Question

(Twenty-Five Points!)

Answer 1

Answer:

Érase una vez un hidalgo muy valiente.

Era el hombre más fuerte de su país y le daba miedo a todo el mundo .

Por eso vivía exiliado en una isla desierta

Hasta que lo salvó su hermano, el justísimo hidalgo Don Rodrigo .

Desde entonces, los dos héroes luchaban cada día contra la injusticia del mundo.

Vivieron felices y comieron perdices.

Explanation:

1. Once upon a time there was a very brave gentleman.

A usual beginning of a fairy tale in Spanish uses the irregular verb ser in the imperfect tense. Fairy tales usually take place in a faraway past, therefore we use an archaic and pronominal form of the verb in the third person singular. Also, a time reference that sets the action in the past, just as the English one, once upon a time, in Spanish gives: érase una vez.

2. He was the strongest man in his country and everybody feared him.

Here's how we create a superlative form of an adjective: first we must choose the correct form of the definite article. It matches the noun in gender and number so we consider the forms el, la, los, las. In this case, the noun is hombre, so we choose el. Next step is the adverb más, and then we combine it with the adjective: el más hermoso, el más fuerte, etc.

3. That is why he lived exiled on a deserted island

The imperfecto gives background information. It is formed by adding the endings -ABA, -ABAS, ABA, ÁBAMOS, ÁBAIS, ABAN to the verbs from the first (-AR) group, and the endings -ÍA, -ÍAS, -ÍA, -ÍAMOS, -ÍAIS, -ÍAN to the second (-ER) and the third (-IR) group verbs. The verb vivir ends in -IR so we used the ending -ía.

4. Until his brother, the extremely just gentleman, Don Rodrigo, saved him.

The Spanish absolute superlative is formed by adding suffixes onto the adjectives. We must choose the right suffix according to the gender and the number of the noun (-ísimo, -ísima, -ísimos, -ísimas). This form translates into English as extremely just, extremely beautiful etc.

5. Since then, the two heroes fought everyday against the injustice of the world.

We used the imperfecto here in order to illustrate repeated actions in the past. The verb luchar means to fight and in Spanish ends in -AR. The subject of the sentence is two heroes which requires a third person plural form of the verb. We choose the ending -aban: luchaban.

6. And they lived happily ever after.

Actually, this is not a literal translation of the phrase. They lived happily and ate partridges would be a more accurate translation. But it shouldn't be translated literally. There is another way to finish a tale in Spanish and that is colorín, colorado, este cuento se ha acabado. These phrases don't really mean anything, as their role is to conclude a story. And of course, they have to rhyme!