Words, phrases and expressions of the week- January 6, 2018

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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There are many ways to learn new words in a language. Other than studying a list of vocabulary (which most people find boring and tedious) one can read books, read newspapers, listen to the television etc. and this way vocabulary building happens indirectly and at the same time one can observe the context in which a word, phrase or expression is used.

For the month of January, once per week I will provide a list of 7 words (they can be a short phrase or expressions as well) and the goal is to provide examples of usage from other sources for example the newspaper in which the word is used or you can create your own phrase or short paragraph in Spanish to show how the word is used correctly. However, the key is it has to make sense in Spanish (to the best of your ability).



Here are this week's words:

(Seven words because there are seven days in the week)


1) la travesía


2) Hay (there is, there are)


3) A su vez


4) Procurar


5) agrícola


6) impensable


7) a corto plazo



Reference to look up the meaning of the words:

http://www.wordreference.com/



-MP.
 
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Chirimoya

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Good idea. I love finding tricky terms and idioms that are a challenge to translate.
 

Catseye

Member
Nov 7, 2009
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Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic
please correct mine:

Por fin, la travesía por mi casa tiene un semaforro que funciona.

Hay mucha lluvia este fin de semana.

Dos vendedores de la playa me molestan a su vez.

Necesito procurar una calentador para mi piscina.

Estoy preoccupado de los origenes agricola de la comida que estoy comiendo.

Viviendo en Republica Dominicana solamente por a corto plazo es impensable.
 

Caonabo

LIFE IS GOOD
Sep 27, 2017
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Por avion, la travesía de Santo Domingo a Madrid dura ocho horas.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
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please correct mine:

Por fin, la travesía por mi casa tiene un semaforro que funciona.

Hay mucha lluvia este fin de semana.

Dos vendedores de la playa me molestan a su vez.

Necesito procurar una calentador para mi piscina.

Estoy preoccupado de los origenes agricola de la comida que estoy comiendo.


Viviendo en Republica Dominicana solamente por a corto plazo es impensable.



I will highlight what you need to go back and reconsider.


1) If you are trying to say - the journey to my house then por has a different meaning in your phrase.


3) I don't understand your usage of- a su vez- are you trying to say at the same time? Then that is a la vez. A su vez has a different meaning.


4) una calentador- grammar- un calentador


6) You are female- Estoy preocupada del orígen agrícola ....my suggestion


7) You need to say estoy viviendo... you can't just say viviendo en la RD in a phrase like that. Grammar point- Estar + gerundio (the gerund- equivalent to 'ing' in English) Also no ‘por’. Solamente a corto plazo...



Edited to add more corrections to the last phrase.



 -MP.
 
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Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
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Just to add all Spanish speakers can give suggestions or corrections. Not just me.


As well, not every phrase may trigger a response or comment. That's okay. Consider it no glaring issues to point out or suggest.



-MP.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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Here are my phrases:


La travesía


Muchos cubanos murieron en arriesgadas travesías desde Cuba rumbo a los EEUU. Ahora que Obama anuló la política pies secos pies mojados muchos cubanos están varados en varios países como Costa Rica, Panamá, Chile, y Brasil por solo nombrar algunos. En mi opinión, anular la ley es algo que no debería haber hecho Obama porque sabemos bien que el régimen cubano no va a cambiar. Solo va a cambiar cuando les dé la gana a ellos (es decir los Castro o cualquier gobierno que venga después).


Hay

No hay manera de saber si fue su culpa o si fue un accidente.


A su vez



El hecho de que nadie hablaba inglés en el vecindario esto a su vez causó más indignación entre los angloparlantes de Hialeah.


Procurar



Mis profesores siempre nos decían- ‘procuren leer si quieren mejorar en español y tener un vocabulario más amplio’.


Agrícola

La situación agrícola en Ecuador es cada vez peor en el área afectada por un sismo devastador.


Impensable


La crueldad infantil que presenciamos a nivel mundial es impensable sobre todo hoy en día cuando muchas personas tienen más recursos a su alcance.


A corto plazo


A corto plazo la economía estadounidense va creciendo pero tenemos que evaluar la situación a largo plazo para ver si realmente ha mejorado.


-MP.
 
Last edited:

Catseye

Member
Nov 7, 2009
163
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Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic
I will highlight what you need to go back and reconsider.


1) If you are trying to say - the journey to my house then por has a different meaning in your phrase.


3) I don't understand your usage of- a su vez- are you trying to say at the same time? Then that is a la vez. A su vez has a different meaning.


4) una calentador- grammar- un calentador


6) You are female- Estoy preocupada del orígen agrícola ....my suggestion


7) You need to say estoy viviendo... you can't just say viviendo en la RD in a phrase like that. Grammar point- Estar + gerundio (the gerund- equivalent to 'ing' in English)



-MP.



thanks!

I used google translate 

the first one, crossing I thought meant a street crossing

“a su vez” translated to “at the same time” but I guess that’s wrong
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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thanks!

I used google translate 

the first one, crossing I thought meant a street crossing

“a su vez” translated to “at the same time” but I guess that’s wrong


Wow! If google translate gave you that may I suggest trying on your own. A su vez is a tricky idiom. Honestly, I prefer an equivalent. However, I saw it in an article today and chose it for the list to see how others manage it. It is used a lot in journalism. 


-MP.
 
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Lucifer

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Impensable... that's a word I've never used. Some folks may even try--mistakenly, of course--to correct me:

"José, quisiste decir 'indispensable'".

Now, I may be wrong, but I think 'inconcebible' is more commonly used, at least in the D.R.

A good creative writing exercise: use all 7 phrases in a short composition.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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Impensable... that's a word I've never used. Some folks may even try--mistakenly, of course--to correct me:

"José, quisiste decir 'indispensable'".

Now, I may be wrong, but I think 'inconcebible' is more commonly used, at least in the D.R.

A good creative writing exercise: use all 7 phrases in a short composition.


In my opinion, impensable is an everyday word in Spanish in general and I would not even think of giving it any kind of regional distinction or association. From a grammatical perspective it’s pensable + prefix = impensable. These types of words in Spanish are a dime a dozen. However, you could be right maybe words get commonly used in a region for diverse reasons and of course the lack of exposure to one’s own language which we all know happens everywhere in any language. It was in an article I read yesterday in Diario las Américas.

To your point, I recently started noticing how a simple word like wedding varies in Spanish. Casamiento vs. boda. A friend of mine, a full-grown adult was shocked when he heard the word casamiento. I had to tell him it means boda. Now I really listen to people just to observe which word is more commonly used. It’s hard to pin point anything specific but I noticed casamiento is quite popular in certain countries in South America whereas boda seems very generic. I continue to listen out for the word choice.


-MP.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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Impensable... that's a word I've never used. Some folks may even try--mistakenly, of course--to correct me:

"José, quisiste decir 'indispensable'".

Now, I may be wrong, but I think 'inconcebible' is more commonly used, at least in the D.R.

A good creative writing exercise: use all 7 phrases in a short composition.


Here is my short composition:



Es un año nuevo y es buena oportunidad de pensar en los objetivos que tengo para 2018. Es otro año de levantarme muy temprano y aguantar una travesía larga para llegar a la oficina. Sin embargo, me encanta. Soy una de esas personas felices de tener trabajo y aprovecho la oportunidad.

Pienso que 2018 será interesante porque quiero alcanzar algunas metas pero pienso que será muy difícil a su vez por las pocas oportunidades que hay para avanzar. A pesar de eso mis metas no son impensables.

Creo que es lógico planear o tener algo en mente de esa manera puedo hacer cambios según sea necesario. Trabajo en el mundo corporativo así que es lógico tener objetivos tanto a corto plazo como a largo plazo para hacer frente a los cambios en el mercado. A diferencia de la industria agrícola aunque es posible planear un terremoto puede arruinar todo de una vez. Un sacudido y se acaba todo. Me imagino que no es fácil ser granjero.

Para los que creen en el horóscopo según lo que se dice será un buen año para muchas personas. Espero que me toque la suerte. Procuraré hacer todo lo posible para tener éxito este año.


I used all 7 words.



-MP.
 

drstock

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Oct 29, 2010
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Wow! If google translate gave you that may I suggest trying on your own. A su vez is a tricky idiom. Honestly, I prefer an equivalent. However, I saw it in an article today and chose it for the list to see how others manage it. It is used a lot in journalism. 


-MP.

Yes, Google Translate translates "a su vez" as "at the same time", while the site your recommended, Word Reference, gives it as "in turn". Practically opposite meanings! I think I'll make Word Reference my default translator if Google gets it so wrong.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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Yes, Google Translate translates "a su vez" as "at the same time", while the site your recommended, Word Reference, gives it as "in turn". Practically opposite meanings! I think I'll make Word Reference my default translator if Google gets it so wrong.


Yes, I looked it up after Cateseye said that she used it. The irony about translators is you have a very good command of both languages, source and target language in order to benefit from it because you can catch the ridiculous translations and rule them out and make corrections. If I need to look up a word in either language I use the most reliable source which is a dictionary.

The link I provided is one of the most widely used on the web. It is a dictionary and the language forums they have are well supported with knowledgeable posters if you ever glance at it. I really have no time to look at it on a regular basis and responses are posted within seconds literally. Their forums have a very high volume of threads and posts.

I have tested google translate for fun many times both Eng to Span and Span to Eng and I have made some observations. The simpler the phrase the more accurate the translation. Google translate does not recognize Spanish phrases with multiple pronouns and of course you saw the example with idiomatic expressions. A su vez has a unique meaning.



-MP.
 
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dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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for a change, i asked miesposo to complete this task, let's see how he does :)
he is dictating and i am typing so no accents (i dont know how to insert them on my keyboard).

1. mi travesia en el trabajo fue larga y dura.

2. en este pub hay muchos borrachos.

3. mientras el leia a su vez tomaba llamadas telefonicas.

4. fui al supermercado a procurar leche y huevos.

5. los productos agricola son parte de nuestra dieta diaria.

6. el hombre hizo lo impensable al poner pie en la luna hace menos de un siglo.

7. la majoria de los dominicanos tienen memoria a corto plazo.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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thanks!

I used google translate 

the first one, crossing I thought meant a street crossing

“a su vez” translated to “at the same time” but I guess that’s wrong



A su vez is not an expression I use and I only see it used in newspapers but understanding its meaning is key and it depends on the context.

I just put your phrase in Google translate and look what it gives as an English equivalent:

https://translate.google.com/#auto/en/Dos vendedores en la playa me molestaron a su vez.


It is translating a su vez as in turn.


According to other sources it can also mean mientras and it can also mean a la vez but I have not seen that meaning in the dictionary.


I like this definition here from diccionario reverso:

http://diccionario.reverso.net/espanol-definiciones/a+su+vez


Here is the example from the newspaper where I read it:

A su vez, el número de fallecidos en la ruta subió de 128 contabilizados en 2016 a un total de 223 hasta esa fecha.
.

In that context, I think it can be replaced by mientras and have the same meaning.

https://www.diariolasamericas.com/mundo/cifras-inmigrantes-europa-se-redujo-el-2017-n4140715



-MP.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
4,821
766
113
for a change, i asked miesposo to complete this task, let's see how he does :)
he is dictating and i am typing so no accents (i dont know how to insert them on my keyboard).

1. mi travesia en el trabajo fue larga y dura.

2. en este pub hay muchos borrachos.

3. mientras el leia a su vez tomaba llamadas telefonicas.

4. fui al supermercado a procurar leche y huevos.

5. los productos agricola son parte de nuestra dieta diaria.

6. el hombre hizo lo impensable al poner pie en la luna hace menos de un siglo.

7. la majoria de los dominicanos tienen memoria a corto plazo.



1) Are you saying my journey to work ?..... ¿en el trabajo?


5) Concordance- the s is dropped when speaking but it has to be written.


7) spelling- la mayoría



-MP.