Weird different meanings of a verb
 

Entablar

1. to put down floorboards on (suelo)
2. to strike up (iniciar) (conversación, amistad)
:o

Hi Stephen

2- This verb is never written alone. It needs a direct object (any term related to "conversation","chat",...)
"¿Quieres entablar una conversación ahora mismo?"
"Los jóvenes de aquel colegio suelen entablar charlas con los alumnos de esta escuela"

1- When you use the verb without an object, it takes the first meaning.
"Se ha roto el piso de la sala. Voy a entablarlo y mañana lo repararé"

"¿Quieres entablar ahora mismo?", (it may sound a little odd, if the context is not the correct one)

I'm sorry, I forgot "Entablar una amistad"
"Se conocieron hace un par de años, y entablaron una gran amistad. Desde entonces, son inseparables"
I'd like to make one thing clear: entablar is a transitive verb. It requires a direct object. That's how we distinguish first meaning and second meaning.

1- If possible, write it with a direct object. It helps a lot.
"Voy a entablar el techo"
"Voy a entablar un negocio"
The more information you say, the clearer the sentence will be.
http://es.thefreedictionary.com/entablar

I thought suelo means soil.

iniciar means start, conversacion means conversation and amistad means friendship.
:D

Yes, it does mean soil. And it often means floor, too. But to connotate the dirtyness(?) of floor.
"No comas ese sándwich. Se cayó al suelo"
Or ground...
"Tropezó y cayó al suelo"
http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/t...asp?spen=suelo

I think that's only one example (about a not-built-yet terrain), because a floor or a roof can also be "entablado"
http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltCons...&LEMA=entablar


Yes, correct :thumbs-up:

I thought 'suelo' was the standard word for 'floor' ? Could there be a difference between Castilian and Argentinian Spanish ?

They usually use suelo for floor but it really means soil or ground.

You are right, Lise, suelo is the standard for floor.

Suelo has a few meanings, three of them are floor, ground and soil.

I expect it really means both things. It´s just one of those interesting cases where one language habitually makes a distinction that the other one doesn´t, or where one language thinks more generically than the other.

A few other similar cases that have struck or surprised me:

• puerta is both "door" and "gate"
• escalera is both "stairs" and "ladder"
• puerto is both "pass" (as in a mountain pass) and "port" (as in seaport)
• manija, mango, manivela, asa are all just "handle" in english
• mochuelo, buho, lechuzo, autillo are all different kinds of owl in english. There is not really a generic word "owl" in spanish. You would have to say something wordy like ave rapaz nocturna to capture the meaning.
• querer is both "want" and "love"
• señor is both "mister" and "lord" as in "our lord jesus"