Spanish · Part One

Un hombre extraño

A Strange Man

130 sentences · 66 notes

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1
At ten in the morning Erdosain reached the corner of Perú and Avenida de Mayo.
AAta · prepositionpreposition marking diez
lastheel · determiner, feminine, pluraldeterminer of diez
dieztendiez · numeral, pluraloblique complement of llegó
deinde · prepositionpreposition marking mañana
latheel · determiner, feminine, singulardeterminer of mañana
mañanamorningmañana · noun, feminine, singularmodifies diez
ErdosainErdosainErdosain · proper nounsubject of llegó
llegóreachedllegar · verb, past, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
atoa · prepositionpreposition marking Perú
PerúPerúPerú · proper nounoblique complement of llegó
Here Perú is a street name in downtown Buenos Aires, not the country.
yandy · conjunctionlinks the coordination
AvenidaAvenidaAvenida · proper nouncoordinated with Perú
deofde · prepositionpreposition marking Mayo
MayoMayoMayo · proper nounpart of the name Avenida
GrammarPreterite of «llegar» «llegó» is the third-person preterite of «llegar» ('to arrive'). The preterite reports a single, finished action at a definite moment — here, arriving 'at ten in the morning'. Note the orthographic accent on the final «-ó» that marks this tense.
He knew that his problem had no solution other than prison, because Barsut surely would not lend him the money.
GrammarThe imperfect for ongoing states «sabía» and «tenía» are imperfect forms of «saber» and «tener». The imperfect frames a continuous mental state and an existing condition — 'he knew', 'it had' — rather than single completed acts, which is why Spanish prefers it over the preterite for what someone already understood.
Suddenly he was surprised.
GrammarPronominal «sorprenderse» «sorprenderse» is the pronominal form of «sorprender». With the reflexive «se», the subject undergoes the surprise himself: 'he was surprised', 'he was taken aback' — as opposed to «sorprender a alguien», 'to surprise someone else'.
2
At a café table sat Ergueta, the pharmacist.
3
With his hat sunk down to his ears and his hands touching at the thumbs over his thick belly, he nodded off with a sour, bloated expression on his yellow face.
Word«cabecear» «cabecear» literally means 'to move the head'; here it describes nodding off, the head dropping as someone dozes. The imperfect «cabeceaba» paints a drowsy, ongoing scene rather than one finished gesture.
4
The glassiness of his bulging eyes, his thick hooked nose, his flabby cheeks and his almost dangling lower lip gave him the look of a halfwit.
GrammarNeuter «lo» + adjective «lo» before an adjective forms an abstract noun: «lo vidrioso» = 'the glassy quality', 'the glassiness'. This neuter article turns any adjective into 'the ... thing / the ... part about it', a favorite device for describing a quality in isolation.
5
He cased his massive bulk in a cinnamon-colored suit, and now and then, tilting his face, he rested his teeth on the ivory knob of his cane.
WordThe augmentative «-azo» «cuerpazo» is «cuerpo» ('body') plus the augmentative suffix «-azo», meaning a huge, hulking body. The suffix «-azo» enlarges a noun and often adds a coarse or admiring color — common in the everyday Buenos Aires speech Arlt writes.
6
Because of that listlessness and the loutish look of his boredom, he had the air of a white-slave trafficker.
Word«canalla» «canalla» means 'scoundrel, riffraff'; used as an adjective here («expresión canalla») it tags the boredom as low, villainous, thuggish. The word recurs throughout Arlt as a marker of the seedy underworld his characters move through.
Unexpectedly his eyes met Erdosain's, who was coming toward him, and the pharmacist's face lit up with a childlike smile.
GrammarImperfect for an action in progress «iba» (imperfect of «ir») sets the background action already underway — 'was coming toward him' — against the sudden, completed meeting of eyes («se encontraron», preterite). Spanish routinely pairs the imperfect backdrop with a preterite event.
He was still smiling as he shook Erdosain's hand, and Erdosain thought:
7
—How many women have loved him for that smile!
GrammarExclamatory «cuántas» «¡Cuántas...!» means 'how many...!' in an exclamation, and the feminine plural «-as» implies «cuántas mujeres» ('how many women'). The accent on «cuántas» marks it as exclamatory, not the relative «cuantas».
8
Without meaning to, Erdosain's first question was:
9
—So, did you marry Hipólita?..
GrammarPronominal «casarse» «casarse (con)» is the pronominal verb 'to get married (to)'. The «te» is required — «te casaste con Hipólita» = 'you married Hipólita'. Without the reflexive, «casar» would mean 'to marry someone off / to officiate', a different sense.
10
—Yes, but you can't imagine the uproar that broke out at home...
Word«bochinche» (River Plate) «bochinche» is River Plate slang for a racket, a noisy fuss or commotion. «el bochinche que se armó» = 'the uproar that kicked off' — «armarse» here meaning a scene 'breaking out' on its own.
11
—What... did they find out she was a woman of the streets?
GrammarPreterite of «saber» = 'found out' In the preterite, «saber» shifts meaning from 'to know' to 'to find out, to learn': «supieron» = 'they found out'. This is one of a small set of verbs (also «conocer», «querer», «poder») that change sense between imperfect and preterite.
12
—No... she said that later herself.
Did you know that before she walked the streets Hipólita worked as a maid?...
Grammar«vos» — the Buenos Aires «you» «vos» replaces «tú» throughout Río de la Plata speech (voseo). Here it pairs loosely with «sabes»; fully voseo it would be «vos sabés». Arlt writes his porteños in their own register, so «vos» runs all through this dialogue.
Word«hacer la calle» «hacer la calle» literally 'to do the street' is the idiom for working as a streetwalker, soliciting in public. The quotation marks again mark it as the underworld's own phrasing.
13
—And?..
14
—Shortly after we married, Mamá, I, Hipólita and my little sister went to a family's house.
Word«a lo de» = 'to someone's place' «a lo de» is the River Plate way of saying 'to so-and-so's house/place' (where Spain would say «a casa de»). «fuimos a lo de una familia» = 'we went to a family's home'.
Do you realize what a memory those people have?
Word«darse cuenta (de)» «darse cuenta de» means 'to realize, to notice'. It is pronominal and idiomatic — never just «dar cuenta» — and the filler «¿te das cuenta?» ('you see?', 'get it?') peppers this whole conversation.
After ten years they recognized Hipólita, who had been their maid.
Something beyond words!
She and I came back one way, and Mamá and Juana another.
The whole story I had invented to justify my marriage came crashing down.
Word«venirse abajo» «venirse abajo» is the idiom 'to collapse, to fall apart' — said of plans, stories, or buildings. The pronominal «venirse» adds the sense of something coming down on its own, all at once.
15
—And why did she confess she'd been a prostitute?
16
—A flash of rage.
But wasn't she right?
Word«tener razón» «tener razón» literally 'to have reason' is the fixed way to say 'to be right'. Spanish 'has' rightness rather than 'being' right; «no tenía razón» = 'wasn't she right?' in the imperfect.
Hadn't she turned her life around?
Didn't she put up with me, with me, the one who drove them out of their minds?
Word«sacar canas verdes» «sacarle canas verdes a alguien» literally 'to give someone green grey-hairs' is the idiom for driving someone to despair, exasperating them no end. «les he sacado canas verdes a ellos» = 'I've worn them ragged'.
17
—And how are things going for you?
Grammar«irle a alguien» «¿cómo te va?» is 'how's it going for you?'. The verb «ir» here is impersonal with an indirect object «te» ('to you') as the experiencer — the subject is the unstated 'it / things', not 'you'.
18
—Very well... The pharmacy brings in seventy pesos a day.
In Pico there's no one else who knows the Bible the way I do.
GrammarSubjunctive after a negated antecedent «no hay otro que conozca» uses the present subjunctive «conozca» because the relative clause modifies a denied, indefinite person ('no one who knows'). When the antecedent doesn't exist or is uncertain, Spanish switches the relative verb to the subjunctive.
I challenged the priest to a debate and he wouldn't take me up on it.
GrammarPreterite «no quiso» = 'refused' In the preterite, negated «querer» means 'refused': «no quiso» = 'he refused, he wouldn't'. The imperfect «no quería» would merely report a state of not wanting; the preterite reports the act of refusing.
Word«agarrar viaje» (lunfardo) «agarrar viaje» is River Plate slang for taking up an offer, going along with a proposal — 'to bite, to take the bait'. «no quiso agarrar viaje» = 'he wouldn't take me up on it'.
19
Erdosain suddenly looked at his strange friend with hope.
Then he asked him:
20
—Do you still gamble?
GrammarVoseo verb form «jugás» «jugás» is the voseo present of «jugar» — where standard Spanish has «juegas» (with the stem change «ue»), voseo keeps the stem and stresses the ending: «jugás». This «-ás/-és/-ís» ending is the giveaway of porteño «vos» conjugation.
21
—Yes, and Jesus, because of my great innocence, has revealed the secret of the roulette wheel to me.
22
—What is that?
23
—You don't know... the great secret... a law of static synchronism...
I've already gone to Montevideo twice and won a lot of money, but tonight Hipólita and I are heading out to break the bank.
Word«hacer saltar la banca» «hacer saltar la banca» is the gambling idiom 'to break the bank' — to win so much the house's reserve is exhausted. «saltar» here means 'to blow up / burst', not 'to jump'.
24
And all at once he launched into the tangled explanation:
25
—Look, you bet a certain amount hypothetically on the first three balls, one on each dozen.
GrammarVoseo imperative «mirá» «mirá» is the affirmative «vos» command of «mirar» ('look'), formed by dropping the «-r» of the infinitive and accenting the last vowel: «mirar» → «mirá». Compare standard «mira». The bare voseo imperative is oxytone: «mirá», «decí», «fijá». Once enclitics attach, stress shifts to the penultimate syllable: «fijate» (fi-JA-te) and «decíme» (de-CÍ-me) are paroxytone. These forms mark porteño speech.
If three different dozens don't come up, the imbalance is inevitably produced.
You then mark the dozen that came up with a dot.
For the next three balls the dozen you marked will stay the same.
It's clear, of course, that zero doesn't count and that you bet on the dozens in series of three balls.
You then add one unit to the dozen that has no cross, you take away by one, I mean by two units, from the dozen that has three crosses, and this single basis lets you deduce the lesser unit from the greater ones, and the difference is bet on whichever dozen or dozens come out.
GrammarVoseo form «disminuís» «disminuís» is the voseo present of «disminuir» ('to decrease'), with the stressed «-ís» ending typical of «-ir» verbs in voseo. Arlt mixes voseo («jugás», «disminuís») and standard forms («aumentas», «marcas») in Ergueta's rambling, half-coherent monologue.
26
Erdosain had not understood.
He held back his urge to laugh as his hope grew, for there was no doubt Ergueta was mad.
Grammar«a medida que» = 'as / in proportion as' «a medida que» introduces two changes happening in step: 'as his hope grew, he held back his laughter'. It stresses gradual, parallel progression, stronger than a plain «mientras» ('while').
So he replied:
27
—Jesus knows how to reveal such secrets to those whose souls are full of holiness.
28
—And to idiots too —argued Ergueta, fixing a mocking gaze on him as he winked his left eyelid—.
GrammarSpelling of «arguyó» «arguyó» is the preterite of «argüir» ('to argue, to retort'). The stem is unchanged (argu-); it is the «i» of the ending «-ió» that becomes «y» between vowels: «argu-» + «-ió» → «arguyó». This is a regular orthographic shift in «-uir» verbs (compare «huyó», «distribuyó»). The dashes set off the narrator's tag inside the line of dialogue.
Ever since I started dealing with those mysterious matters, I've made blunders as big as houses — for instance, marrying that tramp...
Word«macana» (lunfardo) «macana» is lunfardo for a blunder, a foolish mistake or a lie; «hacer una macana» = 'to mess up'. «macanas grandes como casas» ('blunders as big as houses') is Ergueta's own self-mocking hyperbole.
Word«atorranta» (lunfardo) «atorrante/a» is Buenos Aires slang for a bum, a layabout — and of a woman, a loose or shameless one, 'tramp'. It is one of lunfardo's most characteristic insults.
29
—And are you happy with her?
GrammarVoseo «sos» = 'you are' «sos» is the voseo present of «ser» — the porteño equivalent of «eres» ('you are'). It is the single most recognizable marker of Río de la Plata speech: «¿sos feliz?» = 'are you happy?'
30
—...believing in people's goodness, when all anybody pulls for is to sink you and brand you a madman...
GrammarImpersonal «uno» «uno» works as an impersonal 'one / you (in general)': «hundirlo a uno» = 'to sink you, to drag a person down'. The doubled object («-lo a uno») restates the impersonal pronoun, a colloquial reinforcement.
Erdosain, impatient, frowned, then said:
Word«fruncir el ceño» «fruncir el ceño» is the set phrase 'to frown, to knit one's brow' — «el ceño» being the brow or the wrinkle between the eyebrows. «frunció» is the preterite, a single completed gesture.
31
—How do you expect them not to take you for a madman?
GrammarSubjunctive after «querer que» «querer que» ('to want that') forces the subjunctive in the clause that follows: «querés que te tengan» = 'you want them to take you'. Whenever one subject's wish bears on another subject's action, Spanish uses the subjunctive («tengan»).
You were, by your own words, a great sinner.
And all at once you convert, you marry a prostitute because that is written in the Bible; you talk to people about the fourth seal and the yellow horse... of course... people have to believe you're crazy because you don't know the first thing about those matters.
Word«no conocer ni por las tapas» «no conocer algo ni por las tapas» literally 'not to know it even by the covers' (as of a book) is the idiom 'not to have the faintest idea about it'. «no las conoces ni por las tapas» = 'you don't know the first thing about them'.
Don't they take me for a madman too, because I've said I would set up a dry-cleaner's for dogs and metal-plate shirt cuffs?...
Grammar«haber de» + infinitive «haber de» + infinitive expresses something one is to do or bound to do: «habría de instalar» = 'I would set up / was going to set up'. It is a softer, more literary way of marking intention or future obligation than «iba a».
But I don't think you're crazy.
GrammarSubjunctive after «no creer que» Negating «creer» ('to think, to believe') triggers the subjunctive in its clause: «no creo que estés loco» = 'I don't think you're crazy'. The doubt introduced by the negation is what calls for «estés» rather than the indicative «estás».
No, I don't think so.
What is in you is an excess of life, of charity and of love for your fellow man.
Now, this business of Jesus having revealed the roulette secret to you strikes me as rather absurd...
GrammarSubjunctive after a doubting frame «eso de que... me parece absurdo» frames the claim as something the speaker doubts, so the verb goes to the perfect subjunctive «haya revelado» ('having revealed'). Spanish marks the unreal or questioned status of the event grammatically.
32
—Five thousand pesos I won the two times...
33
—Let's say that it's true.
Grammar«pongamos que» + subjunctive «pongamos que» ('let's suppose that') opens a hypothesis, so it takes the subjunctive «sea» ('it be / it is, supposing'). The «nosotros» command «pongamos» itself ('let's put / let's say') is a subjunctive form used as an exhortation.
But what saves you is not the roulette secret, it's the fact of having a beautiful soul.
Grammar«no... sino» = 'not... but rather' «sino» corrects a negated statement: «no es X, sino Y» = 'it's not X, but rather Y'. It differs from «pero»; «sino» substitutes one thing for the rejected one, instead of just adding a contrast.
You're capable of doing good, of being moved before a man standing at the gates of prison...
34
—That much really is true —Ergueta interrupted—.
GrammarEmphatic «sí que» «sí que» is an emphatic affirmation: «eso sí que es verdad» = 'that really IS true', 'that part is true'. The «sí» (with accent) is the affirmative adverb, and «que» reinforces it — quite distinct from the conditional «si» ('if').
Take note that there's another pharmacist in town who's an old skinflint.
Grammar«fijarse» as 'to notice' «fijarse (en/que)» is the pronominal verb 'to pay attention, to notice'. The command «fíjate que...» ('note that...', 'get this...') is a conversational opener. Here Arlt uses «fíjate» rather than the voseo «fijate», mixing registers in Ergueta's speech.
The son stole five thousand pesos from him... and then came to ask me for advice.
Do you know what I advised him?
That he threaten his father with having him locked up for selling cocaine if the father turned him in.
GrammarImperfect subjunctive in reported advice «amenazara» is the imperfect subjunctive of «amenazar», governed by the implied past «le aconsejé que...» ('I advised him that...'). When the main verb of advising is in the past, its subjunctive clause takes the imperfect subjunctive («-ara/-iera»).
35
—You see how well I understand you?
You wanted to save the old man's soul by making the son commit a sin, a sin the son would repent of all his life.
GrammarCausative «hacer» + infinitive «hacer» + infinitive is causative: «hacerle cometer un pecado» = 'to make him commit a sin'. The person made to act appears as an indirect object («-le»), and the gerund «haciéndole» means 'by making him'.
Isn't that so?
36
—Yes, in the Bible it is written: "And the father shall rise up against the son against the father"...
GrammarFuture tense «se levantará» «se levantará» is the simple future of pronominal «levantarse» ('to rise up'): 'shall rise up'. Arlt gives Ergueta's garbled scriptural quotation a deliberately prophetic, future-tense ring.
37
—See?
I understand you.
I don't know what you're predestined for...
The destiny of men is always uncertain.
But I think you have a magnificent road ahead of you.
GrammarVoseo «tenés» «tenés» is the voseo present of «tener» ('you have'), where standard Spanish has «tienes». Voseo drops the stem diphthong «ie» and stresses the ending: «tenés por delante» = 'you have ahead of you'.
You know?
A strange road...
38
—I will be the King of the World.
Do you realize?
I will win at every roulette table all the money I want.
GrammarSubjunctive for an open amount «el dinero que quiera» = 'whatever money I (may) want'. The subjunctive «quiera» marks the amount as indefinite and open-ended — 'as much as I please' — rather than a fixed sum, which would take the indicative «quiero».
I will go to Palestine, to Jerusalem, and rebuild the great temple of Solomon...
39
—And you will save many good people from anguish.
How many there are who out of need defrauded their employers, stole money entrusted to them.
You know?
The anguish...
A man in anguish doesn't know what he's doing...
Word«un tipo» «tipo» colloquially means 'a guy, a fellow, a bloke'. «un tipo angustiado» = 'a man wracked by anguish'. It is everyday River Plate register, not derogatory in itself.
Today he steals a peso, tomorrow five, the day after twenty, and before he knows it he owes hundreds of pesos.
Grammar«acordarse» = 'to realize / recall' «acordarse» is the pronominal 'to remember, to become aware'; «cuando se acuerda» here means 'by the time he realizes it'. Note the distinct «acordar» (without «se») means 'to agree' — the reflexive changes the meaning.
And the man thinks.
It's nothing much... and all at once he finds that five hundred, no, six hundred pesos and seven cents have vanished.
Do you realize?
Those are the people who must be saved... the anguished, the swindlers.
Grammar«hay que» + infinitive «hay que» + infinitive expresses an impersonal obligation: 'one must, it is necessary to'. «la gente que hay que salvar» = 'the people one has to save'. It states a need with no specific subject doing the saving.
40
The pharmacist mused for a moment.
A grave expression dissolved over the surface of his bloated face; then, calmly, he added:
41
—You're right... the world is full of "turros", of wretches... but how to fix it?
Word«turro» (lunfardo) «turro» is lunfardo for a base, contemptible person — a scoundrel or lowlife. Arlt sets it in guillemets as slang. The word returns at the chapter's end when Ergueta turns it on the waiter and on Erdosain.
This is what worries me.
In what way is one to set the sacred truths again before those people who have no faith?...
42
—But what people need is money... not sacred truths.
Word«plata» = 'money' «plata» (literally 'silver') is the standard Latin American word for money, far more common than «dinero» in everyday River Plate speech. «lo que necesita es plata» = 'what they need is cash'.
43
—No, the thing is that this happens through the neglect of the Scriptures.
Grammar«es que» = 'the thing is' «es que» opens an explanation or excuse: 'the thing is that..., it's because...'. «es que eso pasa por...» = 'the thing is, that happens because of...'. It is a very common conversational hedge before giving a reason.
A man who carries the sacred truths within himself does not rob his employer, does not defraud the company he works for, does not put himself in a position to land in prison overnight.
44
Then he thoughtfully scratched his nose and went on:
45
—Besides, who's to tell you it isn't for the best?
GrammarSubjunctive under a rhetorical doubt «¿quién no te dice que eso sea para bien?» frames the outcome as uncertain, so the verb is the subjunctive «sea» ('that it be for the best'). The rhetorical question casts doubt, and Spanish marks that doubt with the subjunctive.
Who are going to make the social revolution, if not the swindlers, the wretched, the murderers, the frauds, all the riffraff who suffer down below without any hope?
Grammar«sino» = 'if not / but' After a question or negative, «sino» means 'except, if not, other than': «¿quiénes... sino los estafadores?» = 'who... if not the swindlers?'. It points to the only real alternative.
Or do you think the revolution is going to be made by pen-pushers and shopkeepers?
Word«cagatintas» «cagatintas» (literally 'ink-shitter') is a crude, contemptuous term for a petty clerk or pen-pusher — a desk-bound bureaucrat. It captures Ergueta's scorn for the respectable, timid classes he says will never make a revolution.
46
—Agreed, agreed... but while the social revolution is on its way, what does that wretched man do?
Grammar«en tanto» = 'while / meanwhile' «en tanto (que)» means 'while, in the meantime': «en tanto llega la revolución» = 'while the revolution is coming'. It marks the interval before an awaited event — Erdosain's point that the future revolution does nothing for his present.
What do I do?
47
And Erdosain, taking Ergueta by an arm, exclaimed:
48
—Because I'm one step from prison, you know?
I have stolen six hundred pesos and seven cents.
GrammarPresent perfect «he robado» «he robado» is the present perfect ('I have stolen'), formed with «haber» + past participle. It frames the theft as a deed whose consequences press on the present moment — the confession Erdosain has been circling all along.
49
The pharmacist slowly winked his left eyelid and then said:
50
—Don't be distressed.
GrammarNegative command + subjunctive Negative commands use the subjunctive: «no te aflijas» = 'don't distress yourself', from pronominal «afligirse». The «-jas» spelling keeps the soft «j» sound of «afligir» before the «-as» ending.
The times of tribulation the Scriptures speak of have arrived.
Have I not married the Lame Woman, the Harlot?
Has the son not risen against the father and the father against the son?
The revolution is nearer than men wish it to be.
GrammarComparison with «de lo que» When comparing against a whole clause, Spanish uses «de lo que» (not «que»): «más cerca de lo que la desean los hombres» = 'nearer than men wish it'. «de lo que» introduces the verb phrase being compared against.
Aren't you the fraud and the wolf that decimates the flock?...
51
—But tell me, can't you lend me those six hundred pesos?
GrammarVoseo imperative with pronoun «decíme» is the voseo command of «decir» ('tell') plus the object «me»: «decí» + «me» → «decíme» ('tell me'). The «vos» command of «decir» is «decí» (vs. standard «di»), and the pronoun attaches to the end.
52
The other man slowly shook his head:
53
—I swear to you that I owe them.
54
Suddenly something unexpected happened.
The pharmacist stood up, stretched out his arm, and snapping the tips of his fingers, exclaimed in front of the café waiter, who was watching the scene in astonishment:
Word«mozo» = 'waiter' «el mozo» is the River Plate word for a café or restaurant waiter (where other regions might say «camarero», used a line later). «el mozo del café» = 'the café waiter'.
55
—Beat it, you little louse, beat it.
Word«rajar» (lunfardo) «rajar» in lunfardo means 'to clear off, to scram'; the voseo command «rajá» = 'beat it, get lost'. Paired with «turrito» (the diminutive of «turro», 'little louse'), it is a sudden burst of street aggression — Ergueta's madness flaring.
56
Erdosain, red with shame, walked away.
GrammarPronominal «alejarse» «alejarse» ('to move away, to walk off') is pronominal; the «se» makes the subject distance himself: «se alejó» = 'he walked away'. The preterite marks the single, completed departure that closes the scene.
When he turned his head at the corner, he saw Ergueta waving his arms, talking to the waiter.
GrammarPreterite of perception + imperfect «vio» (preterite, 'he saw') captures the single glance, while «movía» (imperfect) shows the arm-waving as ongoing within that glance. Spanish routinely pairs a preterite act of perception with an imperfect for what was observed in progress.

The particulars

The text: Los siete locos, Roberto Arlt. Part One.
Reading aloud: Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
Words: Every word of the text, by letter.
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