For all the animal lovers out there, here is a collection of Spanish expressions related to pets and their owners.
The word for pet in Spanish is mascota, yes, similar to the English word "mascot." The only difference is that mascota can be used to talk about an animal kept as a companion (a pet), or to refer to a special person, animal or thing used to symbolize a sports team, company, organization or other group (a mascot). Of course, the word mascota meaning "pet" can also be applied to a person, as in the following example:
...todos eran mucho más viejos que yo.
...they were all much older than me.
Eh... y, como que, yo era como la mascota.
Uh... and, so like, I was like the pet.
Captions 64-65, Carli Muñoz - Niñez
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Now, in English the word "pet" is also a verb that means to stroke an animal affectionately. But in Spanish there is only one verb you can use instead of "to pet," or "to stroke," or even "to pat." That verb is acariciar (to caress). The following example is not about animals, but it's about el alma (the soul), a word that shares with the word animal a common etymological root: the Latin anima.
Acaricia mi alma, vuélvete la luna
Caress my soul, become the moon
Caption 14, Shaila Durcal - Vuélvete Luna
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Let's talk about the distinction between animales domésticos (domestic animals) and animales salvajes (wild animals). When you tame an animal it becomes domesticated or tamed, right? Spanish uses the verbs domesticar (to domesticate), domar (to tame), which come from the Latin domus (house). Sometimes, Spanish also uses the verb dominar (to dominate), which comes from the Latin dominus (the latin word for master or owner, "the lord of the house"). Ah, but if you want to talk about taming a horse, there's a specific word for that: desbravar (to break in, literally "to take out the braveness").
Another very common word is amansar (to make docile, meek). So it's common to hear people saying about a pet that es manso(a) or mansito(a) to indicate that it's gentle, friendly.Un perro que no muerde (a dog that doesn't bite) es mansito!
Uy, buena, Pepino.
Oh, good one, Pepino.
-Es mansito. -Tan bonito el gatito.
-He's tame. -Such a pretty kitty.
Captions 57-58, Kikirikí - Animales
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Talking about bites and dogs, there is a famous saying in Spanish, perro que ladra no muerde,which means, literally, "a barking dog never bites."
Pero perro que ladra no muerde, querida.
But, his bark is worse than his bite, dear [literally, "...the dog that barks doesn't bite"].
Caption 65, Muñeca Brava - 3 Nueva Casa
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It may be a little disrespectful, but some people may use the verb amansar to refer to the action of calming down a person, or even appeasing the gods:
Y tener poderes místicos para amansar las "tulucus".
And having mystical powers to tame the "tulucus".
Caption 26, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso
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What if an animal is not mansito? That means it's fiero (fierce), feroz (ferocious), salvaje (wild), or maybe even feral (feral). A famous one is el lobo feroz, (the Big Bad Wolf) yes, the one that tried to eat Caperucita roja (Little Red Riding Hood) and los tres cerditos (the three little pigs). Can you blame him? Have you ever had un hambre feroz?
Si pones la mesa que no sea para dos,
If you set the table, it shouldn't be for two,
Porque somos como catorce con un hambre feroz
Because we are like fourteen people with a ferocious hunger
Captions 3-4, Mexican Institute of Sound - Alocatel
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One last expression before saying goodbye. It's important to walk your dog everyday, right? Agreed, but never ever ever say something like caminar a tu perro. That makes no sense in Spanish. The correct expression is sacar a pasear a tu perro (to take the dog out for a walk). The Argentinian band Los Pericos (the Parrots) have a song entitled Fácil de engañar (Easy to Be Fooled) in which a former lover is compared to a pet owner:
Me tenías en la jaula, me sacabas a pasear
You had me in a cage, you took me out for walks
Caption 8, Los Pericos - Fácil de Engañar
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By the way, if you are not easily fooled, you probably like the saying that goes:
A otro perro con ese hueso.
Don't try that one on me [literally, "To another dog with that bone"].
Caption 31, Muñeca Brava - 8 Trampas
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That was two last expressions. The thing is, there are so many interesting words about pets and owners! We should revisit the subject again in the future.
Soler is an auxiliary verb, so you will always see it combined with another verb. It's used to indicate that an action is done on a regular basis. The only equivalent expression in English is "used to," which can only refer to the past tense, while the Spanish soler can be conjugated in several tenses. Of course, just as in English, Spanish has many adverbs that can be used to convey the same idea: usualmente ("usually"), regularmente ("regularly"), habitualmente ("habitually"), and so on, but the use of soler is much more common in casual conversation.
When using soler you must remember to always use proper syntax: you have to conjugate soler (the auxiliary verb) and then add the infinitive form of the main verb. English has a similar construction in the past tense (used + infinitive). Let's see some examples right away. And remember: if you see them highlighted in blue and you have an active subscription to Yabla Spanish, you can click on the link to watch the video containing the caption.
Después, suelo* lavarme los dientes en el baño,
After that, I usually brush my teeth in the bathroom,
y después desayuno.
and then have breakfast.
Captions 3-4, El Aula Azul - Actividades Diarias
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[*Suelo happens to be also a noun that means "floor"]
If we were to use an adverb to express the same idea, the construction would be different. Notice how the main reflexive verb lavarse changes because it needs to be conjugated:
Después, usualmente me lavo los dientes en el baño, y después desayuno.;p
After that, I usually brush my teeth in the bathroom, and then have breakfast.
In this example, Xóchitl conjugates the verb soler in the present tense (third person plural: nosotros) and leaves the main verb hacer ("to do") in the infinitive form, as per the rule:
... actividades que solemos hacer, eh, o festejar,
... activities that we usually do, um, or celebrate,
cada mes o cada año.
each month or each year.
Caption 10, Xóchitl - Vida en Monterrey
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But here, the band Pericos is talking about an action in the past, so the verb soler is conjugated accordingly:
Qué gano o qué pierdo yo así solías pensar
What do I gain or what do I lose that's how you used to think
Caption 17, Los Pericos - Fácil de Engañar
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Here is a combo (see, in green, a super literal English translation)
Después de comer, solemos echar la siesta
After eating, we usually take a nap
y mi padre suele ver la televisión.
and my father usually watches TV.
Captions 20-21, El Aula Azul - Actividades Diarias
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It is also quite common to combine the use of soler with an adverb reiterating the same meaning. So don't be too surprised if you see something like this:
Usualmente suelo ir al parque los domingos.
I usually go to the park on Sunday.
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