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- Topic: Spanish >
- "Tú eres una mujer."
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Tu without an accent refers to the possessive - it means "your". Tú with an accent refers to the pronoun - it means "you".
So there is no difference in the pronunciation?We have to figure it out based on the context?
Yes, just like "its" (belongs to it), and "it's" (it is) in English. Same letters, same pronunciation, but two words, two meanings, differentiated only by a little mark.
Stanclave, tu, without accent is always followed by a name: tu perro, tu corazón. Tú with accent is usually followed by a verb: tú comes, tú hablas.
Tú and usted both translate to "you" in English.
Tú is called the familiar form of address. It is used for addressing peers, family (in most but not all locations), people who are younger than you, pets, and God.
Usted is used for formal address. At home, my kid calls me tú, but in the classroom, he calls me usted.
They are both different conjugations of the verb ser (to be). Eres is used with tú (the familiar version of "you"), and es is used with él/ella/usted (he/she/you-formal).
Strictly a question of personal preference. How we decide to handle optional constructions like this is one of those little things that gives us all our own distinct voice.
For the same reason we don't say "You is", or "She are". "Eres" is the form of the verb that goes with "tú".
In Spanish, nouns and adjectives have gender. The gender is attached to the word itself, and has nothing to do with sex. "Un" is the masculine form, and "una" is the feminine form. Since the nouns rule Spanish, you have to match the gender of the adjectives to the noun. These are adjectives, so you choose "un" for a masculine noun and "una" for a feminine noun.
Interestingly enough, its English equivalent is the adjective that changes its spelling to agree with the noun it modifies. ("A" most of the time, but it is spelled "an" when it modifies a noun that starts with a vowel sound.)
Just like "yo", "tú" is optional, and for the same reason. How we decide to handle optional constructions like this is one of those little things that gives us all our own distinct voice.
ú = alt+63 on a PC and option+e, u on a Mac. On the phone you can hold the u key until the accented options appear.
"Erar" isn't a Spanish word. Maybe you are thinking of estar. Both estar and ser translate as "to be" (am, are, is) in English. In Spanish they are used under different circumstances. Think of estar as more for temporary conditions and location, while ser is used more to deal with characteristics. Remember this jingle -- How you feel and where you are, Always use the verb estar.
"Erar", do you mean estar? Both estar and ser translate as "to be" (am, are, is) in English. In Spanish they are used under different circumstances. Think of estar as more for temporary conditions and location, while ser is used more to deal with characteristics. Remember this jingle -- How you feel and where you are, Always use the verb estar.
Excellent explanation! Thank you for the memorable jingle, I find that those kind of memory devices really stick in my mind.
I wrote women instead of woman, and I feel it should still be counted correct.
Actually, in English women means more than one adult female, and woman means only one adult female. Number affects more words in Spanish than perhaps it does in your language, but all of those words are singular in the original sentence, so you can see how a good English translation needs to use a singular word, too.
