Encanto

Today's WOTD is: "encanto" = charm

In Spanish, “encanto” is a masculine noun of Latin origin, the main meaning of which is charm, as in:

• Ese lugar tiene un encanto especial (that place has a special charm);

The word “encanto” may also mean charming/ lovely/ a darling/ a sweetheart, as in:

• María es un encanto de mujer (Maria is a charming/ lovely woman);
• Eres un encanto (you are a sweetheart);

The word “encantado”/ “encantada” is a related describing word/ adjective meaning very happy/ pleased, as in:

• Encantado de conocerte (pleased to meet you -male speaking);
• Encantada de conocerte (pleased to meet you -female speaking);

The word is “encantador”/ “encantadora”, is a describing word/ adjective meaning charming/ lovely, as in:

• Pedro es una persona encantadora (Pedro is lovely person)

Also related is the adverb “encantar”^*, the main meaning of which is to love, to please, to charm as in:

• Me encanta ir a la playa (I love going to the beach)

^*NB You may use the verb “encantar” in a similar manner to “gustar” (see practical examples of the use of the verb "gustar”).

Some Spanish expressions with the word “encanto” are:

• Ser un encanto (to be a darling/ gem);
  • Eres un encanto (you are a darling/ gem);

Love-Spanish.com loves the word "encanto" in the YouTube clip: MIX MICHILALA - EL ENCANTO DE CORAZÓN (VIDEO OFICIAL - DANITZA)

For more on the word "encanto", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Encanto

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “encanto” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

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It Is Five Minutes To Twelve

SCENARIO

Imagine a relative, a friend or a work colleague is asking you: "what time is it?"

In Spanish, the other person could say:

¿Qué hora es?

Now 'click' on the speaker icon below to listen to the other person's question.

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The Time is:

The question above is an invitation for you to say what time it is.

Looking at the clock, you see the time is five minutes to twelve, so in Spanish you should say:


Son las doce menos cinco

Now 'click' on the speaker icon below to listen to the time in Spanish.

Now you should practise answering the question:

¿Qué hora es?

If your system/ device supports it, you may use the widget below to record and listen to your answers.

Powered by Vocaroo

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Do You Still Feel Hot?

Introduction

This post showcases/ highlights a typical use of the verb tener^*.

See other practical examples of the use of tener

SCENARIO

Imagine you are talking to a relative, a friend or a work colleague about altering thermostat of the heating/ air conditioning of the room you are in (in the office/ in your own living room/ etc.).

At some point, the other person says: "do you still feel hot?"

In Spanish, he/she could choose to be less formal and say:

¿Todavía tienes calor?

Alternatively, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:

¿Todavía tiene usted calor?

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OUR TIP

Answering this question should be straightforward. A yes/ no answer may be sufficient. However, you may use the expression tener calor to make your answer more informative.

Here are some examples of how you could use that expression:

• Sí, todavía tengo calor (yes, still I feel hot);
• Sí, todavía tengo un poco de calor (yes, still I feel a little bit hot);
• Sí, todavía tengo mucho calor (yes, I still feel very hot);
• No, ya no tengo calor (no, I no longer feel hot);

Now you should practise answering the question:

¿Todavía tienes calor?

*See uses of verb tener below

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*Verb tener - Typical Uses/ Expressions

Tener calor	To feel hot
Tener celos	To feel jealousy/ to be jealous
Tener cuidado	To be careful
Tener dolor	To feel pain/ to have an ache
Tener envidia	To feel envy/ to be envious
Tener fiebre	To be feverish
Tener frío	To feel cold
Tener ganas de algo	To look forward to something
Tener hambre	To feel hungry
Tener la culpa	To be at fault
Tener miedo	To feel afraid
Tener pensado	To have in mind
Tener prisa	To be in hurry
Tener sed	To feel thirsty
Tener sueño	To feel sleepy
Tener suerte	To be lucky
Tener tos	To have a cough
Tener xx* años/ meses/ etc.	To be xx years/ months/ etc. old
Tenerle rabia a alguien	To have it in for someone

*NB Express ages by conjugating tener and replacing xx with a number. For example, I am 18 years old = tengo 18 años.

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Facción

Today's WOTD is: "facción" = faction

In Spanish, “facción” is a feminine noun of Latin origin, the main meaning of which is faction, as in:

• Mucha gente apoya la facción conservadora del partido (many people support the conservative faction of the party);

The noun “facción” is also often used in its plural form, “facciones” to refer to features of the human face, as in:

• Las facciones marcadas suelen ser atractivas (marked facial features often are attractive);

Here is a YouTube clip with word "facción": La Faccion -Entregate (Official Music Video)

For more on the word "facción", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Facción

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “facción” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

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It Is Ten Minutes To Twelve

SCENARIO

Imagine a relative, a friend or a work colleague is asking you: "what time is it?"

In Spanish, the other person could say:

¿Qué hora es?

Now 'click' on the speaker icon below to listen to the other person's question.

---

The Time is:

The question above is an invitation for you to say what time it is.

Looking at the clock, you see the time is ten minutes to twelve, so in Spanish you should say:


Son las doce menos diez

Now 'click' on the speaker icon below to listen to the time in Spanish.

Now you should practise answering the question:

¿Qué hora es?

If your system/ device supports it, you may use the widget below to record and listen to your answers.

Powered by Vocaroo

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© Copyright 2014 Love-Spanish.com. by José M González. All Rights Reserved.

What Is The Name Of The Girl Whose Parents Are English?

Introduction

This post is about the use of describing words/ adjectives in general, and more specifically about the use of the masculine/ plural form of relative adjectives.

SCENARIO

Imagine you talking to a friend or a work colleague about a group of people you have met recently. Referring to a girl from that group, the other person says: "what is the name of the girl whose parents are English?".

In Spanish, the other person could choose to say:

¿Cómo se llama la chica cuyos padres son ingleses?

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OUR TIP

A simple answer would be just to name the girl. In many cases, that would be sufficient.

However, there are some answers which will require you to pay particular attention to noun-adjective agreement -see grammar notes below*.

Examples of such answers are:

• La chica cuyos^* padres son ingleses se llama Ana (the girl whose parents are English is called Ana);
• La chica cuyos^* padres son ingleses se llama Isabel (the girl whose parents are English is called Isabel);
• La chica cuyos^* padres son ingleses se llama Irene (the girl whose parents are English is called Irene);

Now you should practise answering the question:

¿Cómo se llama la chica cuyos padres son ingleses?

*NB See Grammar below

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^*Grammar-Adjectives

	Gender	Number	Adjective
padre	masculine	singular	cuyo
padres	masculine/ mixed	plural	cuyos
madre	feminine	singular	cuya
madres	feminine	plural	cuyas

Noun-Adjective Agreement

See notes below on Noun-Adjective agreement

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Noun-Adjective Agreement

In Spanish describing words/ adjectives have to agree in gender and number with the noun(s) they describe.

Adjectives -Gender

Many Spanish describing words/ adjectives have two forms:

• A masculine gender form (for example, alto)
• A similar, but different feminine gender (for example, alta).

A few Spanish describing words/ adjectives have one single form for both masculine and feminine (for example, inteligente).

Every time you use a describing word which has two separate forms (for example, alto/ alta), you need to choose the form which matches the gender (masculine/ feminine) of what you are describing.

Adjectives -Number

In contrast with English, Spanish describing words/ adjectives have also plural^* forms. Every time you use a describing word with a plural noun (for example, señoras), you must use the plural form of the corresponding describing word/ adjective (for example, esas).

You should use the masculine/ plural form of a describing word/ adjective when it describes multiple persons/ things of different grammatical genders.

*NB View posts with details about the plural of Spanish words here.

Adjectives -Use

All the practical examples in this post refer to more than one person, padres (parents -mixed gender). Consequently, they require the masculine/ plural form of a describing word/ adjective, for example, cuyos.

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