puesto que era muy tarde

S

starorbit88

Member
English - US
Hi, a quick vocabulary question. I found this sentence in my flashcards, but I didn't understand what 'puesto' is doing in there until I searched RAE and saw the entry for "puesto que". Does anyone know if "pues" ended up being used as a simpler way to say "puesto que"? Just curious. :)

No la visitamos puesto que era muy tarde.
...
We didn't visit her since it was very late.
 
    • Thanks, I'm just curious if a passer-by knows if pues initially developed as a shorthand for saying puesto que. :)
     
    In my experience as a native English speaker, this is the difference:

    Pues (...) = Well (...)

    And

    "puesto que" = "since"

    Puesto is the past participle of "to put"... so you could interpret "puesto que" from a native English perspective as "since it was put in place that..."

    Pues could have been derived from "puesto"... but it's generally more of a casual word... just like us saying "well..." at the beginning of a sentence in English doesn't really have any intrinsic meaning. But it can sometimes. Like if someone says "Wow, you have red hair!" and you respond "Well, I'm Irish". The well in that sentence means "Yeah, that makes sense because...". Same for "Pues". "Pues, soy irlandés."
     
    Last edited:
    starorbit88 said:
    Thanks, I'm just curious if a passer-by knows if pues initially developed as a shorthand for saying puesto que. :)
    Click to expand...
    In terms of etymology, they were originally separate developments from Latin. Which does not preclude the possibility that the Spanish "pues" could have been re-used as you suggest.
     
    But also in the example you used, I could see a native Spanish speaker saying "No la visitamos, pues era muy tarde." In that example "puesto que era muy tarde" and "pues era muy tarde" both would mean "since". But there's a nuance between them. Puesto que sounds more definitive and formal, and pues sounds more casual.
     
    aommoa said:
    I dont agree with you 22caps

    To me pues is more formal than puesto que.

    Here both mean because
    Click to expand...
    Might be regional. I would say "puesto que" is more commonly used than "pues" with the meaning of "since" or "because" (at least where I am). "Pues" sounds vaguely literary to me, although people do use it.
     
    Hi,
    22caps said:
    But there's a nuance between them.
    Click to expand...
    I do not think so, pues and puesto que are synonyms, and I see no difference in nuance between them. There might be a difference of register, but the meaning is exactly the same. In Chile people tend to use pues more oftern, I assume that that happens because it is shorter.

    G.
     
    In general (although there is no real way to generalize in the absence of context) one might translate puesto que as "given that" and pues as "since." But it all depends on the tone and register of the surrounding material.
     
    LVRBC said:
    In general (although there is no real way to generalize in the absence of context) one might translate puesto que as "given that" and pues as "since." But it all depends on the tone and register of the surrounding material.
    Click to expand...
    Sounds about right.
     
    starorbit88 said:
    Hi, a quick vocabulary question. I found this sentence in my flashcards, but I didn't understand what 'puesto' is doing in there until I searched RAE and saw the entry for "puesto que". Does anyone know if "pues" ended up being used as a simpler way to say "puesto que"? Just curious. :)

    No la visitamos puesto que era muy tarde.
    ...
    We didn't visit her since it was very late.
    Click to expand...
    They´re the same as "ya que".
    They link two ideas showing that one is the cause of the other.
    Era muy tarde (cause)
    so...
    No la visitamos (consequence)
     
    starorbit88 said:
    Hi, a quick vocabulary question. I found this sentence in my flashcards, but I didn't understand what 'puesto' is doing in there until I searched RAE and saw the entry for "puesto que". Does anyone know if "pues" ended up being used as a simpler way to say "puesto que"? Just curious. :)

    No la visitamos puesto que era muy tarde.
    ...
    We didn't visit her since it was very late.
    Click to expand...
    Puesto que and pues are interchangeable when you want to express "cause" or "reason". Hope this helps!
     
    You must log in or register to reply here.
    Back
    Top