Friday, February 20, 2015

Ad Errors: Número Uno ~ La Respuesta

Last time, I introduced something new to you. Ad Errors is a game, sort of, where you must try and locate the error or errors in Spanish in an advertisement that I post. It should be fun and I hope that it is fun.

Here is the advertisement with the answer:


I've circled the word "las" in this ad. It happens to be the only error in the ad. But why?

To answer this question, you must know something about telling time in Spanish.

The time after the word "las" is 1 p.m. One is a singular time unlike the rest of the numbers on the clock. In Spanish, the word "las" is plural. The singular form is "la." When combining something that is singular, all reference words must match it in number.

So instead of reading "a las 1:00PM," it really should have been "a la 1:00PM!"

Notice that this ad does it correctly further below when it says ". . . 15 de febrero a la 1:00PM!" Perhaps this was just a typo or perhaps it was a bit rushed to get published, but either way, there you have it. Were you right? Did you spot this error?

Time in Spanish is not too difficult. When you want to say "at such and such a time," you would say "a la (or las) and the time." Remember that you would use "las" when you speak of time greater than one (e.g. two, three, four, etc.). If you are referring to time within the hour of one o'clock to 1:59, you would still use the singular "la" in reference to the hour and not the minutes. For example, "at 1:30" would still be "a la 1:30" (a la una y media or treinta).

¡Hasta luego!
~Keith




Friday, February 13, 2015

Ad Errors: Número Uno

I decided to start something new with my blog. Let me introduce Ad Errors. As you can probably tell, it's not the most original of names.

From time to time, I'll find an advertisement in Spanish. I'll post it in the hopes that you will comment below with your answers. It'll contain one or multiple errors in Spanish. Can you identify the error(s)?

The following week, I'll post the answer. Post your comments below and good luck!

So here is the first ever, Ad Errors: Número Uno:


¡Hasta Luego!
~Keith