The Spanish word como (an adverb but also a conjunction) has many different meanings. Let's explore a few examples to learn how to properly use it.
Generally speaking, the adverb como has a comparative meaning. You can use it with the verb ser (to be) to compare things, people, actions, etc. There are different ways in which this como can be used, but it usually translates as "as" or "like."
Nadie como tú me llena
No one fulfills me like you
Caption 18, Michael Stuart - Me Siento Vivo
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Yo tenía cuidado de no pisarlas como tú me enseñaste.
I was careful not to step on them as you taught me.
Caption 33, Guillermina y Candelario - La Isla de las Serpientes
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But the adverb como can also mean “about” and be used to make an estimate, or approximation (which in a way is also a comparison).
For example, to estimate an amount of money:
Que esto ya cuesta como veinticinco soles.
This alone already costs about twenty-five soles.
Caption 41, Cocinas Peruanas - Short Film
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Or to estimate an amount of time:
Estos muslitos se van a tardar como unos quince, veinte minutos.
These little thighs are going to take about fifteen, twenty minutes.
Caption 15, [Bears in the Kitchen] Osos en la cocina - Pollo asiático
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On the other hand, as a conjunction, the word como has even more uses, equally interesting. For now, let's just study the most common ones: como meaning "as" or "since" and como meaning "if."
When the conjunction como is used to establish an antecedent condition it means "as" or "since:"
Como ya les dije,
As I already told you,
Caption 26, Lecciones de guitarra - Con Cristhian
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Y también como sos uruguaya,
And also since you are Uruguayan
Caption 62, Biografía - Natalia Oreiro
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The conjunction como can also be used in a conditional clause that translates as an "if" clause. It's used with the subjunctive, it's not very common, and it's typically used to make threats or prevent people from doing or not doing something:
Como no vengas le digo todo a mamá.
If you don't come I'd tell mom everything.
Como no me hagas caso, lo pasarás mal
if you don't listen to me, there will be trouble
As you can see, this como is more commonly used in the negative form. And, by the way, it's just an alternative to using a si clause (which doesn't need the subjunctive):
Si no vienes le digo todo a mamá.
If you don't come I'll tell mom everything.
Si no me haces caso, lo pasarás mal
if you don't listen to me, there will be trouble
The proper use of the words bien (well) and bueno (good) seems to be specially challenging for English speakers. From a grammatical point of view the difference between these words is quite simple: bueno (good) is an adjective, and bien (well) an adverb. But that doesn’t help much, does it? Especially if you don't have a clear understanding of the function of adjectives and adverbs themselves. And even if you do, people who are really fluent don't usually go around wondering if a word is an adverb or an adjective in order to use it properly.
Is not that grammar isn't helpful, it's just that very often people try to use it as a rigid template that you can superimpose on any given portion of speech to determine its correctness. But trying to grammatically deconstruct a sentence in Spanish, or any language, can be a tricky and confusing exercise, one more suited to linguists than to language learners. Indeed, from a learner's perspective, grammar is more useful if you learn to see it as a set of very basic structures (think of Legos), that you learn how to combine and then use to build basic structures that may eventually be used to build more complex structures and so on. Imagine a foreign language is some kind of alien technology that you want to replicate and master. Would you prefer if you are given the blue print and some of its basic components, or would you rather try to do reverse engineering on it?
For example, "adjectives modify nouns and only nouns" is a much simpler grammar "Lego piece" than "adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs." Right? So maybe we can start with that. The word bueno (good) is an adjective, like bonito (pretty), flaco (skinny), and malo (bad). Add another basic Lego piece such as "in Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify," and you can build:
El perro bonito /The pretty dog and Los perros bonitos /The pretty dogs
El gato flaco / The skinny cat and Los gatos flacos / The skinny cats
El lobo malo / The bad wolf and Los lobos malos / The bad wolves
La niña buena / The good girl and Las niñas buenas / The good girls
A classic example of the proper use of bueno is the expression buenos días:
¡Hola, buenos días! -Joaquín.
Hi, good morning! -Joaquín.
Caption 7, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa
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Now, what about bien (well)? Bien is an adverb, like rápidamente (fast) or mal (badly). Adverbs in Spanish are invariable, which means they have only one form and do not change according to gender or number. The main function of adverbs is to modify verbs:
Yo corro rápidamente / I ran fast
Ella baila mal / She dances badly
Yo lo hago bien / I do it well
Adverbs also modify other adverbs:
Yo corro bastante rápidamente / I ran quite fast
Ella baila muy mal / She dances very badly
Yo lo hago bien temprano / I do it very early (yes, bien can also mean "very")
Adverbs also modify adjectives:
El perro muy bonito / The very pretty dog
El gato bastante flaco / The quite skinny cat
El lobo terriblemente malo / The terribly bad wolf
La niña tan buena / The so very good girl
So, if the adjective bueno can only be used to modify a noun, and bien can only be used to modify a verb, an adjective or another adverb, how can Spanish speakers say things like La sopa está buena (the soup is good) or Yo soy bueno (I'm good) all the time? Aren't estar and ser verbs? They are, but here we have to step up our game and remember that these two verbs are very special in Spanish—they are special Lego pieces with special rules.
You use the verb ser with an adjective to describe something or someone by stating their characteristics as essential qualities that are an intrinsic part of who they are. In a way, you could say that this use of the verb ser +an adjective is redundant because, whether you use ser or not, you are essentially expressing the same thing about the object or person (noun) you are talking about. Another way to put it is that when you use the verb ser (to be) with an adjective you are just talking about a characteristic as if it were an action, in a verbal form. Compare our first set of examples:
El perro bonito / The pretty dog = El perro es bonito / The dog is pretty
El gato flaco / The skinny cat = El gato es flaco / The cat is skinny
El lobo malo / The bad wolf = El lobo es malo / The wolf is bad
Las niñas buenas / The good girls = Las niñas son buenas / The girls are good
But if you use the verb estar (to be) with an adjective you are not talking about a characteristic as if it were an essential trait, you are talking about a characteristic of someone or something but not seeing it as intrinsically related to that someone or something. It may be a trait only present for the moment, for example. English doesn't usually makes this subtle distinction, so we have added some extra information to the translations so you can better grasp the difference of using estar instead or ser:
El perro es bonito / The dog is pretty ≠ El perro está bonito / The dog is pretty (right now but maybe not tomorrow).
El gato es flaco / The cat is skinny ≠ El gato está flaco / The cat is skinny (today, but it could get fat if we feed him).
Now, since estar is not used to express an intrinsic quality, the following examples using estar can't be referring to moral or spiritual qualities (intrinsic by nature) such as being good or being bad, so malo (bad) and bueno (good) here can only refer to something different:
El lobo es malo / The wolf is bad ≠ El lobo está malo / The wolf is sick (or tastes badly).
Las niñas son buenas / The girls are good ≠ Las niñas están buenas / The girls are tasty (Something the Big Bad Wolf could say, for example (think buenas = sabrosas = tasty). As "tasty" in English buenas can also mean "good looking," which is a rather vulgar expression, by the way).
That covers the use of ser and estar plus an adjective like bueno (good). Let's see what happens if you combine these verbs with an adverb, like bien (well). The first good news is that you never use the verb ser with and adverb. So you can never user bien (well) with the verb ser. Never. The following are all incorrect expressions:
Yo soy bien
Nosotros somos tan bien
El carro es bien
You must use instead an adjective combined with the verb ser if you want to talk about ethical or intrinsic qualities:
Yo soy bueno / I am good
Nosotros somos tan buenos / We are so good
El carro es bueno / The car is good (maybe it's a good brand, or a good model, or just a good one for some other reason)
If you want to talk about non-essential, non-intrinsic, non-ethical qualities, you need to use an adjective combined with the verb estar:
Yo estoy bueno / I am tasty (If a good meal could talk, it could say something like that. The expression can also mean "I'm good looking" by extension, see above).
Nosotros estamos tan buenos / We are so tasty (or "good looking," see above).
El carro está bueno / The car is in good condition.
Or, finally, an adverb with the verb estar:
Yo estoy bien / I am well
Nosotros estamos tan bien / We are so well
El carro está bien / The car is Ok (is doing well)
How can we express the idea of "maybe" or "perhaps" in Spanish? Although a lo mejor, quizá(s), and tal vez are often used interchangeably, let's take a look at some of the nuances of each as well as exploring some additional options.
Despite its literal translation ("at the best"), the Spanish expression a lo mejor is used colloquially to express the idea of "perhaps" or "maybe." A lo mejor can fall anywhere in a sentence, and the verb that follows it is always conjugated in the indicative rather than the subjunctive. Let's take a look:
He pensado que como tú tienes más experiencia en estos temas,
I've thought that since you have more experience in these matters,
a lo mejor me puedes ayudar.
maybe you can help me.
Captions 7-8, Raquel y Marisa - Español Para Negocios - Nuestro perfil profesional en la red
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Quién sabe,
Who knows?
a lo mejor a partir de ahora confías un poquito más en ella.
Maybe from now on, you'll trust it a little bit more.
Caption 72, Club de las ideas - Intuición
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Tal vez is more typically (but not always) placed at the beginning of a sentence and can be used with either the indicative or the subjunctive.
Tal vez cure el tiempo las heridas
Perhaps time will cure the wounds
que dejaste en mi vida y que marcaste en mi alma
that you left in my life and you marked on my soul
Captions 20-21, Reik - No desaparecerá
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Y ahora, en tiempos de pandemia,
And now, in this period of pandemic,
tal vez es mejor
perhaps it's better
tenerla tapada para cualquier tipo de contacto con otras personas.
to keep it covered for any type of contact with other people.
Captions 80-82, Ana Carolina - Gérmenes
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In the first example, the verb curar (to heal) has been conjugated in the subjunctive, while in the second passage, ser (to be) is in the indicative. Although the use of either the subjunctive or the indicative in a sentence may or may not affect its translation into English, the subjunctive gives the idea of additional doubt. For example, the substitution of the indicative form cura in the first example would convey greater hope on the part of the speaker about the prospect of time healing his wounds whereas the use of the subjunctive form, sea, in the second example would convey less certainty on Ana Carolina's part.
Quizá(s) also tends to fall at the beginning of a sentence and can be used in either the indicative or subjunctive, also depending upon the degree of doubt. Let's look a couple of examples, with the first one in indicative and the second one in subjunctive:
Quizás esa persona ya sabe
Perhaps that person already knows
que en San Sebastián hay tres playas,
that there are three beaches in San Sebastian,
Captions 80-81, Clase Aula Azul - Información con subjuntivo e indicativo
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Este... y... y quizás me atropelle un carro, ¿verdad?
Um... and... and maybe I could be hit by a car, right?
Caption 13, Seva Vive - 5. La historia se da cuenta
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Y tal vez me atropelle un carro, ¿verdad?And maybe I could be hit by a car, right?Y a lo mejor me atropella un carro, ¿verdad?And maybe I could be hit by a car, right?
Note that while the translations for all three sentences are identical, with the substitution of tal vez, the sentence is otherwise unaltered. In order to employ a lo mejor correctly, on the other hand, the sentence's verb must be changed to indicative.
Yet another Spanish expression, puede ser, can also be used in lieu of quizá(s) and tal vez. While this literally means "it can be," alternative translations include "it could be," "it's possible" and even "perhaps" or "maybe."
Probablemente tengas gripe. Puede ser.
You probably have the flu. It's possible.
Captions 21-22, Ariana - Cita médica
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Alternatively, the construction puede ser que employs the subjunctive to introduce a possibility in a similar way to the English idea of "might":
Hasta puede ser que entonces podamos entender a Joan.
We might even be able to then understand Joan.
Caption 55, Con ánimo de lucro - Cortometraje
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Acaso also means "perhaps" or "maybe" and can be used with either the indicative or the subjunctive. Let's see an example with the verb creer (to think) in the indicative mood:
¿O acaso usted cree que las azafatas somos millonarias?
Or maybe you think that we flight attendants are millionaires?
Caption 43, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 2
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Armed with these possibilities for expressing the idea of "maybe" in Spanish, a lo mejor (perhaps) it's time to say goodbye for the time being. Don't hesitate to contact us with your suggestions and comments.
Solo and sólo... Are you still confused about when to write this word with or without a graphic accent? If you still don't know how to go about it, we have some good news for you: the word solo doesn't need an accent... ever! Although the rule has already been in place for quite a few years, there are many people who are not aware of it.
Before the Real Academia Española (RAE) decided that the word solo didn't need a graphic accent, the old rule used to work like this:
Sólo is an adverb meaning "only," "solely" or "just" — the same as solamente. In fact, sólo and solamente can be used interchangeably. A speaker (or singer) can decide which sounds better in any given sentence.
On the other hand, solo without an accent mark is an adjective meaning "alone," "on one's own" or "sole." Solo describes a lone man or a masculine object--for example, un café solo is "a black coffee". For a woman, the adjective is sola. "¿Estás sola?" (are you alone?) is a simple, direct pick-up line.
Whether you are using solo as an adjective or as an adverb, the word solo doesn't need the graphic accent.
Muy raro que un agente, solo... solo, le caiga a un carro con placas diplomáticas.
Really weird that an agent, alone... alone, drops on a car with diplomatic plates.
Captions 33-34, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 3 - Part 2
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Solo yo sé lo que sufrí
Only I know what I suffered
Caption 2, Alejandra Guzmán - Porque no estás aquí
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That's it for this lesson. Keep in mind this "update" and don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.
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