Since we have Spanish speakers in here, can I hope on the Q train?
How do I say:
I am going to the store. (sometime…whenever…future)
v.
I am going to the store. (in process of - present progressive)
v
I am going to the store tomorrow. (near future - present continuous)
v
I will be going to the store tomorrow. (deliberate planned future event)
Does this verb translate differently depending on the type of ‘present’ we’re talking about? English doesn’t have a “real” future tense - we just add ‘will’, ‘will be’, or ‘will be going’.
thanks much if you could answer (:
Also, I took “eating herself a bowl of grapes” to mean, “I’m eating a bowl of grapes and I’m 100 per cent focused on it.”
= same verb tense in Spanish? Sorry, I don’t know the verb for ‘to ride’ like ‘in a car’.
Can you translate for me?
My present continuous in Spanish was always bad, esp. with ‘going’. I wouldn’t use “estar” when saying I’m going home, but ir in all its tenses stumps me because of the second verb, like I am going running tomorrow. Hence the q in my previous post.
(If you could please help, I’d be super grateful. I’m trying to do a comparative chart for ELLs and I need to know why the differences are the way they are in Spanish so I can explain it better for English – I need more than a Google.)
edit: I know there are verb charts online but I need a good explanation so I can better analyze some of the kids’ writing mistakes and go, “Oh, I see…this is how it is done in Spanish.”
Thanks! I think I’d get ‘venir’ and ‘viene’ mixed up pretty quickly. Even though I know subconsciously that venir is perfect, in English, I wouldn’t make that connection.
In English, the /s/ clues you in to second person perfect. (She rides, he lives)
But I easily see how “Normalmente viene”
is like
“Hoy, viene conmigo”
It seems like it’s a matter of word order. For me, I always think of the noun first (because i have so many :D) and then scramble for verb usage.
I meant…I would mix up the verb tenses because it doesn’t translate the same in English. When you adjusted the word order of my sentence, I saw what you meant by ‘interchangeable’.
When I say something in Spanish, I think of the nouns I need first because my vocab is good. I haven’t officially practiced conjugating Spanish verbs since 2000. It’s backwards and makes it harder when trying to explain conjugating English verbs to ELLS because I can’t remember their rules for the more ‘complicated’ tenses.
That’s the point in learning a foreign language: graduating from direct translations like “What is your name?”= “¿Cuál es tu nombre” to recognising that in Spain folks usually say “¿Cómo te llamas?”.
That is to say, learning how the language is spoken and that tense uses do not always line up in a direct translation mode.
I know they don’t line up. I am just explaining that I took Spanish peons ago and when I taught ESL, I definitely re-learned some and picked up new things. I’m of the “hear and understand most but respond in English” variety.
I’m not choosing Spanish as my L2 for my PhD program. It’s Hebrew and that’s not helping me when I work with students.
I didn’t think it ignorant or unreasonable to ask someone to help me translate the ‘going to’ future tense. It’s a common mistake I see in English with my Spanish speaking ELL students and I think I would better teaching strategies if I could do the inverse. The nuances of future tense can make or break a student’s paper, especially in a Civics class. (:
Yes, you can say Voy a ir a la tienda. In fact, in some places, “ir (to go, conjugated for the speaker) + a + infinitive verb” is used to denote future, instead of the usual future tense. They are mostly interchangeable, although the future tense may sound “more formal” at times.
BTW, I would’ve also have said “Estoy llendo a la tienda” or something similar, which is the present progressive mentioned earlier. Usually I would use that tense when someone calls me and asks me what I’m doing right now or about to do. Or if I’m telling someone I’m about to go shopping, in case they want to go with me or want something from the store.
YMMV, but for me, future verb tenses in English were easy! Now, past tenses were/are confusing, and a whole lot of other stuff. But future tenses? Easy!
I go to the store after the class
I find it for you
I am having the flu
We is walking home manana
You go to lunch now?
I will do for you, ok?
I ah…be with him to the, to the Prom
Tomorrow, I go to school late, cause I come after to take my sister.
Some of those I recognize as sentences someone who speaks either Spanish or Portuguese will say when he/she is starting to learn English. But I don’t get what that whole post’s point was about.
Spanish. El Salvador and Mexico, mostly. It’s helpful to me to understand the conjugation rules of some Spanish tenses so I can see why they may make that mistake.
if needed, here’s this… to help you as a teaching guide for your native Spanish speakers.
In English there are 3 main ways to speak about the future:
Present continuous: (for arranged plans.)
“We’re going to Mexico next week”. (tickets bought)
Future simple (the will/shall future)
spontaneous decisions: “Great, I’ll get some tickets too”. (That aforementioned Mexico trip)
promises: I’ll send you a postcard when I arrive".
predictions: Well probably meet some cool people in Mexico.
Intentional Future (going to future): (personal intention)
I’m going to study Chemistry tonight.
The above is a simplification, but it does serve as a good guide. Of course, there are other tenses and structures used for the future as well. (present simple, future continuous, future perfect…)
This is because by viewing it in this way, one limits the “the future” simply to a concept of time, when in fact it dovetails inextricably with other notions.
In addition to promise, prediction, and decision, you have:
(offer) I’ll get that! [telephone, tip, etc.]
(intent)
A: Are you taking Suzy to the prom?
B: I might.
(assertion of intention) I’m paying for dinner tonight this time. When I grow up, I wanna be a doctor.
If you view language strictly in terms of (grammar) forms, especially verb “tenses,” you will miss a lot.
This is because by viewing it in this way, one limits the “the future” simply to a concept of time, when in fact it dovetails inextricably with other notions.
In addition to promise, prediction, and decision, you have:
(offer) I’ll get that! [telephone, tip, etc.]
(intent)
A: Are you taking Suzy to the prom?
B: I might.
(assertion of intention) I’m paying for dinner tonight this time. When I grow up, I wanna be a doctor.
If you view language strictly in terms of (grammar) forms, especially verb “tenses,” you will miss a lot.
I think I’d get ‘venir’ and ‘viene’ mixed up pretty quickly. Even though I know subconsciously that venir is perfect, in English, I wouldn’t make that connection.
