Elementary - Bossy

Question of the day: ¿Conoces tú a una persona mandona? Do you know a bossy person? Yo sí. En mi familia todos somos mandones.

Sorry todos, pero no puedo decir todo lo que quiero decir aquí usando solo español. Cuando fue un niño pequeño, en los cuarentas, no tuvimos televisión, solo la radio. Mi madre escuché soap operas todos los días. Los soap operas fueron sponsored by los vendedores de jabón. Las mujeres que fueron usando jabón todos los días limpiando las casas fueron el mercado objetivo. Y, el termino "opera", supongo, fue una broma, probablemente para dar un poco de "class" o algo de eso tipo. Un propósito: me disfruté esta lección muchisimo. Gracias.

estornino Que interesante teoría! Tiene mucho sentido por eso se llama "soap opera". En español es fácil "telenovelas", es una novela en la tele.

Creo que no soy una mandona (solo a veces, jeje), pero si que soy una dormilona... Me parece que tambien hay otra palabra para una telenovela: "un culebron", no?

No, no lo sé. Todos a gentes alrededor de mio no están mandonado!

conozco algunas personas mandonas pero no me gustan y las evito he oido que las telenovelas mexicanas ofrecen buenas oportunidades a aprender y practicar espanol ... que creen ustedes?

Estornino es exactamente correcto. Y no mas despues de los programas fue llamaron (?) "soap operas" a estos programas, "westerns" en la television y las peliculas were called "horse operas." Operas de caballos. JaJaJa!

Origin of the term "soap opera:" These daytime broadcast dramas originated during the era of popular radio, before the development of television. And since the medium of broadcasting was so new, it attracted new expressions and neologisms to it, just as computer technology has gotten people using new words and expressions. In the case of soap operas, which were a very popular type of program because they attracted a lot of listeners and thus a lot of paid advertising, here is the connection. The most active advertisers for the early radio drama shows were domestic products, especially laundry soap, hand soap and household detergents. The big U.S. soap companies (Tide, for instance, or Ivory) were the biggest advertisers for these shows. The audience was presumed to be predominantly women, listening to the shows at home or even at work if they were allowed to listen to the radio there. Thus the "soap" part. "opera" was a sort of cutely sarcastic way to describe the shows, which to the middle class and working class radio audience meant overly dramatic drama, sentimental in a hysterical way. I mean no offense to opera lovers; this is just the sociologycal truth about public perception. And so the facetious term soap opera was born. A melodramatic story with exaggerated emotions, subsidized by soap products. Other companies and products of course paid to advertise on these and other radio shows, but it didn't matter. Even after many popular radio dramas began appearing on TV in its early years, the term "soap opera" survived, and is still used. Some years ago, American TV introduced soap opera-like weekly programs such as "Dallas," which won very large audiences in its time. "Santa Barbara" was another. So today, the traditional telenovela of American TV that's broadcast in the afternoon is now referred to as a "daytime soap," to distinguish it from evening programming. The daytime soaps and their actors are not even connected with the same guilds and unions as regular TV. For instance, rather than belonging to the Screen Actors Guild as do all movie actors and regular TV actors, daytime soap opera actors belong to AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors. So the American "tele" occupies a completely different place in the entertainment industry, with little or no crossover or overlap. Hope this helps.

In the opening of the dialogue, the woman says "Cambia de canál. Later, she says "cambialo," which sounds like the normal grammar to me. Change it. But why is the "de" in the first of these utterances? Why not an article, instead? Change *the* channel? Cambia el canál? Unless canál is feminine, of course... I know we could describe the changing OF the channel,of course. But why say "change of channel?" as an imperative?there Thanks for explaining.

How do you say "stubborn," or a stubborn person? I used to think it was cabezón, but a lesson in About spanish (Gerald Erickson) says this just means something like proud or impulsive, and that there's another word for a stubborn person, also beginning with the root for "head" but ending differently. Can anyone elucidate? Now that I'm thinking half in Spanish, my mind is drawing connections between elucidate and the expression dar la luz for giving birth. Just wondering about the Latin etymological connection. don't be misled by that bit of thinking aloud, if it's of no interest. I just want to know about stubborn.

Hola yardbird. My dictionary offers cabezudo as another word for stubborn or pig-headed. Could that be the word you're thinking of?

Fun dialogue! Question about one tiny word... A: No lo soy. B: Sí que lo eres. "Lo" refers to "mandona," right? So why is it "lo" and not "la"? This is some kind of "general lo" that doesn't require gender agreement or something?

John, you're right, that's a neuter "lo." Using "la" would be necessarily referring to a feminine noun; "mandona" is an adjective. I'm happy to help you analyze this stuff, it's actually right up my alley. However, I do want to tell you that little questions like these are not something to study or stress about for those of you who are learning at the newbie or elementary level. This is one of those things that will come to you with time. : )

JP, Thanks! Not stressing, just curious. Also, can I say "ven" instead of "venga," or when I want to say "come on" like a Spaniard should I just stick to "venga"?

Yardbird You can say both cambia "el" canal and cambia "de" canal. Both are correct.

John No the phrase is "Venga" this is a very colloquial way to say "come on", so you can only say "venga" because "ven" would mean the actual verb "come".

Cyberdiva, Babezudo? Thanks for looking it up but no, I never have encountered that one. I like it, though! Thanks.

JP, you say that cabezona is an adjective? I believe you, I guess, but I could have sworn it was introduced as a noun. A bossy woman, you and Lili say in the lesson. Or a bossy dude, you add. That made it sound as if it were a noun. Besides, aren't there a whole lot of words very much like this that are (mostly pejorative) words made from a base word plus a few different suffixes, such as the -on ending? Please elucidate. No, I'm not stressed. I'm asking a straight-ahead question,. :-)

Hola yardbird. Perhaps you just accidentally typed a B instead of a C, but just in case your screen reader misread what I wrote, let me say again that the word I suggested was "cabezudo" (it starts with the letter C) rather than "babezudo." I suggested it in part because you were asking about a word that began with the root for "head."

Buen a ver que rollando los ojos no es particular al mundo de los habladores de inglés. Lo no necesita explicación.

Si. Mi hermana más joven y mi esposa. Espero que mi hija no sea mandona.

Hola spanishpod, Ningún de los palabras en el numero uno de sección 3 son correcto y hay no sonido a el numero seis.

Hola yardbird, Mi dictionario da la palabra "terno" a significar "stubborn". Me gusta su explicación de los telenovelas; Me suelo ver dos telenovelas durante la semana y estos son "Emmerdale" y "Coronation Street"!! Please can someone correct my Spanish. I am sure I am making loads of mistakes.

Hay una novela por el peruano Mario Vargas LLosa, "La Tía Julia y el Escribidor" (Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter) que se trata de las novelas en la época del radio y es muy divertida. Alguien la conoce? A propósito, la palabra que yo he oído por "stubborn" es "terco."

Hola anna8 I had another 'senior moment' I'm afraid! You are absolutely right the word is "terco"

pussycat y anna8 Esa es una de mis palabras favoritas, la uso mucho en esta oración "eres tan terco como un burro". No se porque pero en México creemos que los burros pueden ser un animal muy terco!

No soy una mandona pero quizas una comelona porque me gusta muco comer.

oups mucho

- oolung: sí, se puede decir telenovela o culebrón. - luisita se dice comilona, y yo también lo soy,je. - pussycat, some corrections Mi dicCionario dICE QUE la palabra "terno" significA "stubborn". Me gusta su explicación de lAs telenovelas; suelo ver dos telenovelas durante la semana y éstAs son "Emmerdale" y "Coronation Street"!!

Dear all, sinónimos de "stubborn": - terco / terca - testarudo / testaruda - cabezón / cabezona - burro / burra My favourite one is cabezón, ¡eres un cabezón!

...y la telenovela actual "Juan Querendón" -- quiere decir "Don Juan"?

Hello Esti, Thank you for the corrections above. The feminines and masculines give me a lot of trouble. I must be more careful in future!! Will keep trying!!

I just ran across spanishpod and I love it. I'm a relative newbie/elementary girl. In ejercisio 3 numero 1 the wrong audio is used. It says tema (used in another answer) instead of canal. I also wasn't able to play #6 at all. All the other audio files worked for me however. Thanks for this tool. It's awesome. Since I go through the exercises I can be your Q.A. girl.

Conozco a una persona mandona. A veces estoy una mandona, solamente a veces.

mistyq A veces SOY una mandona. Small correction ;)

Esti, burro es el sinonimo de "stubborn"? Burro like the donkey?

You're right chillosk! Donkey's never obey and they do what ever they feel like.

Hahaha, love it. I'll start calling my niece "burra" from now on.