Spanish language Q&A Forum

I would also like to know what the upside down question mark at the beginning of a sentence means, and even exclamation marks. As you may have correctly guessed, I'm a total newbie.  Thanks

In the fill-in-the-blanks exercise I was doing, the sentence I didn't understand was as follows:

Nosotros continuamos con nuestra fiesta particular y estuvimos charlando y bebiendo hasta el amanecercuando me confesó que estaba enamorado de mí." 

So it seems that "hasta el amanecer" was the "ending" of the chatting and drinking and that's why "estuvimos" was used.

If the sentence removed the until sunrise part, would this be correct because of the interrupting action ("me confeso")?

Nosotros continuamos con nuestra fiesta particular y estabamos charlando y bebiendo cuando me confesó que estaba enamorado de mí.

But what are some tips for how to tell the difference between an interruption and an end? Is the interruption always some kind of action? And the end is always a reference to time? It doesn't seem like it from the example in this lesson: 

"Estuvimos almorzando hasta que acabamos con toda la comida y luego nos fuimos al cine.

Just did this lesson and saw the word "cross". Although it does make sense in old English and some people will still understand the meaning, it is definitely not a word that is used a lot among English speakers today. I think "angry" would be a better word and would reduce the likelihood of someone not understanding what it means. 

This is not about one of the examples here, but a question in the quiz:

"Me encanta la cocina francesa, ya sea lo salado o lo dulce."

I would have expected "la salada o la dulce" because I thought it would refer back to la cocina. Why is this change in gender?

1. Yo no sabía que ellos ya conocían a nuestro sobrino. 

2. Yo no sabía lo que ellos ya conocían a nuestro sobrino.  

What it be if the sentence is "I didn't know what they already knew our nephew."

Thank you.

After reading this chapter and the comments I think there is an English usage that is very similar and helps to explain it a little more clearly.  We have the structure "to have got(ten)...done."  (instead of I have done 3 things). Like in Spanish, it usually means that you've done several things toward your goal and you have gotten them out of the way.

e.g. 

I've painted three rooms.  He pintado tres habitaciones.

I've gotten three rooms painted, or I got three rooms painted.  Tengo pintadas tres habitaciones.

You can apply that formula to all the other examples.  Helped me to understand this much better.

Same thing with:

The book has (gotten) me interested.

El libro me tiene interesado.