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shoe

May 14, 2006, 6:49 AM

Post #1 of 7 (8177 views)

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Only/Glasses

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In another post a poster used the Spanish word único. This reminded me of one of my problems and that is, when to use the following?

único
solo
solamente

As far as I can figure out they all mean only in English. Certainly there is a proper use but I cannot figure it out.

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I also have the same problem with:

antiojos
lentes
gafas

They all mean glasses/eyeglasses as far as I can tell.

cya,
shoe

Nothing is intrinsically good or evil, but its manner of usage may make it so.
-St. Thomas Aquinas

(This post was edited by shoe on May 14, 2006, 7:14 AM)

quevedo

May 14, 2006, 8:46 AM

Post #2 of 7 (8162 views)

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Re: [shoe] Glasses

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Anteojos, gafas y lentes son sinónimos:

anteojo.
(De antojo, con recomposición etimológica).

4. m. pl. Gafas o lentes.

Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados

You may use the three words indistinctly.

Saludos dominicales,

Quevedo

mariejosee

May 14, 2006, 8:55 AM

Post #3 of 7 (8161 views)

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Re: [shoe] Only/Glasses

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It's in the way you use them:

único: alone, only; single, sole; unique,
la única persona... the only person...
lo único es que ... the thing is...
es lo único que quiero... it's all I want.
es un actor único... he's a unique actor

sólo (adverb): only, just
sólo vendrá David... only David is coming
sólo quiero café... I just want coffee

solo (adjective): alone, on one's own, by oneself
vive solo... he lives alone...
me siento sola... I feel lonely...
se apaga solo... it switches itself off automatically...

solamente: (adverbio de modo De un solo modo, en una sola cosa, o sin otra cosa): only, just, solely, alone
vino solamente él... only he came...
solamente quiero que me escuches... I just want you to listen to me...

Now anteojos, lentes y gafas are mostly synonyms, I've heard more gafas from Spanish people than Mexicans and lentes also means lens as in contact lens: lentes de contacto

I hope it helps...

************************************************************
As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.
"Henry David Thoreau"

quevedo

May 14, 2006, 3:10 PM

Post #4 of 7 (8141 views)

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Re: [shoe] Solo, sólo y solamente

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Solamente is an adverb, complementing a verb:

A distinguir me paro las voces de los ecos,
y escucho solamente, entre las voces, una.
Antonio Machado.

Solo is an adjective, complementing a noun:

Quien habla solo espera hablar a Dios un día.
Antonio Machado.

Sólo, accented, is the same as solamente:

Sólo las virtudes producen en los pueblos un bienestar constante y serio.
José Martí.

The special accent, acento diacrítico, serves here to distinguish solo, adjective, from sólo [solamente], adverb.

Saludos diacríticos,

Quevedo

quevedo

May 14, 2006, 3:12 PM

Post #5 of 7 (8140 views)

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Re: [shoe] Único

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Unique, the only one.

Saludos y gracias a María José por su excelente respuesta,

Quevedo

davesteffes

May 15, 2006, 10:26 AM

Post #6 of 7 (8116 views)

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Re: [quevedo] Único

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Unique in English means "the only one", "one of a kind". But even educated people and newscaster frequently say things such as "most uniqe", or "very unique". Which makes no sense. I assume that usage in Spanish would be the same, with no modifiers allowed if it is unique.

quevedo

May 15, 2006, 12:20 PM

Post #7 of 7 (8105 views)

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Re: [davesteffes] Único

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Exacto.

Saludos,

Quevedo