Hi! I'm having trouble with preterite and imperfect? Can you translate "How much DID it cost?" into spanish for me. Thanks!!
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Hi! I'm having trouble with preterite and imperfect? Can you translate "How much DID it cost?" into spanish for me. Thanks!!
"¿Cuánto costó?"
Hope it helps...;)
the two possibilities you have are: "¿Cuánto costó?" (pretérito imperfecto) and "¿Cuánto costaba?" (pretérito indefinido). the difference: the first one is punctual, you're speaking about a specific thing bought at a specific time (e.g., you're talking right after coming back from the shop)... the second one is like you're speaking about something bought at some point in the past (a longer time ago), inespecific, like "when I was young..." --got it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Spanishstudent
hope I helped! :rolleyes:
Hi Laura, I think this option you are also offering
could be the translation for "How much it used to cost?".Quote:
"¿Cuánto costaba?" (pretérito indefinido)
The "copretérito" in Spanish can be substituted by
Costaba: solía costar
costed: used to cost
Please, correct me if I'm wrong.
hi, sandra... I hope Spanishstudent doesn't read our debate! we're going to complicate him more... (:D)
you're right, the "used to" would be more appropriate for "costaba" but I considered that you could have a more complete question, like "How much did it cost when you were young/in the old days/a year ago?" and in that case it would be "costaba"... as usual, the point is it would all depend on the context!
BTW, the word "copretérito" is new to me. maybe it's a modern designation (and I studied so-so-so long ago we used to call it differently?) :D
Hi, Laura. You´re right. The Real Academia designates that verb tense as "pretérito imperfecto", but in the 19th century, Andrés Bello suggested a new terminology which many Spanish speaking countries established as the norm. Here are both terminologies:Quote:
Originally Posted by lauracipolla
R. Academia Andrés Bello
presente presente
pret. imperfecto copretérito
pret. imperf. simple pretérito
futuro futuro
condicional pospretérito
pret. perf. compuesto antepresente
pret. pluscuamperfecto antecopretérito
pretérito anterior antepretérito
futuro perfecto antefuturo
condicional perfecto antepospretérito
Saludos.
I like "¿por cuanto salió?":)
Vicente, dear...accents!!!:pQuote:
Originally Posted by vicente
Yes, good idea and very colloquial.:)
In Spain we prefer the pretérito perfecto:
¿Cuánto te ha costado?
Hi everybody!
Just for fun at this point, in Argentina we'd say ¿Cuánto te costó? o ¿cuánto te salió?
I have realized in other threads that we (in our various countries) have different terminology for the tenses.Quote:
BTW, the word "copretérito" is new to me. maybe it's a modern designation (and I studied so-so-so long ago we used to call it differently?) :D
Laura, I also studied so-so-so long ago, so don't feel bad about it. ;)
Quote:
¿Cuánto te costó? o ¿cuánto te salió?
Here we also say : ¿En cuánto te salió? but don't sayQuote:
¿Cuánto te ha costado?
This should be Mexican, Vicente???Quote:
"¿por cuanto salió?"
This is the point in which we realize the diversity and richness of the language in our countries...:)
Hey girls! What do you mean when you say so-so-so long ago?? I thought you were very young people...Quote:
Originally Posted by SandraT
But offfffff courrrrrrrrrrrse mem!!! "Lo esencial es invisible para los ojos"...;) and Carlos Gardel said it already..."20 años no es nada" so 10 or 20 more does not mean anything...:pQuote:
I thought you were very young people...
I absolutly agree Sandra...:D he was right... but that's not THAT long ago, isn't it?Quote:
Originally Posted by SandraT
If that were the case... I should say the same:eek: Oh my God! Time flies!!!!!!!!!!!! jajajajaja
dear all,
nice thread!
1. thanks carlosroberto for the A. Bello's terminology. it's not a question of years or lack of memory: I'm sure that's definitely not taught at our schools! haha.
2. we use no preposition at all before the "¿cuánto costó?" in Argentina: we might add a pronoun in between: "¿cuánto te costó?". and the perfect version, Exx is common in the north, too. (many times, when I say "in Argentina/ in my country", I try to remind myself that we're a large country and many people don't speak exactly as I do...)
3. I'm no kindergarden pupil, but I'm "young at heart", as I guess we all are... and by the way, I've read some serious research stating that people who speak/study other languages keep their neurons active and their brains young... so it goes for all of us.
:D
best regards to all!
laura
Hola:
Por estas tierras es común oír "¿En cuánto te salió?", una opción más y muestra, como bien dijo Sandra, de la enorme diversidad de formas que puede adoptar una misma lengua.
En cuanto a la edad, con los datos de mi nombre de usuario ya me balconeé (como también decimos por acá), porque entre ellos puse mi edad. But, Mem, why are you surprised? Age means nothing, it's attitude what really counts, if not, ask my aunt Carmela, who is 101 years old and feels as young as when she was 80.
Pero totalmente de acuerdo amigo! Me llamó la atención el comentario "so-so-so long ago"... me sonó a muuuuchos años y ahí nomás me entró la curiosidad femenina.:D :D Tal vez depende de cómo cada uno lo mire, yo hace 16 años que me recibí y no me parece que haga tanto tiempo...Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlosRoberto
Vos tenés a tu tía Carmela... yo tuve a mi tía Adelina, que pasó a mejor vida a los 95 y repetía a menudo "viejos son los trapos" y era sumamente coqueta!! ... Es una cuestión de actitud... Tal cual:)
Saluditos!
"viejos son los trapos"
mem...Please explain the meaning.:)
hahaha Vicente...this is a good one from mem.
Trapos are old clothes, rags!!! perhaps there is a saying in English for this. :confused:
Come on, teach us!
In exchange I'll post another one, perhaps you know it already:
Más viejo que andar a pie: As old as the hills.:cool:
SandraT, what we should explain Vicente is that "Viejos son los trapos" is an expression typically uttered by an elderly person who has just been called old and resents it! the phrase is a way of saying that "the only thing that gets old is rags/clothes, NOT ME"...
what about "El diablo sabe por diablo pero más sabe por viejo"...?
Please ladies!!
If you are going to post idioms on top of idioms, please explain what they mean.:D :D
Hello Vicente! I did post the English equivalent for mine and As for the one Laura posted, I really don't know the equivalent but here is the translation:
"The Devil is wise because he is old, not because he is the Devil" (A person gains wisdom with age and time not because who he/she is.)
come on, vicente! where's the adventurous spirit! the idea was for you to try and make a guess, or try to find an equivalent... but sandraT has already been so nice as to explain it to you... you may want to comment on it? or can you tell us a similar-meaning saying or find a new one about the subject? (there's a challenge!)Quote:
Originally Posted by vicente
;)
Piense amigo!! No me va a decir que se va a dejar derrotar por las mujeres!!!:D :DQuote:
Originally Posted by vicente
Déjeme pensar!!:)Quote:
Originally Posted by mem286
Here goes another one for Vicente:
Viejos los cerros, y reverdecen.
I guess you'll easily understand it, but if not, later on I'll try to post that saying in English.
Saludos
I bet you know this one;) :D
"Si el joven supiera y el viejo pudiera..."
acá se usa una comparación parecida, con un poco más de mala intención: "entre uno que no sabe y el otro que no se acuerda..." pero más o menos es la idea!:DQuote:
Originally Posted by mem286
muy lindo dicho, carlosroberto. no lo conocía! (aunq al leerlo por segunda vez me resonó extrañamente lo de "viejo verde"... [dirty old man] ¿uds dicen así allá, también?)Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlosRoberto
Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlosRoberto
OK Carlos Roberto:) , "Old hills are still green"?????
This is easy:Quote:
Originally Posted by mem286
"if the young man knew how to do it and the old man could still do it"
This one is even easier:Quote:
Originally Posted by lauracipolla
"one doesn't know (what to do) and the other doesen't remember (how to do it"
:D :D :D
Cuánto costóQuote:
Originally Posted by Spanishstudent
Hi, everyone!
I agree with you, Sandra: the diversity of the many varieties of Spanish can sometimes be surprising :p. As Mer has already posted, in Argentina, we would use those two expressions (this one being more colloquial than the other one: "¿Cuánto te salió?").
I'm also looking forward to know whether you use different expressions or would accept some other option in Mexico... :cool:
Regards!
Guadalupe