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Ambos amigos quieren ver la película en el cine.

Ambos amigos quieren ver la película en el cine.
Both friends want to watch the movie at the cinema.
FromLesson 14inHardcore Spanish (Spain)

Breakdown of Ambos amigos quieren ver la película en el cine.

el amigo
the friend
querer
to want
en
at
la película
the movie
ver
to watch
el cine
the cinema
ambos
both

Questions & Answers about Ambos amigos quieren ver la película en el cine.

What’s the difference between bold Ambos bold and bold los dos bold? Which sounds more natural in Spain?

Both mean bold both bold. bold Ambos bold is a bit more formal or written; bold los dos bold is very common in everyday speech in Spain.

  • bold Ambos amigos bold / bold Los dos amigos bold = Both friends.
  • You’ll also hear bold ambos dos bold (redundant but common in speech).
  • As a pronoun: bold Ambos quieren… bold or bold Los dos quieren… bold
Does bold ambos bold agree with gender and number? When do I use bold ambas bold?

Yes, it agrees with the noun:

  • Masculine or mixed group: bold ambos amigos bold
  • Feminine only: bold ambas amigas bold As pronouns: bold Ambos quieren… bold / bold Ambas quieren… bold
Why is bold quieren bold used here? What’s the conjugation in Spain?

The subject is plural (bold Ambos amigos bold), so you need 3rd person plural: bold quieren bold. Present of bold querer bold (Spain):

  • yo bold quiero bold
  • tú bold quieres bold
  • él/ella/usted bold quiere bold
  • nosotros/as bold queremos bold
  • vosotros/as bold queréis bold
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes bold quieren bold Note bold queréis bold is used with bold vosotros bold in Spain.
Why bold ver bold and not bold mirar bold for a movie?
In Spain, you almost always say bold ver una película bold (to see/watch a film). bold Mirar bold is “to look (at)”, and while bold mirar una película bold is understood, it’s much less common in Spain. You’ll also hear bold ver la tele bold rather than bold mirar la tele bold.
Could I say bold quieren mirar la película bold? Would it sound odd?
It’s understandable, but in Spain it sounds non-native. Use bold quieren ver la película bold.
Why bold la película bold and not bold una película bold?

bold La película bold (the movie) implies a specific film both speakers know about. bold Una película bold (a movie) is non-specific. Both are correct depending on context:

  • Specific: bold Quieren ver la película. bold
  • Non-specific: bold Quieren ver una película. bold
What’s the difference between bold en el cine bold and bold al cine bold?
  • bold en el cine bold = at/in the cinema (location).
  • bold al cine bold = to the cinema (destination; it’s bold a + el = al bold). Examples:
  • bold Quieren ver la película en el cine. bold (They want to watch it at the theater.)
  • bold Quieren ir al cine a ver la película. bold (They want to go to the theater to watch it.)
Do we ever contract bold en el bold?

No. Only bold a + el = al bold and bold de + el = del bold. bold en + el bold stays bold en el bold:

  • bold en el cine bold (not contracted)
  • bold al cine bold
  • bold del cine bold
Where can I put the object pronoun if I replace bold la película bold with bold la bold?

Two options are correct:

  • Before the conjugated verb: bold Ambos amigos la quieren ver en el cine. bold
  • Attached to the infinitive: bold Ambos amigos quieren verla en el cine. bold Both are natural in Spain.
How flexible is the word order? Are there other natural ways to say it?

Spanish allows some flexibility, but the original is the most neutral. Natural variants:

  • bold Los dos amigos quieren ver la película en el cine. bold
  • bold Ambos quieren ver la película en el cine. bold (if “friends” is clear from context) Putting bold ambos bold after the noun (bold los amigos ambos bold) is not idiomatic in modern Spanish.
How do I make it negative? What if neither wants to see it?
  • Simple negation: bold Ambos amigos no quieren ver la película en el cine. bold
  • To say “neither (of the two) wants to see it,” use: bold Ninguno de los dos quiere ver la película en el cine. bold Avoid bold no ambos bold; for “not both (only one),” say: bold Solo uno de los dos quiere ver la película. bold
If the friends are both women, how does the sentence change?

Change the gender:

  • bold Ambas amigas quieren ver la película en el cine. bold Everything else stays the same.
Why is there no subject pronoun like bold ellos bold?
Spanish is a “pro-drop” language: subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb form shows the subject. Here, the explicit subject is already in the noun phrase bold Ambos amigos bold, so bold ellos bold isn’t needed.
What’s the nuance difference between bold querer bold and softer expressions of desire?

bold Querer bold is direct (“to want”). To sound softer or more polite:

  • bold A ambos amigos les gustaría ver la película… bold (They would like…)
  • bold Ambos amigos querrían ver la película… bold (Conditional; more tentative) All are correct; choose based on tone and context.
Does bold cine bold mean the building or the art form?

Both, depending on context:

  • Place/building: bold en el cine bold (at the movie theater)
  • Art/industry: bold Me gusta el cine. bold (I like cinema/film as an art form) bold Película bold is a specific film; colloquially in Spain: bold la peli bold.
How should I pronounce the sentence in Spain?
  • bold Ambos bold: AHM-bos (bold b/v bold sound the same)
  • bold amigos bold: ah-MEE-gos (soft g before o)
  • bold quieren bold: KYEH-ren (bold qu bold before bold i/e bold = “k” sound; bold ie bold diphthong)
  • bold ver bold: very short “e”, tap the bold r bold
  • bold la película bold: peh-LEE-koo-lah (stress on bold LÍ bold; the written accent marks the stress)
  • bold el cine bold: el THEE-neh (in most of Spain, bold c bold before bold i bold sounds like English “th” in “thin”)
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