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Spanish - approximating numbers? | ||
Tags: Number System | Spanish | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| kaizen Groupie Canada Joined 4752 days ago 48 posts - 52 votes  Studies: French | Message 1 of 9 30 November 2015 at 7:46am | IP Logged | |||||
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Whenever I try to say "around" or "about" when referring to a number in a Spanish sentence, I stumble because I'm not sure how to do it properly. I've got a few random sentences here, and I'm wondering if any of you could give me some suggestions on how to say any of them in casual, spoken Spanish. I realize it may vary by region.
1) I'll call you around 12:30. 2) There were about 200 people at her wedding. 3) She wants to retire at about 55. 4) It takes about 3.5 hours to get to Madrid. 5) He's worked there for around 4 years. 6) I have a niece around her age. (* this one is a bit different because it's not using a specific number) Thanks in advance for any replies. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6392 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 2 of 9 30 November 2015 at 8:27pm | IP Logged | |||||
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alrededor de, en torno a, aproximadamente :) sometimes más o menos can work too.
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| smallwhite Pentaglot Senior Member Australia Joined 5103 days ago 537 posts - 1045 votes Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin, French, Spanish | Message 3 of 9 01 December 2015 at 10:46am | IP Logged | |||||
sobre las 12 and unas 200 personas seem quite common 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6392 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 4 of 9 01 December 2015 at 2:14pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Hmm I didn't even realize you can use "sobre" like that. It's definitely less common than in English.
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| smallwhite Pentaglot Senior Member Australia Joined 5103 days ago 537 posts - 1045 votes Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin, French, Spanish | Message 5 of 9 02 December 2015 at 2:29am | IP Logged | |||||
Less common that what in English? My "sobre las 9" flashcard was copied from Berlitz Spanish Grammar Handbook, a pretty elementary grammar.
Tengo una sobrina alrededor de su edad. The last part itself is "de su edad" / of her age: Tengo una sobrina de su edad. Edited by smallwhite on 02 December 2015 at 2:48am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| caam_imt Triglot Senior Member Mexico Joined 4657 days ago 232 posts - 357 votes Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, Finnish Studies: German, Swedish | Message 6 of 9 02 December 2015 at 9:27am | IP Logged | |||||
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My take on this:
1) I'll call you around 12:30. Te hablo a eso (por ahí) de las 12:30. 2) There were about 200 people at her wedding. Había unas 200 personas en su boda. 3) She wants to retire at about 55. Se quiere jubilar cuando tenga mas o menos 55 años. 4) It takes about 3.5 hours to get to Madrid. El viaje a Madrid dura unas tres horas y media. 5) He's worked there for around 4 years. Ha trabajado ahí alrededor de cuatro años. 6) I have a niece around her age. (* this one is a bit different because it's not using a specific number) Tengo una sobrina mas o menos de su edad. I wouln't use "sobre" in any of the above examples. "Aproximadamente" is ok too, though it may sound slightly more formal (not always though). 5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6392 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 7 of 9 02 December 2015 at 10:25am | IP Logged | |||||
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I meant less common than the English use of "about".
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| Gala Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4345 days ago 229 posts - 421 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 8 of 9 03 December 2015 at 9:38pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I believe that "sobre" is only used this way in Spain. I've definitely heard it (in
movies) used to indicate an approximate time, just like "a eso de." F.E: Te hablo a eso de/ sobre las 8." I don't know if "sobre" would work in any of the other phrases... I'm no expert on Peninsular usage. But I can say that I don't remember ever hearing it in those contexts, and it would sound strange if I did (as does "sobre las 8," being that I've heard it much less often than "a eso de.") 1 person has voted this message useful |
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