Have you ever noticed that there are several types of words that are capitalized in English but not in Spanish? Today's lesson will point out nine such categories where there is a discrepancy in capitalization between English and Spanish.
While the names of the days of the week must be capitalized in English, the same is not so of the days of the week in Spanish, whose first letters are lowercase. Let's take a look:
Voy a una academia de baile los martes y los jueves.
I go to a dance academy on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Caption 15, Ariana Mi Semana
Play Caption
The same can be said for the names of the months in Spanish, which are written in all lowercase letters in contrast to their capitalized English counterparts. This is demonstrated in the following clip:
sobre todo en los meses de diciembre, enero, febrero e incluso en mayo.
especially in the months of December, January, February, and even in May.
Caption 27, Mercado de San Miguel Misael
Play Caption
Although English capitalizes the names of languages, Spanish does not:
Bueno, yo hablo español, inglés y estoy aprendiendo alemán.
Well, I speak Spanish, English, and I'm learning German.
Captions 19-20, Cleer y Lida ¿Qué idiomas hablas?
Play Caption
Words that refer to someone or something's nationality do not start with a capital letter in Spanish as they do in English. Included in this category are both demonyms, or Spanish adjectives of nationality, and Spanish nouns that refer to the inhabitants of a particular nation. Let's see examples of each:
y puedas decir, "Este artista es colombiano, este es un artista brasilero", es decir,
and can say, "This artist is Colombian, this is a Brazilian artist," I mean,
Captions 69-70, Leonardo Rodriguez Sirtori Una vida como pintor - Part 5
Play Caption
Antes de la llegada de los españoles, existían cientos de diferentes culturas.
Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, there were hundreds of different cultures.
Caption 8, Historia mexicana Cultura y la unión de dos mundos
Play Caption
As we see below, this group includes the names of religions, their respective adjectives, and the nouns that describe their adherents.
y que se utilizó para simbolizar el triunfo del cristianismo sobre la fe musulmana.
and was employed as a symbol of the triumph of Christianity over the Muslim faith.
Captions 61-62, Viajando con Fermín Sevilla - Part 2
Play Caption
España recibió más de treinta y cinco mil judíos,
Spain received more than thirty-five thousand Jews,
Caption 27, Víctor en España El Hotel Palace de Barcelona
Play Caption
When preceding a last name and/or addressing a specific person, English words like "mister" or "doctor" must be capitalized. The equivalent titles in Spanish, however, are written in all lowercase letters, as we see here:
Vamos a escuchar a la doctora Consejos y a su paciente Adrián
Let's listen to Doctor Advice and her patient Adrián
Caption 2, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: Por y para
Play Caption
Por supuesto, señora Castaño.
Of course, Ms. Castaño.
Caption 24, Cleer y Lida Recepción de hotel
Play Caption
In English, most of the words of the titles of original compositions like books, films, songs, articles, or works of art are capitalized, with the notable exceptions of words like prepositions and coordinating conjunctions. In Spanish, on the other hand, only the first word of a title is capitalized, for example, the famed novel Cien años de soledad, which is written in English "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Let's see one more:
Para ello, el artista pintó un gran fresco titulado "El juicio final",
To do so, the artist painted a large fresco called "The Last Judgment,"
Caption 32, Aprendiendo con Carlos El microrrelato - Part 4
Play Caption
All of the words of proper nouns for specific geographical place names in English, like the Andes Mountains or Lake Titicaca, must be capitalized. In Spanish, however, the first words of these proper nouns are lowercase, e.g., la cordillera de los Andes and el lago Titicaca. Let's look at more examples:
y es atravesada por el río Cauca.
and is crossed by the Cauca River.
Caption 17, Viajando con Carlos Popayán - Colombia - Part 1
Play Caption
en el océano Pacífico y en el mar Caribe.
in the Pacific Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea.
Caption 46, Instinto de conservación Parque Tayrona - Part 4
Play Caption
Although the first person singular personal pronoun "I" is always written with a capital letter in English, its Spanish equivalent yo is not, as we can see here:
No, pueden llorar, pero yo tengo que trabajar.
No, you can cry, but I have to work.
Caption 9, La Sucursal del Cielo Capítulo 2 - Part 8
Play Caption
That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped to clarify several of the classes of words that should not be capitalized in Spanish, some of which might seem a bit counterintuitive to English speakers. Can you think of any additional cases in which Spanish and English capitalization are different? Feel free to write us with any questions or comments.
Do you know how to say "east" or "southwest" in Spanish? In this lesson, we will learn how to spell and say the names of the four cardinal directions in Spanish as well as the intermediate, or ordinal directions. Let's take a look.
First things first: The cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are known in Spanish as los puntos cardinales. Let's learn the names and pronunciations of the four cardinal directions in Spanish:
En el norte de España.
In the north of Spain.
Caption 48, Aprendiendo con Silvia - Deportes tradicionales canarios
Play Caption
¡Ah! Y en el este lloverá.
Oh! And, in the east, it will rain.
Caption 24, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 5: Ha nacido una estrella
Play Caption
En el sur, por ejemplo, existe la cultura maya.
In the south, for example, there's the Mayan culture.
Caption 13, Hispanoamericanos en Berlín - Manuel y El barrilito
Play Caption
San Pedro está situado en el oeste del canal de entrada a la bahía.
San Pedro is located in the west of the entrance channel to the bay.
Caption 34, Viajando con Fermín - Pasajes (Pasaia)
Play Caption
Now that we know how say the four cardinal directions in Spanish, it is time to find out the words for the four ordinal directions, which are known in Spanish as los puntos ordinales. By the way, because they are located between the cardinal directions, these are also known as las direcciones intercardinales (the intercardinal directions).
En el noreste de México.
In the northeast of Mexico.
Caption 34, Paseando con Karen - Bienvenidos a Parque Fundidora
Play Caption
Eh... Son plantas, eh... la mayoría,
Um... They're plants [that are], um... the majority,
originarias todas del sudeste asiático.
all native to Southeast Asia.
Caption 88, Estepona - Orquídeas y plantas raras
Play Caption
Popayán es una ciudad que está ubicada
Popayan is a city that is located
en el sudoeste de Colombia.
in the southwest of Colombia.
Caption 3, Viajando con Carlos - Popayán - Colombia
Play Caption
Caminaron un rato hacia el noroeste.
They walked northwest for a while.
Caption 8, Pigueldito y Federico - Ordenar
Play Caption
When referring to "southeast" and "southwest," you can also use the terms sureste and suroeste (with the prefix sur-) instead of sudeste and sudoeste. However, the Real Academia Española prefers the variations with the prefix sud-.
That's all for now. We hope you learned something useful today, and don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments.
Are you familiar with the preposition desde in Spanish? In this lesson, we'll learn many of the various ways to use it. Let's take a look.
This is one of the most common uses of desde and includes three subcategories:
El autobús que va desde el aeropuerto a la Plaza de España
The bus that goes from the airport to the Plaza de España
Caption 10, Raquel Oficina de Turismo
Play Caption
desde la Época Prehispánica hasta el siglo veinte.
from the Pre-Hispanic Era to the twentieth century.
Caption 11, Paseando con Karen Monterrey - Museo de Historia Mexicana
Play Caption
Desde que llegué a Misiones, lo único que has hecho es estar encima mío.
Since I arrived at Misiones, all you have done is breathe down my neck.
Caption 12, Yago 6 Mentiras - Part 1
Play Caption
This is another very common use of the Spanish preposition desde. Just like with the previous category, there are three different ways to use it to give a reference point.
Su interior mide, desde la pared interior hasta fuera, diecinueve con cinco metros,
Its inside measures, from the inside wall to the outside, nineteen point five meters,
Captions 22-23, Rosa Los Dólmenes de Antequera
Play Caption
pero desde aquí, desde Hotel Kivir, vemos Triana. Triana es el barrio más conocido de Sevilla.
but from here, from the Hotel Kivir, we see Triana. Triana is the best-known neighborhood in Seville.
Captions 30-31, Sevilla, España Hotel Kivir - Part 1
Play Caption
Los saludo desde Popayán, Colombia.
I greet you from Popayan, Colombia.
Caption 2, Viajando con Carlos Popayán - Colombia - Part 1
Play Caption
One's opinion or point of view can be relayed by combining the preposition desde with terms like punto de vista (point of view), perspectiva (perspective), ángulo (angle), or enfoque (approach).
El arquitecto, eh... desde mi punto de vista, nace.
The architect, um... from my point of view, is born.
Caption 16, Leif El Arquitecto Español y su Arte - Part 1
Play Caption
¿En qué marco describiría usted, desde la perspectiva del gobierno nicaragüense... el trabajo del desminado?
In what framework would you describe, from the perspective of the Nicaraguan government... mine-clearing work?
Captions 34-35, Tierra Envenenada Desminando - Part 3
Play Caption
In rare cases, the preposition desde in Spanish can be used to express something's cause. Let's see an example:
Algo tan absurdo solo se puede decir desde la ignorancia.
Something so absurd can only be said from ignorance.
The Spanish preposition desde can be used with both a and hasta.
Quiero que recorramos juntos esa zona, desde Santa Marta hasta La Arenosa
I want to traverse that area together, from Santa Marta to La Arenosa
Caption 28, Carlos Vives, Shakira La Bicicleta
Play Caption
desde la nota aguda a la nota grave
from the high note to the low note,
Caption 23, Música andina La zampoña
Play Caption
On this note, we've reached the end of this lesson. We hope you learned something new today, and don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments.
French
German
Italian
Chinese
English
English 
Français
Deutsch
Español
Italiano
Português
