It’s time to get to the bottom of some differences in usage between another two similar-looking Spanish words, gaining in-depth knowledge on their commonest senses. Today’s duo are fondo and fonda.
Una fonda (feminine) is an establishment offering basic hospitality services to customers, but its exact nature varies according to time and place.
- In Spain, una fonda (feminine) was historically a wayside hostelry providing bed, board and stabling to travellers – an inn. Nowadays the word sounds a little old-fashioned to Peninsular Spanish ears, though it is sometimes used to denote a boarding house or guesthouse offering home cooking, and it can also be found in the names of perhaps rather olde worlde, small restaurants.
- In Latin America, una fonda is used to mean a small, low-cost restaurant, though in places it may be a stall selling food and drinks.
- Moving on to the main uses of fondo (masculine), el fondo is the lowest part of a hollow object such as a glass, bottle, saucepan or barrel – the bottom:
En el fondo del vaso queda un sedimento pegajoso.
There’s a sticky sediment left in the bottom of the glass.
Remover todo el tiempo de manera que la crema no se pegue en el fondo de la cacerola.
Keep stirring the whole time so that the custard doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- El fondo is also the solid surface under the water at the bottom of the sea (the bottom or bed), a river (the bed) or a well (the bottom):
Durante algún tiempo buscaron el naufragio en el fondo del mar de Barents.
For a time they searched for the wreckage on the bottom of the Barents Sea.
la contaminación por dioxinas en el fondo del río
dioxin contamination on the riverbed
No quiere tirar su dinero a un pozo sin fondo.
He doesn’t want to throw his money into a bottomless well.
- In a room, building, cave or cupboard, el fondo is the part furthest away from the entrance – the back:
En el fondo del salón hay otra escalinata.
At the back of the living room is another staircase.
en el fondo de uno de los armarios
at the back of one of the wardrobes/cupboards
- When talking about a corridor, passage, street or road, el fondo is the end of it:
Al fondo del pasillo se encuentra la cocina.
At the end of the corridor is the kitchen.
Al fondo de la calle principal, se encuentra la iglesia de Nuestra Señora.
At the end of the main street is the Church of Our Lady.
- As we’ve seen, fondo oftenrefers to the part of something that is furthest down, furthest back or furthest away, but digging a little deeper, we find it can also refer to depth, whether referring to distance downwards or distance towards the back of something such a building or cupboard:
los ríos y puertos de poco fondo
rivers and ports without much depth or shallow rivers and ports
En medio hay una isleta y una ensenada de mucho fondo.
In the middle there’s a little island and a very deep inlet.
La casa tiene fachada estrecha y mucho fondo.
The house has a narrow front, but it goes back a long way.
- In a picture or design, el fondo is the colour or design at the back, on which appear the foreground patterns or images. In other words, el fondo is the background:
El racimo de uvas doradas sobre un fondo azul simboliza la viticultura.
The bunch of golden grapes on a blue background symbolizes wine growing.
- From fondo’s meaning in the world of art and design, it isn’t a big leap to its use in the sphere of music and soundscapes, where it is the background against which other sounds and conversations take place:
Esta versión utiliza instrumentos irlandeses medievales como música de fondo.
This version uses medieval Irish instruments as background music.
La cantante apenas canta y solo se dedica a susurrar entre un fondo de suspiros y gemidos.
The singer scarcely sings and devotes herself to whispering against a background of sighs and groans.
- El fondo of a matter is the essential, fundamental part of it: the heart of it, the core of it:
No se entra en el fondo del problema.
They don’t get to the heart or bottom of the problem.
Apunta que el fondo del tema, que es el controlar la compraventa de dólares y limitar las importaciones, genera un impacto negativo sobre el crecimiento.
She points out that the essence of the issue, which is controlling the buying and selling of dollars and limiting imports, has a negative effect on growth.
No se pronunció sobre el fondo de la cuestión.
She didn’t comment on the real heart of the matter.
El objetivo de fondo está claro…
The underlying aim is clear…
- Un fondo is money amassed with a particular objective, or else an organization administering this money – a fund. And fondos in the plural often just means funds (as in money).
un fondo de inversión británico
a British investment fund
Se prohibió a los fondos de pensiones corporativos mantener ciertas inversiones riesgosas.
Corporate pension funds were prohibited from holding on to certain risky investments.
el Fondo Monetario Internacional
the International Monetary Fund
Nos proporcionó los fondos necesarios para completar la obra.
It provided us with the necessary funds to complete the work.
Usaron los fondos adicionales para crear herramientas educativas.
They used the additional funds to create educational tools.
Se realizó una recogida de firmas para que se destinaran fondos públicos a la recuperación de esta fortaleza.
There was a petition calling for public funds to be used on the restoration of this fortress.
- On a rather smaller scale,un fondocan be money put together by a group of people for a particular purpose – a kitty:
Vamos a poner un fondo para comprarle un regalo.
We’re going to set up a kitty to buy her a present.
- Un fondo can be another type of collection too:
un fondo bibliográfico
a library or book collection
Reunió un considerable fondo documental de imágenes y material relacionado con la historia de Roma.
He amassed a considerable (documentary) archive of images and material related to the history of Rome.
Fondo plays its part in a number of expressions such as:
- a fondo – in-depth, thorough; in depth:
la limpieza a fondo de las casas
thorough or deep cleaning of houses
Realizó entrevistas a fondo a muchas personas.
She carried out in-depth interviews with many people.
Estudió a fondo las obras de Brahms.
He studied the works of Brahms in depth.
- en el fondo – deep down, essentially:
Necesita un poco de dirección, pero es un buen chico en el fondo.
He needs a little direction, but deep down or essentially, he’s a good boy.
DID YOU KNOW?
The English words fundament, fundamental and to found come from the same Latin root as fondo, as do two Spanish adjectives meaning deep: profundo and hondo – the difference between these two is for another day!
For more tips on Spanish usage, come back next week.
