Thursday, 23 May 2013 19:05

Well, as I am sure you all know by now, poco a poco means little by little.
Another similar expression you may hear cropping up is  "algo es algo.
This literally means "something is something" and is used in circumstances
when you want to say that something is better than nothing.

Tengo poco trabajo. Solo trabajo tres días la semana pero algo es algo.
I have very little work.  I only work three days a week but it's better
than nothing.

But we digress.  Back to poco.

Hace poco means a short while ago
And you may hear  dentro de poco  -  in a short while.
Un poco más is a little more
Un poco menos  -  A little less.
Poco antes  -  A little before
Poco después  -  A little after

Por poco means  almost

Por poco perdimos el autobús  -  We almost missed the bus
Poco falta para  is used to say that there isn't much time until
something is going to happen.
Poco falta para la feria de Coín  -  It isn't long until Coín feria.
Poco falta para mi cumpleaños  -  It isn't long till my birthday.

And of course if you only want a little of something  you say  Solo un poco de....
Quiero solo un poco de vino  -  I only want a little wine.

Not a sentence I ever remember having used but it may come in
useful some day!

Hasta la próxima  -  Until next time.
Valerie

Valerie runs the Centro Idiomas Language School in Coin.
Her books, “The First Twelve Shortcuts to Spanish” , “The Second Twelve Shortcuts to Spanish”  , “The Third Twelve Shortcuts to Spanish” (€5 each) and  “The Verb Book” (€7) are available from The News office in Coin, Woody’s Cards and Books in Los Boliches, David’s Books in Los Boliches or by email from This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Valerie's books can now be bought from her website – www.cslspain.com or call 952 450 747.