# Forum Other Languages Romance languages Spanish  Dos palabras Zachem Y Pochemu


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## BlackMage

Mi conocimiento del espa

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## Линдзи

smartdude, your signature quote contains a comma splice.  Please change it to a semi-colon or something before my eyes start bleeding.

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## Bjoern

Hola. Hablo un poco de espa

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## Pravit

unos problemas*, I think.
On a side note, I can't believe "problema" is a masculine noun.  
But perhaps there were other errors, I don't really speak Spanish   ::

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## BlackMage

> smartdude, your signature quote contains a comma splice.  Please change it to a semi-colon or something before my eyes start bleeding.

 If I were an english major, I'd be in college.  Thanks though.

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## Bjoern

yes i meant UNOS PROBLEMAS. And also, Problema is definetly a maculine noun. .

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## Линдзи

> If I were an english major, I'd be in college.  Thanks though.

   ::   I have no idea what you mean by your first sentence, but thanks for fixing your punctuation.

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## waxwing

lol I had no idea either, but I bet you were thrilled to see 'were' instead of 'was'  ::

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## BlackMage

> lol I had no idea either, but I bet you were thrilled to see 'were' instead of 'was'

 I dont mean to burst your bubble, but i am not a complete idiot.  I just hastily copied that signature from slashdot.

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## Линдзи

> lol I had no idea either, but I bet you were thrilled to see 'were' instead of 'was'

 Hee.  Hooray for the subjunctive! 
Smartdude, alas that I cannot meet you in person and be dazzled by the intellect you claim gleams from your very pores.  But as it stands, the only knowledge I have of your character and skills is, necessarily, your writing.  If you're going to say silly things, you ought at least say them in an intelligent manner -- as *bad manners* does.    ::  
And, for chrissake, capitalize your Is.

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## Pravit

So smartdude, are you ever going to reveal the cryptic meaning of "If I were an english major, I'd be in college" to us?

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## Линдзи

> So smartdude, are you ever going to reveal the cryptic meaning of "If I were an english major, I'd be in college" to us?

 Well, I guess if he WERE majoring in English, he'd necessarily have to be in college.   I don't know if you can major in something in your free time.  So it's a truism.  But a pointless one.  I, too, am curious what he actually meant to say.

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## BlackMage

Линдзи- I have never claimed that knowledge gleams from my pores. 
Pravit-  If I were to reveal the meaning of it, would it really be cryptic? 
Линдзи-  What does it matter if I exercise proper capitalization in an internet forum?  You all are not the ones that assign me an unbelieveably high SAT score. 
Pravit-  In my Mountain Dew fueled 42 hour marathon of paper-writing, I am afraid that I managed to slip into some sort of comatose stupor when I wrote that.

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## Линдзи

Excuses, excuses.  Your "unbelieveably [sic] high SAT score" shows nothing but your ability to take an inane standardized test.  And, news flash, kid, but SAT scores mean diddly in the real world, whereas your writing skills are crucial.  Stop saying things like "ohhh whine I copied it from slashdot" or "sniffle I was up all late typing papers college is LIKE SO ARDUOUS" and start composing on an adult writing level.  I guarantee your university has classes and tutors that can help you with this.

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## BlackMage

I dont mean to complain.

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I doubt that anyone will see this, or maybe they will. Who knows. Regardless, for those who read this topic in the future: all nouns ending in -ma come from greek and are always masculine. So, el poema, el programa, el problema, etc. They are never feminine. 
Also, funcci

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## Pravit

I saw it, Guest. You are vindicated! And you can guarantee I will refer back to it one day without ever telling anyone where I heard it, like I just did in some other post.   ::

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## uno

[quote=Anonymous]I doubt that anyone will see this, or maybe they will. Who knows. Regardless, for those who read this topic in the future: all nouns ending in -ma come from greek and are always masculine. So, el poema, el programa, el problema, etc. They are never feminine. 
Also, funcci

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## Pravit

Yo uno, is "gringo" a derogatory term? I find some the willingness of some white people to call themselves "gringos" amazing.

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## uno

lol pravit, well it all depends on who you are. In my opinion if you're the suit guy that sits up in the office and lives off stock interests (I.e. business man) you probably don’t want to be called a gringo. It is most certainly incorrect to use the term with your teachers and professors. as for me, gringo means, "hey white boy." If you don’t like "hey white boy" then you wont like the phrase gringo. Think of it as wut up black dude. LOL 
Coming back to the big picture, for formal situations and for people you don't know, I wouldn't use it as it will be taken as a sign of disrespect. As for me I'm 20 and occasionally when i talk to native speakers my age, I tend to slipup and use the word "gringo."   ::   
Pravit, have you heard the "so-called" origin of how the term came into existence? If not, I'll tell you, it’s a rather amusing story.

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## Pravit

I'm not white, so I wouldn't really care either way. Do we have an equivalent word in English to describe Hispanics? 
Anyhow, I haven't heard the story, so I'm interested in hearing it  ::

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## uno

> I'm not white, so I wouldn't really care either way. Do we have an equivalent word in English to describe Hispanics?

 Not that I'm aware of, but we need one.  Well, I'm from Texas and at least here we call everyone who is brown, Mexican.  ::  It doesn't matter if they’re from freakin Pakistan. You're still a Mexican. No one can tell the difference here anyway.   ::     

> Anyhow, I haven't heard the story, so I'm interested in hearing it

 Gringo pronounced with the Spanish aflabet could be pronounced with ours as greengo. (Green go) 
I've met quite a few "Mexicans" time after time that always asked if I knew where the term came from. In fact, I think they are proud of it... lol They speak of a time when Caucasians wearing green uniforms were invading their territory in mass numbers. (This makes most Texans laugh because they can't fathom white people wanting to go illegally enter in Mexico. Sadly, they don't realize that the U.S. took Texas from Mexico and the western United States) Anyway, these white "invaders" where wearing green right? Well of course the Mexican people being a "proud people" didn't want them in their country. Supposedly Mexican's would chant, "Green go away." So, henceforth the term came around, "Green go."  
Now, what is the problem with this story?   ::

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## Pravit

Nice story  ::

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> smartdude, your signature quote contains a comma splice.  Please change it to a semi-colon or something before my eyes start bleeding.

  Why do u do this to us?  B)

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## slof

> I'm not white, so I wouldn't really care either way. Do we have an equivalent word in English to describe Hispanics?

 Yes, in Britain we use the word 'Dago' pronounced [daygo]. It's a derogatory word and is used to describe a Spaniard or Portuguese. It's from the common  Spanish name Diego. 
I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. Although it is an old word it is still used today. Has it never been  used in America?

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## fantom605

re: dago:  es el racista. 
  See "Celebrity Jeopardy" on Saturday Night Live... 
  Trebek:  I'm apologize for the previous comments, and I remind the contestants not to use racial slurs. 
  Connery:  You think you're so smart, what, with your dago mustache and youur greasy hair. 
  Trebek:  What did I just say about the racial slurs?!?!  
 -Fantom

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When the English navy first used the word 'dago' ,as they would shout 'Diego',it wasn't meant as a racial slur at all. The word evolved from Diego. 
Much the same as during World War 1 the British and Germans would refer to each other as ,Fritz and Tommy.
It's just since the Americans incorporated the word to include the Italians 
[1870's] it has become a racist slur. 
[Btw, a history teacher told me that. I didn't know the Americans used it.]
I think the word maybe stronger in America than it is here.
In England 'dago' would be on a par with 'gringo', and not be seen as an insult at all.
While both the words 'dago' and 'gringo' are derogatory, they are not 'taboo', [check your dictionary]
In the end I suppose it depends on how you intend something. You could tell somone they were beautiful,but if you said it sarcastically it would be an insult.

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## tdcinprc

I've been hearing the term "beaner" used to describes mexicans/hispanics ever since I got back from being in China for about a year and a half.  I have no idea when/where this started.

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## kasper

porque - почему
para que - зачем 
и че вы тут всё паритесь я не понимаю  ::

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> porque - почему
> para que - зачем 
> и че вы тут всё паритесь я не понимаю

 Dudo que sea exactamente as

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losers.....suck it trebek

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## Hope

Por que; - почему
Porque - Потому что
Para que; - зачем  
a10,

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## basurero

"Para que" tambi

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## uno

First of all Let this topic die please. It's stinkin' old 
Second. 
When there is no change of subject, para and sin are *NOT* followed by que and the infinitive is used.  
Le escribir

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## basurero



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## uno

S

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