Expresión del Día – acordar una tregua

March 12, 2010

acordar una tregua – to declare a truce, to agree to a truce
ay-kore-DAHR OO-nah TRAY-gwah

Ejemplo:
Las dos pandillas acordaron una tregua.
The two gangs declared a truce.
The two gangs agreed to a truce.

Abandonaron la huelga tras acordar una tregua de 30 días.
They abandoned the strike after declaring a 30-day truce.

Vea también:  tregua

 
If you’ll read the example sentences carefully, you can learn far more than the Spanish word of phrase that is the subject of the post. Try to make word-for-word comparisons of the Spanish and English sentences, and you will find yourself absorbing additional Spanish vocabulary.

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Palabra del Día – tregua

March 12, 2010

tregua – truce, lull, letup, respite
TRAY-gwah; sustantivo femenino

Ejemplo:
Enviaron un mensaje pidiendo una tregua.
They sent a message requesting a truce.

Los soldados bebieron sin tregua.
The soldiers drank without letup.

Vea también:  acordar una tregua

 
Many Spanish words have multiple meanings and appy in a variety of situations.  The Spanish language has both breadth and depth.

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Expresión del Día – apartar el grano de la paja

March 11, 2010

apartar el grano de la paja – to separate the wheat from the chaff
ah-pahr-TAHR ayl GRAH-noe day lah PAH-hah
Ejemplo:
En este caso, es difícil apartar el grano de la paja.
In this case, it’s difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.
 
This expression exists in both Spanish and English, so although grano means grain, the Spanish-to-English translation [...]

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Palabra del Día – enchufe

March 11, 2010

enchufe – electrical outlet, recepticle
ayn-CHOO-fay; sustantivo masculino
Ejemplo:
Ella quería enchufar la aspiradora, pero no había enchufe.
She wanted to plug in the vacuum cleaner, pero there was no electrical outlet.
Spanish speakers use enchufe and enchufar in everyday speech. Some other related Spanish terms are caja de enchufe, toma, and receptáculo tomacorriente.  All are used to describe an [...]

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Expresión del Día – ser dueño de sí mismo

March 10, 2010

ser dueño de sí mismo – to have self-control
sayr DWAY-nhoe DAY see MEES-moe
Ejemplo:
Ella siempre es dueña de sí misma.
She always has self-control.
Don’s forget to make the gender change to misma when applying the expression in the feminine.
Stay on track with your review of Spanish words and expressions. Adding one Spanish word and one Spanish expression [...]

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Palabra del Día – exhalar

March 10, 2010

exhalar – to exhale
ayk-sah-LAHR; verbo
Ejemplo:
El niño no quiso exhalar para el médico.
The child refused to exhale for the doctor.
Vea también:  exhalar el último suspiro
Follow the links to related Spanish words and phrases.  Reading the example sentences carefully will help you learn the Spanish Word of the Day and perhaps some additional Spanish vocabulary.

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Expresión del Día – exhalar el último suspiro

March 9, 2010

exhalar el último suspiro – to breathe one’s last
ayk-sah-LAHR ayl OOL-tee-moe soos-PEE-roe
Ejemplo:
La anciana exhaló el último suspiro en su propia cama.
The elderly lady breathed her last in her own bed.
Vea también:  estirar la pata;  exhalar
The Spanish word anciana offers a more polite alternative to the harsher vieja.  As in English, word choice in the Spanish [...]

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Palabra del Día – fanfarrón, ona

March 9, 2010

fanfarrón, ona – braggart, boaster, showoff, sword rattler
fahn-fah-RRONE; fahn-fah-RROE-nah; sustantivo
Ejemplo:
Él es no más que un fanfarrón.
He is nothing but a braggart.
 
The Spanish word fanfarrón can be translated into English in various ways.  Many Spanish words are not tied to a single meaning in English.  Likewise, many English words are hard to tie down in Spanish. [...]

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Expresión del Día – hacer (algo) a lo bestia

March 8, 2010

hacer (algo) a lo bestia – to do a bad or sloppy job
ah-SAYR … ah loe BAYSS-teeah
Ejemplo:
Juan hizo su tarea a lo bestia.
John did a sloppy job on his homework.
This Spanish expression is limited in scope to a few countries and seems related to the Brazilian-Portuguese expression fazer besteira, which means to do something foolish [...]

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Palabra del Día – oriundo, da

March 8, 2010

oriundo, da – native, indigenous
oe-ree-OON-doe; adjetivo
Ejemplos:
El árbol del cacao es oriundo de la América tropical.
The cocoa tree is indigenous to tropical America.
Ella es oriunda de Italia.
She is native of Italy.
Some other Spanish words with similar meanings:

originario, ria
Su patrón es originario de Alemania.
His boss is native of Germany.
nativo, va
El canario es nativo de las Islas Canarias.
The [...]

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