How many times, when writing a paper, do you not know how to write a word that you commonly use in your daily life? You are rushed and stressed to deliver; but doubts overwhelm you and time is up. What a mess! It is the case of card and card.
Most of the time you cannot resolve those doubts and you have to deliver your work like this, without consulting; as who says, blindly. Then, you’re biting your nails with worry until it’s time for the evaluation. Come on, when they give you the note you will already be made a Christ.
One of those moments of spelling uncertainty is when we find ourselves in front of card or card. Go figure! If we have doubts when writing words that come from Latin, how will it be when we write one borrowed from another language, like French in this case. What is the right way? The word that maintains fidelity to the original word or the one that is most similar to the other words in Spanish? Well, get to work! Remember that not every mount is oregano. To some things we have to dedicate more of our time.
International use
The problem is greater if you live or have lived in Bolivia, Colombia or Venezuela. In those countries you come across two very commonly used words, such as carnetizar and carnetización. The uncertainty is stronger then, because they even have a verb and a noun to refer to the process of issuing a card.
Do not let the doubt remain in the inkwell. When writing, you must decide on one of the two. Don’t even think about using both at the same time, choose; but do it well, fully knowing the situation of these two words in Spanish. You must be clear about what is accepted by the Royal Academy and what you can find in dictionaries.
Do not drown in a glass of water. cheer up! Here we are going to clarify your doubts. We will offer you information about the process that this word underwent since it became part of our language, about its meaning and some examples that will clarify the panorama for you. After this, you will no longer have doubts when writing it. Don’t worry, we’re going to take the chestnuts out of the fire. After reading this, when you go to request a document, you will know which one to request, a card or a card .
Instructions to write card or card
To begin with, let’s clarify a few things about these two words:
- The Royal Academy does not include the word card among its entries, only card. Now with this clarification you should understand that if you use the first one, you are in trouble! No, it doesn’t matter if the -t seems more elegant to you. Forget about her!
- Do you know why the doubt arises? Well, because the word carnet enters Spanish from French. Already borrowed, we, as good speakers of our beautiful language, made a small change to make it more familiar; or as the Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts would say, we adapt it graphically.
- Voucher! So carnet is a foreign term or loan. And what is that? Well, a word or an expression that one language borrows from another. Generally, because that language does not have a word to refer to something. Don’t be too surprised, Spanish has many borrowed words and from a few languages.
- So far are you getting it? Yes? Let’s continue then. According to the language of origin, we classify the loans. For example, if it comes from English, we say that it is an Anglicism; if it comes from German, a Germanism. In this case, as the loanword is from French, it is a Gallicism. Interesting, right?
- By accepting a loan, we speakers can do two things with it. We can keep the word the same as the original, or adapt it to our linguistic patterns, this is the case of card.
- You can appreciate the same adaptation process in bidet, another word that comes from French, this time bidet; therefore, it is another Gallicism. Note that in the same way, when adapting to our language, it lost the -t.
- Both carné and bidé, being accommodated to our linguistic patterns, are considered foreign words or adapted loans.
- Let’s talk now about the accent of this word. Carné is an acute word ending in a vowel; therefore, it must have an orthographic accent or tilde.
- It is already clear how you should write ID, right? Now we have to think about how we should write this word when it refers to more than one card. In this case, its plural is written according to the dictates of Spanish grammar. Since carné ends in a vowel, simply add the –s of the plural, leaving us with carnés.
- We have not yet devoted our attention to their meanings. The Dictionary of the Spanish language offers us two. The first meaning, and the most common, is that of an identification document, with a photo included. This document accredits you as a member of an association or institution or authorizes you to carry out an activity, such as driving.
- The second meaning is that of a small book of notes. Do you remember those movies about the eighteenth century? The girls had a card to write down the names of the boys they were going to dance with.
- If you knew how many Spanish words you speak and write every day, they are adapted loanwords. Many! We offer you a few: slide, pedestrian, leader and scanner. We also have non-adapted loans, such as: mousse and pizza (very tasty!).
Anyway, you know, always write card; and for the plural, undoubtedly, cards. If you are going to request the document from a person, you must say: Please, show me your ID or Citizen, let me see his ID. If you are a citizen who is asked for the document, you will say: Here is my card, officer.
What do you need to write card or card?
For your works to come out like honey and flakes, you need:
- Always have a good dictionary handy. The one from the Royal Academy and the Panhispánico of doubts, they would not be at all.
- And if you are one of those who do not want to open a book, do not scratch yourself! You can consult the dictionary from the page of the Royal Academy, with very little effort. If you enter a misspelled word, the dictionary will refer you to the correct one.
- A good grammar doesn’t hurt either. The Royal Academy has a basic version, for those less knowledgeable in the matter.
- The spell checker on your computer is also useful, but remember that it is not foolproof. Don’t leave all the work to him, because you can end up in a mess.
Tips for writing card or card
- Remember that practice makes perfect. The best way to improve your way of writing is by writing.
- Always keep in mind that one of the strategies to expand the lexicon is borrowing from other languages. Many Spanish words have come this way. In those cases, pay close attention to your pronunciation and writing.
- Never forget that, in the face of any spelling uncertainty, the dictionary is your best friend.
- Take a look at your identification documents and you will see that they say card and not card. And pay attention to how an official pronounces it, when prompted.
- Knowing which of your friends has the best spelling is very useful. So you know who to turn to when you have a question. Don’t feel self-conscious about asking. You are not alone in this; There are many people who have problems when writing a word.
- Pay attention to notices, posters, billboards; They will give you information about the correct spelling of some words.
- After you write any text, read it well and correct it. Don’t settle for a superficial look. Get used to the idea that you didn’t write it. Sometimes we are very indulgent with ourselves and give ourselves a lot of licenses when writing.
- You always have to imagine the person who is going to read what you write; ask yourself questions about how he will interpret what you write.
- Be very careful! Sometimes we say one thing, but we mean another.