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Five Minute Study - SPANISH and ENGLISH compared Guía de la gramática inglesa...
En estas lecciones breves se comparan el inglés hablado y coloquial con el español con el fin de ayudar al estudiante a apreciar tanto las diferencias como las similitudes lingüísticas entre los dos idiomas.
Common mistakes with "poder" / Errores comunes con "can"
Normally, Spanish and English coincide in the use of the modal auxiliary poder/can:
Requests: Can you help me with my homework? ¿Me puedes ayudar con los deberes?
Giving permission: You can't leave until you've cleared up all this mess! ¡No puedes ir hasta que hayas recogido todo este desorden!
Deductions in the negative: He can't be at home because he doesn't answer the phone No puede estar en casa porque no contesta el teléfono
But learners of English must be careful when making deductions in the affirmative; they can't use "can" here:
Puede que su teléfono no funcione (Learners of Spanish: note subjunctive after "puede que") It
This construction must use could/may/might:
It could / may / might be that his phone doesn't work or better, Maybe / Perhaps his phone doesn't work
When talking about what we are or aren't capable of doing the Spanish usually choose the verb "saber":
I can't swim; I've never been able to No sé nadar; nunca he sabido
Can you play the piano? ¿Sabes tocar el piano?
There is another use of "can" which does not translate directly and therefore results in errors. This is when we use verbs of the senses: see / ver; hear / oír, escuchar; smell / oler; taste / saber; feel / sentir. Here, learners of Spanish should note that you cannot use "poder" and learners of English must use "can":
Can you see that bird? ¿Ves ese pájaro?
No, I can't see a thing No, no veo nada
I can't see the point of going all that way No veo de qué va a servir que se emprenda un viaje tan largo
I could hear noises last night Escuchaba / Oía ruidos anoche
It smells pretty bad here I can't smell anything Aquí huele mal Yo no huelo nada
I can't taste the herbs in this stew Este estofado no me sabe a hierbas
He couldn't feel his toes No sentía los dedos de los pies
In fact, with most verbs which talk about perception "can" is omitted in Spanish:
I can't understand a word of what he's saying or, I don't understand... No entiendo ni palabra de lo que dice
I can't find out how this is done No averiguo cómo se hace esto
In very colloquial or slang English "can" may be omitted when referring to the senses but, as in Spanish, ambiguity may result. Here is a well-known joke based on this:
A man goes into a pub with his dog. The dog hasn't got a nose. Another man, sitting at the bar, asks the first, "Your dog's got no nose. How does he smell?" The first man answers, "Disgusting! He never has a bath!"
Un hombre entra en un bar con su perro. El perro no tiene hocico. Otro hombre, sentado en la barra, pregunta al primero: -Su perro no tiene hocico. ¿Cómo huele? Contesta el primero: -¡Asqueroso! ¡Como nunca se baña!
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