Spanish language Q&A Forum

In English, "to hear" is a passive act to the person.  It happens to them, whether they wanted it to or not.   "To listen" is an active effort by the person. "If one listens well, he will hear it."  The Spanish dictionary says that "oir" is to hear.  However, "escuchar" can mean "to listen" or "to hear".  Is that correct?

"La escuché cantando" could mean "I listened to her singing" or "I heard her singing".  ??

Is that right?

Thanks

¡Hola a todos! 

Thank you for this helpful exercise! :-)

I'm curios how to translate "No, es broma"? I mean, google tells me it means; "I'm kidding", and I understand that from the context - but is there maybe a comparison to an English equivalent of this expression? :-)

¡Muchas gracias!

Thank you Inma,

So does that mean that even if "siglo" is singular, you can also use the plural? i.e. "a comienzos de..."

does that mean then that you can use the singular "al comienzo de.." if "siglos" was plural?

Do you have any example sentences for these 2 uses?

Do you have any more info on this use? also is this a Peninsular Spain usage? or universally used?

Thank you. Your replies a very appreciated!  Nicole

Hola,

I thought assumption about the past (must have + verb) was expressed by means of DEBE (Deber in El Presented) + Infinitivo Compuesto, however the following examples refute it:

Los chicos han debido de beber bastante porque huelen a alcohol.
They boys must have drunk quite a lot as they smell of alcohol.

El tren debió de llegar sobre las cuatro y media.
The train must have arrived at about four thirty.

Could you please clarify this point, because I'm feeling a bit confused 

I'm quite confused regarding 'borrow' and 'lend' in Spanish.

I wonder if it's because I've been learning Spanish from a Latin American source and have learned various ways to say 'to borrow' and 'to lend' using such things as 'prestar', 'pedir prestado' and 'tomar prestado'. Grammatically I understand how these phrases work, but they only seem to imply borrow/lend, and I've never been entirely comfortable using any of them!

I.O.P + dejar as used in Spain is quite new to me... and it actually makes sense straight away!

So, I'm interested to know if 'prestar' is used at all in Spain, and if so, how?  

BTW, as there seems to be no exact equivalent to borrow and lend between English and Spanish many people get confused by it. A separate lesson on the subject would be a great addition to the Kwiziq library imo ;)

Saludos 

"En el mundo hay muchos paises interesantes pero para mí, el más interesante es Australia."

My question is, why is could one also say "lo más interesante..." and still be correct? That is, use "lo" instead of "el"? 

In the quiz question: "Todos los estudiantes son estadounidenses ________. All the students are from the United States except us." the question refuses any answer with "nosotras". Surely "nosotras" should be as equally possible as "nosotros" in this response, or am I misunderstanding?