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sioux4noff

Dec 3, 2010, 8:28 AM

Post #1 of 11 (13086 views)

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Just wondering...

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How would you convey the idea of wondering about something?
I wonder where that road goes?, I wonder whether it will rain? I wonder why he did that?
Just asking - where does that road go doesn't convey the same meaning.
I was discussing this with 2 different people the other day. One, an American wo has lived in Mexico for quite a while and speaks Spanish well, and the other, a 20 year old Mexican man who grew up in the US and has been back in Mexico about a year.
Neither of them could come up with a word for "to wonder". The American woman said (partially tongue in cheek) that there IS no word for it as the vast majority of Mexicans do not wonder about anything. "I don't beleive there is a more incurious lot of folks anywhere" she said. My albiet very limited experience does tend to agree that curiosity is not highly valued here.

Might it be "preguntarse"?


(This post was edited by sioux4noff on Dec 3, 2010, 8:29 AM)

Casa

Dec 3, 2010, 9:22 AM

Post #2 of 11 (13079 views)

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Re: [sioux4noff] Just wondering...

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yes I wonder would be me pregunto so

I wonder where that road goes would be Me pregunto a dónde va ese camino

raferguson


Dec 3, 2010, 10:52 AM

Post #3 of 11 (13070 views)

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Re: [sioux4noff] Just wondering...

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Estoy pensando en........

I am thinking about.........

or perhaps, "Estoy pensando. ¿A donde va el camino?"

"Estoy pensando. ¿Por que Jose esta aqui?"

Pensando introduces the idea that this is not a simple question, or at least not a simple question in your mind.

Wonder is a funny word, because it can mean that you are so surprised that your mouth drops open, or more just curious about something.

I would like to see what the experts say.

Richard


http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

Maesonna

Dec 3, 2010, 12:57 PM

Post #4 of 11 (13058 views)

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Re: [sioux4noff] Just wondering...

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As mentioned above, one way to express wondering is preguntarse (to ask oneself).

But a common way to express the idea of wondering is by using verb tenses, such as the future:

Tocan a la puerta. ¿Quién será?
(Literally):
[unexpressed subject] knocking at the door. Who will it be?
(But what this actually means is:)
Someone’s knocking at the door. I wonder who it is.

Here are some explanations about this use of verb tenses to express wondering or speculation:
http://spanish.about.com/...btenses/a/wonder.htm
-in the present using the future
-in the past using conditional

You can find more sites discussing this via this search.

mazbook1


Dec 3, 2010, 9:49 PM

Post #5 of 11 (13037 views)

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Re: [Maesonna] Just wondering...

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Maesonna is correct, but the subjunctive conjugations may be even more common for this, as they nearly always introduce the idea of uncertainty when used. Unfortunately, except for you rare folks that can learn foreign languages easily, most English speakers really fall flat when trying to learn how to properly use the subjunctive in normal conversation. I can certainly recognize it (and usually understand it) but use it myself? Hopeless!

In my opinion, preguntarse used in the subjunctive, me pregunte, would be better than me pregunto. But that is just an opinion, NOT a learned discourse on the subject.


(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Dec 3, 2010, 10:06 PM)

mevale

Dec 4, 2010, 8:48 AM

Post #6 of 11 (13015 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] Just wondering...

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In Reply To
Maesonna is correct, but the subjunctive conjugations may be even more common for this, as they nearly always introduce the idea of uncertainty when used. Unfortunately, except for you rare folks that can learn foreign languages easily, most English speakers really fall flat when trying to learn how to properly use the subjunctive in normal conversation. I can certainly recognize it (and usually understand it) but use it myself? Hopeless!

In my opinion, preguntarse used in the subjunctive, me pregunte, would be better than me pregunto. But that is just an opinion, NOT a learned discourse on the subject.

Sorry Mazbook1. First of all, you don't use the subjunctive in the main clause, you use it in the secondary or subordinate clause if the main clause triggers it. Secondly, "me pregunto" isn't followed by the subjunctive.http://spanishplus.tripod.com/...sWithSubjunctive.htm

"Dudo que Juan tenga el dinero" never "Dude que Juan......"
"Me alegra de que estés aquí" never "Me alegre de que....."
"Me pregunto cuándo llegarán" not "Me pregunte...."

The above link explains it quite well.

mazbook1


Dec 4, 2010, 9:02 AM

Post #7 of 11 (13011 views)

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Re: [mevale] Just wondering...

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Mevale, You are undoubtedly totally correct. Using the subjunctive is still (after all these years) something that baffles me. Thank you for the correction.

Bennie García

Dec 4, 2010, 7:28 PM

Post #8 of 11 (12992 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Just wondering...

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Estoy pensando en........

I am thinking about.........

or perhaps, "Estoy pensando. ¿A donde va el camino?"

"Estoy pensando. ¿Por que Jose esta aqui?"

You may want to change the tense. In certain instances "estaba pensando" can be used for "I was wondering" which might possibly be a more common way to express the same thought in Spanish.

Estaba pensando a donde iría este camino

surjo666

May 6, 2011, 1:49 AM

Post #9 of 11 (11890 views)

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Re: [sioux4noff] Just wondering...

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This is great! I've been taking Spanish lessons lately and I didn't think about it that way... This post and all the replies helped me a lot in order to better understand the Spanish language.

blogs

Feb 24, 2012, 7:59 AM

Post #10 of 11 (9909 views)

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Re: [sioux4noff] Just wondering...

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Wonder is a funny word, because it can mean that you are so surprised that your mouth drops open, or more just curious about something.

zaragemca

Feb 29, 2012, 12:26 PM

Post #11 of 11 (9782 views)

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Re: [blogs] Just wondering...

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Greetings. Bennie Garcia is correct . The situation is that, ( as always happen in Spanish), the forms for use, (depending what is the country), are more extensive. The use for 'wonder' in Spanish could be express, with the verbal use of the words, pensar, querer, gustar, like; 'estoy pensando a donde', 'quiero saber a donde'. 'me gustaria saber a donde'. The espression, (a donde), could be interchange for, ( en donde), ( en que parte), etc. It is also correct the Past Tense, like, ( me hubiera gustado saber), ( hubiera querido saber). As you could see, Spanish is pretty extensive, and there are different forms depending which is the country. Gerry Zaragemca
International Club of Percussionists

(This post was edited by zaragemca on Feb 29, 2012, 12:47 PM)
 
 
 
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