Read and Translate #3

Hola everyone and welcome to the site :)

Today I have another read and translate post. I will share with you a casual conversation - a story about me - and give you some vocabulary and explain some expressions.

Let's begin:

Pues, todos los días digo que me voy a ir a dormir temprano, y entonces enciendo la computadora por la noche y me entretengo, de modo que se hace tarde y termino acostándome tarde de nuevo. Esta noche voy a hacer todo por acostarme temprano. (En otras palabras, no voy a encender la computadora por la noche.)

Ok, so now here is the translation:

So, everyday I say I'm going to bed early, and then I turn on my computer at night and get entertained (*sidetracked), so it gets late and I end up going to bed late again. Tonight I'm going to do my best (*lit. do everything) to go to bed early. (In other words, I won't turn on my computer at night.)

I'll explain some of the expressions in here that you might find interesting (and useful):

1. Pues - Here this translates to 'So'. When you start telling a story and you go 'So... this and that happened', it's exactly the same. You start 'Pues... Pasó esto y aquello.'

2. En otras palabras - In other words

3. Me entretengo - This literally translates to 'I get entertained' but it's the same as saying 'I get sidetracked', or 'I get distracted', depending on when you're using it. You can say 'me entretengo' like about playing a game or reading and such, and it would translate to 'I get entertained'.

4. Voy a hacer todo para... - I'm going to do everything to... *This expression I don't know if it's used all over Hispanic countries, but I know I use it here in Puerto Rico. 'Voy a hacer todo' translates to 'I'm going to do my best', although literally it means 'I'm going to do everything.' Say it when you want to do your best to achieve something. 'Voy a hacer todo para viajar este año' - I'm going to do the best I can to travel this year.

5. Termino - I end up. * This one translates to 'end up (doing x)', but it also translates to 'I finish'.

Some vocabulary from this reading:

1. Dormir (dohr-meer) - to sleep

2. Temprano (tehm-prah-noh) - early

3. Cama (kah-mah) - bed

4. Noche (noh-cheh) - night

5. Computadora (kohm-poo-tah-doh-rah) - computer

6. Tarde (tahr-deh) - late

7. Encender (en-sen-dehr) - turn on

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 This is it for today :)

I hope you found this lesson useful and fun. If you have any doubt, just contact me in the comments, or on my Twitter or Facebook page.

Thank you for reading!

Read and Translate: Wildfire

Hello and Welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish! :)

Today I want to talk about something that's been going on near where I live, and it's actually very annoying: a fire. More like a wildfire.

It's not particularly big, an it's not that out of control, you could say (as in it doesn't seem to be spreading much), and it is far enough so that everyone in this neighborhood is safe, but the smoke still gets here and it is annoying, especially at night.

I'll talk to you about it in Spanish now, and later give you the translation and notes:

Cerca de mi casa está quemando un fuego, en el tope de un monte. Lleva ya cinco días, y si veo el humo subir hoy, entonces ya serán seis. Está cerca de mi casa, pero no al punto que sea peligroso. El humo es lo más que presenta una molestia, porque la casa se llena de ese mal olor, en especial en la noche. A veces parece como si al fin se hubiera apagado el fuego, pero luego, en la tarde (quizá por el sol caliente y el calor) vuelve a encender, y el humo a subir. Espero que ya lo controlen los bomberos el día de hoy.

Now let me give you the full translation of this in English:

Near my house there's a fire burning, on the top of a hill. It's been burning for five days, and if I see the smoke coming up today, then it will be six. It's close to my house, but not to the point that it's dangerous. The smoke is the biggest annoyance, because the house gets full of that bad smell, especially at night. Sometimes it appears as if the fire finally extinguished, but then later, in the afternoon (perhaps because of the hot sun and the heat) it goes on again, and the smoke rises. I hope the firefighters control it today. 

Vocabulary and notes:

Vocabulary

(*I won't give you all of the words, since some I'm going to explain as a phrase in a moment.)

1- Cerca (sehr-cah) - Near, close to

2- Está (Ehs-tah) - to be (present form)

3- Quemando (Keh-mahn-doh) - Burning, to be burning (from verb 'quemar')

4- Tope (toh-peh) - The top

5-  Monte (Mohn-teh) - Hill

6 - Cinco (seen-koh) - Five

7- Entonces (ehn-tohn-sehs) - Then

8- Pero (peh-roh) - But

9- Peligroso (peh-lee-groh-soh) - dangerous

10- Humo (oo-moh) - Smoke

11- molestia (Moh-lehs-tee-ah) Annoyance

*Annoying translates to - molesto, or, molestoso; and also fastidioso.

12- Casa (kah-sah) - House

13- Mal olor (mahl oh-lohr) Bad smell, bad odor

14- Noche (Noh-cheh) - Night

15- Luego (loo-eh-goh) - Later

16-  Tarde (Tahr-deh) - Afternoon

17- Sol (Sohl) - Sun

18- Caliente (Kah-lee-ehn-teh) - Hot, warm

19- Calor (ka-lohr) - Heat

20- Encender (ehn-sehn-dehr) - To turn on, to switch on

21- Subir (soo-beer) - Rise

22- Espero (ehs-peh-roh) - I hope (from verb 'esperar'. It also translates to wait, in this form 'I wait'.)

23- Controlen (cohn-troh-lehn) - control (from verb 'controlar')

24- Bomberos  (bohm-beh-rohs) - Firefighters (*plural. Singular is: bombero) 

25- Hoy (oi) - Today

Notes:

Lleva ya - This expression translates to 'it's been' or 'it has gone on'. Literally, it would translate to 'it carries already'. Lleva ya cinco días - It's been five days, or, it has gone on for five days.

Si ___ entonces ___- The word si (without an accent) means 'if'. It's the conditional. Usually it will be followed by entonces, like in English 'if' is followed by 'then'. Si (something happens) entonces (outcome). Si veo el humo subir hoy - if I see the smoke rise today entonces ya serán seis (días) - Then it will be six (days).

Sometimes the word entonces won't be there, but as a conditional, it will usually have an outcome. An extra example: Si llueve hoy, no voy a salir - if it rains today, I won't go out.

Hubiera - This word causes confusion even to native Spanish speakers. (Well, it did to me for a long time lol). And why, you may ask? It's because there is another word that is used in the same context and means exactly the same thing: Hubiese (oo-bee-seh). The two are interchangeable; you can use it exactly the same. Now, I read that hubiese is more formal than hubiera, at least it originally it was. Today you can use both for the same purpose and in the same context. It translates to 'would have' or 'there was'. Extra examples: Hubiera/hubiese dormido más - I would have slept more.

Ella hubiese ganado - She would have won

*Update: I hadn't even finished writing this when I saw the smoke rising, so, yet ANOTHER day of smoke here. That fire just keeps going and going. (*Update: This was in 2015. That fire lasted for days!)

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This is it for today! This is quite a long one, isn't it? I hope you have enjoyed this post, and that you find it useful, which is the most important.

If you have any doubt, just contact me on my Twitter page or my Facebook page.

You can also go to my Tumblr Blog, too.

See you next time! :)

Read and Translate #1

Hello everyone and welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish! Today I want to start this new Category in the Blog in which I will give you a short reading, and then its translation. I will also explain some of the words inside and give you the vocabulary list.

So let's get right to it! Today's short reading will be something I apply to my life, and I hope you can apply it to yours as well, as long as you agree : )

Here it is:

Tenemos que usar lo que tenemos y hacer con ello lo máximo que podemos en el momento. No podemos detenernos por creer que nos faltan recursos; si queremos hacer algo, usemos lo que en el momento tenemos disponible, y comencemos a hacerlo. 

Now I'll give you the English translation. If you're an advanced learner, try to translate it yourself before reading this part.

We have to use what we have and do with it the most we can do in the moment. We can't stop ourselves because of believing we lack resources; if we want to do something, let's use what we have available in the moment, and start doing it. 

Now I want to explain a couple of things that appear in the reading I gave you. The first is the verb Tenemos. It comes from the verb Tener which means 'to have'. It's the indicative form when it's you plus other people, nosotros tenemos - we have. To create this form of verbs when referring to yourself and others, use the stem of the verb, and add the ending 'emos'. Tener - Tenemos.

We see this used again in this short paragraph in the following verbs:

Podemos - We can

Queremos - We want

There is also something quite similar in the following words, but pay attention to the use:

Comencemos - Let's start

Usemos - Let's use

The -emos ending in these ones adds a different meaning: 'let us do', instead of 'we do'. To make them like the others, in these ones it would be: Comenzamos - we start; Usamos - we use. Using the ending -amos, instead of -emos.

Vocabulary list:

1) Tener - to have

2) Usar - to use

3) Hacer - to do

4) Poder - can; power

5) Máximo - Maximum; the most

6) Momento - moment

7) Detener - to stop

*Detenernos - to stop ourselves; to stop us

8) Creer - to believe

9) Faltar - to lack, to be missing

10) Recursos - resources

11) Querer - to want

12) Algo - something

13) Disponible - disponible

14) Comenzar - to start

*If you have doubt with pronunciation, I created a guide in a separate page; just follow the link above titled "Spanish pronunciation", or click here. (** Update: this page doesn't exist for now, while I rebuild my blog here. Sorry about that!)

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This is it for today! I hope you found this post interesting, and that you learned something with me. If you have any doubt, or want to know more, just contact he in my Twitter page or Facebook page. :)

Until next time!