To Wear

[Bobbert]

I was selling a pair of denim shorts and a shirt today and the person who wanted to buy them spoke almost no English. Everything went fine until I wanted to say:

The denim shorts have never been worn
and
The shirt has only been worn once

For the life of me, I couldn’t form a way in my mind of how to say it, so I just said, "Son casi nuevos," but that’s not what I wanted to say.

How should I have said the above? Even now when away from the pressure of speaking in person and needing to form a sentence on the spot, I’m still totally unsure?

If I would have said the following, how close would I have been?

Los pantalones cortos de mezclilla nunca se han sido llevados puestos

La camisa ha sido llevado puesta solo una vez

Any input is appreciated.

[poli]

El pantalón de tela vaquera nunca estaba llevado. La camisa es casi nueva llevada una vez.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

"Llevar" alone is not the best verb here, because the other person would ask "taken where?" ("¿no han sido llevados a dónde?")

You use "llevar" to talk about clothes, when you are describing a person's clothes at the moment they're wearing them. Let's say we say "llevar" when we think from the point of view of the person wearing the clothes.
- Juan llevaba una chamarra negra. -> He was wearing a black jacket.
- La modelo lleva una gabardina y botas para la lluvia. -> The model is wearing a raincoat and waterproof boots.
- Si voy a la fiesta, llevaré un vestido largo. -> If I go to the party, I'll wear a long dress.


Although "llevar puesto" is not a wrong choice, in this context, when talking about the clothes themselves, I think "usar" is better. (Some speakers use "usar" and "utilizar" as synonyms in contexts like this. I don't, but you may find it.)

Some proposals:
-Los shorts* de mezclilla están (prácticamente/casi)** nuevos. Nunca se han usado.
-...Nunca los he usado.
-...Nunca me los he puesto.
-...No tienen ni una puesta. (More colloquial)
*"El short" in Mexico.
**If they haven't been worn, they're new. Precisely this morning I found an old handbag and exclaimed: "Ésta está nuevecita. Nunca la he podido usar." For me it's "brand new", despite the fact that it wasn't bought recently.

-La camisa* sólo se ha usado una vez.
-La camisa se ha usado una sola vez.
-La camisa tiene una sola puesta.
-La camisa sólo tiene una puesta. (Colloquial)
-La camisa me la he puesto una sola vez. (Colloquial)
*"Camisa" if it has a collar and buttons. "Playera"/"Camiseta" if it's more like a T-Shirt.


Although we don't really use passive voice this often, you may use it anyway and you'll be clearly understood:

Los pantalones cortos de mezclilla* nunca se** han sido llevados puestos.
*Long, but they would have understood. You may omit "de mezclilla", if they cannot be confused with others of another material.
**You're mixing the "voz pasiva" and "voz pasiva refleja".
You may say either: "nunca han sido llevados puestos" or "nunca se han llevado puestos".

La camisa ha sido llevada* puesta solo una vez.
*The agreement with the feminine noun must be present in both participles.

[Bobbert]

Thank you for your input, poli. I appreciate it.

Thank you so much for your detailed explanations, suggestions, and alternatives, AngelicadeAlquezar. For me, your detailed responses are like mini lessons and/or reviews. I learn so much from them. They are invaluable, and I appreciate your taking the time to write them.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Glad to help.