might or may
Spanish doesn’t have an auxiliary with these meanings, so when you want to say them, you have to translate for meaning. Very often, ‘might’ or ‘may’ means ‘perhaps’, so you can use one of the translations for that, i.e. ‘quizá’, or ‘tal vez’. Bear in mind that when referring to a future event, these are followed by a present subjunctive.
For example:‘Quizá coma una paella’ - ‘I might eat a paella’ There are other ways too:
‘Es posible que…’ - ‘it is possible that’
‘Posiblemente’ - possibly
‘A lo mejor’ - ‘maybe’
‘Puede ser que…’ - ‘it can be that’
In other types of sentences, the translation of ‘might’ depends on the meaning or context. For example:
‘You might have told me’ - ‘me podrías haber dicho’
‘I might do the washing up - ‘podría lavar los platos’
‘I might as well help you’ - ‘me convendría ayudarte’
Note that ‘podría’ in the above examples also means ‘could’.
Si Tu No Estás Aqui
No quiero estar sin
ti,si tu no estas aqui me sobra el aire, no quiero estar asi,
si tu no estas la gente se hace nadie.
Si tu no estas aqui no se, que diablos hago amandote.
Si tu no estas aqui sabras, que Dios no va a entender, porque te vas.
No quiero estar sin ti, si tu no estas aqui me falta el sueño.
No quiero andar asi latiendo un corazon de amor sin dueño.
Si tu no estas aqui no se, que diablos hago amandote, si tu no estas aqui, sabré, que Dios no va a entender porque te vas.
Derramare mis sueños si algun dia no te tengo, lo mas grande se hara lo mas pequeño.
Pasearé en un cielo sin estrellas esta vez, tratando de entender quien hizo un infierno el paraiso, no te bayas nunca, porque no puedo estar sin ti, si tu no estas aqui me quema el aire, si tu no estas aqui, no se, que diablos hago amandote, si tu no estas aqui sabré, que Dios no va a entender porque te vas.
Si tu no estas aqui, no se que diablos hago amandote.
Si tu no estas aqui sabras, que Dios no va a entender porque te vas…
Si tu no estas, aqui…
Winter in Madrid
This book is set in Madrid in 1940. The Spanish Civil War has finished the year before, but the Second World War is raging throughout the rest of Europe. It is the story of several English people who have connections with each other from many years before: a shady businessman, a spy, a nurse and a Communist in the International Brigades who disappeared in the Battle of Jarama.
The book is a mixture of spy novel, love story, and historical document (concentrating as it does on the risk of Franco entering the Second World War on the Nazi side), and on balance I would recommend it.
The day-to-day conditions in Madrid in the year after the Civil War are well-related with starvation a constant threat. Indeed, Madrid almost seems to become a character in the book. The main characters are by and large convincing, and the book uses flashbacks to tell several intertwining stories, and there are a couple of surprises at the end that will shock you
However, the dialogue is poor. I was constantly left shaking my head at the trivial nature of the conversations. Harry, the spy, is frankly boring, and never really wins the reader’s affection. And the ending, apart from the surprises, sort of runs out of steam.
If you don’t know much about the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath, this book will give you a good flavour. And the story will (more or less) keep you turning the pages.
3 out of 5
Matthews Idioms
‘A veces es más fatal, la medicina que el mal. ‘
Literally this translates as ‘Sometimes the medicine is more fatal than the illness’. And so the English equivalent might be: ‘Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease’.
Compound Nouns
There are lots of examples of words that are made up of two words, and are sometimes very interesting and/or humorous! They are often made up of the third person singular of a verb, and then a noun. For example:
• ‘Rasca’ is ‘it scratches’, and ‘cielos’ is ‘skies’ so ‘un rascacielos’ is ‘a skyscraper’ (because it scratches the skies!).
• A puzzle in Spanish is ‘a headbreaker’, ‘un rompecabeza’, and ‘a can opener’ is ‘un abrelatas’, and here are a few more:
• 1) Cascanueces - nutcracker
2) Cortalápices - pencil sharpener
3) Lavaplatos - dishwasher
4) Limpiacristales - window cleaner
5) Matasanos - a medical quack (he kills healthy people!)
6) Paraguas - umbrella
7) Quitamanchas - stain remover
Recogepelotas - ball boy (in tennis)
9) Sabelotodo - know all
10) Tocadiscos - record player
Further light look at the Alhambra Palace
The Alhambra
The Alhambra has four separate areas; The summer palace and gardens of the Generalife. the original red fort of the Alcazaba and the palaces of the Casa Real, Carlos V’s palace.
Alcazaba
This is the oldest part of the Alhambra complex. The best feature in my opinion has to be the Torre de la Vela. It is named after the Vela, ‘the sentinel’ with an enormous bell at the top the walls. This bell used to be rung to announce the opening and closing times of sluice gates on the plains below.
The Casa Real
The buildings of the Royal House, which is also known as the Palacios Nazaríes, are amazing. Almost every square inch of wall is covered in ornamental stucco and tilework, and the ceilings are equally beautiful. Some of the Arabic inscriptions used in the decoration are from Moorish poetry and sayings of sultans, but most are from the Koran. For example this phrase, Wa-la ghaliba illa-Llah, ‘there is no conqueror but God’ for example, is repeated hundreds of times.
You start off in the rooms in which the sultans would have met with their councils. Further beyond this is the area known as the Harem which was the sultan and his family’s private area. In the courtyard - Patio de los Leones the stone lions have been removed temporarily for renovation, but this is still one of the most beautiful areas of the Casa Real to see. It has a wonderfully atmospheric quality where you can imagine the Sultan’s family going about their daily lives.
Another exceptional room is the Sala de los Abencerrajes with its incredible ceiling and fountain. However, this room was also the scene of the Alhambra’s bloodiest day. Zoeaya, one of al-Hassan’s wives, was in a relationship with Hamet, the chief of a local tribe. al-Hassan took bloody revenge on this infidelity. 16 men of the Abencerraj family were invited into the palace where they were murdered in this room and their heads then thrown into the fountain. It is said that the fountain is still stained with their blood.Palacio de Carlos VCharles V’s palace is surrounded by Moorish relics in the middle of which is a grand 16th-Century palace. The Palace now houses a museum featuring paintings and artefacts from the Nazrid period. Behind the palace are the remains of the Nazrid.
The GeneralifeThe Generalife, meaning ‘garden of the architect’, is a short distance from the main complex. The gardens were designed to fit in with the Koranic view of Paradise, so has running water and plenty of shady, leafy areas. The plants are wonderful to see and their perfume fills the air making the gardens a wonderful place to rest.
Mi Primera Visita a Cuenca
“Hace dos años, fui a Cuenca. Tuve fichas especiales para hoteles en España, y decidí utilizarlas este fin de semana. Así que recogí a mi mujer un viernes por la tarde en el coche, y conduje a un pueblo que se encuentra bastante cerca de la ciudad de Cuenca, Iniesta. Llegué bastante tarde y era difícil encontrar dónde estaba el hotel, pero al final lo encontré, aparqué el coche y me registré. Como era tarde, comí solo un poco y me acosté.
“El día siguiente, el sábado, me levanté temprano, comí cereales para el desayuno y salí del hotel a las nueve. Las vistas desde la carretera eran fantásticas porque había mucha nieve. 
Llegué a la ciduad a las diez. Fui a la oficina de turismo, cogí un plano y lo seguí hacia la parte de arriba, el barrio viejo. Allí hay una plaza muy bonita, donde hay unos bares, unas pensiones, y por supuesto, la catedral. Esta es una catedral neo-gótica, y es un edificio magnífico, tanto fuera como dentro. Entré, y compré un audífono para aprender su historia. Era muy interesante.
Luego, salí de la catedral y seguí subiendo la colina hasta la cima. Desde allí se podía ver los valles de los dos ríos que fluyen por la ciudad, los ríos Júcar y Huécar, y las famosas ‘casas colgadas’ que parecen que van a caerse desde el borde del cañón.
To see Matthew’s video where he presents this blog in both Spanish and English, visit our Spanish Club. Below is the transcript in both languages - click the image to open in a pop-up window and click again to enlarge the view.
Matthews Idioms
‘A veces es más fatal, la medicina que el mal. ‘
Literally this translates as ‘Sometimes the medicine is more fatal than the illness’. And so the English equivalent might be: ‘Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease’.
How to translate ‘next’ in Spanish
There are several ways of translating the word ‘next’, depending on the context in which it is being used.1) When you are talking about the the ‘next one’ in a time sequence, the normal word is ‘próximo’. For example:a) Next Sunday we are going to the market = El próximo domingo vamos al mercadob) The next version of Windows will be better = La próxima versión de Windows será mejorc) I’ll see you the next time you come = Te veré la próxima vez que vengas2) When you use units of time, the usual way of saying ‘next’ is ‘que viene’. For example:a) We are going to China next year = Vamos a China el año que vieneb) They will return to Spain next week = Volverán a España la semana que viene3) When ‘next’ has the meaning of ‘following’, the normal word is ’siguiente’. For example:a) I am going to talk to the next person = Voy a hablar con la persona siguienteb) What will your next car be? = ¿Qué será tu siguiente coche?I will look at some more examples another time.
Spanish mealtimes
El Desayuno - Breakfast
Spanish usually eat a light meal in the mornings. Café con leche - strong coffee with hot frothy milk, bolos - sweet rolls with jam, or simply toast with jam or a mild cheese. At weekends they may treat themselves to chocolate con churros with their coffees - a thick rich chocolate which is then dipped into with piping hot fried dough sticks
Tapas - Little snacks
Tapas are eaten well after breakfast, but before lunch.
La Comida - Lunch
Their biggest meal of the day can be anytime between 1.30 and 3.30. Usually it consists of two different dishes or one more hearty one, always with bread and usually salad and fruit for dessert. The food is really rich and tasty: lots of soups, rice, lentils, cabbage, beef, and pork. Comida is a nice relaxed meal with lots of time to sit and talk to the family. After the meal is the traditional siesta. Although many Spanish still enjoy this restful period, working people who spend over an hour communting to and from their work find it impossible to go home for a meal and siesta. Because of this, the Spanish Government employees in Madrid now work a standard eight-hour day with a one-hour lunch break, as they do in most other European countries. Many large supermarket and retails chains in large Cities no longer close for lunch either.
La Merienda - Snack
This snack time is especially important to children, as it is a long time until dinner which is traditionally served late in Spanish homes. It can consist of anything, from bread with chorizo, ham or salami, to French-style bread topped with chocolate, or cakes.
La Cena - Dinner Dinner
is very light with usually things like eggs, fish, yogurt, or chicken and isn’t served until around nine or even up to midnight, hence - the need for la merienda.
After dinner
On holidays or weekends it wouldn’t be unusual to find a Spanish family out until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning. Their last port of call before returning home might be to a churreria or a churro stand, when again they will treat themselves to the thick rich chocolate drink with the dunking dough sticks.
