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Questions & Answers about Marcamos las fechas importantes en el calendario y en el sitio web familiar.
Is Marcamos present (we mark) or past (we marked)?
It’s ambiguous in writing. For -ar verbs, the first-person plural is spelled the same in the simple present and the preterite: marcamos.
- Present/habit: You’d clarify with adverbs like siempre, normalmente, or with context: “We (usually) mark…”
- Completed past: You’d clarify with time markers like ayer, la semana pasada, ya: “We marked… yesterday.”
- Right-now action: Use the progressive: Estamos marcando…
- Habitual past: Marcábamos… Note: In Latin America, the preterite (e.g., marcamos ayer) is preferred over the present perfect for completed past actions.
Do we need the article las in las fechas importantes? Could it be just fechas importantes?
Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things:
- Marcamos las fechas importantes… implies a specific, known set (e.g., the family’s important dates).
- Marcamos fechas importantes… is more general/indefinite (“we mark important dates” as a practice). Choose las if the set is known or previously mentioned; omit it for a general statement.
Why is importantes after fechas? Can it go before?
Descriptive adjectives typically follow the noun in Spanish: fechas importantes is the norm. You can place importantes before the noun for special emphasis or a stylistic effect, but las importantes fechas sounds literary or marked. Stick with post-nominal fechas importantes in everyday speech.
Why is it en for “on” (as in “on the calendar/website”)? Could I use sobre or a?
- Use en for “on/in/at” locations: en el calendario, en el sitio web.
- Sobre can also mean “on top of” and sometimes “about,” and is fine in some contexts, but en is the natural choice here.
- Don’t use a; it generally indicates movement or direction (“to”), not location.
Do I have to repeat en before el sitio web familiar, or can I say en el calendario y el sitio web familiar?
You can drop the second en and say en el calendario y el sitio web familiar, and it’s acceptable. However, repeating the preposition (en el calendario y en el sitio web familiar) is very common and often clearer, especially in careful writing.
What does familiar mean here? Does it mean “well-known/familiar” or “family-related”?
Here familiar means “related to the family,” i.e., the family’s website or family-oriented site. Be aware that familiar can also mean “family-friendly” or “familiar/known,” so if you want to be crystal clear about ownership, say el sitio web de la familia or nuestro sitio web.
Is sitio web the same as página web?
- Sitio web = a website (the entire site).
- Página web = a web page (a single page). In everyday speech, people sometimes use página web to refer to a whole site, but if you want to be precise, use sitio web for the site.
Why is it el sitio web and not la sitio web, even though I’ve seen la web?
The gender of a compound like sitio web follows the head noun sitio, which is masculine, so it’s el sitio web. When web stands alone (as a noun meaning “the Web”), it’s typically feminine: la web.
Would el sitio web de la familia or nuestro sitio web be more natural than el sitio web familiar?
All are correct:
- El sitio web familiar is fine and common, but can be read as “family-friendly.”
- El sitio web de la familia explicitly says “the family’s website.”
- Nuestro sitio web is the most direct if the speakers are the family. Choose based on how explicit you want to be about possession.
Could I use a different verb instead of marcar?
Yes, depending on nuance:
- Anotar / apuntar: “to write down, note.” More about recording text. Example: Anotamos las fechas…
- Señalar: “to indicate/flag.” Slightly more general; can be marking in a list or pointing out.
- Registrar: “to register/log.” More formal/administrative. Marcar suggests physically marking/highlighting or otherwise tagging them as important.
How would I say “Let’s mark the important dates…”?
Use the inclusive imperative with the present subjunctive:
- Marquemos las fechas importantes… You can also use:
- Vamos a marcar las fechas importantes… (very common for suggestions). Note: Marcamos… (indicative) is not the standard way to say “let’s…,” though ¿Marcamos…? can work as a casual suggestion in a question.
Any spelling changes I should know with marcar?
Yes. To keep the hard “k” sound before e/i, c changes to qu:
- Yo (preterite): marqué (not “marcé”).
- Imperative/subjunctive: marque, marquemos, marquen. No spelling change is needed before a/o/u: marcamos, marcabas, etc.
Why fechas and not citas or datos?
- Fecha(s) = calendar date(s).
- Cita(s) = appointments or a “date” with a person.
- Dato(s) = data/facts. For calendar dates you mark, use fechas.
Could I say calendario familiar instead of mentioning the family only with the website?
Yes. For example: Marcamos las fechas importantes en el calendario familiar y en el sitio web de la familia. That clearly ties both the calendar and the website to the family.
Is agenda a good substitute for calendario?
It depends:
- Calendario = a calendar (wall calendar, app calendar view).
- Agenda = a planner/diary (the thing you carry to schedule tasks/appointments). If you mean a planner, agenda works. If you mean the calendar itself, stick with calendario.
Do I need a comma before y in Spanish as in English lists?
No comma is needed here. Spanish generally does not use a comma before y in simple coordination. The sentence is correctly punctuated without a comma.