Phrase · 📜 Proverbs in conversation
No había taxis, así que vinimos en bici: a falta de pan, buenas son tortas.
There were no taxis, so we came by bike: half a loaf is better than none.
C2making doinformallearned as a wholeAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Noadverbnothabía4verbthere werehaber · imperfect · 3rd sing.taxis4nountaxistaxi · masc. · pl.,asíadverbsoqueconjunction(that)vinimosverbwe camevenir · past · 1st pl.enprepositionby (in)bicinounbikefem. · sing.:a2prepositionforfalta1nounlackfem. · sing.de1prepositionofpan1nounbreadmasc. · sing.,buenas1adjectivegoodbueno · fem. · pl.son1verbareser · present · 3rd pl.tortas3nounflatcakestorta · fem. · pl..
- a → tortas: frozen proverb
- buenas → tortas: buenas agrees with tortas (f. pl.)
- son → tortas: son agrees with tortas (pl.)
- había → taxis: había stays singular with a plural noun
Word for word: “…for lack of bread, flatcakes are good.”
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1A falta de pan, buenas son tortas = half a loaf is better than none: make do with what you have.
- 2Natural, cheerful and common in Spain and Latin America. Note the old order, adjective first: buenas son tortas. Literary and archaic style →
- 3tortas here = flat cakes of bread; in Mexico a torta is a sandwich roll.
- 4no había + plural: haber stays singular for existence (never *habían taxis). Regional grammatical variation →
Variations
- No había taxis, así que vinimos en bici: a falta de pan, tortas.
- No había taxis, así que vinimos caminando: a falta de pan, buenas son tortas.
- No había taxis, así que nos vinimos en bici, y listo.