vs. aún

English speakers learning Spanish have a hard time understanding the similarities and differences between ya, todavía, and aún (or aun). They don't perfectly match up with the similar English words "already," "yet," and "still." What concept exactly…
jrdioko
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45
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2 answers

Why is the "x" in "México" or "Texas" pronounced as the letter "j"?

Even as a native speaker I don't know the reason for this: why is the "x" in México, Texas or Xavier pronounced as the letter "j"?
Alfredo Osorio
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43
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6 answers

Bonita, linda, hermosa, bella, and guapa: what's the difference?

I've seen all of these used to mean 'pretty', although 'hermosa' seems to mean beautiful and 'guapa' seems to mean handsome. Are there any subtle differences them? For instance, in English being beautiful is a much higher compliment than being…
Gordon Gustafson
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43
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6 answers

Why don't Spanish words start with "sp"?

I've noticed that there aren't any words in Spanish that start with sp. Latin words are altered to include an e in front of the sp. Even loan words are often modified to esp...: spaghetti → espagueti Sparta → Esparta I've even heard (but for…
Jon Ericson
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41
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15 answers

How to pronounce the consonants "y" and "ll"?

ENGLISH I have heard y/ll pronounced in two different ways: [j] (like 'y' in "yellow") [ʒ] (like 's' in "measure") Do native speakers use both interchangeably? Or is it pronounced [j] in some regions and [ʒ] in others? For people learning Spanish,…
Alan C
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40
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6 answers

What's the difference between "vamos" and "vámonos"?

Español Cuando estaba estudiando Español, aprendí que let's go es vamos, pero cuando fui a México, lo único que oí era vámonos. Le pregunté a una persona bilingüe allá, pero no supo la diferencia. ¿Cuál es la diferencia? ¿Es solo en México, o es…
Old Pro
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40
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4 answers

Question words: "qué" versus "cuál"

English Often "qué" is translated to English as "what" and "cuál" is translated as "which." However, I know that this is not always the case. Here are some examples. (Please correct me if I am wrong.) "Which book do you prefer?" / "¿Qué libro…
Alan C
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38
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8 answers

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre tú, usted y vos?

He oído las palabras "tú", "usted", y "vos", pero la traducción de todas esas palabras al inglés es la misma: "you". ¿Cuándo es mejor usar "tú" o "vos" en vez de "usted", o viceversa?
Peter Olson
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