How to Translate “To” in Spanish: When to Use A, Para, Que or No Translation at All
- The story episode in Spanish.
- The translation into English.
- A grammar explanation with examples from the story.
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El sábado por la tarde, los cuatro amigos llegan a casa de la abuela de Constance. Ella los ha invitado a tomar el té después de la intensa semana que han vivido.
On Saturday afternoon, the four friends arrive at Constance’s grandmother’s house. She has invited them to tea after the intense week they have had.
Daniel lleva una bandeja con comida nigeriana que ha preparado con su familia.
Daniel brings a tray of Nigerian food that he has prepared with his family.
—Es una receta tradicional —explica—. Pensé que sería una buena oportunidad para compartir un poco de mi cultura.
—It’s a traditional recipe —he explains—. I thought it would be a good opportunity to share a little of my culture.
Todos se sientan en el jardín. Durante unos minutos prueban la comida y disfrutan del ambiente tranquilo.
They all sit down in the garden. For a few minutes, they try the food and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.
—Tu apellido siempre me ha parecido interesante —comenta Imran—. Adeyemi.
—I’ve always found your surname interesting —Imran comments—. Adeyemi.
Daniel asiente.
Daniel nods.
—Muchos nombres nigerianos tienen significados profundos. Adeyemi significa “la corona me da dignidad”.
—Many Nigerian names have deep meanings. Adeyemi means “the crown gives me dignity”.
—Eso es precioso —dice Constance.
—That’s beautiful —says Constance.
Daniel sonríe.
Daniel smiles.
—En Nigeria los nombres suelen contar una historia. Y también hay una enorme diversidad cultural. En mi país se hablan más de quinientos idiomas. Los tres más importantes son el yoruba, el igbo y el hausa, pero existen muchísimas lenguas locales que siguen pasando de generación en generación.
—In Nigeria, names often tell a story. And there is also enormous cultural diversity. More than five hundred languages are spoken in my country. The three most important are Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa, but there are many local languages that continue to be passed down from generation to generation.
La abuela levanta las cejas.
Grandma raises her eyebrows.
—¡Más de quinientos!
—More than five hundred!
—Sí. Y por eso siempre me hace gracia cuando alguien habla de “la cultura nigeriana” como si fuera una sola cosa. Mi familia es yoruba. La religión tradicional yoruba influyó en muchas tradiciones que llegaron a América y todavía hoy se pueden encontrar elementos de ella en países como Cuba o Brasil.
—Yes. And that’s why I always find it amusing when someone talks about “Nigerian culture” as if it were just one thing. My family is Yoruba. Traditional Yoruba religion influenced many traditions that reached the Americas, and elements of it can still be found today in countries such as Cuba and Brazil.
—No tenía ni idea —reconoce Constance.
—I had no idea —admits Constance.
—Mucha gente tampoco sabe que Nigeria tiene una de las industrias cinematográficas más grandes del mundo. Se llama Nollywood y produce miles de películas cada año.
—Many people also don’t know that Nigeria has one of the largest film industries in the world. It’s called Nollywood, and it produces thousands of films every year.
—¿Más que Hollywood? —pregunta la abuela.
—More than Hollywood? —asks Grandma.
—No necesariamente en presupuesto, pero sí en cantidad de producciones. Y nuestra música también es muy conocida. El Afrobeats se ha convertido en un fenómeno internacional. Seguro que habéis oído hablar de artistas como Burna Boy, Wizkid o Tems.
—Not necessarily in terms of budget, but certainly in terms of the number of productions. And our music is also very well known. Afrobeats has become an international phenomenon. I’m sure you’ve heard of artists such as Burna Boy, Wizkid and Tems.
Imran asiente.
Imran nods.
—Sí, los conozco.
—Yes, I know them.
—Además, tenemos escritores extraordinarios. Wole Soyinka fue el primer africano negro en recibir el Premio Nobel de Literatura.
—We also have extraordinary writers. Wole Soyinka was the first Black African to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.
La abuela asiente.
Grandma nods.
—Claro, escribió obras de teatro y ensayos muy relevantes. Incluso estuvo en prisión por oponerse a la dictadura en su país. Pero mucha gente no ha oído hablar de él.
—Of course, he wrote highly significant plays and essays. He was even imprisoned for opposing the dictatorship in his country. But many people have never heard of him.
Daniel ríe.
Daniel laughs.
—Eso es porque muchas veces sabemos muy poco de las culturas diferentes a la nuestra. Pero es muy importante mirar a nuestro alrededor. Una vez leí una frase que me gustó mucho: “uno es lo que uno mira”. Cuando era pequeño quería viajar a otras partes del mundo para conocer otras culturas. Ahora sé que a veces hay cosas que aprender incluso muy cerca de casa.
—That’s because we often know very little about cultures different from our own. But it’s very important to look around us. I once read a quote that I really liked: “you are what you look at”. When I was young, I wanted to travel to other parts of the world in order to discover other cultures. Now I know that sometimes there are things to learn even very close to home.
Después señala una fotografía en su teléfono.
Then he points to a photograph on his phone.
—Mirad esto.
—Look at this.
En la imagen aparece un edificio decorado con dibujos geométricos.
The image shows a building decorated with geometric patterns.
—Es arquitectura tradicional hausa. Algunas ciudades hausas ya eran importantes centros comerciales mucho antes de la llegada de los europeos. Hay edificios de barro decorados de forma espectacular.
—This is traditional Hausa architecture. Some Hausa cities were already important trading centres long before the arrival of Europeans. There are mud buildings decorated in spectacular ways.
—Son preciosos —dice la abuela.
—They’re beautiful —says Grandma.
—Y todavía existen reyes tradicionales. Nigeria es una república moderna, pero algunos monarcas siguen teniendo una gran importancia cultural. Uno de los más respetados es el Ooni de Ife.
—And traditional kings still exist. Nigeria is a modern republic, but some monarchs continue to play an important cultural role. One of the most respected is the Ooni of Ife.
Durante unos segundos todos observan las fotografías. El ambiente es tranquilo y agradable. Entonces la abuela deja lentamente su taza sobre la mesa.
For a few seconds, they all look at the photographs. The atmosphere is peaceful and pleasant. Then Grandma slowly puts her cup down.
—Ahora que lo pienso… hay algo que nunca os he contado.
—Now that I think about it… there’s something I’ve never told you.
Los cuatro la miran.
The four of them look at her.
—Hace unas semanas encontré una fotografía antigua en el desván. Creo que vais a querer escuchar esta historia.
—A few weeks ago, I found an old photograph in the attic. I think you’re going to want to hear this story.
“`
🟧 In many structures, we don’t translate “to” when it is part of an infinitive, as in “to eat”. There is a reason for this: in Spanish, infinitives always end in ar, er, ir, so the infinitive form is already marked in the verb itself.
Quiero comer. I want to eat.
Necesito comer. I need to eat.
Prefiero comer. I prefer to eat.
Here, to is not translated.
🟧 The preposition “a” is used to express movement or action, as in:
Voy a Madrid. I go to Madrid.
Viajo a Madrid. I travel to Madrid.
Me mudo a Madrid. I move to Madrid.
Voy a cocinar ahora mismo. I am going to cook right now.
Voy a descansar un poco. I am going to rest for a while.
Here, to is translated as a.
🟧 The preposition “para” refers to the goal of an action. It means “in order to”:
Estudio español para trabajar en Barcelona. I study Spanish to work in Barcelona.
Practico tenis para divertirme. I practise tennis to have fun.
Here, to is translated as para.
🟧 We use the structure “tener que” meaning “to have to”:
Hoy tengo que ir al gimnasio. I have to go to the gym today.
Tenemos que levantarnos temprano. We have to get up early.
Here, to is translated as que.
🟧 When you are talking about position, you frequently use “de”, as in:
Encima de la mesa. On top of the table.
Debajo de la mesa. Under the table.
Enfrente de la mesa. In front of the table.
Detrás de la mesa. Behind the table.
Cerca de la mesa. Close to the table.
Lejos de la mesa. Far from the table.
Al lado de la mesa. Next to the table.
A la derecha de la mesa. On the right side of the table.
A la izquierda de la mesa. On the left side of the table.
Here you have:
Cerca de la mesa. Close to the table.
Al lado de la mesa. Next to the table.
Here, to is translated as de.
That’s it! Prepositions are complicated words, because they are, technically speaking, linking words, and many of them do not have a specific meaning. Apart from that, we use them in different ways, depending on the language. Latin used both prepositions and grammatical cases. Modern languages such as Finnish and Hungarian still express many relationships through cases instead of prepositions. And on top of that, you need to study another topic, which is what we call prepositional government. This means that some verbs rule a preposition, as in “depende de” (it depends on). But to do things more fascinating, at least for me, the preposition is not always the one that you expect.
You have many examples in our episode, and also this blog:
As in English, we can form an adverb adding a suffix to an adjective. A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or its grammatical function. Examples:
• happy → happiness
• teach → teacher
• quick → quickly
In these examples:
• -ness turns an adjective into a noun.
• -er indicates a person or thing who or which performs an action.
• -ly turns an adjective into an adverb.
We do the same in many languages. In Spanish, ly is mente:
obviously, obviamente
generally, generalmente
usually, usualmente
Here you have more information: Adverbs ending in -mente
Find all the episodes here: Contents – GCSE Spanish
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