Spanish language Q&A Forum

How can I have  one practice dictation every day?

"Cuánto falta?" means "how much longer".

Can't it also mean "how much do I owe you?"

For example, if you're paying for something with cash and you gave them some bills but still owe them a few coins to reach the total..?  (how many coins are still needed?)

Thank you!

The time is last month, why don't we use Era posible and lead to other hubiera PP?

Justin

I think I've managed to wrap my head around how the passive works in a basic sense, but I'm wondering if anyone can offer, or refer me to, any guidance on WHEN to use different passive/impersonal forms, or how the nuances change? I know this is a rather broad question, so I'll try to narrow it down to a couple examples:

When is it prefered to use the true passive versus the se refleja form? for example, I was reading an article that said "las piedras habían sido extraídas de rocas que se formaron hace miles de millones de años." Here we have two different forms used in the same sentence! Could the writer have instead said "las piedras se habían extraído de rocas que fueron formado"--or some other combination--and if so are there different nuances?! Is one simply more formal? Or is there another specific reason the se pasiva wasn't use for one but it was used for the other? 

Also, I know this is a lot at once, but I'm struggling to grasp how the use of the passive with "se" differs from the use of the "ellos" impersonal construction. For example, if a house is under construction down the street, would you say "se construye una casa" or "construyen una casa" and if both are equally valid, how are the nuances different? And are there cases where one is possible but the other isn't? For instance, I've often noticed that when the object of an action is a person rather than a thing the action is often not expressed with se--the ellos form seems to be the choice in some cases like "le robaron" (but not "se robó"?). And yet... we do have "se buscan secretarias"? I can't quite see what is going on here...

Mil gracias in advance for any help on any of these questions... 

I am confused- the present participle in English is used in both the despues de + infinitive and the gerundio.  It’s hard to differentiate between the two in English so it’s guesswork in Spanish…

I had a question on a kwiz that was marked "nearly" or "almost there"  

Aquel restaurante, ________ me recomendó Alberto, tiene unos postres exquisitos.That restaurant, that Alberto recommended, has some exquisite desserts.
el cual was "correct"que was "nearly"
In the question and answer just below mine, an answer says that que and el cual are interchangable.  Why was this answer not just marked correct?  How do we know which one to use to get "correct" answers?  Does the "nearly" count against me?

1) Why is imperfecto used: Pues que me apetecía .  She was feeling like at the moment, not an ongoing  feeling no?

2) y entre ellos había una pareja de jóvenes.. Why is the imperfecto used in this aspect?  The couple were only there AT that time, it's NOT a habitual or repetitive action that they are there every time shes at the beach? 

3) ¡No me lo podía creer! , why use the imperfecto here?

4) Después me di cuenta de que en ese grupo había un hombre haciendo fotos y un chico con un foco. Entonces comprendí que los jóvenes eran modelos y estaban trabajando en una sesión de fotos    The imperfecto used is because it's sequential? 

5) Estoy segura de que estaban muertos de frío.   The models were ONLY cold at that moment, why not "estuvieron muertos de trio"

6) . El solo llevaba un bañador y ella un bikini.   Why not just "Llevaron" they don't wear a bikini or beach short every time they go to the beach?  Only at that moment for the photo shoot?

Thank You in advance !

I wrote "y que este año sea" instead of "y que sea un año". I asked a native speaker who said my answer was fine and that "this place just wants you to speak a certain way, you can't trust it."