Spanish language Q&A Forum

Hello,

I'm just wondering about the use of the reflexive comprarse.  It is used in this example:

En esta tienda pueden comprarse unas joyas muy bonitas.You can buy very nice jewels in this shop
Why is the reflexive used here, and in general when do we use comprarse instead of comprar?
Thanks!Marcos

All these verbs are present tense + present subjunctive. Can I use the same construction with the conditional, in those cases where we are “softening” a request?

Such as: “Yo prefería que regreses más pronto.” 

Or does that need a different structure? Thank you!

I see in this lesson that when the subject is the same, we should be using the infinitive. I need to work on that!

Is it ever a  “tolerable” error among native speakers to commit this mistake when using a colloquial register? I frequently want to say things like “Dudo que (yo) pueda hacerlo para viernes” instead of “poder hacerlo.” I know you’re here to teach us the right way!! Just curious as to “how” wrong it is.

Please delete! This one was written in error!

Please delete! This one was written in error!

Please delete! This one was written in error!

Apologies, as this is a bit outside the lesson. Can the infinitive ever stand alone as a command in Spanish (without the a + form) in either the negative or positive? I was under the impression that it could, but I don’t specifically remember learning to do so, and I might be transferring from another language I’ve studied. Thanks!

Hola,

¿Qué es la diferencia de significado entre "Alguien no tiene que hacer algo" y "Alguien no tiene por qué hacer algo"? Y ¿por qué no se use "por que", sino "por qué" con el acento?

Gracias!  (I hope that all made sense!) 

It seems like one of the quiz questions and the examples you give for past participles use the pretérito perfecto for what should be the pretérito indefinido as translated from English. Examples: we wouldn’t say I’ve written to my girlfriend if we wanted to say I wrote to my girlfriend or I’ve returned from work for I returned from work. Please explain why the perfecto is used in the statements and not the indefinido. 

The noun "búho" [= eagle owl] is an illustration of the way in which a 'silent h' has no bearing on whether or not there is a hiatus. At first glance, foreigners might think [incorrectly] that it should form two syllables *without* the need for a tilde.