Phrase · 📜 Proverbs in conversation
Hoy corrí tres kilómetros; poco a poco se va lejos.
I ran three kilometres today; slow and steady gets you there.
C2encouraging yourselflearned as a wholeAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Hoy4adverbtodaycorrí4verbI rancorrer · past · 1st sing.tresdeterminerthreekilómetrosnounkilometreskilómetro · masc. · pl.;poco2adverblittlea2prepositionbypoco2adverblittlese3pronoun(one)3rdva1verbgoesir · present · 3rd sing.lejos1adverbfar.
- poco → lejos: frozen proverb
- se → va: impersonal se + 3rd person
- Hoy → corrí: hoy + preterite (Latin America)
Word for word: “Today I ran three kilometres; little by little one goes far.”
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1Poco a poco se va lejos = slow and steady wins the race (lit. little by little one goes far).
- 2Encouraging and natural, often said to yourself. poco a poco = little by little.
- 3Impersonal se + third person: se va = one goes. Impersonal and passive se; reciprocal se →
- 4Hoy corrí: Latin America uses the preterite even with hoy; Spain would say hoy he corrido. Present perfect vs preterite (Spain vs Latin America) →
Variations
- Hoy he corrido tres kilómetros; poco a poco se va lejos.
- Hoy corrí tres kilómetros; paso a paso se llega lejos.
- Hoy corrí tres kilómetros; despacito y buena letra.