The screws, they have been loosened--not by alcohol, nor by illicit substances, nor by four horsemen, nor by necessity. Certainly not that last--there is no shortage of people who say it better than I do, and thus no need for my tongue to be loosened. Some people need the tongue loosened, but I cannot charitably count myself among them. Is there a market for tongue tightening?--I need THAT.
No, the screws have been loosened because it's about time, is all. We have a no-more-terms president, and if I can't say what I want to now, then I never can. Es todo, comprende?
(And yes, I am using the polite form of the verb. I basically use the polite form of the verb unless you know my underwear size. This is not what I was taught in Spanish, but I find that as a rule of thumb, it works--especially when you've been years out of Spanish and can't remember anything.)
Also, if someone can tell me why comprender es preferido as the infinitive form of the verb "understand" en Norteamérica, when entender means the same thing, and to my ear sounds much better, that is like double bonus, where bonus, sadly, equals zero. And you know what zero times any other number always equals, right?
Posted by Ilyka at November 5, 2004 12:03 PM in navel gazingDang, I'm all atremble. There's nothing quite so exciting as Ilyka with a fully mobile tongue.
Sidenote: Lovely Wife was talking about one of your posts last night and I didn't know who the hell she was talking about at first because she pronounced your moniker the right way.
Oh, boy. I just realized what I wrote in that first paragraph. I'll refrain from further oral statements, such as the tongue lashing I certainly deserve for that first comment.
;-)
Posted by: Jim at November 5, 2004 03:19 PMAbout your espanol.... comprender indicates understanding something you've learned or something you've been told, where as entender is somehow more innate, like conceptual understanding, so Comprende is much more correct contextually than Entiende. However, I agree with you that it is a much nicer word, and is always the one that comes to mind first, and I always used to get yelled at by my Spanish teachers..... :)
Posted by: caltechgirl at November 5, 2004 09:17 PMAccording to Formit's Last Theorem, zero times any other number equals four.
Hotly debates in mathematical circles, that.
Posted by: Sigivald at November 5, 2004 09:51 PM