Help with a few sentences

[Sonic42]

I'm working on a project for Spanish class, and I need some help making sure my santences are right.

1. Hidalgo was 25 when he became a priest
Hidalgo tiene veinticinco años cuando él es el sacerdote.
(I used "is" insted of "became" because we haven't learned past tense. Please tell me if there is a better way.)

2. He is the father of Mexico
Él es el padre de México.

3. His speech, "Grito de Dolores", helped many people.
Sudiscurso, “Grito de Dolores”, ayuda mucha gente.

Thanks for the help guys!

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Sonic42

1. Hidalgo was 25 when he became a priest.
Hidalgo tiene veinticinco años cuando (él) es el sacerdote. (I used "is" insted of "became" because we haven't learned past tense. Please tell me if there is a better way.)
You've used the correct structure for expressing Hidalgo's age, but since you're trying to express something that occurred in the past, the verb must be conjugated in one of the past tenses (Spanish has two past tenses).
Since Hidalgo has been established as the subject, there's no need to use the subject pronoun él in the adverbial clause, and the verb you chose doesn't mean 'to become' (it also needs to be conjugated in one of the past tenses).
If you haven't learned the past tenses, why is this sentence in your homework?!?
The article is incorrect.


2. He is the father of Mexico.
Él es el padre de México.

3. His speech, "Grito de Dolores", helped many people.
Su discurso, “Grito de Dolores”, ayuda (missing something here) mucha gente.
This sentence has a past-tense verb in it. Why is it your homework?!?

Read what I wrote above. There are a couple of things that need some work.
The biggest problem is that you haven't used the proper past tenses. If you haven't learned these yet, you should not have been given homework that contains them (IMHO).

[CrOtALiTo]

First I bid you welcome to this place.

I hope that your stay in the forums will be enjoyable.

Now Hidalgo tuvo 25 años cuando el fué cura.


El fué el padre de México.

El dio el grito de Dolores, y eso ayudo a mucha gente.

This is my way to express your post. I mean it was my attempt.

[Sonic42]

This isn't "homework" in the sence that I'm translating in the past. I have to give a one minute speech about a assigned hispanic figure.

Thanks for the help.

[Rusty]

What other help do you need? I didn't provide the correct translations, and Crotalito's contribution probably didn't help you either. It seems impossible to talk about something in the past without using the past tense. How do you think your classmates will complete this assignment if they don't know the past tenses yet?

For example, I marked your second sentence as good, because it's a correct translation of what you wrote in English. Crotalito changed it to the past tense because in his mind Hidalgo isn't currently the father of Mexico.

[Sonic42]

I'm assuming they're just going to put it in the present. I think I'm just going to take two copies of the project tommarow; the origianl I wrote, and the one in the past. I'll ask her what she wants before class.

What sould I do about "es" in the first sentence?

[Rusty]

Hidalgo was 25 when he became a priest.
Hidalgo tenía veinticinco años cuando se hizo cura.

Both of the past tenses appear in your first sentence. The first (tenía) is used to set the stage for another thing that started and ended in the past. It is conjugated in the past imperfect tense. The other verb (se hizo) means became. This is conjugated in the preterite tense (it had a start and an end in the past), and happens to also be a reflexive verb. You don't know any of these constructions, if you're just starting out, so your teacher would be very surprised to hear them.

You may want to pretend that you are Hidalgo and speak in the first person, using the present tense for everything.

Here are a few suggestions. Can you translate them to Spanish? Do you think these might work?

My name is Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
I am twenty-five years old and am a priest. (Note that I used cura above for the last word instead of sacerdote.)
Later... (this tells everyone that some time has passed)
My speech, 'El Grito de Dolores', is a protest against the Spanish government. I want them to leave Mexico. I want other people to join me/revolt with me.

[Sonic42]

I don't really understand your logic on constructing that sentance, but I'll take your word. I'm thinking she'll see I put effort into writing this, and that I understand the difference betweeen past and present. I'm going to use your sentence in another version of the project just in case she wanted us to look up past conjugations.

I like your idea, but I don't think she would like that. I'm going to write that stuff down and take it to school as a back-up.

[Rusty]

I only provided the translation of the first sentence so you could see how the past tenses would be used. I wouldn't use those tenses, however, if I hadn't been taught them yet.
If you have other questions, just ask.

[Sonic42]

That's it (for now, LOL).

You've been a HUGE help. Thanks!