Spanish for Yeah Right Think Again
"Ya" Is Way Less Confusing Than You Remember – Spanish Pro Tip
October 31, 2016
<p>The reason why you often run into more than <span class="sp">ya's</bridge> in a Spanish dialogue than tears in a hot sauce convention is that <span class="sp">ya</bridge> is an incredibly expressive word.</p><p>In almost classrooms, it is usually translated as <bridge class="en">already</bridge>; but out there in the wild, it has a agglomeration of other interesting meanings:</p><div class="translation"><p><bridge class="sp">—¡No, por favor! Esa peli <potent>ya</strong> la half dozen en el cine y todavía estoy esperando a que me devuelvan esas dos horas de mi vida.</span><br><span form="en">"No, please. That movie, I <strong>already</strong> saw information technology in the (movie theatre) and I am still waiting (so that) they give me back those two hours of my life."</bridge></p><p><span form="sp">—<strong>Ya</strong> verás como la segunda vez te gusta más.</span><br><bridge class="en">"<strong>(At some future time</strong>) you will see how the 2nd time (you sentinel it) information technology pleases y'all more."</span></p><p><span course="sp">—Mira, la semana pasada me recomendaste <em>Transformers</em> y casi me suicido, así que <stiff>ya</strong> no cuela.</bridge><br><span class="en">"Look, (the) last calendar week yous recommended Transformers (to me) and I almost (suicide / impale) myself, so (it doesn't go through the strainer / I don't believe you) <strong>now</strong>/<strong>anymore</strong>"</span></p></div><p><span class="en">Already</bridge>, <span class="en">at some future time</bridge>, <span class="en">now/anymore</span>. What's the deal?</p><!--more than--><h2>Words don't make sense unless yous sympathize their context</h2><p>Before we start discussing <span class="sp">ya's</span> private life, let'southward talk about <strong>context</stiff>. Words don't exist in isolation—they live in sentences.</p><p>Sentences behave differently when they contain <strong>ane</strong> verb or <stiff>multiple verbs</strong>, or when the verb is in the <strong>past</strong>, in the <strong>present</strong> or in the <strong>hereafter</stiff> tense. Subject, intonation, word order: all these variables play together to determine the meaning of each sentence. The sooner you acquire to <stiff>observe these things</strong>, the more than sense Spanish volition brand.</p><p>Look at the three sentences in a higher place, and run across if you can notice <strong>differences in their contexts</potent>.</p><h2>The secret to understanding <span class="sp">ya</span> is in the verb tense</h2><p>The verb in <span class="sp">Esta peli la <potent>6</stiff> en el cine</bridge> is in the <strong>past</stiff>, the verb in <span class="sp"><strong>Verás</potent> como te gusta más</span> is in the <strong>future</potent>, and the verb in <span class="sp">Lo que has dicho no <strong>cuela</strong></span> is in the <strong>nowadays</strong>.</p><p>The reason why <bridge class="sp">ya</bridge> can be confusing is that information technology's sometimes translated as <span class="en">already</bridge>, others every bit <span class="en">now</span> or <span class="en">yet</span>, and often it'south not translated at all.</p><p>The cardinal to avoiding the defoliation is to realize that these are just dissimilar applications of the same principle:</p><blockquote form="legacy-blockquote"><p><span class="sp">Ya</bridge> is used to emphasize that a alter from "<strong>not happened</strong>" to "<potent>happened</strong>" took place at <strong>a given time</strong>.</p></blockquote><div grade="translation"><p><span class="sp">Esta peli <strong>ya</stiff> la vi en el cinematics.</span><br><span form="en">There was a time in the by when I hadn't however seen this movie, but <strong>at some point afterward</strong> I saw it (I <strong>already</strong> saw it).</bridge></p><p><span class="sp"><stiff>Ya</strong> verás como te gusta.</span><br><span form="en">You don't like information technology now, only I promise that <potent>at some future time</strong> you will.</span></p><p><span class="sp">Lo que has dicho <potent>ya</strong> no cuela.</span><br><span class="en">In the past, I would take believed you lot, but <strong>now</potent> I don't.</span></p></div><p>Since <span class="sp">ya</bridge> is simply used to emphasize, you could omit information technology and still get your indicate across, but yous'd be missing out on spoonfuls of Castilian season.</p><p>If y'all want to get out of Spanish Intermediate Purgatory, <strong>you have to get comfy with <span class="sp">ya</span></strong>.</p><p>Okay. If <span class="sp">ya</span> were Barcelona, we merely visited the <span form="sp">Sagrada Familia</span>. Information technology'due south time to check out some of the less touristy neighborhoods.</p><h2><span grade="sp">Ya</span> vs. <bridge form="sp">Todavía</span></h2><p>One of the major confusion black holes around <span class="sp">ya</bridge> is its relationship with <span course="sp">todavía</span>, considering they're both ofttimes translated equally <span grade="en">nonetheless</span>, <span class="en">still</span>, <span course="en">no longer</span>, <span grade="en">already</bridge> or <bridge class="en">anymore</span>.</p><blockquote form="legacy-blockquote"><p>If you desire to emphasize that there was <strong>no alter</strong>, employ <span class="sp">todavía</span>.</p></blockquote><p>For example, in the offset sentence to a higher place, we said <span course="sp"><strong>todavía</potent> estoy esperando</span> because the change from "waiting" to "not waiting" didn't have identify.</p><p>It's easy to become a bit confused when adding <strong>negation</strong>, merely the rules are the aforementioned:</p><ul><li>Affirmative <potent>change</stiff>, utilize <span class="sp">ya</bridge></li><li>Affirmative <stiff>no-change</strong>, use <span class="sp">todavía</span></li><li>Negative <stiff>change</strong>, use <span class="sp">ya no</span></li><li>Negative <strong>no-change</strong>, use <span form="sp">todavía no</bridge></li></ul><div class="translation"><p><span course="sp">Esta peli <strong>ya</strong> la 6 en el cinematics.</bridge><br><bridge course="en">Affirmative change: I hadn't seen it before, I saw it some time later on.</span></p><p><span grade="sp"><potent>Todavía</stiff> estoy esperando a que me devuelvan esas dos horas de mi vida.</bridge><br><span course="en">Affirmative no-change: I was waiting before, I'k still waiting.</span></p><p><span class="sp"><stiff>Ya no</strong> estoy esperando a que me devuelvan esas dos horas de mi vida.</span><br><bridge form="en">Negative change: I was waiting before, I'm no longer waiting. (Either somebody invented a time car and I got my hours back, or I just lost hope.)</span></p><p><span class="sp">Esta peli <strong>todavía no</strong> la he visto en el cine.</bridge><br><span form="en">Negative no-change: I hadn't seen it before, I however haven't seen it.</bridge></p></div><h2>Omitting words afterwards <bridge grade="sp">ya</span></h2><p>JLo can look similar a typo unless you know that <em>Jennifer Lopez</em> is a matter. Too, <span class="sp">ya</span> by itself makes no sense until you lot figure out what words should come after it:</p><div form="translation"><p><bridge form="sp"><strong>Ya</stiff> (te entiendo), pero págame lo que me debes.</span><br><bridge class="en">(I empathize you lot <strong>at present</potent> / right), but pay me what you owe me.</span></p><p><span grade="sp"><strong>Ya</strong> (lo sé), pero ahora no necesito tu ayuda.</span><br><bridge class="en">(I know it <potent>now</potent> / certain), but now I don't need your help.</bridge></p><p><span class="sp">Hacemos el ejercicio, lo corregimos, y <stiff>ya</strong> (hemos terminado).</span><br><span class="en">We (will) practise the exercise, we (will) right information technology, and (<stiff>then</potent> we're done / that's it).</bridge></p><p><span class="sp"><potent>Ya</strong> estoy (listo). ¿Nos vamos?</span><br><span class="en">I am gear up <potent>now</strong>. (Shall) we go?</span></p></div><p>If you come beyond a sentence where <span form="sp">ya</span> doesn't seem to make sense, 90% of the time information technology's just missing a few words after it.</p><h2><span class="sp">Ya</span> vs. <span grade="sp">Ahora</span></h2><p>When the context of a sentence is the present, <span course="sp">ya</span> plays a similar role to <span class="sp">ahora</bridge> (<span form="en">at present</span>), with a subtle difference between them:</p><div form="translation"><p><span class="sp">—¡Nacho, ve a recoger tu cuarto!</span><br><span course="en">"Nacho, go to clean up your room!"</span></p><p><span class="sp">—¡Ahora voy!</span><br><span course="en">"I'm going now!"</span></p><p><span course="sp">—No, ahora no. ¡<potent>Ya</strong>!</span><br><span class="en">"No, not now. <strong><em>Right at present</em></potent>!"</span></p></div><p>My mom knew perfectly well that <span class="sp">ya</span> is a much stronger indication of immediacy than <span class="sp">ahora</span>.</p><h2><span class="sp">Ya que</span> and other <bridge class="sp">ya</span> expressions</h2><p>Let'south finish our bout of <span class="sp">Ya</bridge> City past noticing 3 more than landmarks that are <strong>not direct related</strong> to the usages nosotros saw above. They're not particularly difficult to internalize, you just accept to know they exist.</p><h3><bridge class="sp">Ya que</span></h3><p>An fantabulous way to show off your native chops is to apply <bridge class="sp">ya que</span> to hateful <span class="en">since</span>:</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">—Voy a ver si ya está (lista) la comida.</bridge><br><span class="en">"I'm going to see if the food is ready (<bridge class="sp"><em>ya</em></span> indicates a alter from 'not ready' to 'ready')"</span></p><p><span class="sp">–<strong>Ya que</potent> vas a la cocina, ¿me puedes traer una cerveza?</span><br><span class="en">"<potent>Since</strong> you're going to the kitchen (anyway), tin can you bring me a beer?"</span></p></div><p><strong>Use <span class="sp">ya que</bridge> more oftentimes</strong>. Seriously. It sounds great, information technology's not that hard, and you might become a gratis beer from your friend.</p><h3>Atheism <span course="sp">ya</span></h3><p>This usage comes pretty handy when you desire to convey atheism or mild disapproval:</p><div class="translation"><p><span class="sp">—Te juro que ese de ahí es Ricky Martin.</bridge><br><span class="en">"I swear to yous that that (guy) (of at that place / over there) is Ricky Martin."</span></p><p><bridge class="sp">—¡<strong>Anda ya</strong>!</span><br><span grade="en">"(Yeah, sure)!"</bridge></p></div><p>If your friend insists that it's Ricky, and you don't want to repeat yourself, <span class="sp">¡venga ya!</bridge> works but as well.</p><h3>Agreement <span class="sp">ya</span></h3><p>If your friend finally manages to say something credible, here'south how you tin concord:</p><div course="translation"><p><span form="sp">—La verdad es que tu coche está bastante bien.</span><br><span class="en">"The truth is that your car is pretty prissy."</bridge></p><p><span class="sp">—<strong>Ya te digo</stiff>. Es un cochazo.</span><br><span class="en">"(I'chiliad telling y'all / Hell yeah). It'due south a (super car / sweet ride)."</span></p></div><p><span class="sp">Ya ves</span> (<span class="en">Y'all run into / Y'all got that right</span>) is another common expression that means the same thing.</p><h2>Spanish takeaways</h2><p>There is a beautiful unifying principle that solves about of the confusion around <span form="sp">ya</span>: <strong><span class="sp">ya</span> is used to highlight a alter of state taking place at some signal in the past, present, or future</stiff>.</p><p>Depending on the <strong>tense of the verb</strong>, this change may accept already happened in the past, it may have only happened at present, or it may be believed to happen in the futurity.</p><p>If the change goes from "<strong>not happening</strong>" to "<strong>happening</strong>", nosotros utilize <span class="sp"><strong>ya</strong></span>; if it'southward the <potent>opposite direction</strong>, we use <bridge class="sp"><strong>ya no</stiff></span>. The same applies when there's a <strong>lack of change</potent>, except that nosotros apply <span class="sp"><potent>todavía</potent></span>.</p><p>Once you stop seeing Spanish words as direct translations from English (<span class="sp">ya</span> = <bridge class="en">already</span>) and start <potent>noticing their context clues</strong>, learning how to apply <bridge class="sp">ya</bridge> (and Spanish in general) will make much more sense.</p><p>Learning all these usages at a conceptual level is fun, but reading this article is only <a href="https://deliberatespanish.com/blog/intermediate-purgatory">depression-intensity practice</a>, <potent>unless you really internalize them</stiff>.</p><p>Make a list of <span class="sp">ya</span> usages that confuse you, write them down, repeat them aloud, sing them in the shower, text them to your <a href="https://deliberatespanish.com/web log/natives">native friends</a>.</p><p>It will experience awkward at commencement, but after you put in enough deliberate practice hours, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow"><strong>Think Fast</strong></a> part of your encephalon will take over and <strong>yous'll finish feeling similar an intermediate</stiff>.</p><p>Feel costless to <a href="mailto:nacho@deliberatespanish.com/blog">email me</a> or annotate below if y'all have whatsoever other <span class="sp">ya</span> questions.</p>
Source: https://www.deliberatespanish.com/blog/ya
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