Take the fastest path to fluent Spanish
Repeating a word in Spanish to give emphasis
In conversational Spanish, one way to give some emphasis to a word (an adjective, a noun, an infinitive...) is to repeat that word right after it's mentioned.
For example, imagine someone says:
Imagino que te habrás llevado una sorpresa negativa al tener un niño en vez de una niña, porque no te lo esperabas ¿no?
I imagine you may have got an unwelcome surprise at having a baby boy and not a baby girl, as you weren't expecting it, right?
They reply could be:
By repeating the word "negativa", we are emphasising the meaning of the word as in "really".
It can also happen with an infinitive:
Sometimes the infinitive is followed by the same verb but conjugated, and normally followed by "pero...". For example:
Also with a noun:
Other examples:
Guapo guapo no es, pero es cariñoso y adorable.Handsome, what you would call handsome, he is not, but he is loving and adorable.
Ella bailar bailaba, pero se movía con tan poco entusiasmo...She did dance, but she moved with so little enthusiasm...
Want to make sure your Spanish sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »
