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
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Por supuesto, señora Castaño.
Of course, Ms. Castaño.
Caption 24, Cleer y Lida Recepción de hotel
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
Are you familiar with the word entonces in Spanish? While the common Spanish word entonces is often translated with equivalent English words like "then" or "so," the numerous meanings of this word are actually quite nuanced. Let's take a look at several of them.
Like the English word "then," in this usage, the Spanish word entonces could generally be replaced with the English phrase "at that moment" to refer to an occurrence at a specific point in time. Let's see some examples.
Y entonces se escaparon.
And then you guys escaped.
Caption 35, Guillermina y Candelario El mundo de los juguetes perdidos - Part 2
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When talking about the past, it is common to use some of the following expressions, which are usually translated as "at that time" or "back then":
en aquel entonces
por aquel entonces
en ese entonces
por ese entonces
Let's listen to some of these in context:
Lo que vivió Colombia en aquel entonces era realmente aterrador.
What Colombia experienced at that time was really terrifying.
Caption 50, Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar Capítulo 1 - Part 14
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En aquel entonces los niños todavía podían salir solos
Back then children could still go out alone
Caption 2, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 1 - Part 9
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En mi urbanización, junto a la piscina, vive una amiga que por aquel entonces tenía una gata totalmente blanca y con un pelo precioso.
In my housing complex, next to the pool, a female friend lives who back then, had a totally white cat with beautiful fur.
Captions 26-27, Fermín y los gatos Mi gata Poeska
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entonces sabremos que hemos hecho un buen trabajo.
then we'll know that we've done a good job.
Caption 77, Ana Carolina La meditación
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Notably, entonces may be used along with the preposition solo (only) to describe a moment in time as the equivalent of the English expression "only then":
Solo entonces se sabrá quiénes son los mejores.
Only then it will be known who are the best ones.
Caption 76, Región mundo Paso a paso - Part 5
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In this second usage, entonces is placed right after some preposition to refer to a period of time in the past. Let's examine how entonces can be used with a couple of prepositions.
In the following example, we see the preposition de combined with entonces to mean "(from) back then":
Yo me imagino que los artistas de entonces
I imagine that the artists back then
Caption 40, Leonardo Rodriguez Sirtori Una vida como pintor - Part 5
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The preposition desde can be combined with entonces to form the expression desde entonces, or "ever since" in English:
y esa es la razón por la cual resido aquí desde entonces.
and that's the reason I've been living here ever since.
Caption 19, Adriana Mi historia con el café
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Let's explore how the Spanish word entonces can also be used similarly to the English words "then" and "so" with various, more specific meanings.
In this scenario, entonces is used to describe what might happen if something else takes place first.
Si vienes, entonces te invito a comer.
If you come, then I'll treat you to a meal.
Caption 22, Ana Carolina Condicionales
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Eh... No tenía muchos órganos, no estaban desarrollados, porque había tenido poco espacio en el útero de la madre. Entonces, fue un bebé prematuro,
Um... He didn't have a lot of organs, they weren't developed because he had had little space in the mother's womb. So, he was a premature baby,
Captions 46-48, Amaya El burrito Luz - Part 2
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Yo voy a decir unas frases, y... utilizando ustedes, y tú vas a decir la misma frase utilizando vosotros. ¿OK? Entonces comenzamos con la primera frase.
I'm going to say some sentences, and... using "ustedes," and you are going to say the same sentence using "vosotros." OK? So, let's start with the first sentence.
Captions 52-54, Carlos y Xavi Part 2 Ustedes y Vosotros
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¿no es cierto? -No, tampoco es lugar para mí. Entonces ¿por qué vas? Porque estoy loco.
isn't that right? -No, it's not a place for me either. Then, why do you go? Because I'm crazy.
Captions 63-65, Muñeca Brava 47 Esperanzas - Part 1
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In this usage, the word entonces often appears within the expression pues entonces (well then).
"¡Esto está superfrío y de todas formas no sé nadar". "Pues entonces no podemos ir allí, donde comienza el cielo",
"This is super cold, and anyway, I don't know how to swim." "Well then, we can't go there, where the sky begins,"
Captions 40-42, Pigueldito y Federico El cielo
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With this use of the Spanish word entonces, we have reached the end of this lesson. We hope that you now feel more confident about using the word entonces in Spanish, and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
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