No buts about it (Spanish idiom) no hay pero que valga
I just ran across the common phrase "No hay pero que valga". The translation into English is the title of this post "No buts about it". Now you could just learn this idiom in Spanish and go on with your life, but it's more interesting to analyze it a bit:
The literal translation is "there is no but that is of value". "Valga" is the subjunctive form of the verb "valer", whose basic meaning is "to be worth" but is commonly used in asking about prices: "¿Cuánto vale ese reloj?" = "How much is that watch?" or "What's the price of that watch?".
The verb "valer" uses the subjunctive here because of the negative phrase "No hay" - in other words, denying the existence of something.
So there's a lot to learn in this little idiom. I hope you'll find it useful.
Brad
