www.whyville.net Dec 21, 2008 Weekly Issue



Wicked777
Times Writer

Spanish for the Clueless

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Hoy es jueves uno de enero del dos mil nueve.

You probably have no idea what I just said. Don't worry though - by the time I'm done, you'll get it.

First, a need to know: the months! Like the days of the week, the names of months are NOT capitalized in Spanish.

January = enero (ehn-ehr-oh)
February = febrero (feh-brehr-oh)
March = marzo (mahr-soh)
April = abril (ah-breel)
May = mayo (mah-joh)
June = junio (hoo-nee-oh)
July = julio (hoo-lee-oh)
August = agosto (ah-goh-stoh)
September = septiembre (sehp-tee-ehm-breh)
October = octubre (ohk-too-breh)
November = noviembre (noh-vee-ehm-breh)
December = diciembre (dee-see-ehm-breh)

To say the date in Spanish, there's a formula to follow.

1.) The first part is always "Hoy es" (pronounced: oy ehs), which means "Today is."
2.) Put the day of the week (A reminder: Monday = lunes, Tuesday = martes, Wednesday = miercoles (accent over first e), Thursay = jueves, Friday = viernes, Saturday = sabado (accent over first a), Sunday = domingo)
3.) Put the date - if it's the third of April, just translate: tres de abril.
4.) End it by putting the year. "Of the year" = "del ano" (MAKE SURE to put a tilde over the n, because if you don't the word changes meaning - and that's a whole different enchilada!). If you want, you can shorten it by just saying "del." "Mil" = "thousand," so "dos mil ocho" = "two thousand eight."

But wait - the new year is coming pretty soon! How do we say "two thousand nine"? Since you replaced "eight" with "nine," just switch "ocho" to "nueve."

Two thousand nine = dos mil nueve.

You can do the same for the other years too, so "two thousand five" = "dos mil cinco"

How would we say "today is Tuesday, September twenty third, two thousand eight"? Just follow the formula . . .

Today is Tuesday September twenty third (23 of September) (of the year) two thousand eight
Hoy es martes veinte y tres de septiembre del ano (tilde over n)/ del dos mil ocho

Hoy es martes veinte y tres de septiembre del dos mil ocho!

Let's try another one: "Today is Wednesday, July fifth, two thousand six."

Today is Wednesday July fifth (5 of July) two thousand six
Hoy es miercoles (accent over first e) cinco de julio del dos mil seis

One more, just for practice: "Today is Thursday, April sixteenth, two thousand nine."

Today is Thursday April sixteenth (16 of April)two thousand nine
Hoy es jueves diez y seis de abril del dos mil nueve

Didn't I say it would make sense when I'm done? Let's take a look at that first sentence again: Hoy es jueves uno de enero del dos mil nueve.

Hoy es jueves uno de enero del dos mil nueve
Today is Thursday (1 of January) January first two thousand nine

Today is Thursday, January first, two thousand nine - that must mean it's New Year! Well, not yet, but almost!

If "hoy es lunes diez y ocho de mayo del dos mil nueve," then what holiday is being celebrated?

-Wicked777

 

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