Tried to compliment a woman on the subway yesterday. Didn’t get slapped, but got bolluxed up (not sure if I just concocted that phrase) with the part of the meaning I wanted. “That” (que) is the pure statement, but in English my thought was more analytical (“the way”), implying that it was a good decision out of potentially lousy ones.
Or at least that’s what I thought I wanted to convey, and initially didn’t choose “que.” Probably a tiny distinction that either doesn’t work in ine word in Spanish, or is distinctive by word choice in English only in my head.
Anyway, that’s what the girl corrected me to–she was from Paraguay, if that’s significant.
And now it just occurs to me again that the subjunctive isn’t nearly such a big thing in Spanish as it is in English.
My Spanish is below rudimentary, but I too mentally guessed “como” when reading the thread title. I’m sure someone more fluent will come in and correct us.
“Me gusta que tus zapatos combinen con tu chaqueta” sounds more like an order than a compliment, to this native Spanish speaker. It seems to say that you like it when her shoes combine with her coat/vest/sweater… And it can be an order in the sense of “I like to see you that way”
“Me gusta como tus zapatos combinan con tu chaqueta”, is a compliment. It states that you like how her shoes combine with the rest of the outfit. It implies “I like it when you dress this way”. Slightly different meaning, in both cases.
In my experience, the opposite is true. The subjunctive seems to be disappearing in English but it is an essential part of speaking Romance languages correctly. The relative rarity (or invisibility) of the subjunctive in English is probably why it’s hard for English-speakers to master.
Agreed in that the first form can sound like an order, although it’s one of those things which change by dialect and where tone has a lot to do with how it sounds. The second form would be common in some parts of Latin America but sounds weird to a Spaniard, I don’t know whether it would be normal in Paraguay or not but anybody would understand it. Also possible, with literal backtranslations:
“Me gusta que tus zapatos combinan con tu chaqueta” - I like that your shoes match your jacket
“Me gusta que los zapatos que llevas combinan con la chaqueta” - I like that the shoes you’re wearing match the jacket
The use of posessives is influence from English, and more common in some dialects than in others.
Only if it’s a question (either asked directly or as a subordinate, see second example in the note indicated below). “Cómo”, question. “Como”, modal adverb.
See note under the 7th entry.
All of your no-question-marks examples are questions which are rephrased without the question marks when expressed as subordinates. The dónde is indeed linked to the iba; ¿dónde iba? is a subordinate acting as direct object:* ¿te dijo [algo]?* Did he tell you [something]? The something happens to be [where was he going?], ¿dónde iba? You have a question that’s subordinate to another question.
Nava, another thing I realized after I wrote it is the verb difference in the two ways I expressed it… Combinen is the subjective form, combinan is the indicative form. My examples use both. Your example, which I agree also is OK (but I’ve heard it less commonly), also use the indicative. IOW, by using the subjunctive in that way, combinen instead of combinan, the tone comes off as more like an order. You’re right, with tone it can vary, and I can see it not as an order, but as something the other person likes… But, I’m not sure if you get it, for me it seems more… selfish? In using the first sentence, it comes of as if the person wants the other person’s outfit to match. While in the second, the person just likes, and is perhaps happy (positive) that the other person’s outfit matches.
Well, what I said above certainly isn’t a rule. I don’t mind admitting that I have a very hard time determining which spelling (como or cómo) is used in certain cases.
Wouldn’t “Me gusta cómo combina…” be the rephrased question “¿Cómo combina…?” The RAE link indicates that it’s “cómo” when it can be replaced with “de qué manera.”
Not really. “Me gusta como combina” = “I like how it matches”; “¿Cómo combina?” = How does it match.
Rephrased, “I like *the way that * it matches…” , as opposed to “I like in what way [does] it match…”
Notice that in that when used to mean “de qué manera” in the dictionary entry, that “qué” is the interrogative (accented) “qué”.
“de qué manera” = in what way - accent
“de la manera que” = the way that - no accent
Or at least that’s how my late 6th grade Spanish teacher explained it to me.
Imagine that the “interrogative” “cómo” translates to “how do” or “how to”, rather than to plain “how”.
In the dictionary example, “No sé cómo agradecerle tantos favores”, meaning, “I do not know how to thank you for so much kindness” is a rephrasing of “How to thank you for so much kindness? I don’t know.”
(The “multi-quote” function is not working properly.)
JRDelirious: I think the idea is that “de qué manera” only replaces the word “cómo” in the “simple” example, not the “compound” one. In other words, it would only replace “¿Cómo combina…?” and not “Me gusta cómo…”
In any case, the following excerpts from the RAE’s Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas should settle the matter definitively. I’ve **bolded **the pertinent examples:
3.2.2. Interrogativos y exclamativos. Las palabras adónde, cómo, cuál, cuán, cuándo, cuánto, dónde, qué y quién, que tienen valor interrogativo o exclamativo, son tónicas y llevan tilde diacrítica. Introducen enunciados directamente interrogativos o exclamativos: ¿Adónde vamos?; ¡Cómo te has puesto!; ¡Qué suerte ha tenido!; ¿De quién ha sido la idea?; o bien oraciones interrogativas o exclamativas indirectas: Pregúntales dónde está el ayuntamiento; No tenían qué comer; Imagínate cómo habrá crecido que no lo reconocí; Verá usted qué frío hace fuera. This entry provides a nearly identical example:
cómo. 1. Adverbio interrogativo o exclamativo. Es tónico y se escribe con tilde para diferenciarlo de la palabra átona como (→ como). Encabeza oraciones interrogativas o exclamativas directas: ¿Cómo te encuentras?; ¡Cómo aguantó el chaparrón!; o indirectas: No sé cómo te llamas; Me encanta cómo escribes; No hay cómo convencerlo de que venga. Puede constituir por sí solo un enunciado: ¿Cómo?; ¡Cómo!, o quedar al final como único elemento de la oración subordinada: Quisiera hacerlo, pero no sé cómo.
KarlGrenze, look at the examples provided in your “cómo” link. One of them is “Me encanta cómo escribes.” Same example in my post above (from same source), and It’s nearly identical to our “Me gusta cómo combina…” example.
You’re right, at least in that construction, if used as an indirect exclamative.
Besides the hijack on the proper accentuation of the word, I am wondering now what did Leo Bloom originally said, which was changed to “que”, as it seems less complimentary than the other option (cómo).
Also, I’m wondering what verb used (combinen vs combinan).
Hi guys. Surprised and pleased about the the thread’s interest. Haven’t had coffee yet, so haven’t gone to the mat yet with the cómo vs. como cites, although unthinkingly I would have written/thought it w/o the accent.
[sorry for no cite-backs here…]
About the subjunctive, I was saying exactly the opposite of how one poster read it. “It’s no big deal” in Spanish means it’s used regularly, normally, and as “easily” as any other mood, which is most certainly not the case (heh) in English. If we are clear on that, this little response need not be continued. If we be men of intelligence.
Also, I used the word “como.” And then I asked her the question in OP, and she responded with “que.”
Which, especially based on the posts here, might not be truly the correct response even to her, if she had enough time to think about it, because her English was newrly non-existent and she was late to an appointment…