How to Talk About Wondering in Spanish

How to Talk About Wondering in Spanish Although you can translate the English verb to wonder, meaning to not know and to be curious about using the Spanish verb preguntarse, Spanish speakers often convey such a sense of uncertainty in their choice of verb tense. Using Preguntarse Use of preguntarse is straightforward if youre familiar with reflexive verbs. It can be literally translated as to ask oneself, and has basically that same meaning. Me pregunto si es amor lo que siento o es solo un capricho. I wonder if it is love I am feeling or if it is only a whim.Nos preguntamos si este invierno volver a nevar. We wonder if it will snow again this winter.Yo me preguntaba lo mismo. I wondered the same thing. ¿Quà © es la vida buena? se preguntaban los griegos. What is the good life? the Greeks wondered.Nunca se preguntaron como podà ­a ser posible. They never wondered how it could be possible. Using the Future Indicative Tense When speaking of wondering about something that is occurring in the present, it is common in Spanish to use the future indicative tense in the form of a question. For example, to say, I wonder where my keys are, you could say,  ¿Dà ³nde estarn las llaves? (The same sentence might also be translated as Where can my keys be?) It is important to understand that  ¿Dà ³nde estarn las llaves? does not (unless the context makes clear otherwise) mean Where will my keys be? There is a difference, however, between asking the direct question,  ¿Dà ³nde estn las llaves? (present tense, Where are my keys?) and using the future tense as in  ¿Dà ³nde estarn las llaves? In the latter case, the speaker isnt necessarily looking for an answer. Following are some other examples of what is sometimes called the suppositional future. In the examples below, two English translations are given. Either one (and possibly others) would be possible.  ¿Quià ©n ir a la fruterà ­a? I wonder whos going to the fruit stand. Who might be going to the fruit stand? ¿Quà © querr decir el autor en esta oracià ³n? I wonder what the author is saying in this sentence. What could the author be saying in this sentence? ¿Quà © pensarn de nosotros en Japà ³n? I wonder what the Japanese think about us. What could they be thinking about us in Japan? Using the Conditional Tense In the same way, the conditional tense can be used to express speculation about the past, although this is less common than the use of the future tense explained above:  ¿Quà © querrà ­a la policà ­a con à ©l? I wonder what the police wanted with him. What would the police have wanted with him? ¿Dà ³nde estarà ­an los secuestrados? I wonder where the hostages were. Where could the hostages have been? Both the future and conditional tenses have uses other than those explained in this lesson. As usual, context rules when seeking to understand what Spanish speakers are saying.

How To Use Suffixes in Spanish

How To Use Suffixes in Spanish One sure-fire way to boost your Spanish vocabulary is to take the words you already know and learn how to apply suffixes to them. What Are Suffixes? Suffixes are simply word endings that can be used to modify a words meaning. We use suffixes  in English all the time, and nearly all of them that we use in English have a Spanish equivalent. But Spanish has an even wider variety, and their usage isnt always as obvious as it would be in English. Take a common word like manteca, for example. Thats the word for lard, a much-used cooking ingredient in some Spanish-speaking countries. Add the ending -illa, a common ending, and it becomes mantequilla, or butter. Add the ending -ero, and it becomes mantequero, which can mean either a dairyman or a butter dish. Add the ending -ada, and it becomes mantecada, or buttered toast. Add -ado, and it becomes mantecado, or french ice cream. Unfortunately, it isnt always possible to figure out what a word means simply by knowing the root word and the suffixes. But the suffixes may give enough clues that in context you can make an educated guess. For the Spanish student, suffixes can roughly be classified as diminutives, augmentatives, pejoratives, English cognates, and miscellaneous. And one, the adverbial suffix, is in a class of its own. The Adverbial Suffix Probably the most common Spanish suffix is -mente, which is usually added to the feminine singular form of adjectives to turn them into adverbs, just as we add -ly in English. Thus simplemente is simply, carià ±osamente is lovingly, rpidamente is quickly, and so on. Diminutives These suffixes are extremely common and are used to make a word refer to something smaller, either literally or figuratively as in a form of endearment. Thus, un gato is a cat, but un gatito is a kitten. In English we sometimes do the same thing by adding -y. The most common diminutive is -ito (or its feminine equivalent, -ita), sometimes expanded to -cito or, less commonly, -illo or even -zuelo. You can add one of these endings to many nouns and adjectives to arrive at a diminutive form. Examples: perrito (doggy)hermanito (little brother)papelito (slip of paper) Augmentatives Augmentatives are the opposite of diminutives and arent used as much. Augmentative endings include -ote, -ota, -à ³n, -ona, -azo, and -aza. For examples, un arbolote is a large tree, and un hombrà ³n is a big or tough dude. Just as the diminutives sometimes are used to denote an endearing quality, the augmentatives can be used to convey a negative connotation. Whereas un perrito may be a cute puppy, un perrazo could be a big scary dog. One augmentative, -à ­simo, and its feminine and plural forms are used with adjectives to form a superlative. Bill Gates isnt just rich, hes riquà ­simo. Pejoratives Pejoratives are added to words to indicate contempt or some form of undesirability. They include s include casucha, a house thats falling apart, and ricacho, referring to a person who is rich in some undesirable way, such as arrogant. English Cognates These suffixes are ones that are similar to suffixes in English and have a similar meaning. Nearly all of them have come to both languages by way of Greek or Latin. Most have an abstract meaning, or are used to change one part of speech into another. Here are some of the more commonly used cognates along with an example of each: -aje - -age - kilometraje (like mileage, but in kilometers)-ancia - -ancy - discrepancia (discrepancy)-arquà ­a - -archy - monarquà ­a (monarchy)-tico - -atic - luntico (lunatic)-ble - -ble - manejable (manageable)-cida, cidio - -cide - insecticida (insecticide)-cià ³n - -tion - agravacià ³n (aggravation)-cracia - -cracy - democracia (democracy)-crata - -crat - burà ³crata (bureaucrat)-dad - -ity - pomposidad (pomposity)-esa, -iz, -isa - -ess - actriz (actress)-fico, -fica - -fic - horrà ­fico (horrific)-filo, -filia - -file - biblià ³filo (bibliophile)-fobia - -phobia - claustrofobia (claustrophobia)-fono - -phone - telà ©fono (telephone)-icio, -icia - -ice - avaricia (avarice)-ificar - -ify - dignificar (to dignify)-ismo - -ism - budismo (Buddhism)-dad - -ity - pomposidad (pomposity)-ista - -ist - dentista (dentist)-itis - -itis - flebitis (phlebitis)-izo - -ish - rojizo (reddish)-or, -ora - -er - pintor (painter)-osa, -oso - - ous - maravilloso (marvelous)-tud - -tude - latitud (latitude) Miscellaneous Suffixes Finally, there are suffixes that dont have a clear English equivalent. Here are some of the common ones along with an explanation of their meanings and an example of each: -ada - similar to English suffix -ful or -load - cucharada, spoonful (from cuchara, spoon)-ado, -ido - can indicate similarity to root word - dolorido, painful-al - indicates a tree or grove - manzanal, apple tree-anza - makes noun forms of some verbs - enseà ±anza, education-ario - indicates profession or place - bibliotecario, librarian-azo - a blow of the object of the root word - estacazo, a hit with a stick (from estaca, stake)-dero - indicates instrument, means, or capacity - lavandero, laundry (from lavar, to clean)-dor, -dora - indicates agent, machine or place; sometimes similar to -er - jugador, player; comedor, diner; calculadora, calculator-dura - indicates the effect of an action - picadura, puncture (from picar, to pick)-ear - common verb ending, often used with coined words - emailear, to email-ense - indicates place of origin - estadounidense, of or from the United States, American-erà ­a - place where items are made or sold - zapaterà ­a, s hoe store-ero - variety of meanings relating to root word - sombrero, hat (from sombra, shade); vaquero, cowboy (from vaca, cow) -à ©s - indicates place of origin - holandà ©s, Dutch-eza - makes abstract nouns from adjectives - pureza, purity