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23
votes
1 answer
Revisions of Spanish orthography / ¿Qué revisiones ha tenido la ortografía española?
This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica
Recent repeals of long-standing orthographic rules in Spanish have gotten me curious. I know of the latest revision, dated 2010. I know of the 1999 revision. I have seen references to…
ltcomdata
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22
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2 answers
What is the difference between: "aquel" and "aquél"
I see both "aquel" and "aquél" used in similar context and was wondering if there is any difference in meaning of those two words.
kristof
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3 answers
Why is búho written with an acute accent?
Is there a reason why specifically the word búho is written with an accent? Is there an orthographic rule that determines it? While I am used to accent marks above e I was quite surprised to see the u accented. Can any vowel be accented?
FireAphis
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21
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Origin of contigo and similar "contractions"
What's the history of the words contigo, conmigo, etc?
They're treated like contractions for con ti and con mi, respectively, but they actually make the word longer rather than shorter, as contractions ought to do.
It occurs to me that there are a…
Flimzy
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21
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2 answers
What are the accent placement rules in Spanish?
This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica
Some people have trouble determining when accent marks (tildes) should be used and where.
What are the rules for accent placement in Spanish? How do you determine whether the vowel on…
jrdioko
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21
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1 answer
¿Cuál es el origen de los nombres de los números?
¿De dónde vienen las palabras para nombrar a los números?
En especial estoy interesado en el origen de las palabras 'once', 'doce', 'trece', 'catorce' y 'quince'.
Usamos un sistema numérico de base 10, ¿por qué estas palabras existen pero luego…
Alubeixu
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¿Quiénes son los más afectados por el ustedeo?
He encontrado que varias veces, mi empleo del español en conversación es afectado por el llamado "ustedeo". Afecta mis relaciones con gente que acabo de conocer, porque muchas personas piensan que deseo comunicar formalidad y distancia cuando no es…
Walter Mitty
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21
votes
6 answers
How to translate the idiom: "missing the point"?
What would be the correct way to translate into Spanish the idiom: "to miss the point"?
I'm often tempted to write "perder el punto", but it doesn't sound quite right.
For example: "To bring headphones to a concert is like missing the point".
Juan A. Navarro
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21
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5 answers
"True" meaning of "por cierto"
I have always thought of the expression of "por cierto" as meaning "certainly" or "surely." It certainly "looks" that way (for certainly). And even Google Translate gives it that meaning, as well as "by the by" (which is similar to "by the…
Tom Au
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What is the difference between "personas" and "gente"?
I was translating a sentence for school en Español and I came across the word "people." I looked it up on Google Translate and it gave me "personas" and also "gente." What is the difference between the two, and the use case for each of these nouns?
daviesgeek
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21
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What are the differences between "ser" and "estar"? When to use each? // ¿Cuáles son las diferencias entre "ser" y "estar"? ¿Cuándo se usa cada uno?
This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica
This is a canonical question about the differences and usage of ser and estar. Feel free to collaborate both in the question as in the answer. The introduction for the question is mainly…
Charlie
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21
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4 answers
Quizás or quizá, which one is preferred?
The DLE redirects the definition of quizás to quizá, but I wonder if there's any implicit, secret rule that I am not aware of as to whether quizás is preferred over quizá.
I've seen both forms used almost indistinguishably even in the same text.…
Icarus
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When is it written with and without accent: porqué/porque/por qué? / ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre "porque", "porqué", "por que" y "por qué"?
This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica
Can anybody explain to me when each of this variations of "porque" should be used?
¿Puede alguien explicar cuáles son las diferencias entre "porque", "porqué", "por que" y "por qué"?
Juan A. Navarro
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21
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When should I use the word 'yo' in a sentence where the verb conjugation already shows that I am the subject?
Early on while I was learning Spanish, my teachers would always make us use the pronoun 'yo' even if it was redundant:
Yo pienso que...
Yo quiero...
Yo hablo...
etc.
However, a more advanced Spanish book I bought told me only to use…
Gordon Gustafson
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¿Por qué "cirugía" y "quirúrgico", teniendo la misma raíz, se pronuncian diferente?
Leo en la RAE el origen etimológico de las palabras quirúrgico y cirugía y veo que son el mismo:
quirúrgico, ca.
(Del lat. chirurgĭcus, y este del gr. χειρουργικός).
cirugía.
(Del lat. chirurgĭa, y este del gr. χειρουργία).
Entonces, ¿por qué en…
fedorqui
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