Topic - Language

November 20th this year marks the start of the centennial anniversary of the Mexican 1910-1917 Revolution. It coincides with the bicentenary of the Mexican Independence, with both expected to culminate next year with major celebrations.
The actual date marks the call to arms by Francisco I. Madero in 1910, as he sought the removal of dictator […]

An exercise by BBC Mundo showed the most annoying expression across the Spanish speaking world is “me entiendes?” - do you understand me? - which certain speakers will inject into their conversation when trying to make a point.
The article, reported on by a local newspaper, drew a rush of web postings sympathetic to the findings of the survey, and […]

Among the many versatilities of the Spanish language is the use of adjectives as nouns. By adding “el,” “los,” “la,” or “las” before an adjective or past participle of a verb, you get a descriptive noun referring to a person, place or thing.
El veloz - “the speedy” one
La Ventosa - “the windy” place
Los desesperados - […]

One of the most difficult things for Spanish speakers to master when learning English is when to use “in” and when to use “on.” Except in obvious cases, such as “on the table” or “in the box,” mistakes are about as frequent as correct uses.
Spanish prepositions are generally less troublesome (no phrasal verbs), although there […]

A versatile phrase making the rounds uses the title of a book by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez  - “Crónica de una Muerte Anunciada,” or “Chronicle of a Death Foretold.”
Often when something happens that was or might have been predicted, a commentator, writer, or speaker somewhere will refer to their version of the event as “the […]

Some people have an annoying habit of resettling already settled matters through the use of unnecessary analogies.
This isn’t limited to politicians  and conference speakers, just about anyone, having explained a situation in perfectly clear terms, and their case being, a priori, incontestable, will suddenly launch into “it’s as if your neighbor had a dog and […]

Standard abbreviations of household words are as much a part of Mexican Spanish as they are of English. One of the most common is fridge instead of refrigerator, in Spanish refri instead of refrigerador.  La tele for televisión, has been in use for as long as most people can remember.
Over the years, more and more […]

Object pronouns in Spanish are reasonably straightforward unless you’re dealing with third persons singular and plural, when some complications arise.
The object pronouns - me, te, lo/la/le, nos, os (Spain), los/las/les - are applied much as the English - me, you, him/her, us, and them.
Whether to use “lo” or “la” for “him” and “her” and when “le” […]

We dealt some while back with Mexico’s cavalier attitude toward the “official” use of conditional verb tenses, and how the conditional and imperfect subjunctive are applied interchangeably.  That entry omitted mention of  the verb “poder” - already quite  irregular.
It so happens that the equivalent “to be able” is also a cause of many headaches for Spanish speakers learning […]

One of the concomitants of Mexico’s large informal economy is a large number of hand-painted signs, and these provide undisputable public evidence that spelling - ortografía -  is not one of the people’s fortés.
The practical thing to do when making a sign for a shop or even a street stall would be to go to the professional signmakers - […]