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- "¿Qué zapatos te quedan bien?"
71 Comments
The problem is that quedar is a very diverse word. It can be used in many different contexts with many different meanings. It is easily the most complicated and confusing word I've encountered in Spanish. It may be frustrating but with this word the best way to learn it is trial by fire. No definition is going to help much.
Here are some other uses of the word quedar if anyone is interested: http://spanish.about.com/od/usingparticularverbs/qt/using_quedar.htm
When your question word is immediately followed by a noun, you use qué. If the question word is followed by a verb, then you would use "cuál(es)". For example, if this sentence were constructed as "¿Cuáles SON los zapatos que te quedan bien?" instead, then "cuáles" would be the correct choice. Hope this helps!
808
Jeff, Well, if it is incorrect, why would you want it added? I feel like your english sentence is a bit redundant. Something suits you, or does not suit you. the well, is redundant. Just my opinion..
1071
Quedar is in 3rd person plural due to zapatos being the "them" that it refers to. The "te" is the indirect object, not the subject. Zapatos is the subject, and quedan is the verb.
I have noticed that "te quedan bien" (when used with clothing) in some cases is translated both as "fits you" and "fits you well", and on other questions is only translated as "fits you well", i.e. I was marked incorrect for submitting "fits you". It seems like it should be "fits you well" because of the "bien". Would it make sense to say "Los zapatos te quedan" to mean "the shoes fit you"?
I read that even without the "bien" the same idea can still be applied to clothes and (I think) adding mal would mean the opposite. If you think about it it seems like it means that something fits you how it should so saying that something fits you seems to me like it is the same idea as fitting you well.
449
Shoes can fit, fit badly, and fit really well. Something "fitting well" is not redundant. There are degrees as to how well something can fit. You can have an okay fit, or a mind-blowingly awesome, perfect fit. We are talking about size/comfort here, not about something "suiting" a person aesthetically.
You can't use good in this instance because "What shoes fit you good?" would not be proper English.
It is very common to misuse good where well should be used in English. I'll give you some examples.
Wrong: I can sing good.
Right: I can sing well.
Wrong: She performed good.
Right: She performed well.
In any instance like above you always use well and never use good. Remind yourself to put well instead of good in these situations and once you get used to it good will sound terrible in its place.
Why can't you say "What shoes fit you guys well? Ustedes can mean you guys... can't it?
I'll buy the "you guys" for a casual translation of the sentence, but DL is correct with the "which" shoes part. Overall, I think it is an awkward sentence. I cannot think of a situation where one would use this construction very often. Lose sleep over 300 irregular verbs not about a weird little DL sentence, OK, Isenat?
168
Because of the «te» which is replacing «a ti/usted», meaning "to you" (singular).
You could've said that if the sentence had a «les» instead, replacing «a ustedes», meaning "to you" (plural).
Interesting comments. I just want to confirm that quedar is like gustar. We have 'te' because quedar takes an indirect object pronoun. You know how we say with gustar that it means 'the beer is pleasing to my parents'. Does this sentence also deconstruct in a similar way? Just trying to figure it out so I can remember it better.
Quedar is a very versatile verb: http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/quedar
The construction "quedar bien" is a specific construction using "quedar" that means "fits well," so it fits (or suits) me well "Me queda bien...," as in clothing, in this case. This is the form that uses the same sentence structure as "gustar," though I don't think it is a reflexive verb.
The true reflexive form of this verb - "quedarse" - has a completely different meaning of "to stay/keep/take..."
449
Simple. Good is not an adverb, so it cannot modify a verb; the adverb "well" is needed. Many people do of course speak incorrectly, for example, "he played good." This is retarded English spoken be native speakers who suffered somewhere alone the line when they learned their own language.
Knightrider - we all get caught on words we used incorrectly. It's almost like I've had to redo my english grammar to progress. Good is not the correct word here, it's well. See mischijourdi's comments. She explained this quite well. When you are trying to choose between many 'which' is also preferred. But we've all said 'what'.
1071
I can answer my own question from a year ago, if anyone else was also confused by this. "Qué" goes directly before a noun in questions, and "cuál" goes in front of a form of "ser". "Qué" goes directly before a form of "ser" only when the definition of something is being asked. For example: ¿Qué color es esa camisa? -What color is that shirt? vs ¿Quál es el color de esa camisa? -What is the color of that shirt?