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Cuando y Para Cuando

 

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  #1  
Old March 23, 2010, 06:52 PM
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Cuando y Para Cuando

Tuve tifoideas en los 60's, para cuando hubo una sequía en Chile....

This is a quote from Chileno from another thread. The para cuando has me a bit confused.

Why para cuando and not just cuando. If I said Tuve tifoideas en los 60's, cuando hubo una sequía en Chile.... would it mean the same thing, or does the para add a meaning that I'm not understanding.

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  #2  
Old March 24, 2010, 01:43 AM
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I wouldn't use "para". Maybe it's a regional use.
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Old March 24, 2010, 10:46 AM
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I guess it is another way of saying:

¿Para/por aquellos días en que/cuando había...?


That's the way we speak in Chile, good or bad...
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Old March 24, 2010, 12:36 PM
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One more "variante regional".

I can't really explain the way Mexicans use "para cuando", but I think "para" adds an emphasis on waiting for something to happen:

¿Para cuándo vas a renunciar a tu trabajo? Llevas mucho diciendo que no te gusta donde estás.
When are you finally quitting your job? You've been saying for a long time that you don't like it where you are.

Juan no tiene (ni) para cuándo proponerme matrimonio.
Juan isn't asking me to marry him any time soon.

Ya lávate las manos. Para cuando te sientes a comer, la sopa va a estar fría.
Wash your hands now. When you finally sit down to eat, the soup will be cold.

Ven m'hijita, para cuando te cases, tienes que saber planchar camisas.
Come here, my girl, when you get married, you must know how to iron shirts.
(Not that long ago, some grandmothers still used this formula to start teaching "women's chores" to young girls in the family.)

(One I used this morning) ¿Para cuándo va a estar lista la aspiradora? Ya tiene dos semanas que la traje a reparar.
When is the vacuum cleaner finally going to be ready? It's been already two weeks since I brought it to be repaired.
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Old March 24, 2010, 07:39 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar View Post
One more "variante regional".

I can't really explain the way Mexicans use "para cuando", but I think "para" adds an emphasis on waiting for something to happen:

¿Para cuándo vas a renunciar a tu trabajo? Llevas mucho diciendo que no te gusta donde estás.
When are you finally quitting your job? You've been saying for a long time that you don't like it where you are.

Juan no tiene (ni) para cuándo proponerme matrimonio.
Juan isn't asking me to marry him any time soon.

Ya lávate las manos. Para cuando te sientes a comer, la sopa va a estar fría.
Wash your hands now. When you finally sit down to eat, the soup will be cold.

Ven m'hijita, para cuando te cases, tienes que saber planchar camisas.
Come here, my girl, when you get married, you must know how to iron shirts.
(Not that long ago, some grandmothers still used this formula to start teaching "women's chores" to young girls in the family.)

(One I used this morning) ¿Para cuándo va a estar lista la aspiradora? Ya tiene dos semanas que la traje a reparar.
When is the vacuum cleaner finally going to be ready? It's been already two weeks since I brought it to be repaired.
También lo usamos así.

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  #6  
Old March 25, 2010, 01:16 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar View Post
Ven m'hijita, para cuando te cases, tienes que saber planchar camisas.
Esta frase me parece distinta que las demás, porque "para" introduce el propósito. Puedes cambiar la orden ("Tienes que saber planchar camisas para cuando te cases") para obtener una frase que claramente tiene sentido distinto sin él - "Tienes que saber planchar camisas cuando te cases" habla del futuro en tiempo presente, pero la frase original tiene el sentido de "Tienes que saber planchar camisas (ya) para cuando (en el futuro) te cases".
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  #7  
Old March 25, 2010, 11:47 AM
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Certainly an instance when direct translation works - like "You'll need this
for when you get married.".
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