Donde Estan Los Ladrones

• By: Shakira

Lyrics:

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[English]

Los han visto por ahí

They have been seen around here

Los han visto en los tejados

They have been seen on the rooftops

Dando vueltas en París

Roaming around Paris

Condenando en los juzgados

Condemning in the courts

Con la nariz empolvada

With a powdered nose

De corbata o de blue jeans

In a tie or in blue jeans

Los han visto en las portadas todas

They have been seen on all the covers

Sin más nada que decir

With nothing more to say

¿Dónde están los ladrones?

Where are the thieves?

¿Dónde está el asesino?

Where is the killer?

Quizá, allá, revolcándose en el patio del vecino

Maybe, over there, rolling in the neighbor's yard

...

...

¿Y qué pasa si son ellos?

And what if it's them?

¿Y qué pasa si soy yo?

And what if it's me?

El que toca esta guitarra o la que canta esta canción

The one playing this guitar or the one singing this song

...

...

La que canta esta canción, ah-ah-ah

The one singing this song, ah-ah-ah

...

...

Los han visto de rodillas

They have been seen on their knees

Sentados o de cuclillas

Sitting or squatting

Parados dando lecciones

Standing giving lessons

En todas las posiciones

In all positions

Predicando en las iglesias

Preaching in the churches

Hasta ofreciendo conciertos

Even offering concerts

Los han visto en los cócteles, todos

They have been seen at the cocktails, all

Repartiendo ministerios

Distributing ministries

¿Dónde están los ladrones?

Where are the thieves?

¿Dónde está el asesino?

Where is the killer?

Quizá, allá, revolcándose en el patio del vecino

Maybe, over there, rolling in the neighbor's yard

...

...

¿Y qué pasa si son ellos?

And what if it's them?

¿Y qué pasa si soy yo?

And what if it's me?

El que toca esta guitarra o la que canta esta canción

The one playing this guitar or the one singing this song

La que canta esta canción, ah-ah-ah

The one singing this song, ah-ah-ah

...

...

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
ladrón /laˈðɾon/ B1	noun - thief
asesino /aseˈsino/ B2	noun - murderer
guitarra /ɡiˈtarra/ A2	noun - guitar
canción /kanˈsjon/ A2	noun - song
patio /ˈpatjo/ A2	noun - courtyard
lección /lekˈsjon/ B1	noun - lesson
iglesia /iˈɡlesja/ A2	noun - church
concierto /konˈsjerto/ B1	noun - concert
ministerio /minisˈteɾjo/ B2	noun - ministry
portada /poɾˈtaða/ B1	noun - cover (of a book or magazine)
revolcar /reβolˈkaɾ/ B2	verb - to roll over
visto /ˈbisto/ A1	verb - seen (past participle of see)
nariz /naˈɾiz/ A1	noun - nose
corbata /koɾˈβata/ A2	noun - tie (clothing)
tejado /teˈxaðo/ B1	noun - roof

Grammar:

• Los han visto por ahí

  ➔ Use of 'Los' as a direct object pronoun; Haber + Past Participle (Present Perfect)

  ➔ "Los" refers to the thieves (ladrones) - a direct object pronoun. "Han visto" is the present perfect tense of the verb "ver" (to see), used to describe an action that started in the past and continues to be relevant to the present.

• Quizá, allá, revolcándose en el patio del vecino

  ➔ Use of "Quizá" indicating uncertainty; Gerund (revolcándose) expressing an action in progress

  ➔ "Quizá" translates to "maybe" or "perhaps," expressing doubt. "Revolcándose" is the gerund form of "revolcarse" (to wallow), showing an action in progress - wallowing.

• ¿Y qué pasa si son ellos?

  ➔ Use of conditional "si" to introduce a hypothetical situation.

  ➔ The conjunction "si" introduces a hypothetical question or condition. In this case, "si son ellos" introduces the condition of 'what if they are the ones?'

• La que canta esta canción

  ➔ Relative pronoun "que" referring back to a noun (la persona).

  ➔ "La que" means "the one who" or "she who." "Que" is a relative pronoun referring back to the implicit "la persona" (the person) who is singing the song.

• Parados dando lecciones

  ➔ Adjective + gerund combination to describe a state of being while performing an action.

  ➔ "Parados" (standing) is an adjective describing the subject, and "dando lecciones" (giving lessons) is a gerund phrase describing the action they're performing while standing. This creates a combined description: standing *while* giving lessons.