InstruccionesInstrucciones‘‘Verbos’ Verbos’ is a presentation designed to get you thinking about your is a presentation designed to get you thinking about your

reading exam. It will help you to learn 50 common verbs used in reading exam. It will help you to learn 50 common verbs used in Spanish.Spanish.

It’s not just about 50 verbs though; it also includes other types of words It’s not just about 50 verbs though; it also includes other types of words that are related to the verbs. For example look at the 3 words below. that are related to the verbs. For example look at the 3 words below. We have a verb, adjective and noun all linked to each other.We have a verb, adjective and noun all linked to each other.

((seguir seguir – to follow / – to follow / siguientesiguiente – following / – following / seguidoresseguidores – followers) – followers)

VERB ADJECTIVE NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE NOUN

Learning 50 verbs will help you in your exams but learning how to use Learning 50 verbs will help you in your exams but learning how to use patterns and intuition from what you already know is a powerful patterns and intuition from what you already know is a powerful linguistic tool.linguistic tool.

At the end there is a section for cognate verbs as well!!! At the end there is a section for cognate verbs as well!!! Move on to next screen to begin.Move on to next screen to begin.

I do not own Lady Gaga

VerbosVerbos 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34 35

36 37 38 39 40

41 42 43 44 45

46 47 48 49 50

COGNATES

Please enter ‘slide-show view’ to begin and click a number

1. Seguir – to follow / to continue

El caracol sigue la tortuga

Sigue todo rectoSi sigues comiendo comida basura, vas a engordarte

El día siguiente

Tienes que seguir este curso de medicina Los seguidores del cristianismo leen la biblia

The snail follows the tortoise The following day

If you continue eating junk food, you’ll get big Carry straight on

You have to follow this course of medicine The followers of christianity read the bible

Can you see how there are verbs, adjectives and nouns linked here? Try to see the patterns and distinguish the different types of word linked by a meaning.

ADJECTIVE

NOUN

VERB

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2. Pedir – to ask for / to order

¿Qué vas a pedir en el restaurante?

Hoy hice un pedido de un nuevo ordenador

Pidió la mano de su novia

What are you going to order in the restaurant?

Today I made an order for a new computer

He asked for his girlfriend’s hand (in marriage)

Sometimes you don’t recognise a verb because the spellings are different from tense to tense. Try to recognise the consonants and then think about verbs you know with these consonants ...p..d = poder /pedir

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3. Buscar – to look for/to search

La policía busca a un ladrón con gafas

Fui a la biblioteca en busca de un libro sobre arte

Busco la playa

The police are looking for a thief with a glasses

I went to the library in search of a book about art

I’m looking for the beach

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See how sometimes you recognise a verb in a phrase.

Also, you can see that sometimes Spanish uses 1 word to express 2, 3 or 4 English words.‘Busco’ = I’m looking for

4a. Sonreír – to smile / 4b. Reírse – to laugh

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Sonríe y el mundo sonreirá contigo

Smile and the world will smile with you

El mensaje me hizo reír mucho

The message made me laugh a lot

Tiene una risa contagiosa

She has a contagious laugh

Su sonrisa es un poco espantosa

His smile is a bit scary

Try to associate these two verbs with each other as they are very close in meaning. Some people think of special ways to remember which is which: the ‘sun’ smiles at you (but doesn’t normally laugh) so ‘sonreír’ = to smile.

5. Elegir/Escoger – to choose Main menu

Es difícil elegir entre los dos candidatos

It’s difficult to choose between the 2 candidates

Tendrás que escoger la puerta correcta

You’ll have to choose the correct door

Fue una prueba de elección multiple

It was a multi-choice test

Sometimes you come across words which are cognates but would not be translated by their English equivalent.‘Elección’ looks like ‘election’ but if you look more carefully at the sentence then a better translation would be the word ‘choice’

6. Aumentar/Subir – to raise/to go up/to increase

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Me gustaría aumentar de peso

I would like to increase my weight

La temperatura aumentará a 30 grados este verano

The temperature will rise to 30˚ this summer

La subida se hace a pie – No hay funicular

The climb is made on foot – There is no cable car

Hay un subibaja en el jardín

There is a seesaw in the garden

Sometimes verbs are used to make nouns like the example here. You can guess what they mean by putting the words together.Espantar = to scare Pájaros = birds

Un espantapájaros = A scarecrow

7. Gastar – to spend Main menu

Gasté mi dinero en un concierto de JLS

I spent my money on a JLS concert

El presidente no controla los gastos de su mujer

The president doesn’t control his wife’s spending

No quiero malgastar mi tiempo con planchar la ropa

I don’t want to waste my time with ironing the clothes

If you know ‘mal’ means ‘bad’ then you should be able to guess that it gives a negative meaning to a word...gastar – spend malgastar – waste...educado – polite maleducado - rude

8. Saber – to know (something) Main menu

Sé que Juan no sabe nadar

I know that Juan doesn’t know how to swimLa profesora es una persona muy sabia

The teacher is a very knowledgeable person

Odio a Marco – es un sabelotodo

I hate Marco – he’s a know-it-all

El helado sabe a fresa*

Be aware that many times there are words like ‘sé – i know’ that look nothing like their infinitives ... ‘saber – to know’.

The ice cream tastes of strawberries*

Don’t be tempted to make bad judgments on a sentence’s meaning just because you think you know a word. ‘Saber ‘ means ‘to know’ but ‘Saber a’ means ‘to taste of’‘It would be a bad judgment to think the sentence below means ‘The ice cream knows the strawberry’!

9. Conocer – to know (someone) / to meet Main menu

Nos conocimos en Las Vegas

We met in Las Vegas Italia es un país conocido por su comida

Conozco al jefe del tribú

I know the chief of the tribe

Italy is a country known for its food

Tengo algunos conocimientos de la cultura japonesa

I have some knowledge of japonese culture

Sometimes verbs are used with a reflexive pronoun ‘nos’ to translate the idea of ‘each other’. For example ‘Nos vemos’ – ‘We see each other’ ‘Nos conocemos’ – We meet each other / We know each other

10. Dar – to give Main menu

Dale las llaves a Pedro

Give the keys to PedroDoy un paseo por el parque cada día

I go for a walk around the park every day

Su padre le dio un reloj para su cumpleaños

His father gave him a watch for his birthday

Las noticias me dieron mucha pena

The news made me very sad

Sometimes verbs are used for literally thousands of phrases. Unfortunately the verb ‘dar’ sometimes does not translate as ‘to give’ in some of these phrases.

‘Dar mucha pena’ literally means ‘to give lots of pain’ (to make someone sad)

11. Pasar – to spend (time)/to pass / to happen Main menu

¿Qué pasa?

What’s happening? Para llegar al aeropuerto, tienes que pasar por el estadio

To get to the airport, you have to pass by the stadium

Voy a pasar un año estudiando en China

I’m going to spend a year in China

La semana pasada había manifesticaciones

Last week there were demonstrations

‘Pasar’ is a verb with lots and lots of meanings in Spanish as well as English. Always try to decide which definition makes the best sense.‘¿Me pasas las patatas por favor?’ ‘Will you pass me the potatoes please?’

12. Encontrar – to find / to meet Main menu

No puedo encontrar mi pasaporte

I can’t find my passportLe encuentro un poco hablador

I find him a little chatty

Me encontré un poco mareado

I felt a bit dizzy

Bla bla bla

El teatro se encuentra en las afueras del pueblo

The theatre is found on the outskirts of town

The smallest words can help you figure out meaning:Le = him/her (me = me... te = you... nos = us)

Encuentro un poco hablador??? I find a bit chatty XLe encuentro un poco hablador – I find him a bit chatty √

Often verbs are reflexive which means you add ‘myself, yourself etc to the meaning.

Here it has the meaning of ‘I found myself a bit dizzy’ It’s not exactly how we’d say it but it makes sense.

13. Pagar – to pay Main menu

¿Es posible pagar en metálico?

Is it possible to pay in cash?Para reservar los billetes necesitamos un pago adelantado

Mis padres me pagan los estudios

My parents pay for my studies

To reserve the tickets, we need payment in advance

Some verbs in Spanish would be 2 words in English: ‘pagar’ = to pay for‘buscar’ = to look for

Try to take the words in a sentence and make sense of them ‘ My parents me pay the studies’

My parents pay for my studies

14. Ayudar – to help Main menu

Las ayudantes del mago se cortan en dos.

The magician’s helpers are cut in two

Ayudaba en la cocina antes del accidente con el pastel

I used to help in the kitchen before the accident with the cake

Necesito tu ayuda con este proyecto

I need your help with this project

Make sure you pick up on the word ‘de’ in the exam. It shows you what belongs to what:

El primer día del verano – The first day of summerMúsica de todos los estilos – Music of all stylesLos conductores de Madrid – Drivers from Madrid

15. Conseguir – to achieve / to get

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El director consiguió un gran éxito

The director achieved great success

Es importante conseguir la diagnosis apropiada temprano

It’s important to get the correct diagnosis early

No vas a conseguir el respeto si gritas

You’re not going to get respect if you shout

Be aware that there are many ‘false friends’ in Spanish (words that appear to be cognates but mean something completely different)

E.G éxito = success actual = current sensible = sensitive avisar = to warn

16. Poder – to be able to (can) Main menu

Aqui no se puede fumar

You can’t smoke here La viuda no pudo creer lo que oyó

The widow couldn’t believe what she heard

Tenemos el poder de salvar el medio ambiente

We have the power to save the environment

Ha comprado una moto muy poderosa

He has bought a very powerful motorbike

Verbs like poder are so common that it will probably appear 9-10 times in a reading exam. You must know its different uses: (se puede – you can) (podrías – you could)and particularly its noun and adjective forms: (poder – power) (poderoso) powerful.

17. Esperar 1 – To hope Main menu

Espero que no llueva

I hope that it doesn’t rain

Hay esperanza que la cumbre producirá una solución

There is hope that the conference will produce a solution

¿Juan tiene el anillo?...Espero que sí

Does Juan have the ring?...I hope so

Se espera que los huelguistas vuelvan en dos días

It is hoped that the strikers will return in two days

When you use ‘se’ + a verb, it becomes passive. This means it translates as ‘It is + verb’Confused ??? Ok Here are some examples:

1.Esperar = to hope & Se espera = It is hoped 2. Decir = To say & Se dice = It is said + Se dijo = It was said3. Llamar = To call & Se llama = It is called4. Conseguir = To achieve & Se consigue = It is achieved

18. Esperar 2 – to wait Main menu

Llevo dos horas esperando el autobús

I’ve been waiting 2 hours for the bus El gato se apostó en espera de un ratón

The cat sat down in expectation of a mouse

La madre y su niña están en la sala de espera

The mother and her child are in the waiting room

Esperar can mean ‘to wait’, ‘to hope’ or ‘to expect’.

The exam will probably include this verb to test that you know these different meanings. Use your common sense to work out which meaning the verb has.

e.g Espero que venga Juan – I hope Juan comes Espero a Juan – I’m waiting for Juan

19. Vivir – to live Main menu

Vivía en Australia pero ahora vivo en Dinamarca

I used to live in Australia but now i live in Denmark

No quedó nadie vivo en esta obra

Nobody was left alive in this play

Fue una fiesta muy viva

It was a very lively party

Van a construir un bloque de 50 viviendas

They are going to make a block of 50 homes

To test your ability to understand written language, the examiner will replace common words like ‘casa’ or ‘hogar’ with words like ‘vivienda’ to mean house/home.

Don’t be put off by this. Use your head and any language you previously learnt to help yourself out. Puerta = Door Salida = Exit (from salir – to go out) Comida = Food Cena = Dinner (from cenar – to eat dinner)

20. Volver – to return / to go back

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A la vuelta paramos para gasolina

On the return journey we stopped for petrol

Dieron una vuelta por el parque

They took a turn around the park

Volvió a su casa

He returned home

Ha vuelto a tomar drogas

She started to take drugs again

Think about the verb ‘volver a’ It would literally translate as ‘to return to’ but it is used to mean ‘to do something again’ or ‘to go back to doing something’.

Volver a empezar = to start againVolver a ocurrir = to happen again

21. Casarse – to get married Main menu

Me caso mañana en la iglesia

I’m getting married tomorrow in church

Nos casamos hace cincuenta años

We got married 50 years ago

Los novios quieren casarse en Dubai

The bride and groom want to marry in Dubai

Remember that some verbs are reflexive so in the infinitive they have ‘se’ at the end.Casarse – to get married Lavarse – to have a wash

This changes according to who is performing the actionQuiero casarme – I want to get married¿Quieres casarte? – Do you want to get married?

22. Viajar – to travel Main menu

Los viajeros siempre van a la torre Eiffel

Travellers always go to the Eiffel Tower

El viaje de vuelta era un poco picado

The return journey was a bit choppy

Viajé en coche desde Londres a Leeds

I travelled by car from London to Leeds

The endings ‘eros’ ‘antes’ & ‘ores’ are usually added to a verb to make a noun for people who perform the verb...

1 (viajar = to travel + viajero = traveller) (Obrar = to work + obrero = worker)2 (caminar = to walk + caminante = hiker) (ayudar = to help + ayudante = helper)3 ( jugar = to play + Jugadores = Players) (fumar = to smoke + fumador = smoker)

23. Cuidar – to take care of Main menu

Pone mucho cuidado en su higiene

She takes lots of care over her hygiene

Tengo que cuidar de mi hermano menor

I have to take care of my little brother

La funámbula es muy cuidadosa

The tight-rope walker is very careful

Debes cuidar la ortografía

You need to take care over your spelling

Again take notice that there are 3 different types of word here: noun, adjective and verb.

We could also add ‘cuidadosamente’ = ‘carefully’

24. Hacer – to do/to make Main menu

Me hizo llorar

He made me cryHago los deberes en la biblioteca

I do my homework in the library

Pasaremos la clase haciendo investigaciones

We will spend the class doing investigations

Tengo que hacer la cama todas las mañanas

I have to make my bed every morning

Hacer is a very common verb so be aware that it has lots of meanings but generally these are ‘to do’ or ‘to make’ .

Try to bear this in my mind when deciding what sentences mean.‘Hacer una llamada’ – To make a call ‘Hacer bien en algo’ – ‘To do well’

25. Ponerse/Hacerse – to become

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They became friends during summer

Se hicieron amigos durante el verano Se hizo millionario con su empresa

He became a millionaire with his business

Se puso enfadada con el servicio

He got angry with the service

Si te pones triste, llámame a mi casa

If you get sad, call my house

Sometimes the reflexives verbs have very different meanings from the non-reflexive versions. Hacer = to do/make Hacerse = to becomePoner = to put Ponerse = to becomeproducir = to produce producirse = to take place

26. Preguntar – to ask Main menu

Me hicieron varias preguntas en la entrevista

They asked me lots of questions in the interview

Me pregunto si el cartero ha venido

I wonder if the postman has come

Le pregunté por su madre

I asked after his mother

Remember that reflexive verbs generally mean doing something to yourself...

Lavo – I washMe lavo – I wash myself

Pregunto – I askMe pregunto – I ask myself (I wonder)

27a. Cerrar – to close 27b. Abrir – to open

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Cierra la boca ahora!

Close your mouth now!

Creo que la tienda está abierta el lunes

I think that the shop is open on Monday

Señor Fernández es muy cerrado – No dice mucho

Mr Fernández is very closed – He doesn’t say much

Ábreme la puerta por favor

Open the door please

Verbs sometimes have past participles which become adjectives:(Abrir – open Abierta- opened) (Cerrar – close Cerrado – closed)

This is the normal pattern... Tomar = Tomado-taken Comer = Comido – eaten Visitar = Visitado-visited dañar = dañado - damaged

28a. Llegar – to arrive 28b. Salir – to leave

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Llegadas Salidas

Arrivals Departures

Siempre llega tarde

He always arrives late

Me llegó el fax por la mañana

The fax got to me in the morning

El jefe había salido de viaje con su esposa

The boss had left on holiday with his wife

Try to remember verbs of opposite pairs (llegar & salir) Other pairs include

(1. abrir-open & cerrar-close) (2. ganar-win & perder-lose) (3. empezar-start & acabar-finish) (4. aparecer-appear & desaparecer-disappear)

29a. Empezar – to start 29b.Acabar – to finish

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La chica acabó ganando el premio

The girl ended up winning the prize Voy a acabar con este ordenador inútil con mi hacha

I’m going to finish off this useless computer with my axe

Para empezar voy a tomar el pescado

To start with i’ll have the fish Ha empezado a nevar

It has started to snow

In the first exercise we have the word ‘ganando’ which means ‘winning’ This is called a ‘gerund’ and there is a pattern for recognising them. They translate as verb+ing in English

-ar verbs (tomando = talking) (empezando = starting)-er&-ir verbs (comiendo = eating) (viviendo = viving)

30. Cambiar – to change Main menu

Quiero cambiar 100 dólares en euros

I want to change 100 dollars into euros

El mecánico me cambió el neumático

The mechanic changed my tyre

Habrá muchos cambios en este departamento There will be lots of changes in this department

Estamos cambiando los muebles

We are changing the furniture

Cambiar is a really important verb to know as it appears frequently in the exam. Try to focus on learning verbs like cambiar which aren’t cognates – the more of these you know, the less chance there is of you coming across vocabulary you don’t understand.

31. Llevar – to wear/to carry/to take Main menu

Mi padre nos llevó a cenar

My father took us out to dinner

Me encanta el perfume que llevas

I love the perfume you’re wearing

Llevaba a la niña en sus brazos

He was carrying the girl in his arms

El avión lleva una hora de retraso

The plane is an hour late

The verb ‘llevar’ has lots of translations in English; however in Spanish it means literally ‘to take with you’. This could mean carrying something, wearing something, giving someone a lift etc. The final example is more difficult to understand: it is used to suggest an amount of time that has already gone ‘llevo una hora esperando’ – ‘I’ve been waiting an hour’ ‘llevamos dos años juntos’ – ‘We’ve been together for 2 years’

32. Creer – to believe Main menu

Se cree que el incendio fue provocado

It is thought that the fire was started deliberately

No puedo apoyar un partido con creencias racistas

I can’t support a party with racist beliefs

Trescientas libras para un empaste! No lo puedo creer!

300 pounds for a filling! I can’t believe it

Pronouns like ‘lo’ and ‘la’ refer back to something already mentioned (masc or fem) ‘los’ and ‘las’ = plural

When you find them in reading exams, try to figure out what they are being used for.

Me gustan los taxis – los uso todos los díasI like taxis – I use them every day

33. Parecer – to seem/to appear Main menu

Parece mentira que tenga 60 años

It seems false that she’s 60 years old

Pareces una reina en ese vestido

You look like a queen in that dress

¿Vamos a la discoteca?, ¿Qué te parece?

Shall we go to the disco, what do you think?

El padre y su hijo son muy parecidos

The father and his son are very similar

Parecer is often used in opinion phrases to replace more common verbs like (pensar, ser and creer) Instead of saying ‘Creo que está equivocado’ ‘I think he is wrong’ they may write ‘me parece que está equivocado’ ‘It seems to me he is wrong’

Or in other opinion phrases ‘¿Qué te parecen las flores?’ ‘What do you think of the flowers?

34. Hay que – You must Main menu

Hay que seguir una dieta equilibrada

You have to follow a balanced diet

No había que ser genio para entender a Einstein

You didn’t have to be a genius to understand Einstein

Habrá que cruzar el desierto

You will have to cross the desert

Everyone knows ‘Hay’ = ‘there is/there are’

Good students know ‘Había’ = ‘There was’ ‘Habrá’ = ‘There will be’

A student wanting to get A/A* needs to know

‘Hay que’ = ‘You must’ ‘Había que’ = ‘You had to’ ‘Habrá que’ = ‘You will have to’

Try to know verbs in more than one tense; especially those as common as ‘hay’

35. Sentir(se) – to feel Main menu

Me siento avergonzado

I feel embarrassedLo siento mucho – rompí tu bicicleta

I’m really sorry – I broke your bike

Sentía hambre cuando salí del gimnasio

I felt hungry when i came out of the gym

No me hables, me has herido los sentimientos

Don’t speak to me, you’ve hurt my feelings

Make sure you know set phrases like ‘lo siento’ for ‘I’m sorry’ and also remember that ‘sentir’ can be used to substitute for verbs like ‘estar’ and ‘tener’ when used to talk about feelings...

Estoy alegre/ Me siento alegre – I am happy Tenía sed / Me sentía sed – I was thirsty

36. Querer – to want / to love Main menu

¿Cuánto quieres por el coche?

How much do you want for the car?

Te quiero mucho mi amor

I love you lots my darling

Lo dije totalmente sin querer

I said it totally by accident

El chico no quiso comer nada

The boy didn’t want to eat anything

Querer is another very common verb, you have probably come across it in ‘quisiera’ ‘i would like’ or ‘cuando quiera’ ‘whenever’

‘Sin + a verb’ is another common phrase type in Spanish....Sin querer (without wanting to) Sin pensar (without thinking) Sin pagar (without paying)

37. Deber – to have to (must) Main menu

Debemos reciclar para salvar el medio ambiente

We must recycle to save the environment

Se debe comer más fruta para estar sana

You must eat more fruit to be healthy

Los deberes son muy importantes

Homework is very important

Para un soldado, ir a la guerra es su deber

For a soldier, going to war is a duty

Deber is another very common verb used in many different ways. You’ve probably come across ‘deberías’ -‘you should’ ‘debido a’ -‘owing to’ ‘se debe’ - ‘you must’

Try to remember the nouns ‘deber’ – ‘duty’ and ‘deberes’ – ‘homework’

Also the verb can mean ‘to owe’ ... ‘Me deben dos’ – ‘They owe me 2’

38a. Nacerse– to be born 38b. Morir - to die

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At birth he was named after his father

Me muero de frío

I’m freezing to death

Mi fecha de nacimiento es el dos de junio 1978

My date of birth is the 2nd June 1978

Al nacer fue llamado por su padre

La muerte de César es una escena famosa

The death of Caesar is a famous scene

The sentence al+verb gives the idea of ‘upon doing’ or ‘on doing’

For example ‘al salir’ = ‘upon leaving’ ‘al darse cuenta de’ = ‘on realising’

39. Decir – to say Main menu

¿Cómo se dice ‘tren’ en ruso?

How do you say ‘train’ in Russian?

Voy a decirle a Patricia que es mi novio

I’m going to tell Patricia that he’s my boyfriend

Juan dijo que va a hacer sol hoy

Juan said it’s going to be sunny today

Dicho documento es totalmente secreto

Said document is totally secret

Decir can mean ‘to tell’ or ‘to say’. Both are extremely common in exams.

The adjective ‘dicho’ meaning ‘said’ is used the same way in English to describe something already mentioned...

’Dicho hombre trabaja aquí’ ‘Said man works here’ (man already mentioned)‘En dichas ciudades’ ‘In said cities’ (in the cities already mentioned)

40. Enseñar – to teach / Aprender – to learn

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Le enseñaron a nadar a los seis años

They taught him to swim at 6 years old

He aprendido el alfabeto árabe de memoria

I’ve learnt the arabic alphabet by heart

Mi hermana enseña inglés en la universidad

My sister teaches English at the university

Su capacidad de aprendizaje es increíble

His ability to learn is incredible

Again, try to link nouns to verbs...

Aprendizaje – learningEnseñanza – teachingsabiduría – knowledge/wisdom

41. Mejorar – to improve Main menu

El tratamiento la mejoró

The treatment made her better

Es mejor futbolista que su hermano

He is a better footballer than his brother

Es la mejor violinista de su generación

She is the best violinist of her generation

You must be careful with words like ‘mejor’ and ‘peor’ . On their own they mean ‘better’ and ‘worse’; however ‘el mejor’ and ‘la mejor’ mean ‘the best’ and ‘the worst’.

42. Empeorar – to get worse Main menu

La situación es cada vez peor en los hospitales

The situation in hospitals is worse and worse

El tiempo empeoró durante la noche

The weather got worse during the night

The phrase cada vez + adjective is used to express the idea of something getting ‘worse and worse’ or ‘more and more silly’.

For example‘Cada vez mejor’ -‘Better and better’‘Cada vez menos sensible’ – ‘Less and less sensitive’

43. Desarrollar – to develop Main menu

Han desarrollado un nuevo tipo de móvil

They’ve developed a new type of mobile

Inglaterra es un país desarrollado pero Nigeria es un país en desarollo

England is a developed country but Nigeria is a developing country

El deporte me permite desarrollar mi aspecto físico

Sport lets me develop my physical appearance

Sometimes a noun linked to a verb can be used to make a phrase:

‘Desarrollo’ = ‘development’‘En desarrollo’ = In development’ or ‘developing’

44. Dejar – to leave Main menu

Dejé mi maleta en el aeropuerto

I left my suitcase in the airport

Quiero dejar de fumar porque es caro

I want to give up smoking because its expensive

¿Me dejas tu collar?

Will you lend me your necklace?

Dejaron incompletas las nuevas casas

They left the new houses unfinished

Dejar is used in many different meanings ‘to leave’, ‘to let’ ‘to lend’ ‘to stop’

You need to understand the general idea of it meaning ‘to leave something behind’; even when this is a habit or an action (like smoking)

45. Perder – to lose / to miss Main menu

Nunca pierdo un episodio de mi telenovela favorita

I never miss an episode of my favourite soap Estamos totalmente perdidos

We’re totally lost

Los gemelos son malos perdedores

The twins are bad losers

Comprar una moto es una pérdida de dinero

Buying a motorbike is a waste of money

Often verbs are converted to adjectives by a change in spelling....Perder = Perdido-lost Entender = Entendido-understood

These can be used with ‘estar’ to be...

Mi madre está herida – My mother is injuredEl perrito está desarrollado – The puppy is developed (grown up)

46. Olvidar – to forget Main menu

Es un chico muy olvidadizo

He’s a forgetful boy

Olvidé meter la ropa en la lavadora

I forgot to put the clothes in the washer

La cantante cayó en el olvido después de dos álbumes

The singer fell into obscurity/was forgotten after two albums

We’ve seen a few adjectives coming from verbs. ‘Olvidadizo’ is an example of this.

Poder – Poderoso = Powerful

Cambiar – Cambiante = Changing

47. Herir – to injure Main menu

Tiene una herida bastante grave después de una caída

He has quite a serious injury after a fall

No puede jugar – está herida

She can’t play – she’s injured

El hombre que hirió a la víctima ha recibido un castigo de tres años

The man who injured the victim has received a 3 year sentence

Try not to ignore the word ‘que’ as it may give a lot of information about the word it follows. It generally means ‘who’ or ‘that’

E.g ‘El hombre que recibió el premio era sueco’‘The man who received the prize was Swedish’

48. Sacar – to take out Main menu

Me sacaron sangre como prueba

They took some blood as a testPor favor, no saques la lengua

Please, don’t stick your tongue out

Quiero un sacapuntas

I want a pencil sharpener

¿Me buscas un sacacorchos?

Will you find me a corkscrew?

Some words are combinations of nouns and verbs like the two examples below. There are quite a few examples of these in Spanish.

Matamoscas = Fly swatter Sacamuelas = dentist (slang)

49. Entender– to understand Main menu

No entiendo por qué no quieres saltar

I don’t understand why you won’t jump

Se entienden por señas

They communicate to each other by sign language

Según tengo entendido, quieres un préstamo de £5000

As i understand it you want a loan of £5000

Apart from ‘no’ there are many words which are used to make sentences negative in Spanish.

jamás / nunca = nevernadie = nobodynada = nothing

jamás doesn’t begin with n so people sometimes forget its meaning!!

50. Leer – to read Main menu

Me encanta leer / Me encanta la lectura

I love to read / I love reading

Mi madre sabe leer los labios

My mum knows how to lip-read

Los lectores del periódico estarán chocados

The newspaper readers will be shocked

Estaba leyendo una revista de moda

I was reading a fashion magazine

Remember that adjectives usually come after the noun in Spanish so it’s important to read (and take notice of) the entire sentence.

If you were asked in an exam to say whether the woman in the 4th example likes clothes, you would’ve needed to notice she was a reading ‘una revista de moda’ not just ‘una revista’.

COGNATESUnderneath is a list of cognates you will come across while learning Spanish. Practice flick in corner...click to start frustar –to frustrate desaparecer – to disappear acompañar – to accompanyapresurarse – to pressurisecontentar – to make happydecidir – to decidefuncionar – to function / workdesear – to desirediscutir – to discussencontrar – to encounter / findentrar – to enterescapar – to escapeintentar – to try / intendinteresarse – to be interested ininvitar – to invitemerecer – to merit / deserveperdonar – to pardon / forgiveterminar – to endtocar – to touchadorar – to adore/to lovecomentar – to comment/sayestudiar – to studyexplicar – to explaincontestar – to replydetener – to detain / to arrest

usar – to usevisitar – to visitaparcar – to parkreflejar – to reflectrelajar – to relaxdeprimir – to depressoprimir – to oppressimpresionar – to impressascender – to ascend/ go updescender – to descend /go downcubrir – to coverdescubrir – to discoverdescribir – to describeguardar – to guard/to keepsalvar –to savedañar – to damageprohibir – to prohibit/ banrecibir – to receivesufrir – to sufferseleccionar – to selectmover – to moveiniciar – to initiate/startconstruir –to constructdestruir – to destructdurar – to last

emplear – to employfabricar – to make

formar – to forminformar – to inform

liberar – to freenotar – to note

ocupar – to occupyocuparse – to occupy yourself

preferir – to preferpresentar –to presentresolver – to resolve

concluir – to concludearmar – to arm

incluir – to includeactivar –to activate

animar – to animate/encourageprogresar – to progress

repetir – to repeatreunir – to meetvender – to sell

honrar – to honoureducar – to educate

costar – to costinundar – to inundatereservar – to reserve

frustrar