Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2017 September 12

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September 12

Term used for masculine concrete objects similar to la que es?

Is there a term used for masculine concrete objects similar to la que es? I don't know if I can write like this.

• El sombrero, lo que es muy bonito, está en la cabeza de Andrés.
• The hat, which is very beautiful, is on Andrew's head.

By the way, can I translate names too? 50.4.236.254 (talk) 03:16, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

I don't think lo que means "which". I think it means "the one which". See September 8. Portuguese also has the construction a qual or o qual and I would be surprised if Spanish doesn't have something similar. Example:

a revolução, que acaba de suceder em Portugal; a qual deve necessariamente produzir intimas relaçoens entre a nação Ingleza e os novos estabelecimentos dos Portuguezes.

[the revolution, which has just taken place in Portugal; which must necessarily produce intimate relations between the English nation and the new institutions of the Portuguese].

The grammar is here: [1]. 81.139.183.197 (talk) 10:32, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

In Spanish, the masculine counterpart of "la que es" is "el que es". Also, "los que son", "las que son". —Stephen (talk) 20:25, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

So in English you would say "he who is", "she who is", "the one which is", "they who are", "those which are". In Spanish you would use the masculine or feminine pronoun for an inanimate object depending on its grammatical gender. If there is more than one and the genders are different use the masculine (that's not a sexist comment, it's just the way the system works). 92.8.216.51 (talk) 10:16, 13 September 2017 (UTC)

While "el que es" is grammatically correct, it does not sound too natural, IMO. A better translation would be "El sombrero, el cual es muy bonito, está en la cabeza de Andrés." –FlyingAce^✈hello 16:33, 14 September 2017 (UTC)

Peeking in my Spanish dictionary I see that lo que means "what". Example: Lo que dijiste fue una tontería [What you said was foolish]. It also means "which". Example: Todo estaba en silencio, lo que (or lo qual) me pareció muy raro [All was silent, which I thought most odd]. There's a related discussion at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2017 September 8#Can lo que es be used at the beginning of a sentence? I wouldn't say that lo is rare, as suggested in that discussion. The construction el que, la que, los que, las que apparently means "the one(s) who" or "the one(s) which". Example: Los que quieran entrar tendrán que pagar [Those who wish to enter have to pay]. 92.8.176.91 (talk) 13:41, 15 September 2017 (UTC)

Translation from German needed

Hi there, how would a native speaker say "Wir waren für heute verabredet" – referring to an informal agreement to make a phone call (!) – in English? Greetings,--Tuchiel (talk) 17:37, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

I'd suggest You were going to call me (or, less likely, I was going to call you). Henry^Flower 06:41, 13 September 2017 (UTC)

Or perhaps more literally We were going to have a phone call? —Tamfang (talk) 20:20, 16 September 2017 (UTC)

I know it's not a reliable mirror of how people actually speak, but a Google search suggests that you are the first person ever to use that phrase. :) I'd agree, though, that my version isn't so much a translation as an equivalent phrase. Henry^Flower 08:17, 17 September 2017 (UTC)