Saturday 28 July 2012

Tell Me, What Is Your Opinion Of The Olympic Games?


SCENARIO
Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague. You are talking about current events. The other person wants to know your opinion about the Olympic Games and says to you something like: "tell me, what is your opinion of the Olympic Games?".

In Spanish, he/ she could choose to be less formal and say to you:
Dime, ¿qué opinas de los Juegos Olímpicos?

On the other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say to you:
Dígame, ¿qué opina (usted) de los Juegos Olímpicos?

OUR TIP
The question is an invitation for you to give your opinion about the Olympic Games. When giving your opinion on something like this, you DO NOT need to be concerned about the level of formality in the other person's question. Your main concern should be about communicating your opinion. Perhaps you want to express your opinion using:
  • Affirmative expressions;
  • Negative expressions;

Here are some examples of how you could reply:
  • Creo que los Juegos Olímpicos son interesantes (I think the Olympic Games are interesting);
  • Creo que los Juegos Olímpicos estan muy comercializados (I think that the Olympic Games are very commercialised);
  • No creo que los Juegos Olímpicos sean demasiado cortos* (I don't think the Olympic Games are too short);
  • No creo que los Juegos Olímpicos de ahora sean como los de antes* (I don't think the Olympic Games of nowadays are like they used to be);
Now you should practise further replying to someone who says to you:
Dime, ¿qué opinas de los Juegos Olímpicos?

*Please see grammar below
Grammar-Subjunctive
Please note these are typical examples of the use of subjunctive mood. When expressing opinions, the subjunctive mood should be used only in negative expressions, such as:
  • "I don't believe {something has happened/ is happening/ will happen}”
  • "I don't believe {something has been/ is/ will be} in a particular way”
In order to express this in Spanish, you could use:
  • "no creo que <subjuntivo>..."
An example of this is the reply above:
  • "no creo que los Juegos Olímpicos sean demasiado cortos".

Some other examples of expressions of this type in Spanish are:
  • No creo que esté lloviendo (I don't believe it is raining)
  • No creo que me hayas contado mentiras (I don't believe you have told me lies)
  • No creo que Pedro me llame (I don't believe that Pedro will call me)
  • No creo que vayamos a poder viajar juntos (I don't believe we will be able to travel together)
  • No creo que queráis eso (I don't believe you want that)
  • No creo que Pedro y María estén bien (I don't believe Pedro and María are well)

Now you should practise this use of the subjunctive with some more sentences of your own
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