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de pronto

 

An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not readily apparent based on the individual words in the expression. This forum is dedicated to discussing idioms and other sayings.


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  #1  
Old May 19, 2008, 07:30 AM
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de pronto

Un amigo mio dice de pronto en lugar de tal vez o quizas. Nunca oí una otra persona usar de pronto así. Quisiera saber si es correcto usar de pronto así.

Gracias.
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  #2  
Old May 19, 2008, 07:36 AM
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How does this person use it in a sentence? It sounds a bit strange to me. To me de pronto would only be used as a synonym of de repente.
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Old May 19, 2008, 07:39 AM
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I agree with David. To me de pronto means suddenly.
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Old May 19, 2008, 07:59 AM
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It seems strange to me too, but here's an example:

¿Va llover hoy?
De pronto sí. De pronto no.
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Old May 19, 2008, 08:00 AM
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Funny!(funny weird)
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Old May 19, 2008, 08:23 AM
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Now that you mention it, I have heard something similar, but with de repente. Something like: De repente voy a jugar al tenis. Which can mean Once in a while I'll play tenis. But it gives it the meaning that it's a spontaneous event. Maybe something similar to this is going on.
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Old May 19, 2008, 12:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poli View Post
Un amigo mio dice de pronto en lugar de tal vez o quizas. Nunca oí una otra persona usar de pronto así. Quisiera saber si es correcto usar de pronto así.
Gracias.
It's a common use among Colombians. I've heard of it a lot of times. First time I was surprised:

-¿Te vienes al cine?
-De pronto sí.
-¿Cómo?
-Que de pronto vamos al sine.
-Ah, bueno.
-O de pronto vamos a jugar bolos.
-Ya, ya, pero...
-De pronto, amor, de pronto...

En cambio, no lo he oído nunca con de repente, pero puede ser el mismo caso.
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Old May 20, 2008, 01:24 AM
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I have to admit I love your examples.
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  #9  
Old May 20, 2008, 04:59 PM
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De Pronto/De Repente

People,

There is one thing that I can confirm, and that is that Venezuelans use "de repente" in the sense of maybe. It is as if they were saying "All of a sudden it occurred to me that maybe ...", except they shorten it and just say "de repente." But you could sware that they meant perhaps or maybe.

Dean in São Paulo
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