DE781    671246 Sat, 27 Sep 03 03:18 AM "Que=That tenga=you have buena suerte=good luck Giving you "That you have good luck" and now rephrase as it might be said in colloquial English. "Here's wishing you good luck". At least that's what my 5 years of Spanish tells me. Rich" Thanks, Rich. It was that form of "tenga" that made me think it must have been something more confusing. Why not just use "tengas", for "you have"? Is the formal form more polite online? I've generally used the "tu" form. And, it has to be "tenga", not "tiene", because it's conditional, right? I might NOT have good luck? DE781 Conditionals, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Online, Languages

	John DeFiore    671251 Sat, 27 Sep 03 03:22 AM "Que tenga buena suerte," "Here's what I mean by "God-awful". I can't even understand this. Exceptfor the "buena suerte" ("good luck") part. The "Que ... for just chit-chatting and having them correcterrors and make suggestions? I'm guessing that's not really what the AU groupsare for." The regulars at AUS are a good bunch for the most part, I don't think anyone would have a problem with you chit-chatting. If they do, they'll either ignore your posts or let you know. As for my good luck wish, Rich has it right in his post. It's pretty common in Spanish to start a sentence expressing a wish with "Que...". It's short for "Ojalá que...", which comes from the Arabic "may Allah grant". In Spanish it just means something like "I wish" or "would that". So "Que tenga buena suerte" is "Ojalá que tenga buena suerte" or "I wish that you have good luck". The verb "tener" is in the subjunctive because it's a wish, and in the formal "you" form because I don't know you. Regards, John John DeFiore Regards, Subjunctives, Sentences, Friendships, Speaking, Chat, Languages

	Skitt    671255 Sat, 27 Sep 03 03:27 AM "Well, if they are courteous." "I think I might have punctuated that like so: "Well if they are courteous." I initially read the "well" ... of the sentence that I realize I'd read it completely wrong and had to go back and read it again." I can see that without context (which was snipped), and reading one word at a time, not seeing the whole sentence, that could happen. I, much inclined as I am to using "well" as Reagan did, did not see a problem in such a short sentence when supplying an answer to a direct question. Funny, though, that as much a dashing fellow that I am, the use of a dash there didn't occur to me. I admit your idea has merit, and thus, I may have been less than dashing. Do you still love me? "I'd be interested to hear if anyone else had the same problem with it. It could be that I've simply ... other sentence begins with a throwaway (well, now, etc.) that it's difficult for me to read it any other way." No matter I still like you. (Am I dashing enough now to earn favor with you?) Carefully avoiding the plural, I am Skitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ Skitt Plurals, Context, Sentences, Countries, United States, Direct Questions

	DE781    671276 Sat, 27 Sep 03 03:37 AM "Moreso? Is that Spanish?" Is this not an actual word? Wow...I can't seem to find it in dictionaries! How odd! I've been using this for God knows how long! I've always assumed "moreso" was a word; I think I've even heard others say it. Here's something interesting: Go to www.dictionary.com. And type in "moreso". It'll say there was no entry found for "moreso", and will offer some suggestions. "More so" and "more-so" are offered as suggestions. But, if you click on either, NO ENTRY comes up! How odd is this? DE781 Languages

	Skitt    671286 Sat, 27 Sep 03 03:50 AM "Skitt:" "To become fluent in a language the best way is to become totally immersed in it." "Wouldn't an AU group be a good way to be totally immersed though? Short of a trip to Mexico, it's ... can think of. Unless I decide to spend my entire Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks hanging out in Paterson or something." Anything is better than nothing. "Skitt, I had NO IDEA that English wasn't your first language. Your English is flawless!" Thanks. "What was your native language?" Latvian. "I'm guessing you live in an English-speaking country now? How did you do the immersion for English & German?" Political pressures forced my family to leave Latvia and to live in Germany for five years. After that, when I was sixteen, my family was able to come to the USA. "I can do Standard Formal English better than many native ... it. On the other hand, I do "colloquial" too. ;-)" "You mean you can "do" the forms in typing? Or in speaking? What would you consider "standard formal English"? By "colloquial", do you mean the different regional dialects and accents?" After a few years in the USA, I have usually been able to pass myself off as one who was born here, but not necessarily as one of the locals. I did manage the local bit when given enough time, like the nine months in Oklahoma. Yeah, the Indian chicks there (Native American to you) never suspected anything, as I had the local license plates on my car, and all. Oh, about that picture stuff you mentioned in another thread well, do you have any idea who Skitt is? You can see my face, but does that help? It's not that I really care. The whole thing started when I was in a "sensitive job". After that, having established a net identity, I see no reason to change it, and thus, published picture notwithstanding, I remain quite incognito, except to those very few who know me in this group. Skitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ Skitt Accents, Dialects, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Friendships, United States, American, Speaking, Chat, Christmas, Holidays, Languages, Thanksgiving

	Skitt    671287 Sat, 27 Sep 03 03:53 AM "Dena Jo:" "I think I might have punctuated that like so: "Well if they are courteous." I initially read the "well" as a throwaway "well,"" "Good call. I figured Skitt had made some sort of typo. It wasn't until reading your post, Dena, that I ... If...", just to make it perfectly clear. Even as two separate sentences, the "well" could be misread as throwaway, probably." Fair catch. Read my answer to DJ for *my* thoughts. There's more than one way to look at it. Skitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ Skitt Sentences, Countries, United States

	Skitt    671297 Sat, 27 Sep 03 04:12 AM "Moreso? Is that Spanish?" "Is this not an actual word? Wow...I can't seem to find it in dictionaries! How odd! I've been using this ... and "more-so" are offered as suggestions. But, if you click on either, NO ENTRY comes up! How odd is this?" That's because it is two words more so and they have their own meanings that combine well for the thought you wanted to express. Skitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ Skitt Countries, United States, Languages