Multi-use words: "como" and others

[Orangeamigo16]

Not sure if this is the right place to post if not could a moderator please move it to the correct place please.

Ok i've been thinking about the use of certain spanish words tgat I think mean the same thing such as,

"como" how,as (i think)
"bueno" good,happy,fine(i think)
"hacer" do,ask(i think)

And a few others and was wondering if someone could give me a list of words like these and thier meanings as I get really confused and could do with the knowledge.

[Rusty]

There are many homonyms in Spanish, and there are many in English - too many to list.

Context helps you out in every case, otherwise there would be no way to know the difference between them.

It seems to me that you should learn the correct meaning of a new word as it is introduced to you rather than study them all right now. ;)

In Spanish, a lot of the homonyms are actually spelled differently (one has an accent mark while the other does not). Since accent marks are a vital part of spelling, those two words cannot be confused (when properly spelled). For example, cómo, with an accent mark, means 'how'. It can never mean 'as'; that's spelled without an accent mark.

Bueno means 'good' for the most part. It can mean 'OK' or 'fine'. As a filler word, it means much the same as 'well'. It can be used as an interjection meaning 'hello' (when answering the phone). Used with the verb 'estar', instead of 'ser', it means 'sexy'.
Hacer is 'do' and 'make' (not 'ask'). It isn't a homonym. It's a verb that has two English translations. This is kind of like having two different verbs in Spanish for 'is'.

[Orangeamigo16]

Ahhh ok thanks for the help rusty it's good to know :)

Muchas gracias Rusty

[AMG]

Complementing what Rusty said:
Como: like, such as, as, or it is also 'to eat' (the verb "comer" conjugated with "yo")
Hacer: 'to cause' and 'to obligate' or 'to force'

Hope it helps :D

[Orangeamigo16]

Thanks AMG also what about "yo" I think it means "I" is this right and doea it have any other meanings such as "am" or "us".

[AMG]

Thanks AMG also what about "yo" I think it means "I" is this right and doea it have any other meanings such as "am" or "us".

It is right, and it doesn't have any other meaning :D

[Orangeamigo16]

Yes i'm happy right now as I am learning alot of espanol now hee hee. Is "usted" "you" or is there a different way of saying "you".

[AMG]

Hola. I'm so glad for you :). Yes, 'you' means 'tú', 'ti' (possesive pronoun), 'vos' (in some countries, that is the same than 'tú'), 'usted', 'ustedes' and 'vosotros'.

[Orangeamigo16]

Yeah thanks AMG your alot of help to me :) . What about others such as "of","an","and","me","is" and any others like that the short words it would be much appreciated muchas gracias AMG. Also how about "no" in espanol does it just mean "no" in english or has it got other meanings as well.

[Julvenzor]

Yeah thanks AMG your alot of help to me :) . What about others such as "of","an","and","me","is" and any others like that the short words it would be much appreciated muchas gracias AMG. Also how about "no" in espanol does it just mean "no" in english or has it got other meanings as well.


"No" in Spanish can be "no" and "not" in English. But "no" in English can also be "ningún/ninguno/ninguna, etc." in Spanish or even "nada de".

A pleasure.

[Orangeamigo16]

Thanks Julvenzor but I don't get the last bit of your message "nada de" a pleasure is that what nada de
Means or are you saying like it's a pleasure to help you (i know I probably sound really stupid haha)

[Julvenzor]

Thanks Julvenzor but I don't get the last bit of your message "nada de" a pleasure is that what nada de
Means or are you saying like it's a pleasure to help you (i know I probably sound really stupid haha)


I was referring to "no" meaning (sometimes) "nada de". I use to write "a pleasure" at the end of my messages. Does it sound weird for a native?

[Orangeamigo16]

Aaahhhh sorry I guess it's just the way I read it whoops. So does nada de mean no then? Just really confused sorry:/

[Julvenzor]

Aaahhhh sorry I guess it's just the way I read it whoops. So does nada de mean no then? Just really confused sorry:/


It depends on the context. Pay attention to the "real" meanings (it's complex):

1) I have no idea =

-No tengo ni idea (*I don't have nor idea*)
-No tengo idea alguna (*I don't have idea any*)

2) I have no money =

-No tengo nada de dinero (*I don't have nothing of money*)

3) I have no work =

-No tengo ningún trabajo (*I don't have no work*)


In Spanish, we sometimes use a "double negation".

Do I explain myself properly? :thinking:

[Orangeamigo16]

Oh yes yes you explain properly it's just my understanding I like to make sure so I learn it properly I understand now though thanks Julvenzor.

[AMG]

Yeah thanks AMG your alot of help to me :) . What about others such as "of","an","and","me","is" and any others like that the short words it would be much appreciated muchas gracias AMG. Also how about "no" in espanol does it just mean "no" in english or has it got other meanings as well.

Hello.
of: de, acerca de (about)
a/an: un, una, cierto (día), cierta (persona)
and: y, e (you use 'e' when the next Word starts with 'i',or 'hi', for example: Compré plátanos e higos, trajiste a tu hermana e invitaste a tu tía, etc.)
me (possesive pronoun): mí ('is this for me?', ¿esto es para mí?, me (for example: 'you make me happy', me haces feliz) Don't confuse 'mí' with 'mi', without the accent mark it means 'my'
is: 'verb to be' ser/estar ('he is happy', él es feliz; ' he is ok', él está bien)
on: en, sobre, encima de, prendido (encendido), puesto, de ('depending on', dependiendo de)
off: apagado, cancelado, pasado
out: sin, fuera de, pasado, exterior

Hope this helps. Ask me about the words that you don't understand.

[Orangeamigo16]

Thank you AMG one thing "on" could you please elaborate on that for me if it's not too much trouble I think I get the rest though.

[AMG]

Oh, sure.
Well, 'on' is a preposition (preposición) used for:
Days of the week: in this case, on means 'el'. Ex.: On Monday (el lunes)
Holidays: translation 'en'. Ex.: On Christmas (en navidad)
Contact with a surface: translation 'en' or 'sobre'. Ex.: The fork is on the table (el tenedor está en/sobre la mesa); My cell phone is on the bed (mi celular está en/sobre la cama)
Phone call: translation 'al'. Ex.: Mom's on the pone (mi mamá está al teléfono)
Transport: translation 'en'. Ex.: Jane is on the bus/plane/car (Jane está en el bus/avión/carro -also 'auto'-)
Communication: translation 'en' or 'por'. Ex.: She heard it on the radio (Ella lo escuchó en la radio); They saw it on T.V/internet (ellos lo vieron por televisión/internet); Mike learned about Spanish verbs on Tomísimo (Mike aprendió sobre los verbos españoles en Tomísimo)
A topic: translation 'sobre'. Ex.: This documentary is on African animals -not common- (este documental es sobre los animales africanos)

I gave it my best here. Since I'm not a native English speaker, there may be mistakes. So, please point them out. I hope this is clear.

[Rusty]

'Holydays' should be 'Holidays'.

Switch 'documental' to 'documentary'.

Tomísimo

I gave it my best here. Since I'm not a native English speaker, there may be mistakes. So, please, point them out.

[AMG]

'Holydays' should be 'Holidays'.

Switch 'documental' to 'documentary'.

Tomísimo

Thanks a lot, Rusty.