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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.
Two confusing prepositions: "con" / "en"
"Con" does not coincide with the English "with" in some contexts. Although, with reference to clothing, we can say:
Hace tiempo que no te veo con gafas It's been a long time since I last saw you / with / in / glasses
when somebody habitually wears an article of clothing, we say:
¿Te acuerdas de esa anciana del abrigo largo? Do you remember that old woman / with / in / the long coat?
"Con" is necessary with these verbs (and verbs of similar meaning):
Me encontré con Pepe hoy en la calle (also "tropezar con", "topar con" etc.) I met Pepe in the street today
Tuvo un accidente y se dio un golpe con / contra un muro (also, "chocar con / contra" etc) He had an accident and crashed into a wall.
When an English Speaker hears a Spanish speaker say the following, it can sound very confusing:
Anoche soñé con un monstruo Last night I dreamed / of / about / a monster
The use of "con" seems to imply that the speaker and the monster dreamed together in the same bed! But when a Spanish mother says to her child:
Sueña con los ángeles Dream / of / about / angels
she doesn't expect the angels to crawl into bed with her child!
Another preposition to be aware of is with the verb "pensar" :
No puedo dejar de pensar en ti I can't stop thinking / of / about / you
Yet the English use "in" with the verb "believe"...
¿Crees en los fantasmas? Do you believe in ghosts?
So when you hear a Spanish speaking learner of English say: "I think in you always and dream with you every night", you will sympathize with the error!
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