Weird different meanings of a verb

[Stephen]

Entablar

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

[Angelo]

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)

[Angelo]

Originally Posted by Angelo

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

[drew21close]

Originally Posted by Stephen

Entablar

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

I thought suelo means soil.

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

[Angelo]

Originally Posted by drew21close

I thought suelo means soil.

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

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

to put down floorboards on (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

[Lise]

Originally Posted by Angelo

Yes, it does mean soil. And it often means floor, too. But to indicate the dirtiness of the floor.

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

[drew21close]

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

[Pippa]

Originally Posted by Lise

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

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

Originally Posted by drew21close

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

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

[xan]

Originally Posted by drew21close

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

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"