Spanish Tales for Beginners

by Unknown

[[36-18]] te lo ('so') puede decir=puede decírtelo.

[[36-22]] lo éramos desde hacía dos meses=hacía dos meses que lo éramos (eramos, 'had been'). The imperfect is used, as the condition still existed: lo takes the place of novios,—omit in translation, or translate 'engaged.'

[[36-23]] al entrar en, 'as I was going into.'

[[36-24]] echó á correr: see echar(se) á, under echar, in Vocab.

[[36-26]] le había gustado: does this mean 'he had liked me' or 'I had liked him'?—le quería=[le] quería á el: see querer á, in Vocab.

[[36-27]] en: see Vocab.—que era la que, 'which was the one that.'

[[36-29]] á Luisa... Paco Núñez=también Paco Núñez había escrito á Luisa: for the use of le, see second note, l. 17.

[[36-31]] le dije, 'said to him' (Paco).—en el paseo: on Sunday afternoons and on other holidays, groups of young women accompanied by older persons, and groups of young men, stroll up one side of the paseo and down the other. Often they will go in opposite directions so that they may speak in passing.

In Spain and in Spanish America, as in all Latin countries, young men and young women, not closely related, may not walk out together unless they are engaged to be married, and even then they must be accompanied by an older person, usually the young woman's mother.

37.—[[37-1]] que sí, 'yes.' This expression may have its origin in dice que sí, 'he says so.'—á la otra vuelta, 'when we went around again' (lit., 'at the next turn').]