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AlemãoYabla Espanhol
Se te acabó el tiempo, Milagros.
You've run out of time, Milagros.
Caption 37, Muñeca Brava - 1 Piloto
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Is there anything scarier than finding an angry nun in your room late at night? In this installment of Muñeca Brava, our heroine Milagros encounters a stern Mother Superior back in her room at the orphanage after sneaking out for some night-clubbing. The nun disregards the girl’s flimsy excuses and says ominously: "Se te acabó el tiempo, Milagros."
-The declaration means: "You’ve run out of time, Milagros." But if you look at the construction "se te acabó" -from the reflexive verb acabársele (to run out of)- it more literally means "Time has run out on you."
We find something similar going on in caption 19 of Taimur habla.
Pero esos se me echaron a perder y se los llevaron pa' llá.
But they got destroyed and they took them over there.
Caption 19, Taimur - Taimur habla
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Our friend-for-life Taimur is tellling us "they got destroyed (on me)" or "they got wrecked (on me)." Like the good monja above, he might have put the subject last, had he wanted to: Se me echaron a perder mis cosas ("My things got wrecked").
These are examples of a special se construction used to describe unplanned or accidental occurences in Spanish. As a rule, the se + me, te, le, les or nos (indirect object) + verb construction describes occurrences that happen "to someone" (a alguien). The verb agrees with what in English is the thing acted upon (the direct object) because in Spanish that thing becomes the subject, that which is doing the action. No need to get mired in grammar, just have a look at these other examples and it should start to soak in.
Se nos está acabando el pan. (acabársele)
We’re running out of bread. / The bread is running out on us.
Se me rompieron los anteojos. (rompérsele)
I (accidently) broke my glasses. / My glasses broke on me.
De repente, a Pablo se le ocurrió una idea. (ocurrírsele)
Suddenly, an idea ocurred to Pablo.
Además, si estás enamorado y no te dan bolilla...
Besides, if you're in love and the other one doesn't give you a second thought...
es como un piedrazo en la cabeza.
it's like getting hit on the head with a rock.
Captions 29-30, Verano Eterno - Fiesta Grande
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That's gotta hurt. In Spanish, the suffix azo can signify a blow by the object at the root of the word. So, piedrazo means a blow by a piedra, or stone. By this logic:
Bala -> "bullet"
Balazo -> "blow by a bullet; a gunshot wound."
Codo -> "elbow"
Codazo -> "blow by an elbow; nudge."
One way to make a TV theme song irresistibly catchy is through repetition. In Chayanne's theme song for Provócame, it works. Take these two lines:
Por amor. Por amar.
For love. For loving.
Captions 9-10, Provócame - Piloto
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The straightforward translation is: "For love / For loving." Amor is a noun meaning "love." Meanwhile, change one letter and amar is the infinitive "to love." In Spanish, the infinitive is often used the way we in English use the gerund (with the -ing ending). For example, "I like singing" is translated as Me gusta cantar in proper Spanish.
Ok. You probably figured out quickly that the repeated por here means "for" in English. But it's a little more complicated than that. You see, there are two words that both mean "for" in Spanish: Por and para. Por can mean "for the sake of, in the cause of, or, by means of," while para can mean "with the destination of, or, in order to." In Chayenne's lyrics, por amor can be translated as "for love" in the sense of "for the sake of love" [like we saw in last week's newsletter, with por amor, usa forro ("for the sake of love, use a condom")]. That's straightforward. But some might argue Chayenne is taking a little bit of poetic license when he says por amar ("for the sake of loving") in instead of para amar, ("in order to love"), which is a more common construction with the infinitive of a verb. But, really, it works both ways - and it certainly sounds catchier with the repeated por.
Hablar por hablar.
To talk for the sake of talking.
Aprender español para hablarlo.
To learn Spanish in order to speak it.
You want more? See Por y Para at https://www.thoughtco.com/taking-confusion-out-of-por-para-3078140
In this lesson, we would like to talk about a very simple formula that native Spanish speakers use when they wish to express their intention or inclination to do something. Let's take a look at it:
The verb estar (to be) + the preposition por + infinitive verb
Now, let's take a look at the following clip to see how that formula works:
Tu hija se está por casar con un buen hombre.
Your daughter's about to get married to a good man.
Caption 17, Provócame - Piloto
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When Patricia says to Ignacio, "Tu hija se está por casar con un buen hombre," she is saying: "Your daughter is about to get married to a good man." That said, the meaning of estar por hacer algo is: "to be about to do something," or have the intention to carry out the action of the infinitive verb. Note that the reflexive pronoun se in Patricia's sentence is part of the reflexive verb casarse (rather than having any association with estar). That said, she could have just as well have said: "Tu hija está por casarse."
Let's look at another example:
Ya estoy por pensar que Urrutia sí es quien dice ser.
I'm about to think that Urrutia really is who he says he is.
Caption 24, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 4
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In this example, we can see that Rubio is "about to think" something. In this context, our formula expresses that Rubio "feels tempted" or "is inclined" to think that what Urrutia says is true.
Note that in some Spanish-speaking areas, estar por + infinitive would more likely be used to indicate that one is in the mood to do something or has the intention to, while in other regions, estar para + infinitive is the more common way to say that some action will soon take place.
Finally, keep in mind that in some parts of Latin America, people might use estar por + infinitive as an alternative way of saying estar a punto de (hacer algo). Let's look at an example of how this same idea of being "about to" do something can be expressed with different words:
Está por llover (It's about to rain).
Está a punto de llover (It's about to rain).
That's all for this lesson. We hope you've learned something new today, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. ¡Hasta la próxima!
No hables como si fuese una persona...
Don't speak as if he were a person...
Caption 17, Provócame - Piloto
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If you're a native English speaker, you're likely to translate the phrase above as "Don't speak as if he were a person." Without much thinking about it, most native English speakers choose the subjuntive "were," and not the indicative "was." Ana, similarly, instinctively uses fuese (the subjunctive form) and not era (the indicative) when she tells Mariano "Don't speak as if he were a person". (She is referring to a horse that goes by the name Chocolate.) The subjunctive, as most of us have heard but often fail to fully grasp, is used to express doubt or uncertainty, or to describe situations that are unlikely. Since it is quite "unlikely" that the horse in question is a person, and Ana, sin duda, "doubts" that he is one, she goes with the subjunctive, fuese.
This were/was distinction is one of the few and dwindling instances whereby English speakers retain a subjunctive form (were) that differs from the indicative (was). Other than "to be," most English verbs have melded both the indicative past and the subjunctive past into a single "universal" past tense that encompasses both. For this reason it's often said, somewhat erroneously, that subjunctive tenses "don't exist" anymore in English, and is why English speakers find Spanish's distinct subjunctive tenses difficult to acquire. The more we, as learners, immerse ourselves in authentic spoken Spanish, the faster we too can begin to acquire a native-like "instinct" for the subjunctive and its use.
If you want to bend your brain around the topic further, here are some sites where you can do so:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood
https://www.lingolex.com/swom/wom-subj.htm
Every language has its own peculiar nuances. In Spanish, one such nuance is the formula, al + the infinitive of a verb. Let's start reviewing this formula with the following clip:
Nos confundimos al hablar sin escuchar
We get confused by speaking without listening
Caption 26, La Gusana Ciega - Giroscopio
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In "Giroscopio" by La Gusana Ciega, frontman Daniel Gutierrez sings: nos confundimos al hablar sin escuchar, which we have translated as "we get confused by speaking without listening."
This brings our attention to the use of al + infinitive. The English equivalent is often created by using the prepositions, "by," "when," or "upon" + the "ing" (progressive) verb form.
Most native English speakers would find this phrase easier to follow were Daniel to avoid the al + infinitive construction and instead sing: Nos confundimos cuando hablamos sin escuchar or Nos confundimos hablando sin eschuchar, both of which are more parallel to the typical English construction.
Although each of these possibilities is grammatically correct, they convey a slightly different meaning than the choice to employ al hablar in this lyric. While both hablando (speaking) and cuando hablamos (when we speak) would convey the sense that the speaker is referring to some specific instance or instances of "talking without listening," the use of al hablar causes the assertion to sound more like a truism or principle of life, the type of thing you might read at the end of a fable or as the moral of a story.
Let's look at some examples:
Eh... Al venir acá y compartir con tantas culturas, pues.
Um... Upon coming here and sharing with so many cultures, well.
Caption 20, Silvina - Una entrevista con la artista
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Este fue el primer lugar visitado por nuestro Libertador Simón Bolívar,
This was the first place visited by our Liberator, Simon Bolivar,
al llegar a la hacienda San Pedro Alejandrino.
upon arriving at the San Pedro Alejandrino [Saint Peter of Alexandria] hacienda.
Captions 2-3, Viajando en Colombia - La Quinta de Bolívar
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Al + infinitive can alternately be translated to English using "when + simple present." For example, in this case, we could just as well have translated al hablar as "when we speak," which would give us: "we get confused when we speak without listening."
Let's look at some additional examples of al + infinitive:
Nos equivocamos al actuar sin pensar.
We make mistakes by acting without thinking.
Nos ensuciamos al jugar.
We get dirty when we play.
Te lastimas al correr sin estirarte.
You hurt yourself by running without stretching.
Se lastiman al pelear.
They hurt themselves when they fight.
Me mojo al bañarme.
I get wet when I bathe.
Se lastiman al jugar sin zapatos.
They hurt themselves by playing without shoes.
That's it for this lesson. We hope you enjoy it and don't forget to send us your comments and questions.
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