Wanting to learn Spanish

[mocat]

Do they not capitalize names of months, days, or languages en espanol?

wgaf?

[Mrs. Gooch]

Do they not capitalize names of months, days, or languages en espanol?

wgaf?

I would like to know because I would like to be able to translate a short document that includes dates. All the Duolingo stuff shows days/months/languages in lowercase, and also when I use Google Translate the Spanish version has lowercase. But a Spanish-speaking kid that I know told me they should be capitalized so now I am confused...

[mocat]

why don't you go to a spanish news website or something instead of using a translation app?

[Mrs. Gooch]

why don't you go to a spanish news website or something instead of using a translation app?

Well I was using the app that is supposed to be teaching me Spanish and then the translator was just a confirmation.

Also, this story from CNNEsponal.com confirms it...

Al Jazeera America cerrará el 30 de abril, informó la compañía, tras una repentina reunión de los ejecutivos el miércoles.

[sys]

you're wasting your time.  you're not going to be writing anything in spanish that anyone is going to critique for proper grammar, accent marks, spelling or capitalization.

[CNS]

you're wasting your time.  you're not going to be writing anything in spanish that anyone is going to critique for proper grammar, accent marks, spelling or capitalization.

I am doing pretty well on the writting/recognizing writing part of the app.  It doesn't do a lot of spoken word so far.  It does some, but not as much as the other methods so far.  I am worried that I will get good at reading/writing but still won't understand a damn thing anyone is saying to me. 

[sys]

I am doing pretty well on the writting/recognizing writing part of the app.  It doesn't do a lot of spoken word so far.

this doesn't seem like it would be very helpful.

[CNS]

I am doing pretty well on the writting/recognizing writing part of the app.  It doesn't do a lot of spoken word so far.

this doesn't seem like it would be very helpful.

I know.  I am hoping that the ap is just easing me in and that the spoken part will accelerate as I get further into it all.

[Mrs. Gooch]

you're wasting your time.  you're not going to be writing anything in spanish that anyone is going to critique for proper grammar, accent marks, spelling or capitalization.

Well I am going to be writing something in Spanish and I don't want to talk about anuses (anos) when I mean years (años).

I have the same experience as CNS. I can recognize and read the sentences pretty well, but I wouldn't be able to say or write some of them because I can't remember the proper verb conjugations. Actually the app never even taught the verb conjugations, it just started using them.

I do like the parts where it makes you say stuff and tells you if you are saying it right. I also like that there is a button to tell it that you can't talk right now (turns it off for an hour) but I clicked that 2 days ago and it hasn't had any speaking requirements since then.

[Mrs. Gooch]

Mi papá tienes 40 años.
My dad is 40 years old.

Mi papa tienes 40 anos.
My potato has 40 anuses.

[CNS]

I bet the lols as a native speaker are pretty great.

[sys]

don't waste your time studying verb conjugations.  just use present tense or cheat with estar/ser until the verbs start to come naturally.


ñ is a different letter than n, so technically it's not an accent mark.  even so, i just use n if i'm emailing someone i know.  they can figure it out.

[sys]

Mi papá tienes 40 años.
My dad is 40 years old.

Mi papa tienes 40 anos.
My potato has 40 anuses.

saying that your father have 40 years is worse than saying that he has 40 asses, imo.  i mean, native speakers understand that año is very similar to ano and that english keyboards don't have an ñ key.

[Mrs. Gooch]

don't waste your time studying verb conjugations.  just use present tense or cheat with estar/ser until the verbs start to come naturally.

I haven't even gotten to any other tenses besides present yet. I am just talking about the different verbs for different subjects.

como/come/comes/comemen

Also, I was a bit confuse about the difference between soy and estoy but now I think I understand that "soy" is "I am" for something permanent. Soy alto. "Estoy" is "I am" for something not permanent. Estoy bien.

[mocat]

Mi papá tienes 40 años.
My dad is 40 years old.

Mi papa tienes 40 anos.
My potato has 40 anuses.

tiene not tienes

[Mrs. Gooch]

Mi papá tienes 40 años.
My dad is 40 years old.

Mi papa tienes 40 anos.
My potato has 40 anuses.

tiene not tienes

eff!

[mocat]

my potato you have 40 butt holes.

you should never talk to a potato mrs gooch

[Emo EMAW]

My old boss didn't give a crap that I spelled his name "Thorbjorn" and not "Thorbjørn."  So I think sys is right.  Assuming the Mexicans are like Danes.  Which might be a stretch. 

[Mrs. Gooch]

my potato you have 40 butt holes.

you should never talk to a potato mrs gooch

  OMG! That is what is going to happen when I try to speak Spanish to someone.

[mocat]

ahora mismo is one of my favorite spanishisms, but i've always wondered why it isn't ahora misma.

sys?

[Mrs. Gooch]

My old boss didn't give a crap that I spelled his name "Thorbjorn" and not "Thorbjørn."  So I think sys is right.  Assuming the Mexicans are like Danes.  Which might be a stretch.

Well his name without that special o thingy probably does not mean anus.

[sys]

ahora mismo is one of my favorite spanishisms, but i've always wondered why it isn't ahora misma.

sys?

mismo is functioning as an adverb, not an adjective.

[sys]

I haven't even gotten to any other tenses besides present yet. I am just talking about the different verbs for different subjects.

como/come/comes/comemen

yeah, you should work on those.

[Mrs. Gooch]

Is it true that Spanish speaking people get annoyed with you if you use unnecessary pronouns?

Like, if you say "Yo quiero fruta" instead of "Quiero fruta".

[sys]

Is it true that Spanish speaking people get annoyed with you if you use unnecessary pronouns?

Like, if you say "Yo quiero fruta" instead of "Quiero fruta".

they don't get annoyed, but it sounds stupid.  it'd be like one of the things someone would do if they were trying to imitate a foreigner who barely speaks spanish.