Introducing Afterthoughts and Offhand Remarks in Spanish

Not everything we say is important or even germane to what were talking about. And sometimes, in Spanish as well as in English, we want to tell a listener or reader exactly that—that what were saying is merely an afterthought, offhand remark, or something not particularly important. Introducing Afterthoughts and Offhand Remarks in Spanish Spanish has two ways of introducing remarks or comments that arent directly related to what is being talked about, ways that are typically translated as by the way or incidentally in English. The expressions used, both of them adverbial phrases that affect the meaning of an entire sentence, are a propà ³sito and por cierto. A Propà ³sito A propà ³sito is somewhat more formal than por cierto. Here are some examples of its usage: A propà ³sito, quiero hacer una fiesta este fin de semana. (By the way, I want to put together a party this weekend.)La ciudad, a propà ³sito, està ¡ a menos de 40 kilà ³metros de la frontera. (The city, by the way, is less than 40 kilometers from the border.)A propà ³sito, tenemos mà ¡s de 40.000 alumnos. (Incidentally, we have more than 40,000 students.)A propà ³sito,  ¿por quà © Plutà ³n no es planeta? (By the way, why isnt Pluto a planet?) A propà ³sito can be used in ways other than to introduce an afterthought. Since propà ³sito as a noun means intent or intention, a propà ³sito can mean intentionally or on purpose: Determinaron que no fue a propà ³sito. (They determined it was not done deliberately.)Los oficiales de la liga analizaron el audio de la partida para decidir si habà ­an perdido a propà ³sito. (The league officials analyzed the audio of the match to decide if they had lost on purpose.) Also, the phrase a propà ³sito de also can be a way of saying with respect to, concerning, or something similar. Recordà © una historia que Mamà ¡ me contaba a propà ³sito de mi padre. (I remembered a story Mom would tell me concerning my father.)Quiero hablar con Elena a propà ³sito del lanzamiento de su libro. (I want to talk with Elena about the launch of her book.) Por Cierto Although cierto usually has meanings such as true or certainly, the phrase por cierto usually has much the same meaning as a propà ³sito: Por cierto,  ¿no està ¡s descargando mà ºsica ilegalmente? (By the way, are you downloading music illegally?)La valla fronteriza, por cierto, fue construida por Estados Unidos. (The border fence, incidentally, was built by the United States.)Por cierto, vamos a preparar algo para septiembre. (By the way, well be getting something ready for September.)Por cierto, la lente del telà ©fono està ¡ compuesta por cinco elementos. (Incidentally, the lens in the phone is made up of five elements.) In some contexts, however, por cierto can mean certainly or something similar, often when affirming something that is a known truth. Por cierto, es altamente improbable que yo sea normal. (Certainly, it is highly unlikely that I am normal.)Por cierto, la Tierra no es plana. (Definitely, the Earth isnt flat.) Downgrading and Minimizing Closely related to the introduction of afterthoughts is that of minimizing or downplaying the importance of what follows. In English, this might be done using anyway, such as in Anyway, we found a restaurant that wasnt closed. Such minimizations are more common in speech than they are in writing. In Spanish, common phrases of downplaying include de todas formas, de todas maneras and de todos modos. They can be translated in a variety of ways, as these examples show: De todas formas, no me molesta que tengas muchos amigos. (In any case, it doesnt bother me that you have a lot of friends.)De todas maneras los escà ¡ndalos financieros generan un impacto reputacional. (Anyway, the financial scandals are having an impact on reputation.)De todos modos, le gustarà ­a volver a tener su propia casa. (In any event, she would like to return to her own home.) All three of these Spanish phrases can be used interchangeably with no significant changes of meaning, much like the English phrases used above. Especially in speech, it is also common to use words such as nada and/or bueno something like  filler words for a similar effect: Bueno nada, quiero compartir con ustedes mi tatuaje. (Anyway, I want to share my tattoo with you.)Bueno, quizà ¡s podamos  hacer una excepcià ³n. (OK then, maybe we can make an exception.) Key Takeaways A propà ³sito and por cierto are common ways of expressing concepts such as incidentally and by the way.Both a propà ³sito and por cierto also have meanings unrelated to introducing casual remarks.De todas formas, de todas maneras, and de todos modos are ways of de-emphasizing the thought that follows.