Copy of Week 12 Day 5: Spanish idiomatic verbal phrases: expressions with estar, tener, hacer and dar
Today's goal is:
- To learn some idiomatic expressions with the verbs estar, tener, hacer and dar
Listen to Week 12 Day 5 Track 1
Hey, María, can you give me a hand with this?
Yeah, sure, what do you need?
I don’t understand what the expression “entre ceja y ceja” means.
Do you have any examples?
Yeah, it says “Ever since I saw that car, lo tengo entre ceja y ceja”.
I think it means you’re determined to get it. In this case the car
Sorry, I still don’t understand quite well.
It’s as if it’s in between your eyes - like you can’t think of anything else. Your goal is to get that car.
I think I get it now. If I say, “I want to go on vacation, lo tengo entre ceja y ceja”. Is that okay?
Yeah, perfect.
Thanks, you’re really good at explaining things.
Listen to Week 12 Day 5 Track 2
Expresiones idiomáticas – Idiomatic expressions
Idiomatic expressions are phrases that don’t have a literal meaning, and as such, we often cannot infer their meaning just by looking at the words that compose the phrases. Some idiomatic expressions are more basic or easier to guess because their meaning is not that far away from the literal meaning of the words in them. Others have such figurative meanings the only way to make sure we understand them is by looking them up.
The expression “to make breakfast” can be thought of as a basic idiomatic expression, while “to make your blood boil” is a more complex one. Spanish also has tons of idiomatic expressions. Let’s take a look at a few of them:
- Yo estoy harto de esta situación. - (I’m fed up with this situation.)
- ¿Tienes hambre? - (Are you hungry?)
- Luis se hizo el tonto. - (Luis was playing dumb.)
- ¿Me das la hora? - (Can you tell me what time it is?)
There are idiomatic expressions with many verbs in Spanish. In this lesson, we’ll go over some of the most common ones with the verbs estar, tener, hacer, and dar.
Listen to Week 12 Day 5 Track 3
Expresiones con estar – Expression with estar
| Estar a punto de | to be about to |
| Estar apurado | to be in a hurry |
| Estar al día | to be up to date |
| Estar a la moda | to be fashionable |
| Estar contra la espada y la pared | to be between a rock and a hard place |
| Estar de acuerdo | to agree |
| Estar de buen / mal humor | to be in a good / bad mood |
| Estar de moda | to be in style |
| Estar de pie | to be standing |
| Estar enamorado(a) de | to be in love with |
| Estar enterado | to be informed / to know |
| Estar harto de | to be fed up with |
| Estar muerto de hambre / sed / sueño | to be really hungry / thirsty / sleepy |
| Estar seguro de | to be sure of |
Speaking Practice Exercise 1
Here are some examples using these expressions in sentences:
Listen to Week 12 Day 5 Track 4
- Ayer estuve de pie por horas. - (Yesterday I was standing for hours.)
- ¿Estás segura de la decisión que tomaste? - (Are you sure of the decision you made?)
- Gabriel está enamorado de Juana. - (Gabriel is in love with Juana.)
- Pedro no está enterado de lo que pasó. - (Pedro doesn’t know what happened.)
Listen to Week 12 Day 5 Track 5
Expresiones con tener – Expression with tener
There are many expressions in Spanish that convey the same meaning as using the verb “be” in English.
| Tener agallas | to be brave |
| Tener calor | to be hot |
| Tener celos | to be jealous |
| Tener dolor de cabeza / estómago / espalda | to have a headache / stomachache / backache |
| Tener frío | to be cold |
| Tener ganas de | to want to |
| Tener hambre | to be hungry |
| Tener la culpa de | to be guilty / responsible of |
| Tener miedo | to be scared |
| Tener paciencia | to have patience |
| Tener pereza / flojera | to be lazy / in a lazy mood |
| Tener prisa | to be in a hurry |
| Tener razón | to be right |
| Tener sueño | to be sleepy |
| Tener sed | to be thirsty |
| Tener(le) confianza a alguien | to trust someone |
Keep in mind that, although many of these expressions could be substituted by using the verb estar, as in “Estoy hambriento,” it is more common to use the verb tener, as in “Tengo hambre.” It really is a closer equivalent to “I’m hungry.”
Now, let’s take a look at some examples of these expressions:
Listen to Week 12 Day 5 Track 6
- Carolina es mi mejor amiga así que le tengo confianza. - (Carolina is my best friend so I trust her.)
- Nosotros tenemos ganas de ir a la fiesta. - (We want to go to the party.)
- Carmén tiene la culpa de lo que pasó. - (Carmén is responsible of what happened.)
- Yo no quiero ir al parque; tengo flojera. - (I don’t want to go to the park. I’m in a lazy mood.)
Listen to Week 12 Day 5 Track 7
Expresiones con hacer – Expression with hacer
| Hacer cola | to wait in line |
| Hacer ejercicio | to exercise |
| Hacer el desayuno / almuerzo / la cena | to make breakfast / lunch / dinner |
| Hacer el papel de | to play the part / role of |
| Hacer hincapié | to emphasize / highlight |
| Hacer la cama | to make the bed |
| Hacer la vista gorda | to look the other way |
| Hacer las compras | to do the grocery shopping |
| Hacer pedazos | to smash |
| Hacer trampa | to cheat |
| Hacer una pregunta | to ask a question |
| Hacer(le) caso a alguien | to listen / pay attention to someone |
| Hacer(le) falta | to lack / to be in need of |
| Hacer(le) la vida de cuadritos a alguien | to make someone’s life miserable |
| Hacer(se) el tonto | to play dumb |
Here are some examples:
Listen to Week 12 Day 5 Track 8
- Yo quiero hacer hincapié en lo importante que es este proyecto. - (I want to highlight how important this project is.)
- Rodolfo hizo trampa en el examen de química. - (Rodolfo cheated on his chemistry exam.)
- Juan se hizo el tonto y no respondió mi pregunta. - (Juan played dumb and didn’t answer my question.)
- ¿Te puedo hacer una pregunta? - (Can I ask you a question?)
Listen to Week 12 Day 5 Track 9
Expresiones con dar – Expression with dar
| Dar a luz | to give birth |
| Dar asco | to gross out |
| Dar de alta | to discharge a patient |
| Dar de qué hablar | to give people something to talk about |
| Dar de qué pensar | to give people something to think about |
| Dar flojera | to make you not want to do anything |
| Dar ganas de | to make you want / make you feel like doing something |
| Dar gusto | to please you |
| Dar la cara | to take responsibility |
| Dar la hora | to tell someone the time |
| Dar lo mismo | to feel indifferent about something |
| Dar los buenos días / tardes / noches | to say good morning / afternoon / evening |
| Dar miedo | to scare you |
| Dar pena | to feel embarassed |
| Dar por hecho / sentado | to take for granted |
| Dar(le) la mano a alguien | to shake someone's hand |
| Dar(le) la razón a alguien | to say something is right |
| Dar(le) largas a algo | to prolong something |
| Dar(le) las gracias a alguien | to say someone thanks |
| Dar(se) cuenta de | to realize something |
| Dar(se) a conocer | to make yourself known |
| Dar(se) por vencido | to give up |
| Dárselas de | to pose as |
Speaking Practice Exercise 2
Now, let’s take a look at some examples:
Listen to Week 12 Day 5 Track 10
- Mi jefe nunca me da la razón. - (My boss never admits I’m right.)
- A mí me da asco el brócoli. - (Broccoli grosses me out.)
- Tú tienes que darte a conocer. - (You have to make yourself known.)
- A mi mamá le dio gusto la noticia. - (My mom was pleased with the news.)
- El comportamiento de Pedro da de qué hablar. - (Pedro’s behavior gives us something to talk about.)
WEEK 12 DAY 5 REVIEW:
Today we covered some idiomatic expressions with the verbs estar, tener, hacer and dar. Remember that idiomatic expressions can range from basic expressions that are easier to understand to ones with a more figurative meaning. It is essential for you to take your time memorizing these expressions because of how common they are.