Topic - Media

Before the World Cup euphoria turns to disappointment – as it inevitably will for 31 of the 32 countries taking part – here is a primer on the terms and expressions used in Spanish for the different players – particularly as they are used by the Mexican commentators. Goalkeeper. Portero is the most common word. [...]

In Mexico there are two ways of letting people know that something isn’t working properly. No sirve, from the verb servir, literally means “it doesn’t serve,” or properly translated “it’s no use.” No funciona, means it’s not functioning, or is out of order. Often in Mexico people will say – or scrawl on a piece [...]

Naco is a derogatory term with racial and class roots that Mexicans use to describe people whose manners and tastes are considered to pertain to the lower classes. The word apparently originated in colonial times and referred to an indigenous servant of the Spanish gentry. In modern times, its use has become more widespread and [...]

Among its many versatilities, Mexican Spanish has a suffix – “azo” – which is used as a kind of superlative for nouns, but also, when appended to certain nouns, creates a word that does the work of almost an entire sentence. In its superlative sense, “azo” makes common things uncommon – carrazo (carro) is a [...]

It’s said that even people who can waltz through a lie-detector test without so much as blinking will stumble if required to do arithmetic in a foreign language. This probably wouldn’t be very useful for Sherlock Holmes to know in these days of $1 calculators, since it’s rather hard to find anyone who can do [...]

For people who object to the double-negatives common in Spanish, there is one area where Spanish usually omits a negative which in English is necessary to make sense. It involves the word “until” – hasta. The bus won’t arrive until 3 pm, in Mexico would be “el camión llega hasta las 3 pm“. He didn’t [...]

Along with its penchant for polite language, Mexico makes use of a good number of euphemisms. One example is the use of the verb regalar – which means to give as a present. If asking someone for a cigarette, a Spaniard or Argentine will say “¿me das un cigarro?” whereas in Mexico the usual way would [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]