Spanish language Q&A Forum

What is the reason that "Me alegro DE que..." is constructed differently than "Me entristece que...."? Do other similar phrases tend to follow one of these two patterns? 

Hi,

Why is it not the verb "continuar" + unconjugated verb, or the verb "seguir" + unconjugated verb?

For example, "Continúa caminar..." why is it written instead as "Continúa caminando?" I do not understand the why behind making the second verb -ando or -iendo.

Since they are marked as errors when absent, can we please have an indication of punctuation (in Spanish of course "punto final" "coma"!) when we are answering the individual sections?

Hola!

I've been following this and could do with some expert assistance. I was looking at this line:

Note that conjunctions o/o bien can either present a person with a choice to make (either one thing/idea or another) or both options are seen as possible. There is a choice to make here:

My question is, is there something implying exclusivity - that it's the father or the mother, but not both? I would assume in English that it could be vague still - it might be the case that there's only room for one person, or it could be that one or both parents come, but a brother isn't suitable.

Thank you so much!

Ciaran

Because I kept getting this wrong, I asked Chatgpt: Can one use deber conjugated in El Pretérito Perfecto, followed by an infinitive to express in Spanish that something must have happened, as when making an assumption or wondering what must have happened? The response was: No—not if your goal is to express an assumption ("must have happened").

The pretérito perfecto of deber (ha debido) normally means "has had to" (obligation), not "must have" (probability).

I can't get my translator DeepL to use pocos as 'a few' of something and I don't hear it used locally.  It normally seems to be : unos cuantos amigos, unas cuantas manzanas.  Is this a customary phrase in Spain, or perhaps is USA? 

One of the difficulties in spanish is there are so many ways to same the same thing. These exercises don't allow for that.  I don't know how this can be included....

I appreciate the inclusion of this lesson as an effort to educate us in a nuance. My particular American English formed brain just can’t seem to grasp the subtle differences. I’m wondering if in conversation with a native speaker, it would be an issue if the non-native speaker didn’t differentiate between the two forms. I think if I were speaking in Spanish and trying to explain a situation about not being able to open a door last night, I would choose words that made it clear that number one: He just couldn’t open the door or 2, at first, he couldn’t open the door, but then someone came to help him. Well, now that I’ve written out these examples, I realize how far I am from understanding the nuance. I’m hoping you will say that in conversation with a native speaker it really doesn’t make a lot of difference.  Verdad?  

The lesson gave me the impression that articles are only needed when they are in plural form, but based on the discussion below it sounds like they are always needed for both singular and plural forms. Is that correct?  So that’s why “el cantar” was correct in the quiz question but “cantar” alone was incorrect?  How do we know when a verb is considered a noun without a quiz hint?