At your desk: same word, new meaning
You know la hoja from the tree and la letra from the alphabet. At a desk, both usually mean something else.
| word | the meaning you know | at your desk |
|---|---|---|
| la hoja | the leaf | the sheet (of paper) |
| la letra | the letter (a, b, c) | the handwriting |
| Can you give me a sheet of paper? | ¿Me das una hoja de papel? |
With papel, cuaderno or ejercicios around it, una hoja is a sheet of paper; on a tree it is a leaf.
| You have very good handwriting. | Tienes muy buena letra. |
In a word, una letra is one letter: esta palabra tiene cinco letras. Someone's letra, after tener or tu, mi, is usually their handwriting, and it stays singular.
| I can't read your handwriting. | No puedo leer tu letra. |
Ruler, glue and notes
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la regla | the ruler |
| pegar | to stick, to glue; to paste |
| apuntar | to write down, to note down |
| trabajador | hardworking |
| You guys need a pencil, an eraser and a ruler. | Necesitáis un lápiz, una goma y una regla. |
La regla is also a rule. Next to el lápiz and la goma, it is the ruler.
| Copy the address and paste it into the email. | Copia la dirección y pégala en el email. |
Pegar is to glue paper and, on a computer, to paste: copiar y pegar. In a positive command the pronoun joins the end, and the verb takes a written accent to keep its stress: pega + la = pégala.
| Write down the date of the exam. | Apunta la fecha del examen. |
Apuntar is to write something down so you remember it. Trabajador adds -a for a woman: un alumno trabajador, una alumna trabajadora.
