Friday, 24 May 2013 12:37

“How do you say GET in Spanish”

You know sometimes people ask a question like  "How do you say GET in Spanish"  Of course, there is no easy answer.  Do you mean GET UP; GET DOWN, GET IN, GET OUT, GET OVER, GET AROUND or any of the other, many variations. Well, we have a similar situation with translating many Spanish verbs back to English.   The  meaning can change depending on the other words used with it and depending on the context.
Today we are going to have a look at the verb  "acabar" and a few of its common meanings.

Acabar basically means to finish.

Acabamos el trabajo a las nueve.  -  We finish work at nine.

Ellos acabaron ayer  - They finished yesterday.

He acabado el libro  -  I have finished the book.

Acabar de  means to have just done something.

Acabo de leer el nuevo libro de J. K. Rowling  -  I have just read J. K. Rowling's new book.

Acabamos de comprar una casa en el campo  -  We have just bought a house in the country.

Acabaron de llegar cuando empezó la lluvia  -  They had just arrived when the rain began.

Acabar por  means to end up doing something,

Acabamos por creerlo  -  We ended up believing it.
Acabó por reconecerle  -  He ended up recognising him.
Acabaron por gastar todo el dinero - They ended up spending all the money.

Acabar mal  is to go badly.

Todo acabó mal el día de su cumpleaños  -  Everything went badly on his birthday.
Ya se acabó  -  That's an end to it.

It's over is useful when you've heard enough about a subject and don't want to talk
about it any more  or is also used when the result of something is obvious. 
Barca ya no puede ganar.  Ya se acabó  - Barcelona can't win now.  It's all over.

Ya está -  That's it.  Se acabó  -  It's finished

Perhaps in two weeks time we should look at the various uses of "get".
Hasta la próxima,
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.

Friday, 24 May 2013 12:37

Isn't it strange that people were still complaining about the heat until quite recently.  However, it seems rain and some cold weather are on the way, if we can believe the weather forecasters.

Of course in Spanish there are four seasons  Las cuatro estaciónes: La primavera - spring,  el verano - summer,  el otoño - autumn and
el invierno - winter.

Although it often seems we go straight from summer to winter.

So, estación means season.  However, it also means station.  La estación de autobús - the bus station and la estación de ferrocarril - the
railway station.  But, be careful.  The police station is la comasaría.

If you want to talk about the high season it is la temporada alta
while the low season is, of course, la temporada baja.
If something is out of season it is fuera de temporada whereas if you
find something in season it is de temporada as in frutas de temporada
- fruits in season.

animal in season is said to be en celo.

If you want to season food, you use the verb condimentar.

And it won't be long now until we will be wishing people
Season's Greetings - Felices fiestas.

Ya  está.
Hasta la próxima.

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.