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3.10 Exercise (preposition, pronouns, verbs)

Translate the following sentences:

from Spanish to English

	Yo soy alemán.
	Tú comes la zanahoria.
	Ella puede hablar. *
	Nosotros compramos la casa. **
	Vosotros bebéis el zumo.
	Ellos comen las cebollas. **
	Yo vendo el coche. **
	Él toma la botella.
	Yo veo el perro.
	Nosotros escribimos el libro.
	Él quiere a la muchacha.
	Nosotros vemos el caballo.

* In Spanish the difference between being able to do something and to know how to do something is used actively. In English you can always use can to describe both. If it's said: The boy can write - it can be meant that he knows how to write or also that he is fit to do so. If it's said: The boy cannot write - it can be meant that the boy doesn't know how to write or just that he knows but he has broken his arm so he is not able to do so at the moment. In Spanish the idea of knowing how to do things are described with the verb saber. The idea of being able (in means of time, possibility etc.) is described with the verb poder.

He is drunk but he can walk.
= Está borracho, pero puede andar.
(He is drunk, but he is still able to walk. He's not too drunk to walk)

I would be kind of weird to translate:

He is drunk, but he can walk
= Está borracho, pero sabe andar.
(For the Spaniard it means: He is drunk but knows how to walk; at some point he has learned how it is done, maybe he even remembers now that he is so drunk)

Please note: The personal pronouns (yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, nosotras, vosotros, vosotras, ellos, ellas) are usually not used. In some of the examples the personal pronoun is left out as you probably noticed.



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