subject: How to Convert An English Phrase to Spanish Translation [print this page] How to Convert An English Phrase to Spanish Translation
This is a guide to help you translate any English phrase to Spanish translation easily. A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and a verb. The subject will be the person or object that performs the action from the verb. You'll notice than in Spanish many times there is no subject because it is contained in the verb. Example: Te amo (I appreciate you)!!!
Sentence Structure
Both languages use the same sentence structure: Subject + Verb + Rest of Sentence
Examples:
Quiero una pizza - I want a pizza
El trabaja duro - He works hard
Nosotros limpiamos el piso - We cleaned the floor
However, in Spanish you have more flexibility arranging the order of words than in English. In other words, a sentence can be arranged in many ways. For example, the following sentence:
Juan trabaja en un restaurante - Juan works in a restaurant
May also be arranged differently: En un restaurante trabaja Juan (In a restaurant works Juan)!
Whenever you convert this English phrase to Spanish translation it sounds backwards, but in Spanish is grammatically correct.
Use of Adjectives
In English, you put adjectives BEFORE nouns (the blue book)!!!
In Spanish, you put adjectives AFTER the nouns (el libro azul)!
Examples:
El libro grande es mio - The big book is mine
El muchacho alto - The tall boy
La comida deliciosa - The delicious meal
Active vs Passive Voice
When converting an English phrase to Spanish translation, you should be aware for the active voice which is a lot more common in Spanish than in English. However, in English we use the passive voice more frequently. To help you understand these concepts better, here are some definitions:
Active: Would be the verb form in which the subject performs the action expressed by the verb. The active voice emphasizes the subject.
Examples:
El arquitecto construyo la casa - The architect built the property
El gato se comio al raton - The cat ate the mouse
Maria leyo el poema - Mary read the poem
Passive: Could be the verb form in which the subject receives the verb's action. The passive voice emphasizes the action.
Examples:
La casa fue construida por el arquitecto - The home was built by the architect
El raton fue comido por el gato - The mouse was eaten by the cat
El poema fue leido por Maria - The poem was read by Mary
Building Negative Sentences
An additional important aspect whenever you convert an English phrase to Spanish translation would be the use of negatives. Here are some guidelines to form negative sentences:
a) Place "No" before the verb
Example: Maria no conoce an Antonio - Maria doesn't know Antonio
b) When answering a question, you need to use "No" twice
Example: ?Eres su hermano? - Are you his brother?
Negative: No, no soy su hermano - No, I?m not his brother
Other negatives may precede or follow the verb, but if they follow, they must follow a negative verb (a double negative)! The word order is: No + verb + negative.
Other negative words you may use to express negation are:
Nadie - Nobody
Nada - Nothing
Nunca - Never
Ninguno - None
Tampoco - Neither
As you study Spanish, you'll notice that there are many ways of ordering words when changing any English phrase to Spanish translation. Remember that although in English many of them may sound awkward, in Spanish they're correct.
