In this post, I’m not going to discuss whether “deber” is translated as “must” or “should”. You can already find lots of discussion of that topic on the Internet. I’m going to translate it as “should” for the purposes of this article.

Instead, I want to point out a common usage of the future tense in Spanish which English speakers find either odd or confusing or both. Most language learners learn that:

debería   deberíamos
deberías  deberíais
debería   deberían

which is actually the conditional tense form of “deber”, and is also what is usually translated into English as “should” when referring to something in the present:

Deberías estudiar más. = You should study more.
No deberías comer tanto. = You shouldn’t eat so much.
Deberían bajar los precios. = They should lower the prices.

All of the examples imply something that can/could be acted on NOW.

When we refer to something that should be done in the FUTURE, you can also use the future tense of deber:

Deberás estudiar más este fin de semana. = You should study more this weekend.
No deberás comer tanto cuando vuelvas a casa. = You shouldn’t eat so much when you go back home.
Deberán bajar los precios el año que viene. = They should lower the prices next year.

So what’s the difference between “deberías estudiar más” and “deberás estudiar más”? Well, that’s where the “should” or “must” debate starts again. Some would argue that the “deberás estudiar más” example above should be translated as “You must study more this weekend” when in reality, it could be either “should” or “must”, depending on the situation and the kind of emphasis you give it. It’s definitely not a black and white issue.

Brad

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This is an odd one among the false cognates between English and Spanish. The two words have similar meanings in each language, the main difference being that the English word “disgust” is much stronger than Spanish “disgusto”. The Spanish version is more similar to being an annoyance while the English version shows outright repugnance.

(Spanish) disgusto = (English) annoyance, displeasure
(English) disgust = (Spanish) repugnancia, indignación

Some examples:

Spanish

(disgusto)
1. El niño me ha dado un disgusto hoy.
2. Vas a tener un disgusto como sigas así.
3. Tuve un disgusto con mi mujer sobre una tontería.
(disgust)
4. El salió de la reunión indignado con lo que le habían dicho.
5. ¡Me da asco ese hombre!
6. Le miré con repugnancia.

English

(disgusto)
1. The boy gave me a bad time today.
2. Your going to have a big problem if you continue like that.
3. I had a spat with my wife over something stupid.
(disgust)
4. He left the meeting disgusted with what they had told him.
5. That man is disgusting!
6. I looked at him with disgust.

Brad

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Entrar (en)

To enter or go into a place in Spanish the verb “entrar” is used in Spanish. It’s easy to remember since both the English and Spanish forms come from Latin.

The problem that students of Spanish encounter is that they forget to use the preposition “en” when mentioning the place. Here are some examples:

Spanish

1. Entramos pero sólo nos quedamos cinco minutos. (no “en”)
2. Entramos en el restaurante pero sólo nos quedamos cinco minutos. (must use “en”)
3. Entré en la tienda pero no había nadie. (must use “en”)
4. Ella entró y terminó gastando todo su dinero. (no “en”)
5. Ella entró en la tienda y terminó gastando todo su dinero. (must use “en”)

English

1. We went in but we only stayed five minutes.
2. We went into the restaurant but we only stayed five minutes.
3. I went into the shop but no one was there.
4. She went in and ended up spending all of her money.
5. She went into the shop and ended up spending all of her money.

Salir (de)

To leave a place, “salir” is one of the verbs you can use. You can also use “irse”, “dejar” and “abandonar”, but I want to talk about “salir” today since it is possibly the most common verb to use.

Once again, the problem for students is a preposition (this time “de”), which must be used when you mention the place you are leaving. Examples:

Spanish

1. Salimos sobre las 8:00. (no “de”)
2. Salimos de la fiesta sobre las 8:00. (must use “de”)
3. Salieron del hotel y entraron en una cafetería. (must use “de”)
4. Saldré cuando termine. (no “de”)
5. Saldré de la oficina cuando termine. (must use “de”)

English

1. We left about 8:00.
2. We left the party around 8:00.
3. They left the hotel and went into a cafe.
4. I’ll leave when I finish.
5. I’ll leave the office when I finish.

Brad

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I just received a spam telling me where I could “ordenar mis drogas”. Two mistakes in Spanish in just three words.

droga vs. medicamento

First of all, in Spanish “drogas” are one thing and “medicamento(s)” are quite another. The first one is the “bad” stuff – the kind that you’ll have to go to the local park at midnight in order to buy. Marijuana and cocaine are two examples of “drogas”.

The second one (medicamento) is what your doctor prescribes. A “medicamento” could be, among other things, penicillin or cough medicine.

ordenar vs. pedir

The Spanish verb “ordenar” can mean “to order”, but only in the sense of telling someone to do something: “el juez le ordenó que no se acercara a la familia” (the judge ordered him not to go near the family).

“pedir” is the verb you want to use when ordering a product or service. Some examples:

Spanish

1. He pedido dos libros en Amazon.
2. ¿Puedo pedirlo por correo?
3. Ella pidió un vestido nuevo pero todavía no ha llegado.
4. No es buena idea pedir medicamentos por correos.

English

1. I’ve ordered two books from Amazon.
2. Can I order it by mail?
3. She ordered a new dress but it still hasn’t arrived.
4. It’s not a good idea to buy mail-order drugs.

Brad

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There’s a lot of confusion among people learning Spanish about these two words. Here’s a short explanation:

sólo (with an accent) is the same as solamente which is an adverb that means only in English. It’s the short form of solamente.

solo (without an accent) is an adjective which means alone (and sometimes lonely) and has four forms (like any other Spanish adjective ending in “o”): solo, sola, solos, solas

Examples:

Spanish

sólo / solamente (only)

1. Sólo / Solamente nos quedan dos dólares
2. El vino sólo / solamente para quejarse.
3. Si sólo / solamente quieres eso te lo daré.
4. Sólo / Solamente me ha costado 5 dólares.

solo/a/os/as (alone / lonely)

1. Vivo solo desde hace dos años.
2. Ella está sola en este momento.
3. Mi mujer y yo nos sentimos solos en esta ciudad.
4. A mis hijas no les gusta estar solas en la casa.

English

sólo / solamente (only)

1. We’ve only got two dollars left.
2. He only came to complain.
3. If you only want that then I’ll give it to you.
4. It only cost 5 dollars / I only paid 5 dollars.

solo/a/os/as  (alone / lonely)

1. I’ve lived alone for two years.
2. She’s alone at this moment.
3. My wife and I feel lonely in this city.
4. My daughters don’t like to be alone at home.

Brad

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Common error for beginners: “tengo una cuestión para ti” (I have a question for you) when it should be either “tengo una pregunta para ti” or “quiero hacerte una pregunta” or “quiero preguntarte algo. Here’s what’s going on:

English “question” = Spanish “pregunta”
English “issue, matter, topic, question” = Spanish “cuestión”
English “ask a question” = Spanish “hacer una pregunta” or “preguntar”

Some examples of each Spanish word or phrase:

pregunta

1. Es una pregunta difícil de contestar = It’s a difficult question to answer.
2. Todos tenían la misma pregunta = They all had (wanted to ask) the same question.
3. Hay muchas preguntas sin respuestas = There are many questions that don’t have an answer.

cuestión

1. Es una cuestión de vida o muerte = It’s a matter of life or death.
2. Es una cuestión de dinero = It’s a question of money.
3. La persona en cuestión no estuvo = The person in question wasn’t there.

hacer (una) pregunta

1. ¿Puedo hacerte una pregunta? = Can I ask you a question?
2. ¿Nadie me hizo preguntas = No one asked me anything.
3. Deja de hacerme la misma pregunta = Stop asking me the same question.

preguntar

1. ¿Puedo preguntarte algo = Can I ask you something?
2. Nadie me preguntó nada = No one asked me anything.
3. Deja de preguntarme lo mismo = Stop asking me the same thing.

Brad

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Once again, the two words look like they should mean the same, but they don’t. Here are the definitions:

(Spanish) compromiso = (English) an obligation, promise, or agreement
(English) compromise = (Spanish) mutuo acuerdo (literally: “a mutual agreement”)

Here are some examples:

Spanish

1. No puedo ayudarte hoy porque tengo varios compromisos.
2. Usted lo puede probar sin compromiso.
3. Ella lo invitó por compromiso.
—
4. Los dos partidos llegaron a un acuerdo sobre el nuevo impuesto.
5. Llegamos a un acuerdo sobre ciertos puntos antes de que firmaran.

English

1. I can’t help you today because I have several things to do.
2. You can try it without any obligation.
3. She invited him because she felt obliged to.
–
4. The two (political) parties reached an agreement over the new tax.
5. We made a compromise on certain points before they signed.

Brad

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There are two basic types of questions: yes/no questions and questions with an interrogative. Here are the rules for each, followed by some examples:

Yes/No questions

The subject usually goes before the verb (¿Pepe está aquí?). Notice that I’ve chosen the word “usually” with great care: there could be reasons to say “¿Está Pepe aquí?” and this is a perfectly correct question.

Questions with an interrogative (¿qué?, ¿dónde?, ¿cuándo?, etc.)

The subject always goes somewhere after the verb (¿Dónde está Pepe?). Once again, I’ve chosen the word “always” very carefully: you’ll never hear a native speaker say “¿Dónde Pepe está?” although you might hear the same questions with the subject removed from the question structure as in “Y Pepe, ¿dónde está?”.

Here are a few examples of each:

Yes/No questions

Spanish

1. ¿Pepe vive aquí? (¿Vive Pepe aquí? is correct too)
2. ¿Tus padres han llegado ya? (¿Han llegado tus padres? is correct too)
3. ¿Jaime fue a fiesta? (¿Fue Jaime a la fiesta? is correct too)
4. ¿Luisa lo compró? (¿Lo compró Luisa? is correct too)

English

1. Does Pepe live here?
2. Have your parents arrived yet?
3. Did Jaime go to the party?
4. Did Luisa buy it?

Questions with an interrogative

Spanish

1. ¿Dónde vive Pepe? (¿Dónde Pepe vive? is NOT correct)
2. ¿Cuándo llegaron tus padres? (¿Cuándo tus padres llegaron? is NOT correct)
3. ¿Adónde fue Jaime? (¿Adónde Jaime fue? is NOT correct)
4. ¿Qué compró Luisa? (¿Qué Luisa compró? is NOT correct)

English

1. Where does Pepe live?
2. When did your parents arrive?
3. Where did Jaime go?
4. What did Luisa buy?

Notice that I said that the subject goes somewhere after the verb with questions that have an interrogative. In a longer question, all and any of the following are correct translations of “What time did Juan arrive from work last night?”:

1. ¿A qué hora llegó Juan anoche del trabajo?
2. ¿A qué hora llegó del trabajo anoche Juan?
3. ¿A qué hora llegó anoche Juan del trabajo?

Brad

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The short explanation: You can’t do it.

Longer explanation:

It’s very common to end a question with a preposition in English:

1. Who are you talking to?
2. What are you saving for?
3. Where are you coming from?
4. Who are you living with now?
5. Which car are you coming in tonight?

In order to get a grasp on how these questions are worded in Spanish, you need to reword them as shown below:

1. To whom are you talking?
2. For what are you saving?
3. From where are you coming?
4. With whom are you living now?
5. In which car are you coming tonight?

Sounds a bit odd, right? But the second set of questions if perfectly understandable in English and you can use them as a jumping off point into Spanish:

1. ¿Con quién estás hablando? (con quién in Spanish, and not a quién when using the verb hablar)
2. ¿Para qué estás ahorrando?
3. ¿Desde dónde vienes?
4. ¿Con quién estás viviendo ahora?
5. ¿En qué coche vienes / vendrás esta noche?

This is a problem mainly for English speakers who are starting to learn Spanish. In my teaching experience, the problem takes care of itself quickly since you’ll never hear anything like “¿Quién vives con” instead of the correct “¿Con quién vives”. As an interesting experiment, try asking a native Spanish speaker “¿Quién vives con” to see what sort of reaction you get.

Brad

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This is a common mistake in Spanish for intermediate and advanced learners:

English has a special use of the future tense (will) which does NOT translate into Spanish. In English, when we want to emphasize that someone habitually refuses to do something, we can use the future tense, as in:

“He won’t accept a job as a gardener”, or “she won’t eat broccoli”. Both of these sentences could be reworded in English as “He refuses to accept a job as a gardener” or “she refuses to eat broccoli” and imply that this is an ongoing situation while not referring to any specific situation in the future. When this is the case, we use the reflexive verb “negarse a” which means “to refuse”. The future in Spanish is NOT used in this situation. Some examples:

English

1. He just won’t listen to me. (meaning ‘he never listens to me’)
2. He won’t accept a job as a gardener. (meaning ‘he refuses to accept that job ever’)
3. She won’t eat broccoli. (meaning ’she never eats broccoli’)
4. They just won’t pay attention to the math teacher. (meaning ‘they never pay attention to him’)
5. They won’t come here when my father is at home. (meaning ‘they never come when he’s there’)

Spanish

1. Se niega a escucharme. (wrong: No me escuchará)
2. Se niega a aceptar un trabajo como jardinero. (wrong: No aceptará un trabajo como jardinero)
3. Se niega a comer broccoli. (wrong: No comerá broccoli)
4. Se niegan a prestarle atención al profesor de matemáticas. (wrong: No le prestarán atención…)
5. Se niegan a pasar por aquí cuando mi padre está en casa. (wrong: No pasarán por aquí cuando…)

Brad

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