Having trouble with Spanish Expressions

[Wahooka]

Hola! Que tal?

I'm reading a Spanish comic book, and I'm having some trouble with Spanish expressions which translate very strangely into English.

For instance:

puedo que no = I can that no

Acabara usted de una vez = You will finish of a time

Que llega mi amiga = what arrives my friend

Pero tampoco he conseguido pejar ojo = but neither have I managed to hit eye.

Vaya a dormir la mona = go to sleep the monkey


Can somone help me with these expressions?

[aleCcowaN]

It seems you're using a dictionary to translate word by word.

There was a comic strip that did that in a Buenos Aires newspaper in English language. For instance, "knock, knock!" on the door, "between no more!", word by word translation of "(formal You) Come in now!".

To help you understand:

de una vez = "at once", "for good".
dormir la mona = to sleep something off (generally alcohol)
no pegar el ojo = not sleep a wink

[Wahooka]

Thanks, that helps a lot.

Any idea about "puede que no".

I think it means "maybe so", but I have no idea how I would have figured that out from the literal translation

[Rusty]

puede que no = it may not be (so)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Wahooka: Heads up.
The right spelling matters a lot. "Puede que no" is not the same as "puedo que no"; the first one has the meaning Rusty said, but the first one makes no sense.
Also, written accents are important "acabara" is a different conjugation to "acabará".
And "pejar" is not a word in Spanish, but "pegar" is.

By the way, "que llega mi amiga" means "my friend is arriving"; "que" is used here as a filling word, with no particular meaning.

[Wahooka]

Yes, I believe I spelled everything correctly, except leaving out the important accent for future tense.

Thanks for the translations.

Using a dictionary doesn't work to translate expressions, as you said.

Is there any better way to get a translation besides bothering you guys?

Perhaps a good book of expressions that you recommend?

[aleCcowaN]

That's what forums are made for. Ask here, but better look things up before a little bit -or just try once- using the search engine or Google because a lot of expressions have been already explained (but nobody minds to repeat those explanations unless there's a perception the poster is systematically trying to move all the work load onto those giving the answers)

[Julvenzor]

A general recommendation is to try to diferenciate among the different components of a sentence. Most of the time, an idiom hasn't a literal translation.

Cheers!

[Wahooka]

Yes, google sometimes can help, and sometimes you can figure out what the expression means using logic.

I was reading my Spanish comic today, and came across a few more, hope you dont mind helping.

"Vaya sitio que ha elegido" -(the word "vaya" being here is totally puzzling to me, since it doesn't fit in with the sentence at all. The character is referring to a a bull that is blocking a road.)

"Esta si que es buena" - tried to break it down, but it doesn't make much sense in the context of the story.

Thank you very much, muchos gracias.

[aleCcowaN]

"Vaya" is an interjection we use to express disbelief, surprise, irritation, satisfaction. It means something has caused an impression either much positive or negative that what would be expected.

You can also use "vaya" as an adjective meaning "qué" and conveying the same meaning in the paragraph above. This is the case of your example

¡Qué sitio que ha elegido!
¡Vaya sitio que ha elegido! (what an annoyance!)