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#1
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To Wear
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. |
#2
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El pantalón de tela vaquera nunca estaba llevado. La camisa es casi nueva llevada una vez.
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Me ayuda si corrige mis errores. Gracias. |
#3
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"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 *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.
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#4
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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. |
#5
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Glad to help.
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♪ ♫ ♪ Ain't it wonderful to be alive when the Rock'n'Roll plays... ♪ ♫ ♪ |
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