Dichos

[laepelba]

I'm reading a book I found that has short little (old) stories, on one page in Spanish and the other in English. It's called "First Spanish Reader". I'm trying to read the Spanish without looking at the English until after I finish the story to be sure I truly understood what was said.

There is a sentence I understand, except for one word:
- In Spanish: "Dichos señores dicen entonces que ni el padre ni el hijo parecen muy cuerdos pues ambos van a pie cuando el caballo va sin carga."
- The English translation says: "Those men then say that neither the father nor the son seem very wise, for they are walking while the horse goes without a load."

I understand the sentence as a whole, but do not understand how the word "dichos" is "those". Would someone please help me with that? Thanks!!

[chileno]

The (already) mentioned (dichos) men/gentlemen/sirs (they) or (those men/gentlemen/sirs)



From the verb "decir"

[pjt33]

In literal translation, which sounds a bit old-fashioned but works:

Said gentlemen then say that ....

[laepelba]

Thanks! So, is "dichos" used here in somewhat of an old-fashioned way in Spanish, too? (By the way, I use "said" like that in English quite frequently. I'm kinda weird like that! )

[chileno]

Originally Posted by pjt33

In literal translation, which sounds a bit old-fashioned but works:

Said gentlemen then say that ....

Duh! I knew that.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Lou Ann: Not at all. I think pjt said it sounds old-fashioned in English.
In Spanish it's rather formal, but by no means is formality old-fashioned.

[laepelba]

The stories in this book seem quite old. They're kind of corny, but extremely helpful for vocabulary because they're all (thus far) told in the present tense, so I am not at all getting confused about verb conjugations. Cool - I like this word, "dicho(s)".

Oooh - and another question.... Like with "este/o/a(s)" and "ese/o/a(s)", can "dicho(s)" also be a pronoun by itself? For example, if the subject is obvious, could the sentence be: "Dichos dicen entonces que ....." ??

(Dicho/a for masculine/feminine?)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

"Dichos" is an adjective, not a noun. The subject there is "dichos señores".

Feminin: dicha

Corté una flor. Dicha flor es azul.

Compré un libro. Dicho libro es una novela.

Me dieron unas flores. Dichas flores están en un florero de vidrio.

[laepelba]

Thanks, Malila!!