Spanish language Q&A Forum

why did it say it was wrong in the first part

Hi, I used the word "trancón" for traffic jam, but it was not recognized as a correct alternative. How come? 

Is there a lesson or a table on conjugating these? Especially Traer could use some illumination in this regard, I don't recall seeing the kinds of conjugation as shown in the examples for traer. Thanks.

I am confused about the verbs 'oir' and 'escuchar'

Would it be "estoy escuchando music" o "estoy oyendo musica" are both correct?

I did struggle to understand why "se recordaba" was in the singular in "... solo se recordaba a los difuntos el 1 de noviembre" [= "the deceased were only remembered on November 1st"].

At first, I was tempted to make it plural to agree with "difuntos". As a passive construction, I thought it could be compared with "se venden apartamentos de lujo en la playa" - (given as one of the examples in Forming the Spanish passive with se (la pasiva refleja) ... which is the lesson we get referred to).

Anyway, I was also "scratching my head" regarding the use or non-use of the "personal 'a' " in a passive sentence of this nature - [Compare "Se buscan secretarias con experiencia" in that^ same lesson] ..

I then looked in my grammar book [by Butt and Benjamin], and discovered that this is part of a construction which evolved comparatively recently in the Spanish language - in which the use of the "personal 'a' " makes a singular verb necessary even when the [passive] subject is in the plural.  

Can: 

"Mi madre, esa mujer me la recuerda."

mean either one:

"Esa mujer me recuerda a mi madre." (similar)

"Esa mujer me recuerda mi madre." (brought to mind)

De quién was an option for this question: 

Mi perro, ________ me acuerdo a menudo, ha muerto recientemente.

However when I selected it I was marked wrong.

However according to this page

Using preposition a and de + el que, la que, los que, las que = to/of/from/about which/who (relative pronouns)

Should I have been marked right because quién doesn't necessarily need to pair with a lo/la?

For the example:

De no llegar a tiempo perderíamos el vuelo.
If we didn't arrive on time we'd miss the flight.
I can only see four translations:(1) If we don't arrive on time we'll miss the flight. (or "we could miss")(2) If we hadn't arrived on time we would/could have missed the flight.
Could you please double-check your English translation?  Thanks.

I don't understand how the text is "periphrasis" - in a roundabout way. How might it have been written other than the way it was?

The question did not specify to use the tú or usted form, and in a later question, it did specify "tú."  So I typed "leyó", but was marked wrong. I had "leiste" until I saw "tú" specified later, so I changed it.  Either both should be right or it should be specified, to reduce frustration.  I can see if you were talking to a family member or close friend (in an obvious context), then it should be expected to be "tú." But this was quite ambiguous- you could have loaned a book to a friend or a colleague or boss.