Let Beyoncé Sing So You Learn The Spanish Adverb, Ya

The Spanish word, ya is notorious for giving immense pain to those learning Spanish even in their third or fourth year. Honestly, most of us have struggled with this word enough to have even quit Spanish for at least a while out of sheer frustration! One particularly exhaustive lesson on About.com is dedicated to this topic and so are hundreds of others elsewhere on the Internet. So, learning is never an issue; the issue is with recalling it when required. Luckily, today, we have a gorgeous teacher just to ensure we never forget the word’s usage rules anymore. If Belanova can help with gustar, Beyoncé can help with ya!

The Child Prodigy

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter
Photo credit: Martin licensed CC BY-SA 2.0

Apologies if this sounds like an unfounded assumption but does this chick really need introduction? I mean really? We are talking about the sizzling hot powerhouse of talent who has won more Grammies than most can even begin to wish for! Well, when we are discussing this Southern belle, we are discussing the third most honored and second most nominated woman in Grammy history with 16 wins and 43 nominations as of today (not to mention the total tally of 173 awards and more than 500 nominations)!

Shooting to fame in the late 90s as the lead voice of one of the world’s most successful girl-groups of all times, Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé (also known as Sasha Fierce) has thus far won a Billboard Millennium Award, 12 MTV Video Music Awards, and a star on the Hollywod Walk of Fame with Destiny’s Child.

Irreemplazable

Now that we are pretty sure you are stumped enough with the prodigy’s stellar records, let’s get down to business. We were talking about this particular single that came out in the fall of 2007 as a part of Beyoncé’s first ever EP (extended play). Both the EP as well as the single in question were named Irreemplazable (Irreplaceable) and fared really well on the charts earning a nomination in the 2008 grammy Awards.

This song, written by Beyoncé herself (though Ne-Yo wouldn’t agree), celebrates female empowerment and is about a relationship’s breakdown because of a cheating partner (of course, the man). It is a catchy pop ballad with heavy R&B influences and bears quite a resemblance with those sung by Whitney Houston.

For Spanish learners

So what’s in it for me, the Spanish learner in you should ask by now; besides the soulful lyrics and hum-worthy music, that is. Well, for starters, the 5 occurrences of esta vez should do more than reinforce the Spanish for “this time” for those who were left still wanting by the previous article’s Belanova. Other than that, the song illustrates almost every color of the Spanish adverb, ya, with a good 24 reps! With that many repetitions of just one word in a single song (a karaoke-worthy pop at that), there’s no way you can ever have trouble using and interpreting it smoothly no matter what the context is. Have a look for yourself – Youtube® is teeming with copies of this song’s videos.

As always, here’s a small snippet of the complete lyrics with a broad translation for your reference. Read along and enjoy the music while your mind does all the boring work of remembering what’s useful.

Ya lo ves, ya lo ves (As you already see, as you already see)
Te olvidé, te olvidé (I forgot you, I forgot you)

Ya lo ves, ya lo ves

Ya lo ves, amor, esta vez te olvidé (As you already see, love, this time I forgot you)
En el clóset, en un rincón (In the closet, in the corner)
Están tus cosas, esto se acabó (Are your things, it’s over)
Te juro que no te aguanto más (I swear I won’t take it anymore)
No te quiero ya, ni como amante (I don’t love you anymore, not as a lover)
Esta vez no ganarás, te puedes marchar (This time you won’t win, you can leave)
Y no vuelvas jamás (And don’t ever return)

Y si acaso piensas que esta vez voy a perdonar (And if just in case you think that this time I will forgive)
Ya verás, que nunca más me vuelves a engañar (You’ll surely see, that you’ll no more fool me again)
Ya lárgate (Now go away)

Irreemplazable is not Irreplaceable!

Before we wrap up this article, one strong word of caution: Do not fall for the English version of this song if you are really keen on learning some Spanish. Talented as she is, Beyoncé has done this song in Spanish as well as English and even in Spanglish. While it is very easy to assume that the English version is just the English translation of the original Spanish, in reality it’s not. The lyrics are completely different and the only common factor among the versions is the message of female empowerment and the central theme of a girl dumping her guy after catching him cheating on her.

So in short, what you should ideally do is look for the English translation of this song and not the English version. It is the translation that will teach you Spanish. And even before you look up the translation, we strongly recommend just listening to the original several times, savoring just the music and the essence of her voice. This way, you will get a better hang of what rapid Spanish sounds like and only once you hit a hummable stage with the song, should you start with the translation.