Three against one
When I put forward an opinion and my three friends disagree with it I say "three against one." Somewhere I recall hearing tres al mohino but looking up mohino I don't see how it fits. True or not?
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You're using part of an ancient proverb - 'dos a dos y tres al mohíno. When someone gets mad in a conversation or a game, all of sudden everyone else is against the person that's mad. You'll also find it said 'dos al mohíno' when fewer people are involved.
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Ah, thanks. Now why the accent in mohino?
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The 'h' is silent. Without the accented vowel, you'd have a diphthong (a two-syllable word instead of the three-syllable word I'm sure you're saying). ;)
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Good point, Rusty, thanks again.
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You're welcome.
Just for giggles, check out the difference between the noun and the verb below, using IPA symbols. vehículo (noun: vehicle) /beˈikulo/ vehiculo (verb: I'm acting as an intermediary) /beiˈkulo/ |
In my childhood we used to say, "se acentúa para destruir el diptongo"... ;-)
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Indeed: the diphthong is "destroyed" because the accent turns a "weak vowel" into a "strong vowel" and two strong vowels never make a diphthong.
Strong vowels: a - e - o Weak vowels: i - u - (y) Strong-strong => hiatus - a·e·ro·pla·no - ca·os - pe·le·a - le·ón -> This hiatus is not introduced by the accent; the accent is necessary because this is a two-syllable "palabra aguda" that ends in "n". - bo·a - a·lo·e Weak-weak => diphthong - diur·no - cui·da·do - muy Weak-strong => diphthong - I·ta·lia - die·ta - ca·na·rio - cua·li·dad - nue·vo - va·cuo Strong-weak => diphthong - frai·le - rei·na - co·loi·dal - au·men·to - feu·dal - hay - rey - doy Accented strong - strong => hiatus - ha·rí·a - guí·a·me - tí·o - pú·a - ce·bú·es - bú·ho Strong - accented strong => hiatus - a·hí - le·í·a -> notice the double hiatus - o·í - ba·úl - re·hú·sa·te - mo·hí·no Weak - accented strong = hiatus - cu·í·da·lo - hu·í·mos _____ - in·ge·nie·rí·a - za·na·ho·ria - a·e·ro·puer·to _____ |
All good points. I'll remember to place accents where they belong, since I obviously overlooked the fact that h is silent. What would I do without this forum?:o
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