How do Spanish authors imitate (not necessarily correctly) old fashioned language? For example, in English they use "thou" or odl fashioned sentences with subjunctive like "oh would that it were so" etc.
Spanish ancient imitations
In Spanish vuestra merced sounds rather old fashioned. I guess that is the equivalent of thou in English.
I *think* that one thing one might do is use the pronoun vos instead of usted/ustedes/vosotros, using the vosotros conjugations. Another would be using the future subjunctive, like "cuando llegares" instead of "cuando llegues". Both of these are found in Don Quixote, which should be more or less equivalent to Shakespeare, which we sort of use as a model for archaic English usage.
- Kef
- Kef
>>How do Spanish authors imitate (not necessarily correctly) old fashioned language? For example, in English they use "thou" or odl fashioned sentences with subjunctive like "oh would that it were so" etc.<<
Ahem - the subjunctive is not old-fashioned; it is very, very much alive in North American English, and there are even many English English dialects which retain it in reality...
Ahem - the subjunctive is not old-fashioned; it is very, very much alive in North American English, and there are even many English English dialects which retain it in reality...
Replacing initial h by f sounds archaic too: Hacer > facer.
In Don Quixote many words still preserved the initial f.
In Don Quixote many words still preserved the initial f.
">Another would be using the future subjunctive, like "cuando llegares" instead of "cuando llegues". <"
The future subjective in Spanish is still used in certain contexts of course.
Some examples of VERY formal, formal, and informal:
Si fuese presidente, yo cambiaria las leyes. No obstante no creo que fuere presidente en el futuro, habre cambiado mis metas para serlo. Pues cuando hube vuelto a la congregacion me aplaudieron.
= very formal / literary / cultured SPANISH
Si fuera / fuese presidente, yo cambiara las leyes. Sin embargo no creo que sea presidente en el futuro, porque tendre que cambiar mis metas para serlo. Pues cuando llegue a la reunion me aplaudieron.
=formal / business / semi-cultured SPANISH
Si fuera presidente, yo cambiaria las leyes. Ademas no creo que sea presidente en el futuro, porque voy a tener que cambiar mis metas
para serlo. Pues cuando llegue a la junta me aplaudieron.
= informal / daily / uncultured SPANISH
The future subjective in Spanish is still used in certain contexts of course.
Some examples of VERY formal, formal, and informal:
Si fuese presidente, yo cambiaria las leyes. No obstante no creo que fuere presidente en el futuro, habre cambiado mis metas para serlo. Pues cuando hube vuelto a la congregacion me aplaudieron.
= very formal / literary / cultured SPANISH
Si fuera / fuese presidente, yo cambiara las leyes. Sin embargo no creo que sea presidente en el futuro, porque tendre que cambiar mis metas para serlo. Pues cuando llegue a la reunion me aplaudieron.
=formal / business / semi-cultured SPANISH
Si fuera presidente, yo cambiaria las leyes. Ademas no creo que sea presidente en el futuro, porque voy a tener que cambiar mis metas
para serlo. Pues cuando llegue a la junta me aplaudieron.
= informal / daily / uncultured SPANISH
Si fuese presidente, yo mudaria las leyes. No obstante no creo que fuere presidente en el futuro, habre cambiado mis metas para serlo. Pues cuando hube vuelto a la congregacion me aplaudieron.
= very formal / literary / cultured SPANISH
Si fuera / fuese presidente, yo cambiara las leyes. Sin embargo no creo que sea presidente en el futuro, porque tendre que cambiar mis metas para serlo. Pues cuando llegue a la reunion me aplaudieron.
=formal / business / semi-cultured SPANISH
Si fuera presidente, yo cambiaria las leyes. Ademas no creo que sea presidente en el futuro, porque voy a tener que cambiar mis metas
para serlo. Pues cuando llegue a la junta me aplaudieron.
= informal / daily / uncultured SPANISH
= very formal / literary / cultured SPANISH
Si fuera / fuese presidente, yo cambiara las leyes. Sin embargo no creo que sea presidente en el futuro, porque tendre que cambiar mis metas para serlo. Pues cuando llegue a la reunion me aplaudieron.
=formal / business / semi-cultured SPANISH
Si fuera presidente, yo cambiaria las leyes. Ademas no creo que sea presidente en el futuro, porque voy a tener que cambiar mis metas
para serlo. Pues cuando llegue a la junta me aplaudieron.
= informal / daily / uncultured SPANISH
Si fuera / fuese presidente, yo cambiara las leyes.
Si fuera presidente, yo cambiaria las leyes.
Why is the second one not cultured when it is more correct?
Si fuera presidente, yo cambiaria las leyes.
Why is the second one not cultured when it is more correct?
fuera / fuese are interchangeable. However, "fuese" is seen as more business like, or formal, and or even news wise. The examples above are just templates of what ONE would usually consider as so, but it doesn't really matter...you could mix all three (i.e. words) examples up and people would still "generally" understand you.
Minus "hube, hubiste, hubio, hubimos, hubieron and hubisteis"
I hope this has helped.
Minus "hube, hubiste, hubio, hubimos, hubieron and hubisteis"
I hope this has helped.
I meant:
Si fuera presidente, cambiaRÍA las leyes
is more correct than
si fuera presidente, cambiARA las leyes
Si fuera presidente, cambiaRÍA las leyes
is more correct than
si fuera presidente, cambiARA las leyes
1.)
Si fuera presidente, cambiaría las leyes. = standard
If I were president, I would change the laws.
2.)
Si fuera presidente, cambiara las leyes. = colloquial1*
If I were president, I could change the laws.
there's even this one too, used much lesser then the second one:
3.)
Si fuera presidente, yo cambiará las leyes. = colloquial
If I were president, I shall change the laws.
1* The first one is correct because it follows the norms of the language, therefore the right one to go with at all times.
Si fuera presidente, cambiaría las leyes. = standard
If I were president, I would change the laws.
2.)
Si fuera presidente, cambiara las leyes. = colloquial1*
If I were president, I could change the laws.
there's even this one too, used much lesser then the second one:
3.)
Si fuera presidente, yo cambiará las leyes. = colloquial
If I were president, I shall change the laws.
1* The first one is correct because it follows the norms of the language, therefore the right one to go with at all times.
<<Si fuera presidente, cambiara las leyes. = colloquial1*
If I were president, I could change the laws.
Si fuera presidente, yo cambiará las leyes. = colloquial
If I were president, I shall change the laws.
>>
I don' think that it's colloquial but plain wrong. I've never heard that.
If I were president, I could change the laws.
Si fuera presidente, yo cambiará las leyes. = colloquial
If I were president, I shall change the laws.
>>
I don' think that it's colloquial but plain wrong. I've never heard that.
Maybe colloquial for mendigos? Luckily no mendigo will ever become president so no need to worry.
I'm not from a Spanish speaking country but in my view you can't compare English and Spanish subjunctive mood. The remaining English Subjunctive mood is a piece of cake compared to the Spanish one!
Yes,Spanish must have the most complex subjunctive system among Romance languages