In this lesson, we will talk about the Spanish preposition sin, which usually translates to "without" in English. In the following lines, we will explore the various ways to use sin, providing different examples to illustrate its use in different contexts. Get ready!
Like the English preposition "without," the primary function of the Spanish preposition sin is to indicate the absence or lack of something. Let's take a look:
en la camioneta, una camioneta blanca sin, este, sin ventanas.
in a van, a white van without, um, without windows.
Caption 32, Amigos D.F. El secuestrar
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Y así acaba nuestro carnaval y la gente sin dinero pero contenta.
And that's how our carnival ends, and people [are left] without money but happy.
Captions 82-83, Cleer y Lida El Carnaval de Barranquilla - Part 2
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Of course, an alternative translation for sin in this second example would be "with no money," which conveys the same idea.
Note that, when used to talk about a lack of something, the preposition sin is the direct opposite of the preposition con. Let's see an example of each with the same noun:
Entonces, se recomienda, todas las mañanas, comer la mitad de una toronja o un pomelo; sin azúcar, no hagan trampa.
So, it's recommended, every morning, to eat half a grapefruit or a "pomelo;" without sugar, don't cheat.
Captions 67-69, Otavalo Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia
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Es una bebida refrescante que se pone jugo de limón con azúcar y agua.
It's a refreshing drink in which one puts lemon juice with sugar and water.
Caption 24, Otavalo Julia nos muestra las verduras
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In certain cases, sin can convey opposition or contradiction between two elements. Let's take a look:
Sin embargo, muchas veces tenemos complementos que hacen las veces de adjetivo sin ser adjetivos necesariamente:
However, we often have complements that function as adjectives without necessarily being adjectives:
Captions 50-52, Ana Carolina El uso correcto de los adjetivos
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The preposition sin can also be used to talk about something that has not occurred during a specific period of time. Let's see this usage in action:
Cuéntame ¿qué ha pasado en estos siete años sin vernos? -Ay...
Tell me what has happened in these seven years without seeing each other? -Oh...
Caption 10, El reencuentro Las amigas hablan del trabajo y el amor.
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A more colloquial way to express this in English might be "in these seven years we didn't see each other."
When used after the adverb no, the preposition sin helps to reinforce a message or emphasize something. Let's look at the following video clip:
Me despido de todos, no sin antes recordarles que estén pendiente[s] de nuestro siguiente video.
I'll say goodbye to everyone, not without first reminding you to be on the lookout for our next video.
Captions 32-33, Manos a la obra Separadores de libros: Pikachu
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When followed by an infinitive verb, the preposition sin can additionally be used to give orders! Let's see one last example:
¡Niños, todos a la cama y sin protestar!
Children, all to bed and without protest!
As you can see, the preposition sin allows for the expression of absence, opposition, and other related concepts. We encourage you to practice using it in different ways to solidify your understanding of this versatile preposition, and don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments.
Are you familiar with the Spanish preposition contra? In most cases, the Spanish preposition contra can be translated as "against" and functions very similarly to many uses of its English counterpart. Occasionally, however, this Spanish preposition can be used to depict situations in which a different English preposition could be utilized. Let's explore some uses and nuances of this Spanish preposition.
The first meaning of the Spanish preposition contra refers to the opposition of two or more things, in which case it is typically translated as "against." Let's take a look at a couple of examples that describe entities facing off "against" one another:
una batalla ocurrida en mil setecientos dos que enfrentó a ingleses y holandeses contra españoles y franceses,
a battle that took place in seventeen oh two, which pitted the English and Dutch against the Spanish and French,
Captions 56-57, Adrián en Galicia Vigo
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¿Cómo ves el Mundial? ¿Cómo ves esto? -Yo lo veo que vamos a ser España contra Argentina.
How do you see the World Cup? How do you see this? -I see it as we're going to be Spain against Argentina.
Captions 55-56, Víctor en España El Mundial de Catar 2022 - Part 2
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Similarly, the Spanish preposition contra can reference the literal or figurative fight "against" something specific, such as a disease or cause:
pero la lucha contra el narcotráfico continúa
but the fight against narco-trafficking continues,
Caption 41, Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar Capítulo 1 - Part 11
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Busco un remedio contra el dolor de cabeza.
I'm looking for some headache medicine.
Note that in this last example, while the word "contra" implies combatting pain, it is not explicitly translated into English.
Like the English word "against," the Spanish preposition contra can indicate a sentiment of disagreement, disapproval, or opposition, for example, to a particular cause, notion, or person. Let's examine some examples of this meaning of contra:
¡Y contra eso estamos!
And we're against that!
Caption 58, Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar Capítulo 1 - Part 13
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In this context, the word contra often appears within the construction en contra de, which means "against" or "in opposition to":
Los diferentes sistemas o soluciones constructivas, eh... No estoy a favor o en contra de ninguno.
The different systems or constructive solutions, um... I'm not in favor of or against any one.
Captions 7-8, Leif El Arquitecto Español y su Arte - Part 2
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This third use of the Spanish preposition contra denotes the direction of a movement "towards" something or someone. Although the word "against" can sometimes act as an English equivalent of this usage, in other cases, different English prepositions may be more common translations. For example, if you said "Reboté mi pelota contra la pared," a common translation would be "I bounced my ball off the wall." Let's see a few more examples:
El coche chocó contra la pared
The car crashed into the wall
Bochica lanzó su báculo contra la montaña,
Bochica threw his staff at the mountain,
Caption 51, Aprendiendo con Carlos América precolombina - El mito de Bochica
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se percuten contra el piso. Otras veces, esos instrumentos se percuten... madera contra madera.
are struck against the floor. Other times, those instruments are struck... reed to reed.
Captions 29-31, Sonido Babel Los quitiplás
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This meaning of the Spanish preposition contra typically describes things that are leaning "on" or "(up) against" something else, or facing it, as in the following examples:
El niño apoyó su patinete contra la pared.
The child leaned his scooter on/against the wall.
Arrimaron los tablones contra el muro.
They put the boards up against the wall.
In common expressions like "entrega contra reembolso" (delivery on/upon payment) or "pago contra entrega" (payment on/upon receipt), the Spanish preposition contra conveys that one thing happens in exchange for another and/or cannot happen until something else has occurred:
Recibirán el dinero contra entrega de la factura.
You'll receive the money when you submit the invoice.
Interestingly, the securities industry uses a similar term, versus, in expressions like Delivery Versus Payment (DVP) to say that payment must take place in order for the delivery to happen. However, most of the time, the English words "on," "upon," or "when" convey this notion.
That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has clarified for you the different uses of the Spanish preposition contra. Can you think of any additional examples and/or their English translations? We'd love for you to write us with you insights and questions.
To begin this lesson, let's take a look at a caption in a Yabla video that recently baffled one our subscribers:
Obviamente, la comunicación es la esencia de este tipo de trabajos.
Obviously, communication is the essence of this type of job.
Caption 40, Negocios - La solicitud de empleo
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Spanish sentences such as this one involving "tipo de" ["type" or "types of"] tend to confuse English speakers. After all, the literal translation of this sentence would read, "Obviously, communication is the essence of this type of jobs," which doesn’t work in English since “this” is singular and “jobs” is plural. In the vast majority of similar constructions in English involving countable nouns (nouns like "leaf/leaves," "cookie/cookies," etc. that can be physically counted), there must be singular/singular or plural/plural agreement, leaving one with the choice of either "this type of job" or "these types of jobs."
However, this is not the case in Spanish since singular with plural is the most common construction, or occasionally singular with singular in the case of a single noun. Let’s look at some examples of each of these cases:
Si a todo esto añadimos otro tipo de problemas medio ambientales.
If to all this we add another kind of environmental problem.
Caption 16, 3R - Campaña de reciclaje
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Yo sí tengo la esperanza que se reduzc'... se reduzcan este tipo de eventos, ¿no?
I do have the hope that these types of occurrences will be red'... will be reduced, right?
Caption 57, Amigos D.F. - El secuestrar
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¿Qué tipo de habitación desea?
What kind of room would you like?
Caption 10, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 1
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Note that in the case above, habitación is considered a single noun since the gentleman being addressed is only looking for one room; hence the singular with singular construction.
In both Spanish and English, uncountable nouns (nouns like "water," "coffee," "love," etc. that cannot be counted) go in singular with tipo de (or "type(s)" or "kind(s)") of as follows:
Y digamos que conforme se va fabricando ese tipo de líquido,
And let's say that just as that type of liquid is being produced,
Caption 92, Animales en familia - La operación de Yaki
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En ellos, recibió todo tipo de apoyo de sus simpatizantes.
In them, he got all kinds of support from his followers.
Caption 35, Andrés Manuel López Obrador - Publicidad de Obrador
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To add further confusion for English speakers (sorry!), in most such cases with "partitive" (referring to part of a whole) constructions like "tipo de," the verb can be conjugated in either singular or plural! Let's take a look at a couple of examples:
En cuanto al tipo de... trabajos que me gusta ver.
In terms of the types of... projects that I like to see.
Caption 22, Álvaro - Arquitecto Español en Londres
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Note that the verb gustar is conjugated in first person in accordance with the singular noun el tipo. However, without changing the translation, it would be perfectly acceptable to instead conjugate gustar in accordance with the plural trabajos:
En cuanto al tipo de... trabajos que me gustan ver.
In terms of the types of... projects that I like to see.
Let's look at one more example:
Además, en la conjugación de los verbos,
Also, in the conjugation of verbs,
este tipo de sufijos nos indican.
these types of suffixes tell us.
Captions 35-36, Carlos explica - Diminutivos y Aumentativos Cap 1: Los sufijos
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While indicar is conjugated in accordace with the plural noun sufijos, it could alternatively be conjugated in accordance with the singular noun tipo:
Además, en la conjugación de los verbos,
Also, in the conjugation of verbs,
este tipo de sufijos nos indica.
these types of suffixes tell us.
Finally, it is worth noting that, in the cases of particular Spanish linking verbs like ser (to be), estar (to be), or parecer (to seem), the verb is nearly always conjugated in plural when followed by a subject complement (most simply defined as an "attribute"), as follows:
Este tipo de bicicletas están pensadas
This type of bicycle is planned
para desplazamientos cortos.
for short distances.
Captions 5-6, Raquel - Alquilar una bicicleta
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To conclude, although we have focused on tipo de for the purpose of this lesson, other "partitive constructions" like el resto de (the rest of), la mayor parte de (most of), la mayoría de (most of), etc. function the same way.
We hope you've enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to leave us your comments and suggestions.
The word lo can either be used as a neuter article, or as a pronoun. In this lesson we will focus on its use as an article.
Neuter articles are used to express abstract ideas or give extra emphasis to a certain adjective. As a neuter article, lo is the easiest of all the articles as there is only one form: lo. It can be placed in front of just about any adjective that expresses an abstraction or a quality (or extreme degree of quantity), something that's not a concrete object or person.
Here are some phrases that take lo before different types of adjectives:
lo bueno = "the good part, what's good"
lo fácil = "the easy part, what's easy"
lo mío = "(that which is) mine"
lo nuestro = "(that which is) ours"
Lo + adjective can be translated in English as "the" + adjective + the word "thing" or "part":
Y pues, es lo malo de vivir en un país así.
And well, it's the bad thing about living in a country like this.
Caption 68, Amigos D.F. - El secuestrar
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Eso es lo bonito de la gastronomía.
That is the nice thing about gastronomy.
Caption 29, Cómetelo - Crema de brócoli
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In fact, lo + adjective generates the syntactic equivalent of a noun phrase. That's why it's also common to translate it as "what is + adjective." In the previous examples, we would have:
Y pues, es lo malo de vivir en un país así / And well, it's what is bad about living in a country like this.
Eso es lo bonito de la gastronomía / That's what is nice about gastronomy.
The use of lo before a relative clause has a similar effect:
Hay gente que rectifica lo que dice
There are people who correct what they say
Caption 39, Calle 13 - No hay nadie como tú
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Lucio, tengo que contarte que por lo que me adelantó Morena...
Lucio, I have to tell you that from what Morena told me in advance...
Caption 57, Yago - 7 Encuentros - Part 14
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In fact, lo can often be taken to mean roughly la cosa or las cosas:
Hay gente que rectifica lo que dice. → There are people who correct what they say.
Hay gente que rectifica (las cosas) que dice. → There are people who correct (the things) they say.
...por lo que me adelantó Morena. → ...from what Morena told me.
...por (las cosas) que me adelantó Morena. → ...from (the things) that Morena told me.
By the way, lo can be used before a series of adjetives too:
Pero encontrar lo bueno, bonito y barato
But finding the good, [the] nice and [the] cheap
a veces es muy complicado.
is sometimes very complicated.
Captions 2-3, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos
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Of course, in order to help our subscribers with their learning process, we have made the translation here as parallel as possible. But you already know what would make a more natural translation, right?
→ But finding what's good, nice, and cheap is sometimes complicated.
→ But finding the good, nice, and cheap things is sometimes complicated.
There is yet one more use of lo as a neuter article and it's rather interesting. Lo is used to express the extreme degree or nature of a given concept or idea. Here it's best to review some examples:
¿Es que no eres todo lo feliz que desearías?
Is it that you are not as happy as you would like?
Caption 26, De consumidor a persona - Short Film
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Sometimes this lo equates to using the word “how”:
Si supieras lo mucho que te amo
If you knew how much I love you
Caption 15, Ozomatli - Jardinero
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Porque ves las gradas llenas, eh,
Because you see the packed bleachers, um,
la gente lo bien que se lo pasa con la música.
how much fun the people have with the music.
Captions 11-12, Los Juegos Olímpicos - Adrián Gavira
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¿Pero cómo voy a perder mis maletas de vista
But how am I going to lose sight of my suitcases
con lo grandes que son?
with how big they are?
Captions 29-30, Raquel - Avisos de Megafonía
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Read more about the use of the neuter gender here.
"¡Órale, arriba, epa, epa, arriba, ándale!"
Sound familiar? Yes, it's the fastest mouse in all Mexico -- Speedy Gonzales! -- and he stars in A.B. Quintanilla's music video. But instead of racing around rescuing people, Speedy is tending to a broken heart in this fun video. Listen in:
Él nunca le teme a nada pero esta vez sí lloró
He is never afraid of anything but this time he did cry
Captions 12-13, A. B. Quintanilla - Speedy Gonzalez
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Poor Speedy! It takes a lot to make this brave mouse cry. In fact, Speedy's fans might not believe their fearless hero would actually shed tears, so the song adds an emphatic "sí" to get the point across. With "sí" placed in front of the verb "lloró", the sentence means "...he DID cry" (with the stress on the verb) or "... he did indeed cry." Believe it or not: He did.
As you know, "sí" with an accent over the "i" means "yes," as in the affirmative answer to a question. But "sí" is also widely used in Spanish to add emphasis to an assertion. In English, we make affirmations with "indeed," the auxiliary verb "do" and/or by stressing the verb.
Let's look at some examples to clarify.
Yo sí estoy trabajando en el proyecto final.
I AM working on the final project.
Carlos sí puede tocar la armónica.
Carlos can indeed play the harmonica.
A Nancy sí le gusta Miguel.
Nancy DOES like Miguel.
Note that the emphatic "sí" appears just before the verb in these affirmative statements in Spanish. In the English equivalents, we might stress the verb -- as indicated in all caps above.
For more examples of the emphatic sí at work, we turn to our friends in Mexico City. Yes, Amigos D.F. are back, talking about kidnappings. Listen in:
.. pues sí ha habido mucha inseguridad...
... well, there HAS been a lot of insecurity...
...O sea, como que sí hay interés de parte de las autoridades
... I mean, it's like there IS interest from the authorities
Yo sí tengo la esperanza que se reduzc'... se reduzcan este tipo de eventos, ¿no?
I DO have the hope that these kinds of events will be red'... will be reduced, right?
Caption 57, Amigos D.F. - El secuestrar
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When you listen to native Spanish speakers make affirmations -- like the ones above -- note that there's no stress placed on the verbs themselves. It's a rookie mistake for Spanish students to say something like "Yo sí TENGO la esperanza..." when native speakers would simply let the "sí" make the emphasis for them.
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