Tu Tendra cara!

[asndy82]

Im tryin to learn as much spanish as I can outside of the classroom. I heard this phrase the other day. "Pero tu tendra cara"!? I wonder what it actually means, alguien me puede explicar? My guess is that it is similar to "you got some nerve..." in english.

Gracias.

 

[Chirimoya]

That's what it means, yes. I don't recall hearing Dominicans using it in this sense, though.

 

[ssasy]

If I've done somethingwrong, embarasing, or if I am ashamed of something I did, I often say " y con que cara?"
And example would be "Y con que cara me aparezco en la casa de fulanito." As in: I don't have the nerve to go to fulanito's house.

 

[monsoon68]

Tendras cara!

"tu tendra(s) cara!" = same as "Tendras cara" or "Qu? cara m?s dura tienes!".

example:
"tendras cara! nunca vas a clase y luego quieres que haga tus deberes"

This is kind of being cheeky.

Saludos :bunny:

Im tryin to learn as much spanish as I can outside of the classroom. I heard this phrase the other day. "Pero tu tendra cara"!? I wonder what it actually means, alguien me puede explicar? My guess is that it is similar to "you got some nerve..." in english.

Gracias.

 

[macocael]

Why the future tense though, I am puzzled. My dictionary gives the phrase in the present. as in ¡que cara tienes!. Cara dura is also used to describe cheek or nerve. I dont know if dominicans use these phrases much, but there is also "dar cara a (algo)" (face up to something); "hacer cara a (un enemigo)"; "tener cara de (algo)" -- to look like something; etc. It's one of those all round useful words.

 

[Marianopolita]

Maco-

I don?t see anything wrong or unusual with the usage of the future tense in that expression. If the speaker said it in the future then s/he is referring to a situation that has not occurred yet.

I like the fact the OP is asking these questions but keep in mind not much background scenario is given therefore it can sometimes lend itself to misinterpretation or further clarification of the contextual situation is required.

Maco sometimes it helps to compare similar 'scenario' expressions in order to answer your own question. When I read your question about why the future tense was used I tried to think of another idiomatic expression. Here is an example:

I am upset with you because of something you did and instead of arguing I say to you:

Me las vas a pagar/ Me las pagar?s

- it would make sense to use the future tense. You can apply the logic to the OP's phrase above.

As for my opinion on the common usage of the phrase when I first read it I thought it sounded like a phrase from a telenovela and if that's the case it may be commonly used by Mexicans but not to say that it's not used or variations of it are not used in the Spanish-speaking world.



-LDG.

 

[Marianopolita]

Maco-

I think Monsoon68's example is better than mine in that it shows the dual nature of the expression and how it can be used in the future tense to convey the meaning.

My example above truly requires the future tense however; my point was to try to show that comparing the usage sometimes helps to facilitate comprehension with idiomatic expressions.


-LDG.

example:
"tendras cara! nunca vas a clase y luego quieres que haga tus deberes"

This is kind of being cheeky.

Saludos

 

[azabache]

?D?nde estar??

If the speaker said it in the future then s/he is referring to a situation that has not occurred yet.
-LDG.

...but Lesley, isn't the future tense sometimes used in spanish to express something other than what's going to happen in the future?
Such as ?D?nde estar? mi cartera? -- Where could my wallet be?

 

[Marianopolita]

Azabache-

Yes, to answer your query but you are referring to the future tense to express 'probability or conjecture' in a question . The OP's phrase was not a question.


If you read my post again I noted that the OP did not give a context or scenario in which it was used therefore it lends itself to open interpretation. My example should help Maco as a comparison and as I said I think Monsoon68's example is a clear one of usage.



-LDG.

 

[mkohn]

I was thinking maybe one could be imagining how someone will feel after doing this ...
Like: "you'll be sorry" "you'll be so ashamed, red-faced, embarrassed, feel stupid," etc
The main thing is that we're understanding what might make someone say it, and then knowing what it might mean in English ...
mkohn

 

[asndy82]

I understand now I have heard the use "Que hora sera" to mean "(I wonder) what time is it? Can u also say "Que hora debe ser?"

 

[macocael]

Yeah I understand now why I was puzzled. It is just that I thought the example given was intended as the usual form of the expression and not to express the idea merely in the future tense. monsoon's post helps clarify it. The lack of a context threw me.