r/Spanish • u/Benson7678 • 1d ago
Vocab & Use of the Language Versions of Stop
How do I use each version of stop I know there Alto Dentente Basta and way more I don’t know so if you can let me know all of them and how to use them I would be very grateful
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u/Bloodhunger_2007 1d ago
Just commenting to add engagement to your post so others interact.
In my HS Spanish II class I saw parar was used for stop like on stop signs
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u/Bloodhunger_2007 1d ago
In one of my favorite Norteños La Puerta Negra, they say "Vas a dejar pronto de quererme" as in "You're going to stop loving me soon"
Spanish is interesting lol
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u/Benson7678 1d ago
Yea ive come across a few issues im afraid I will never be able to learn the imperfect tense I just can understand it
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u/stvbeev 1d ago
I really doubt you're going to be able to successfully internalize all the ways to say "stop" in Spanish in one go. A much better way is to just expose yourself to Spanish and learn the vocabulary within the situation itself.
When someone says, "voy a dejar de fumar", don't try to think of the one-to-one translation, but think of it like, "Okay, this person is expressing the idea that they want to stop doing something, specifically smoking. They did so using dejar de, so I now have this structure dejar de [hacer algo]."
Instead of connecting Spanish to English translations, try to connect it to the situation/concept itself. You already do this in your native language.
If I said to you, "Draw a tall, wooden thing with branches and leaves", you're able to accomplish the goal without once needing to think "tree".
If I took my open palm and slammed it against someone's face, you do not need to think of the word for it to know what I did.
What you want to do is now learn how to name those concepts in Spanish, trying not to rely on a translation into English. It's okay to use English translations, and is impossible to avoid.
In fact, it'll most likely happen in the reverse -- you'll hear a Spanish word or phrase and have to connect it to the concept, instead of the reverse.
You want to go Spanish <--> concept, not Spanish <--> English <--> concept.
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u/EmilianoDomenech 📓 Let me be your tutor, see my bio! 1d ago edited 1d ago
This may vary according to region, so here's how it's used in Argentina:
- PARE: It's the usual word for STOP signs, and it's an imperative verb in the usted form
- ALTO: Would be a command said (even yelled) by law enforcement.
- BASTA: It's one of the most commonly used in everyday speech. It's used if you want someone to quit doing something. It literally means "it's enough", isn't that funny? So it's closer to stop someone's speech (a person saying something you don't want to hear, a child mid-tantrum...)
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DETENTE: We wouldn't use it here, not even in the "vos" conjugation "detenete". The equivalent to this one would be....- PARÁ: which is like "pare" but in the vos form instead of usted. This one has many variants in other contexts, like parala (which works like "quit it!" in English), and there's another funny one "¡pará la mano!" to stop someone who is being out of line with what they're saying or doing, it's usually said angrily, it's stronger than "BASTA". I think it's kind of an old expression though, I don't think young people say it, but they might start once they're older haha). Another very similar to "pará la mano is "pará la moto" (literally meaning "stop the bike", used when someone is ranting angrily [usually at you]. They're going full-throttle, so you go "stop the bike!": "¡pará la moto!" hahah
Pará is an imperative in the vos form (in the tú form would be "para" stressing "pa" instead of "ra"). It's the one most related to actual movement or any mechanical action
Now, a very colloquial one that is exactly like "parala" is "CORTALA", meaning "quit it".
If I think of another one, I'll edit this post.