Category: Writing in Spanish

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Writing in Spanish

Semantic Fields and Lexical Structure in Spanish

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Campos Semánticos y Familias Léxicas en Español | iScribo

Semantic fields and lexical structure (lexical family) in Spanish may seem confusing at first glance, but if you identify each concept, you will answer the question ‘how to identify a semantic field?’

Continue reading this iScribo article to learn some semantic fields examples and the difference between semantic and lexical fields in Spanish and how they are formed.

Lexical Families

Lexical families in Spanish are a set of words that share the same root or lexeme, in other words, it is the main part of the word and what gives it meaning and significance. They are also known as ‘word families’.

For example, in the word mesa (table), mes- would be the root and it is what will help us to form word families or lexemes.

How Are Word Families Formed?

To form a word family, you just have to play with its root by adding prefixes or suffixes:

Deporte (sport), root dep-:

deportista, deportivo, polideportivo, deportividad, antideportiva.

(sportsman, sportswoman, sportsman, sportsman, sportsmanship, unsportsmanlike.)

It should be noted that there are some lexical families that are irregular, depending on the origin of each word (its etymology):

Hueso (bone):

huesera, huesoso, óseo, osario.

(bonekeeper, bony, osseous, ossuary.)

By the way, changing the gender and number ending is not considered a lexical family, e.g. niño, niña, niños, niñas (boy, girl, boys, girls.)

Semantic Fields Definition

Semantic fields are words that share a specific theme. In other words, these words share a meaning that is related to each other. We are talking about a conceptual relationship, for example:

Animales (animals:)

Perro, gato, caballo, águila.

(Dog, cat, horse, eagle.)

Since we are talking about semantic fields and their comparison with lexical families, bear in mind that a lexical family can be part of different semantic fields.

To name an example, the lexical family that shares the root or lexeme of the word luz (light) – noun, generates other words such as iluminar (illuminate) – verb, luminosa (luminous) – adjective, and deslumbrante (dazzling) – adjective.

iScribo and Grammar Preservation

To sum up, semantic fields can be grouped by their subject, through a set of related words, while lexical families are the morphology of the language itself and the linking of words through their root. Pure grammar! At iScribo we like to protect and spread the good use of grammar and the Spanish language, so we try to bring you closer to the most technical and grammatical aspects of the Spanish language. Our tool helps you to form word families, have you tried it? Tell us in the comments and also tell us about any lexical family that drags your attention.

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Writing in Spanish

20 Internet Acronyms in Spanish for Every User

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20 Acrónimos de Internet en Español que Aprender | iScribo

The popularity of Internet acronyms in Spanish is growing due to the increased use of social networks and platforms in the IT world. Adapting to them properly can be crucial at work or simply to feel accepted around technology.

At iScribo, we want to show you the most popular Internet related abbreviations so you can jump on the digital trend bandwagon. Read on to discover them.

Why are Internet Word Abbreviations Used?

Years ago, sending a text message had a maximum number of characters free of charge, and above a certain number, you had to pay more for the extra characters, which may be where the creativity of users to say a lot in just 160 characters began.

Nowadays, it is a matter of social acceptance, especially among young people, or rather to save time when writing.

Spanish Internet Vocabulary

Internet abbreviations and acronyms, and their meaning is a much talked-about topic at family meals or get-togethers with friends. It takes practice to learn them well:

1. B. D.: base de datos (data base).

2. admón.: administración (administration).

3.  a.: arroba (at).

4. (a): alias.

5. A/A: a la atención de (to the attention of).

6. atte.: atentamente (kind regards).

7. C. A.: compañía anónima (public limited company, although it can also be an autonomous community).

8. c. e.: correo electrónico (email).

9. p. o.; P. O.; p/o: por orden (by order, as you can see, there are different ways of saying it).

10. S. A.: sociedad anónima (limited company, although it is also used for your highness).

11. V. O. S.: versión original subtitulada (original version subtitled).

English Acronyms in Internet

English, of course, has influenced the acronyms as the main language of the computer and programming world. These acronyms are widely used.

12. AKA: as known as.

13. ASAP: as soon as possible.

14. BTW: by the way.

15. FTF: face to face.

16. FYI: for your information.

17. HTH: hope that helps.

18. JIC: just in case.

19. LOL: laughing out loud.

20. OMG: oh my God.

If you want to know more about English acronyms in the world of work, take a look at this link.

Practise, Learn and Improve

Remember to respect the rules as much as you can when writing Internet acronyms. Internet vocabulary tends not to follow the recommendations of academics but remember – we have to protect Spanish language as much as possible. In iScribo you can write and see improvements, suggestions and corrections in real time. Work with a Spanish assistant and make a good impression wherever you go with our Spanish spelling and grammar checker. And you, do you know more Internet acronyms in Spanish?

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Writing in Spanish

What are the Rules of Dialogue Writing in Spanish

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Cómo Escribir Diálogos en Español sin Equivocarte | iScribo

Do you know how to write dialogues in Spanish? Learning how an interaction dialogue works in Spanish is crucial for it to be read fluently and accurately.

The rules for writing dialogues generate doubts and, if we look closely, they are one of the most important parts of stories. Interviews, articles, novels, film scripts, etc., we can find this type of communication exchange very frequently day after day.

What is a Dialogue?

A dialogue is a type of communication between two or more people. It is an essential part of human interaction and, therefore, writing dialogues correctly will allow us to share thoughts, ideas or conversations, among others.

Keep reading to learn the basics about simple dialogues in Spanish, because, yeah, they can be complicated sometimes.

Different Parts of a Dialogue

When we talk about writing dialogues in Spanish, most of the time we are referring to literary dialogue. In this type of dialogue, we can distinguish two parts:

Parlamento: It indicates the speech of each character:

—Oye, Marisa —dijo Enrique enfadado antes de irse.

(“Hey, Marisa – said Enrique angrily before leaving.)

Acotación: This is also called an inciso (parenthetical remark) and it clarifies who is speaking, where and how, among other things.

—Oye, Marisa —dijo Enrique enfadado antes de irse.

Remember that the parlamentos may or may not have an acotación.

The Dash in Spanish Dialogues

When it comes to the punctuation marks in dialogues, the dash or long dash takes centre stage, as it introduces the dialogue:

—Ven, Marcos —dijo Sergio—. Quiero darte el regalo.

(“Come, Marcos, said Sergio. I want to give you the gift.)

It is written next to the word that follows it. Also, as you can see in the example, it is used whenever there is a pause for clarification with verbs of speech, understanding or thought.

Use a dash for each speech of different characters.

In the example above, you can also appreciate that the punctuation mark that accompanies the sentence goes right at the end of the clause, again, attached to the dash.

One last little trick, if the acotación is a non-verbal thought, use the Latin quotation marks in another sentence to express it:

—Margarita va a llegar tarde.

«Deberíamos comenzar la fiesta sin ella…», pensó Jacinto.

(“Margarita is going to be late.

“We should start the party without her…”, Jacinto thought.)

Be Patient!

Nobody said typing was easy and writing Spanish dialogues correctly takes time. I say this because the dash does not appear on the Spanish keyboard, you will have to insert it as a symbol or search for “raya” in a browser to copy and paste it.

We recommend that you practice, repeatedly, until you internalise these rules. The more you write, the sooner you will apply the rule automatically. iScribo corrects your Spanish in real time so you don’t have to waste time going over what you write more than once. Have you tried it yet? Tell us about it in the comments.

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Writing in Spanish

The Great Impact of Social Media on Language

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El Impacto de las Redes Sociales en el Lenguaje | iScribo

Using language in a certain way positions us in society. Our knowledge of language helps us to express ourselves in a more or less informal register depending on the context in which we find ourselves.

Besides, the use of language in social media is able to shape the way we think about public figures, from singers and actors to politicians, and helps us to form a real image of them that once could be considered more or less idyllic.

The impact of social media on language and the way we write speak volumes about us. Misspellings or writing with abbreviations more than we should are part of social media slang. Find out today with iScribo how we use language where people see it most.

The Importance of Language in Social Media

The capacity of social media to modify language is immense. The new generations use Internet channels to express colloquial Spanish, which does not always mean an enrichment of the language, but also paves the way for the expansion of unnecessary foreignisms or grammatical incorrectness.

One of the negative effects of social media on language is the attention deficit: how many times do people ask unnecessary questions that are written and clarified in the post itself?

But it’s not all negative, language has found a way to propagate the good use of it, and we can find that example in the way the RAE and Fundéu reach out to their followers through their social media channels. After all, the Internet and modern media are an opportunity to spread the good use of the Spanish language to the whole world.

Evolution of Language in Social Media

Can you imagine Cervantes using emojis? Here is an example of how language has evolved thanks to the Internet. Some people have even had the brilliant idea – and the time, it must be said – to express sayings in Spanish with emojis, we have chosen one, just for fun:

🐴🎁🚫👁️🦷. Do you know what it means? We’ll reveal it to you later.

Social media has also changed the way we express ourselves, now we are more concise. The restriction of characters and the need to attract readers’ attention means that the speech is short, clear and concise. Where we write normally is on the computer and where we publish our thoughts the most is on social media, and we do transfer this feeling to our daily lives. Baroque is more than ever part of the past! Thanks to social networks, simple language is in vogue.

Benefits of Social Media in Language Learning

Now, let’s talk about the evolution of vocabulary. Did you know that a lot of words have been created due to the influence of social media? The acceptance and formation of new words is a fact.

Here are some examples: tuitear, retuitear, tuit, tuitero, etc., (tweet, retweet, twitter), arrobar (press at), favear (fav), googlear (google something) or wasapear (send a WhatsApp). However, not all of them are related to applications and the companies that manage social media, but there are many others such as bitcoin (bitcoin), bot, ciberacoso (cyberbullying), ciberdelincuencia (cybercrime), criptomoneda (cryptocurrency), geolocalizar (geolocate), webinario (webinar), cortapegar (cut and paste) o copiapega (copy and paste), all of them accepted by the RAE.

What about the pandemic words? If it were not for social media, minority words in some Spanish-speaking countries such as cubrebocas, hisopado or nasobuco (they all mean ‘face mask’) would not have reached us.

This is the new language of the 21st century, and of course, social media and the Internet are responsible for it. We are enriching the language!

iScribo on Social Media

iScribo understands the importance of language in social media. That’s why we use our online channels to teach you the good use of written Spanish and, with our tool, we help you to improve your written comprehension.

Have you already visited our Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram channels? In addition to this blog, we use them to help you learn Spanish tips and interact with other users who have the same purpose and goal as you: to write properly in Spanish. By the way, the saying above is “A caballo regalado, no le mirres el diente” (don’t look a gift horse in the mouth), have you guessed it? Tell us in the comments.

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Writing in Spanish

Rules for Forming the Plurals of Words in Spanish

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Las Reglas de Formación del Plural en Español | iScribo

The formation of the plural in Spanish follows a basic rule which consists of adding an -s to the end of the word:

casa – casas (house)

gato – gatos (cat)

Nevertheless, there are words which, due to their formation, follow other rules for plurals in Spanish. We are talking about the words ending in -s, -y or -z. Continue reading to learn them.

Plurals of Words Ending in S or X

The rules for forming the plurals depend on the length of the word:

1. If the word is monosyllabic or polysyllabic but acute, add -es:

vals – valses (waltz)

inglés – ingleses (English)

2. If it is not a polysyllabic acute word, the plural is invariable:

crisis – crisis (crisis)

pasapurés – pasapurés (food processor)

Rule for Plurals Ending in Y

Words ending in -y are very frequent in Spanish. There are 3 rules of the plural in Spanish for these kinds of words:

1. If -y is preceded by a vowel, the plural is formed by adding -es. Here, you can see that the -y performes the role of a consonant:

buey – bueyes (ox)

ley – leyes (law)

2. There is, of course, one exception. These are the foreign words that we have incorporated into the Spanish vocabulary repertoire. For these words, we transform the -y into -i and add the -s at the end as the -y remains as a vowel:

jersey – jerséis (jumper)

gay – gais (gay)

3. Today is your lucky day! There are some words that allow the formation of both plurals, so there is no possibility for you to be mistaken:

guirigay – guirigáis/guirigayes (noise, chaos)

estay – estáis/estayes (backstay)

What happens if the -y is preceded by a consonant? These are foreign words that do have an adapted spelling in Spanish, so their plural formation follows the basic rules of the plural in Spanish:

dandi – dandis (dandy)

ferri – ferris (ferry)

Plural of Words Ending in Z

1. If the -z is preceded by a vowel, it changes to -c and -es is added:

cáliz – cálices (goblet)

2. Foreign words also follow the same rule (so this is an easy one!):

interfaz – interfaces (interface)

The RAE and the Basic Rules for Forming the Plurals

The rules for forming the plurals are clear and concise, the only thing you have to do is to learn them so that you never make a mistake. As always, the best way to know them is to check the RAE channels.      Another way to cultivate yourself is to write non-stop in a Spanish spelling and grammar checker to learn in real time while you practice. iScribo is here to help you, have you tried it yet? Which words are more difficult for you when it comes to practising the formation of the plural in Spanish? Let us know in the comments.

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Writing in Spanish

The 8 Best Spelling Rules for Numbers in Spanish

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Si tienes dudas sobre cómo se escriben los números en español o de cómo utilizar los decimales y símbolos, iScribo te trae las mejores claves de redacción.

The spelling rules for numbers differ from one language to another. When you speak several languages, it is common to mix up the rules and confuse the spelling of numbers.

Today we’ll show you some tips for spelling ordinal numbers in Spanish and spelling cardinal numbers in Spanish.

Ordinal numbers are numbers that indicate order or position in a sequence, for example, primero (first) or vigésimo (twentieth). Cardinal numbers express quantity in relation to the series of natural numbers, for example, uno (one) or veinte (twenty).

1. Separation With More Than Three Digits

When a number has four digits, the RAE recommends writing them together, but if there are more than four digits, leave a space between each group of three, never use a full stop or a comma for this purpose:

DON’T:

3.400

3,400

3 400

456,000

100500600

DO:

3400

456 000

100 500 600

2. Concordance

Figures can be followed by nouns but remember that the word thousand is an adjective, so you will have to make the concordance as such:

DON’T:

Cuarenta miles de puestos de trabajo

(Forty thousand Jobs)

DO:

Cuarenta mil puestos de trabajo

3. Figures or Letters?

Don’t mix numbers and letters when using numerical adjectives:

DON’T:

40 mil kilogramos

Cuarenta 1000 kilogramos

(Forty thousand kilograms)

DO:

40 000 kilogramos

Cuarenta mil kilogramos

4. Symbols

When a number goes with a symbol, always leave a blank between the number and the symbol:

DON’T:

5Kg

100%

DO:

5 kg

100 %

5. Alternation

To express alternation between numbers to separate quantities, we will use the conjunctions o and u (or) when needed and never a slash:

DON’T:

Había 10/12 personas

Peso 80/81 kg

(There were 10 or 12 people

Weight 80 or 81 kg)

DO:

Había 10 o 12 personas

Peso 80 u 81 kg

6. Decimals

A comma is recommended to separate decimals, although the use of a full stop would be permitted.

DO:

67 982,89

7. Write With Numbers

Page numbers, years and street numbers. After all, in some contexts, the aim is to facilitate the work of others. For example, it is much easier for a postman to read C/ Conde Mariscal, 67.

DON’T:

Página ochenta de cuatrocientas

Calle Recoletos, veintitrés

(Page eighty of four hundred

Calle Recoletos, twenty-three)

DO:

Página 80 de 400

Calle Recoletos, 23

8. Write With Letters

Expressions are always written in letters, as are numbers in legal documents, to avoid confusion.

DON’T:

Cada 2 por 3

DO:

Cada dos por tres

(Every now and then)

From Numbers to Letters

Sometimes you may wonder how to write out numbers to letters in Spanish. Well, you can use iScribo’s spelling and grammar checker to make sure you write them properly. We advise you to learn the RAE rules before practising. Are you confident to write some numbers with letters in the comments?

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Writing in Spanish

6 Types of Writing Tones for Expressing Yourself Properly

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6 Types of Writing Tones for Expressing Yourself | iScribo

When it comes to people, we are not the same. This authenticity makes our characteristics unique and non-repetitive. We may share some aspects but not all of them. To know how to express yourself in Spanish when writing, keep in mind that it works the same way: there are different writing tones, almost as many as there are writers.

What kind of tones are there in writing? In writing, tone is the writer’s expression of the subject, audience and message. Everything counts in writing, from vocabulary to phrasing to intention and style. While style focuses more on syntax, tone focuses on attitude.

Learn today with iScribo 6 writing tones examples so that you can identify the one that best suits your needs and style.

1. Serious Tone

The serious tone is one of the most common types of writing in journalism, as it is factual, direct and focused. It can also be used in somber or solemn literature, which is very common in trends such as realism.

Here is an example of a serious tone in Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment:

“Peter Petrovich belonged to that class of people who on the surface are very polite in society, who make a great point of behaving properly, but who are completely disconcerted when they are contradicted about anything, and become more like sacks of flour than elegant, lively people of society.”

2. Humorous Tone

The author’s intention with the humorous or comic tone is to make the reader laugh, they want to amuse the audience. It can sometimes be confused with sarcasm but, unlike sarcasm, humour is intended to entertain. It is the opposite of dramatic or sombre tone.

An example of a humorous tone would be a monologue which, mind you, before performing it, must be written. Practise your Spanish with this one we’ve mentioned.

3. Sarcastic Tone

Also known as ironic tone and its purpose is to persuade through contrarian humour, that is, sometimes it mocks or offends someone. It is often intended to provoke a critical reaction in the reader. Taken to the extreme, it can provoke satire, such as Francisco de Quevedo’s very famous sonnet, A una nariz.

«Once there was a man stuck to a nose

It was a nose more marvellous than weird,[…]».

4. Intriguing Tone

Also known as curious tone, it is quite common in thrillers and stories of intrigue. It is very common in literature because of the number of followers it gets. This tone awakens a certain uneasiness inside, sometimes you even hold your breath without realising it, it disconcerts you at some point. This is because you anticipate, or at least try to anticipate, the plot, you want to uncover the story.

Any mystery novel by Agatha Christie or Mary Higgins Clark is the perfect example, but you can also find it in some journalism articles.

5. Hopeful Tone

Also known as pacifying, this type of tone is used in texts of a reassuring or reconciliatory nature. They are not controversial at all, the vocabulary is neutral with positive overtones and is intended to make us put aside the negative and focus on the good things that can happen.

Self-help or religious texts use this type of tone for the most part, but it can also be found in social and journalistic themes, to send a message of encouragement to the reader in current adverse conditions. One example is newspaper articles at the time of confinement.

6. Loving Tone

Today, I want to finish the list with a close and intimate tone. The loving tone also gives us a glimmer of hope, as love will always be a wonderful thing in the world.

The loving tone is characterised using warm words with an affectionate and positive attitude, sometimes with respect and even adoration. It can be expressed in formal and informal contexts and can be extrapolated to texts of a serious nature or of an erotic nature.

It is also common to mix the amorous tone with others, as in Romeo and Juliet, with tragic overtones. Another example is the historical novel, as in Outlander.

Identify Yours and Practise!  

Tone expresses the feelings of the writer, or of the publication itself if the writer has been given specific guidelines. That is what style guides are for!

It is important not to confuse mood with tone. Mood is the atmosphere of the writing and is what the writer intends to trigger in the reader.

No matter what tone you are going to use, with iScribo you can learn how to express yourself in Spanish and correct all the documents you compose without having to worry about making mistakes. Do you identify with any of these types of writing tones? Do you know of any others that we haven’t mentioned? Tell us about them in the comments below.

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Writing in Spanish

8 Tips to Correct Spelling Mistakes in Spanish

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8 Consejos para Escribir sin Faltas de Ortografía | iScribo

Making spelling mistakes when writing in Spanish generates confusion in the receiver of our message. Moreover, correcting spelling mistakes in your documents is perceived as a high command of the language, as well as a good cultural level.

Protecting Spanish as a language is the goal of academics and linguists. Also, writing according to Spanish spelling rules will help us to be clearer and more precise when we express ourselves. Good spelling helps to improve the communicative process, so it is important to wonder how to avoid spelling mistakes while writing.

Even if you like to read a lot and you pay attention to how to write without spelling mistakes, making errors happens to everyone sometimes. iScribo brings you a few tips about how to spell correct in Spanish, so that your fluency when writing is not affected by punctual doubts you may have.

1. Keep Reading

If you wonder how to overcome spelling mistakes while writing, we’ll tell you that reading is vital to improve your writing in any language and Spanish is no exception.

If you are one of those people who devour books and literature is your passion, you are in luck. Kill two birds with one stone! While practising your favourite hobby, you will learn how to write properly in Spanish.

If you’re not much of a storyteller, read newspapers and magazines that interest you – anything goes!

2. Learn Spanish Spelling Rules

Spanish is based on rules. Yes, there are exceptions, but we have to start somewhere. Learning basic Spanish spelling will help you to write better and better each time.

3. Write Nonstop

Practice makes perfect. The first thing is to learn the spelling rules well and the second is to put them into practice.

You can write in your own handwriting with pen and paper, the old-fashioned way, or you can use a spellchecker in Spanish to correct yourself as you write. Think that everything helps and that everything you do will improve the way you write.

4. Ask a Spanish-Speaker for Help

Globalisation has its advantages. One of them is that, as Spanish is the second most globally spoken language, you will find Spanish speakers everywhere you go!

If you know a Spanish speaker, ask them if they can dictate to you and then correct it. It’s a great way to learn the basic rules of Spanish and learn in real time.

5. Work With Synonyms

Repeat after me “the dictionary is my best friend”. Don’t say it out loud or people will think you have a social problem, but rather, repeat it to yourself in your head for a few minutes.

Why have a dictionary ‘as a friend’? Associating a word with its meaning will help you spell it well. Look up synonyms for a word and your brain will begin to associate it with what you already know. This trick is infallible to write well.

6. Identify Other’s Spelling Mistakes

Reading someone else’s text, whether from a friend or a newspaper or magazine, for example, and identifying the spelling mistakes that have been made will sharpen your instinct for spotting your own spelling mistakes.

It’s not about being cruel to others! But think that no one is perfect, so we all make spelling mistakes. First, learn to criticise yourself and then you will be able to see the mistakes of others with the constructive perspective that will help you learn.

7. Mind your Writing!

Nowadays we live surrounded by stimuli and this favours attention deficit. When typing or using a pen, concentrate on what your hands are doing and writing. This simple step is ideal for avoiding spelling mistakes. Common sense? Yes, maybe, attention plays an essential role in your writing.

8. Write Down your Most Frequent Mistakes

We tend to make the same mistakes repeatedly. What can we do? As human beings, that is our condition.

Make a list of your most frequent spelling mistakes in Spanish and look at it from time to time. That way you will train your brain… and it works!

Take Advantage of the Benefits that Internet Offers

Spanish RAE y other organisations like Fundéu are there to help us. Take advantage of a world dominated by the Internet and learn from these tools.

The more you practice and work on writing well in Spanish, the fewer spelling mistakes you will make.

Have you tried the iScribo Spanish grammar checker yet? In addition to correcting spelling mistakes, it will suggest grammatical improvements as well as synonyms. Writing well is easy and at your fingertips. Tell us in the comments section below.

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Writing in Spanish

10 Homonym Words in Spanish for Every Now & Then

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Si quieres saber a qué llamamos palabras homónimas y aprender algunos ejemplos, no te pierdas esta entrada de iScribo. Escribe mejor en español hoy mismo.

Homonyms in Spanish language are words that are pronounced the same or in a very similar way but are spelled differently.

They are divided into homophones, which are those that are pronounced the same but their spelling and meaning are different, and homographs, which are spelled and pronounced the same but their meaning is different. Here are some Spanish homonyms and examples to help you understand them.

5 Homophone Words

1. Astaand hasta

Asta is a noun and means “horn”, like that of the bull, and it can be as well the “mast” of the flags.

Ese toro tiene un asta muy afilada, el ganadero debe tener cuidado. (That bull has a very sharp horn, the rancher should be careful.)

La bandera está a media asta en señal de duelo. (The flag is at half-mast as a sign of mourning.)

Hasta, is a preposition and indicates the final limit of a trajectory in time and space.

Hoy trabajaré hasta que me canse. (Today I will work until I feel tired.)

2. Bello and vello

The first word is an adjective and indicates that something is beautiful or pretty:

Qué bello el final de la película. (How beautiful the end of the film.)

The second word is a noun synonymous with short, soft hair on the human body or on fruit:

El melocotón me da dentera por su vello. (The peach gives me chills because of its fuzz.)

3. Hora and ora

Hora is a noun used as a measure of time, although it has several meanings:

Sesenta minutos hacen una hora. (Sixty minutes make an hour.)

Ora is distributive conjunction meaning “now” and is also a conjugation of the verb “orar”:

Ora ríe, ora llora. (Now they laugh, now they cry.)

Ora, que estamos en misa. (Pray, so we are at Mass.)

4. Naval and nabal

Naval is an adjective relating to navigation and nabal is another adjective pertaining or relating to turnips:

La flota naval está expuesta en el puerto. (The fleet is on display in the harbour.)

El campo nabal está listo para la recolección. (The nabal field is ready for harvesting.)

5. Sabia and savia

Sabia is an adjective indicating “wisdom” and savia is a noun meaning the liquid of plants.

Jaime es una persona muy sabia. (Jaime is a very wise person.)

El árbol tiene un corte y se le ve la savia. (The tree has a cut and you can see the sap.)

5 Homograph Words

6. Amo

It can be the first person of the verb “amar” or the noun synonymous with “owner”:

Te amo más que a mí misma. (I love you more than I love myself.)

El amo de ese perro debe estar cerca. (The owner of that dog must be nearby.)

7. Clavo

In both cases it is a noun, one is a piece of metal and the other is a cooking spice:

Dame el clavo que cuelgue el cuadro. (Give me the nail so I can hung the picture.)

A esta carne le pega el sabor del clavo. (This meat should be flavoured with cloves.)

8. Gato

Defines two completely different nouns. One is the animal and the other is the mechanical tool.

El gato de Marina es siamés. (Marina’s cat is a Siamese.)

Para cambiar la rueda necesitas un gato. (To change the wheel you need a jack.)

9. Pasta

Two different nouns to express food or as a colloquial synonym for “money”:

Hoy comemos pasta con pesto. (Today we are eating pasta with pesto.)

No tengo pasta para pagar el cine. (I don’t have money to pay for the movies.)

10. Vino

Can be the noun defining the alcoholic beverage made from grapes or the verb “venir” conjugated:

Me encanta el vino tinto. (I love red wine.)

Marta vino a jugar al tenis. (Marta came to play tennis.)

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