Uses of ya - Part 2

The shortest adverb in Spanish, the word ya derives from the Latin iam, which is also the origin of the Portuguese já, French déjà, and Italian già. Iam also originated another Spanish adverb: jamás ("never," iam + magis).

But the use of the word ya in Spanish has evolved beyond its function as an adverb of time meaning “already.” Nowadays, ya can be used as a conjunction, an interjection, a different type of adverb, or even as part of idiomatic phrases. It's actually a very popular word! Let's see a few examples.

First, let's see an example where ya simply means "already":
 

Ya tenemos listo aquí nuestro pollo.

We already have our chicken ready here.

Caption 17, [Bears in the Kitchen] Osos en la cocina - Pollo asiático

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

One interesting usage of the word ya is as a conjunción distributiva (the equivalent in English are correlative conjunctions). The classic way to do so is by repeating the word ya before each option in a given list of items, for example: Ya con alegría, ya con tristeza (whether with happiness, whether with sorrow). However, this is a little bit too poetic for everyday speech, so you would find that people substitute the second ya with a more common conjunction, the disjunctive o (or). For example:

...ya sea en ayunas o luego de haber comido algo.

...whether fasting or after having eaten something.

Caption 12, Los médicos explican - La diabetes

 Play Caption

You may have noticed the use of the verb sea, subjunctive of the verb ser (to be). This combination is very common, so you may want to add ya sea (whether it be) as a single expression in your vocabulary. Take note that sea can be omitted too in Spanish, so you can say: ya en ayunas, o luego de haber comido.

Another common use of ya is when it's combined with the conditional si (if). It may translate as "already" in some cases:
 

Si ya estás instalado en Barcelona...

If you are already settled in Barcelona...

Caption 63, Blanca - Cómo moverse en Barcelona

 Play Caption

Or as "now":
 
Si ya no nos queda nada porque luchar
If now there is nothing left for us to fight for

Or as "anymore":

Si ya no me quieres...
If you don't love me anymore...

Ya meaning "not anymore" is always accompanied by negation, of course. Ya no (“no more,” sometimes also translated as “enough”) is a very common expression too, definitely worth adding to your lexicon.

Los medicamentos caducados o

Expired medications or

que ya no vayas a necesitar...

[ones] that you are not going to need anymore...

Caption 69, 3R - Campaña de reciclaje

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Here's another one, with a little extra (the idiom hacer caso means "to pay attention"):

Lo que pasa es que ya no le hago caso.

The thing is that I don't pay attention to him anymore.

Caption 50, Guillermina y Candelario - El parque de diversiones

 Play Caption

The use of the interrogative pronouns qué (what) and cuál (which) in Spanish can sometimes be confusing for English speakers. There are certain rules about the proper use of these words, but, as usual, sometimes grammar doesn't quite catch up with how things work in the real world.

Witht that being said, our best advice is always to listen more and practice more. So let's see some examples of how questions with qué (what) and cuál (which) are used in real context!

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Cuál vs Qué: The Choice Factor

Generally speaking, we can say that cuál (which) is used to ask about the identity of a person or a thing in a group. Cuál is a question about choice. The pronoun qué is for questions about identity as well, but it's used in direct questions rather than in ones that involve making a choice. Here's an example where the question cuál (which) is used before a verb:

¿Pero cuál es el peor trabajo?

But which is the worst job?

Caption 40, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa

 Play Caption

It would be really odd to hear someone saying ¿Qué es el mejor trabajo? It's rare, but possible, because making this substitution alters the meaning of the question completely. It's easier to understand the distinction if we compare what kind of answer these two questions would likely get:

¿Pero cuál es el peor trabajo? / But which is the worst job?
- El peor trabajo es el de recogedor de basura. / The worst job is that of a garbage hauler.

¿Pero qué es el peor trabajo? / But what is the worst job?
-El peor trabajo es el menos deseable. / The worst job is the least desirable.

Now, let's check the following example. Here cuál is used before a noun:
 

¿Pero cuál juego les gusta más?

But which attraction do you like the most?

Caption 36, Guillermina y Candelario - El parque de diversiones

 Play Caption

This is a great example, because when used before a noun, cuál is equivalent to qué. So the following is also correct:

¿Pero qué juego les gusta más?
But which attraction do you like the most?

We believe it's actually better to see it the other way around: sometimes qué (what) is also used to ask about choices. It happens in English as well, right?
 

¿Qué color te gustaría?

What color would you like?

Caption 50, Raquel y Marisa - Agente del concesionario

 Play Caption

But most of the time it's just not right to use qué to ask about choices. Let's see an interesting phenomenon. In Spanish, you can use the preposition de (of) to introduce a group of things from which to pick a choice. And you can use cuál (which) before this preposition:

¿Cuál de esos países te gustó más?

Which one of those countries did you like most?

Caption 86, Cleer - Hobbies

 Play Caption

You can also use qué (what) before de (of), but then you wouldn't be asking someone to pick a favorite country from a list of countries (the ones the other person visited), you would be asking something else: 

¿Qué de esos países te gusto más? 
What [aspect] of those countries did you like the most?

It's very useful to imagine possible answers to both questions:

¿Cuál de esos países te gustó más? / Which one of those countries did you like most?
- Italia y Francia. / Italy and France.

¿Qué de esos países te gustó más? / What aspect of those countries did you like most?
- Su rica cultura y deliciosa comida. / Their rich culture and delicious food. 

But, if you place the preposition de (of) before and not after qué or cuál, you can again use them as equivalents! Why? Because now they are both right before a noun.

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

¿De qué sabor quieres? = ¿De cuál sabor quieres?
What flavor do you want? = Which flavor do you want?

We'll continue to explore the use of cuál (which) and qué (what) in future lessons. 

Combining Parts of Speech - Part 1

Combining Parts of Speech - Part 2

Combining Parts of Speech - Part 4

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Let's continue studying phrases that combine prepositions, articles, and pronouns, since these are always a source of confusion for many Spanish learners. One of the main functions of this type of phrase is to connect simple sentences to transform them into more complex utterances, thus allowing a speaker to participate in real conversations. Take a look at Part 1 of the series here and Part 2 here.
 
Today, we'll focus on the use of the pronoun cual (plural cuales), which should not be mixed up with the interrogative adjective cuál (plural cuáles) that modifies and accompanies a noun, as in the following example:
 

¿Pero cuál juego les gusta más?

But which attraction do you like the most?

Caption 36, Guillermina y Candelario - El parque de diversiones

 Play Caption

Or with the interrogative pronoun cuál (plural cuáles) that takes the place of a noun. In the following example, when having a conversation about cars, someone uses it to ask:
 

¿Cuál te gusta a ti?

Which one do you like?

Caption 13, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos

 Play Caption

The focus of our lesson today, the pronoun cual/cuales (without the accent mark) is not used to ask questions. Rather, it's used in fixed phrases (called locusiones in Spanish) that usually involve the combination of articles, prepositions, and other pronouns. In this case, the core is always a definite article + cual: el cual, la cual, lo cual, for the singular, and los cuales, las cuales, los cuales, for the plural. Other parts of speech can then be added to that: prepositions before, pronouns after. Let's see an example using the preposition en (on, in) and the personal pronoun nos:
 

Y el segundo tiene que ver con el lugar

And the second one has to do with the place

en el cual nos encontramos.

in which we are located.

Caption 35, Carlos explica - Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Conceptos básicos

 Play Caption

 
Here's an example with the preposition por (for). These are the words of a Mexican politician. We've transcribed a big chunk of what he says so you can see the phrase in context:
 

Yo sé que este país que me ha tocado conocer de cerca, palparlo de cerca...

I know that this country that I've had the fortune to know closely, to sense it closely...

sentirlo muy, muy profundamente y por el cual tengo una enorme pasión...

to feel it very, very deeply and for which I have an enormous passion...

Captions 2-3, Felipe Calderón - Publicidad

 Play Caption

Here's another long example using the plural feminine form las cuales and the preposition con (with):

Básicamente este era un juguete que era un amplificador,

Basically this was a toy that was an amplifier,

con algunas pistas,

with some tracks,

con las cuales los niños juegan a cantar, ¿no?

that kids sing along with, right?

Captions 62-63, Lo que no sabías - Arte electrónico

 Play Caption

Now an example using the preposition de (for) and the neutral form lo cual:
 

Es básicamente lo mismo que hicimos

It's basically the same thing we did

en el laboratorio pero a escala industrial,

in the laboratory but on an industrial scale,

de lo cual están encargados otros colegas.

which other colleagues are in charge of.

Captions 61-62, Una Historia de Café - La Catación

 Play Caption

You can find many other combinations in our catalog of videos, with other prepositions and pronouns, or without them. Here's just one example with the preposition de (of) and the pronoun me:
 

De lo cual me siento muy orgulloso.

I'm very proud of that [of which I'm very proud].

Caption 41, Escuela Don Quijote - Jesús Baz

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Something important to note is that it's possible to substitute the pronoun cual with the pronoun que. This is especially true in colloquial Spanish, though considered less correct in formal or written speech. Take the first example above, el lugar en el cual nos encontramos: people also say el lugar en el que nos encontramos. The same substitution can be made with all the other subsequent examples.