Five Minute Spanish Study / La gramática inglesa resumida.

Five Minute Study - SPANISH and ENGLISH compared

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.

"Poco" or "Poca" ("a little" "little / "a few")

Students of Spanish may hesitate at which one to use. Students of English should also be aware of the correct translations.

"Poco" and not "poca" is used when an adverb. That is, if it is describing another adjective, for example:

Es un escritor poco conocido

He's a (very) little-known artist

(Though I feel that many native speakers of English might prefer the negative: "He's not a very well-known artist".)

Nos parecía poco interesante lo que dijo

We found what he said of little interest

(As above, more colloquial would be: "We didn't find what he said very interesting")

Adverbs can also describe verbs so "poco" (not "poca") is used in the following examples:

Últimamente, habla muy poco en casa

Recently, he / she speaks very little at home

or, as above: Recently, he she doesn't speak very much at home

Hacía poco para ayudar a su familia

He did little to help his family

or, as above: He didn't do much to help his family

And note this use of "poco"...

Desde que sale con María siempre va a los conciertos con ella ¡y con lo poco que le gusta la música!

Since he's been going out with Maria, he always goes to concerts with her. And he doesn't even like music!

So "poco" or "poca" (also in plural: "(unos) pocos", "(unas) pocas" = (a) few) are used as adjectives describing either masculine or feminine nouns:

Hay poca cerveza en mi vaso

There's little beer in my glass

(More, colloquial: There's not much beer in my glass)

(The above expressions are like a complaint; ie:

I want some more beer

Quiero más cerveza

If we mean "some" (a small amount) we use the invariable: "un poco (de)":

Hay un poco de cerveza

There is a little beer

(Or, more commonly: There's some beer)

But for solid foods colloquial British English prefers the term "a bit":

There is a bit of cheese

Hay un poco de queso

(Is there) Any beer in the fridge?

Yes, a little (Yes, some)

¿Hay cerveza en el frigorífico?

Sí, un poco

More examples of the adjective forms:

Se ha olvidado del poco alemán que sabía

He's / She's forgotten the little German that he / she knew

Hoy en día, hay pocas mujeres que prefieren quedarse en casa

These days, there are few women who prefer to stay at home

(Or, There aren't many women who prefer to stay at home)

Le dio unos pocos trozos de pan.

He gave him a few pieces of bread

Note that when there is reference to an object in particular, "poco" must agree:

Le ofreció un plato de ensalada pero Juan comió poca

She offered him a plate of salad but Juan ate very little (of it)

(or, Juan didn't eat very much (of it))

but here "poco" has a less specific meaning, more abstract:

Tarzán se conforma con muy poco

Tarzan is satisfied with very little

So, to finish...

Tarzan: I'm just off to strangle a few crocodiles.

Jane: Well, don't be long!

Tarzan: Don't worry! I'll be back shortly.

Jane: I hope so! I've got a bit of snake in the oven. Oh, by the way. I'm nearly out of elephant milk. Make sure you bring me some.

Tarzán: Que voy a estrangular unos (pocos) cocodrilos.

Jane: Pues, ¡no tardes!

Tarzán: ¡No te preocupes! Vuelvo dentro de poco.

Jane: ¡Eso espero! Tengo un poco de serpiente en el horno. A propósito, me queda poca leche de elefante. Que me traigas un poco.

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