Appendix B

Useful Idiomatic BxPressions

place fbr learning these
The fbllowing is not an exhaustive list of
idiomatic expressions, but instead' a useful starting
focus on
you shourd add new to your rist as you come across them' You should
kinds of vocabulary items. "*p."rrion, your conversations and in your
memorize them, and then use them in class in
ten to fifteen expressions a week, try to
writtenwork.Theywillnotonlyhelpyouexpressyourselfwithease,buttheywillalsobeusefulinmanypartsofthe
section'
(Paragraph |ompletion With and Without Root Words)
examination, especially in the Writing

estar enamorado de to be in ktve with

Using da(se) estar harto de to be J'ed up with
estar muerto de hambre to be starving,
dar a to Jace, to look out on
estar muerto de ceusancio to be deod tired
dar con to ntn into
estar muerto de suefro to be verY sleePY
dar a conocer to make known
to wind estar para * infinitive to be ubout to,
dar cuerda to be ctt the Point oJ
tu shoLrt, tu) scream
dar gritos (no) estar Para bromas to not be in the mood Jbr jttkes
dar la hora to strike (the hour)
estar por to be in.favor of
dar las gracias to thank
estar segur0 to be sure
dar recuerdos a to give regurds to
dar un abrazo to hug
to toke a walk Using hacer
dar un Paseo
dar un Paseo (una vuelta) to go fttr u ride (no) hacer caso a (not) to PaY attention'
en coche (not) to listen to, to ignore
dar una vuelta to take a wulk
hacer el papel de to play the Part (role) oJ'
darse cuenta de (que) to reuliz.e (thttt)
hacer escala to muke u stoP (i.e. Plane)
darse la mano to shake huntls
hacer hincaPid to emphusize
darse prisa to hurr,tl
hacer la cama to muke the bed
hacer la maleta to puck one's suitcase
Using echar hacer pedazos to smu.\h, to tedr into Pieces
hacer un viaje to take u triP
echar (una carta, una to mail (a letter u curd, etc.)
hacer una Pregunta to ask a question
tarjeta, etc.) to puy et visit
hacer una visita
echar la culPa to blume
hacerle daflo a alguien to hurt someone
echar(se) a Perder to spoil, to ruin, to lose
hacer(le) talta to lack. to be in need of,
its good tuste
to be lacking
echarle de menos to miss someryne
hacer(le) saber to inform, to let someone
a alguien know (something,)
echarse a reir to burst out laughing
hacerse cargo to take chargp of
hacerse dafro to get hurt, to hurt (oneselJ')
Using esfar hacerse tarde to g,et late

estar a Punto de to be about to

to be uP to date (curuent) Using hacerlo talk about weather
estar al dfa
estar bien enterado to be well-inJbrmed
Whut is the weuther like?
to dgree unanimouslY iQud tiempo hace?
estar de acuerdo The weather is g,ood.
to be in a good (bad) mood Hace buen tiemPo.
estar de buen (mal) humor h is (very) hot/warm'
to be in sryle (fashionable) Hace (mucho) calor.
estar de moda It is (very) cool.
to be standing Hace (mucho) fresco.
estar de Pie It is (very) cold.
to be back Hace (mucho) frio.
estar de vuelta

Appendix B 277
Hace mal tiempo. The weather is bad. tener presente to keep in mind, ser
Hace (mucho) sol. It is (very) sunny. to take into account ser
Hace (mucho) viento. It is (very) windy. tener (mucha) prisa to be in a (big) hurry toc
tener que * infinitive to have to
Using ft tener que ver con to have to do with
(no) tener raz6n to be right (wrong)
ir al centro to go downtown tener (mucha) sed to be (very) thirsty
ir de compras to go shopping tener (mucho) sueflo to be (very) sleepy
ir de tiendas to go shopping tener (mucha) suerte to be (very) luclcy
tener (mucha) to be (very much) ashamed (ofl
Using llegar vergiienza (de)

llegar a ser to become (goal achieved Using other verbs

over time) al
llegar a tiempo to be (anive) on time andar mal (de salud, to be (sick, broke, etc.) a
llegar atrasado to be (anive) late de dinero, etc.) a(
llegar con atraso to be (arrive) late aprender de memoria to memoriTe, to learn by heart a
llegar con retraso to be (anive) late caerle bien (mal) to make a good (bad) al
llegar tarde to be (anive) late a alguien impression (on someone )
llegar temprano to be (arrive) early caerse muerto to drop dead a
cambiar de idea to change one's mind a
Using ponerse contar con to rely on a
costarle trabajo to be dfficult for someone a
ponerse de acuerdo to agree, to come creer que sf (no) (not) to think so a
to an aqreement cumplir... afros to turn...years old a
ponerse de pie to stand deberse a to be due to a
ponerse de rodillas to kneel (down) decir (muchos) to talk nonsense a
disparates
Using fener decir que sf (no) to say yes (no)
dejar caer to drcp a
tener... aflos to be...years old dormir a pierna suelta to sleep like a log (soundly) a
tener buena (mala) cara to look good (bad) ganarse la vida to earn one's living a
tener (mucha) calma to be (very) calm llamar a la puerta to knock on the door a
tener (mucho) calor to be/feel (very) hot llevar a cabo to carry out, to accomplish, a
tener (muchos) to be (very) jealous (ofl to finish a
celos (de) llevarse bien (mal) con to get (not get) along with a
tener (mucho) cuidado to be (very) careful mantener el inter6s to hold one's interest a
tener deseos de to feel like, to have an urge to morirse de risa to die laughing a
tener dolor de (garganta, to have a (sore throat, no servir para nada to be goodfornothing a\
cabeza, etc.) headache, etc.) pagar al contado to pay cash
tener en cuenta to take into account (en efectivo) al
tener (mucha) to be (very) envious (of) pasar lista to call the roll al
envidia (de) pasarlo bien (mal) to have a good (bad) time al
tener (mucho) 6xito to be (very) successful pedir prestado to borrow al
tener (mucho) frfo to be/feel (very) cold perder el tiempo to waste ctne's time al
tener ganas de to feel like, to have 0n urge to ponerse de acuerdo to agree al
tener (mucha) hambre to be (very) hungry ponerse de pie to stand (up) al
tener la culpa (de) to be to blame (for), portarse bien/mal to behave/misbehave
to be one's fauh prestar atenci6n to pay attention al
tener la palabra to have the floor quedar(le) bien (mal) to look giod'(on somebody) al
tener (mucha) to feel (very) sorry for querer decir to mean al
l6stima de saber a to taste like al
tener lugar to take place sacar una nota to get a grade (on a paper al
tener (mucho) to be (very much) afraid (of) or assignment) al
miedo (de) sacar una foto(graffa) to take a picture al
tener mucho gusto en to be pleased to sentarle bien to agree with one, to suit one al

278 Appendix B
ser aficionado a to be a fan of, to be fond of asr es que
',2,o
ser hora de to be time to asf, as(
tocarle a uno to be one's turn cada vez each time
tomar el sol to sunbathe cada vez miis more and more
tomarle el pelo a alguien to pull someone's leg, cadavez menos less and less
to fool (someone) claro que sf (no) of course (not)
valer la pena to be worthwhile, como siempre as usual
to be worth the trouble con (sin) cuidado c arefully ( c are le s sly )

volverse loco to go crazy con (su) permiso excuse me, with your
permission
Other idiomatic expressions con frecuencia frequently
con mucho gusto gladly
iBastal Enough! Creo que no. I don't think so.
a (algunas) veces sometimes, at times Creo que sf. I think so.
a bordo on board cuanto antes as soon as possible
a ciegas blindly de antemano beforehand
a diario daily de aquf en adelante from now on
a tin de cuentas in the end, after all (is said and de buena (mala) gana willingly ( unw illingly )
done), in the final analysis de costumbre usually
a fondo thoroughly, in detail de dfa by day
a la *nationality (f) in (nationalitv) sryle of de ese (este) modo / in that way, so
a la carrera quickly, on the run de esa (esta) manera
a la fuerza by force de excursi6n on a picnic
a la larga in the long run de frente facing forward, from the front
a la vez at the same time de golpe all at once, suddenly
a lo largo throughout, along de hecho in fact, us a matter of fact,
a lo lejos in the distance, far off, actually
at a distance de hoy en adelante from now on, henceforth
a miis tardar at the latest de memoria by heart
a menudo often, frequently de nada you are welcome
a mi parecer in my opinion de ningrin modo by no means, on no account,
a pie on foot, walking absolutely not
a prop6sito by the way de ninguna manera by no means, on no account,
a solas alone absolutely not
a su vez in turn de noche by night
a tiempo on time de nuevo again
a tropezones by fits and starts de otra manera in another way
a riltima hora at the last minute de otro modo otherwise
a ver let's see de par en par wide open
ahora mismo right now, right away, at once de postre for dessert
al aire libre outdoors de prisa quickly
al amanecer at dawn, at daltbreak de pronto suddenly, all of a sudden
al anochecer at dusk, at nightfall de repente suddenly, all of a sudden
al contado cash, for cash de todos modos at any rate, anyway, anyhow
al contrario on the contrary de riltima moda in the latest style
al fin finally, at last de una vez at once, at one time
al fin y al cabo in the end, aJier all de veras really, truly, honestly
(is said and done) de vez en cuando from time to time,
al menos at least once in a while
al mismo tiempo at the same time dentro de poco in a short while, in a little while
al parecer apparently, seemingly derecho straight ahead
al pie de la letra literally desde luego of course
al por mayor wholesale dia de fiesta (m) holiday
al por menor retail en alguna parte somewhere
al principio at first, at the beginning en balde in vain
al revds upside down, inside out, en broma in fun, jokingly
backwards en cambio on the other hand

Appendix B 279
en casa at home por ejemplo for example
en cuanto AS SOON QS por el (lo) contrario on the contrary
l
en efecto as a matter of fact, indeed por escrito in writing
en el acto immediately por ese motivo for that reason I
en el fondo at heart por eso therefore, that's why, ;

1
en fin JinaLly, in short, lastly becunse ofthttt
:
en la actualidad presentLlt por favor please j

en primer lugar in the first place por fin finally, at last l

en punto on the dot, sharp (telling time) por la maflana in the morning !
en realidad actually, in Jhct por la noche in the evening !
l
en resumidas cuentas in short por la tarde in the afternoon !
q
en seguida immediately, at once por lo comrin os a rule, usuaLll, -t
en serio seriously por lo general generally, usually
ti
en todas partes everywhere por lo menos at lectst
il
en todo caso in any case por lo mismo .for that very reason
en voz alta (baja) aloud (in a low voice) por lo pronto Jbr the time being,
entre par6ntesis in parentheses, b1t the way in the meantime
hace poco a (short) while ago por lo tanto o, t he relb re, cons e quent ly
.s

hasta la fecha up until now por lo visto upparently

hoy dia nowadays por mds que no matter how much
hoy mismo this very day por otra parte on the other hand
lo de menos the least important thing. por otro lado on the other hand
lo de siempre just tts usuctl, the some old story por poco etlmost, nearly
lo mds pronto posible as soon as possible por supuesto oJ course, naturaLLy
lo mismo the same thing por tel6fono bt phone
1o que importa what matters por todas partes everywhere
mejor dicho in other words, refiher por un lado on one hond
mejor que nunca better than ever fara vez rurely
menos mal so mttch the better it's a good sano y salvo suf'eand sountl
thing that... sin duda without a doubt
mientras tanto meanwhile, in the meantime sin embargo however nevertheless
ni siquiera not even sin querer unintentionallv,
no obstante nevertheless, however without meaning to
otra vez ogain, once more sobre todo ubove all, especialllt
para siempre Jbrever tal como such as
peor que nunca worse thLn ever tal vez perhaps
pocas veces rttrely tanto mejor so much the better
poco a poco little hy littLe, gradualllt tarde o temprano sooiler or later
por ahora .fbr rutw, Jbr the present todavfa no not yet
por allf that way, around there, todo el mundo everyone, everybocly
through there un poco de a little (bit of)
por aqui this way, around here, una vez que soon ds
(.ts
through here uno por (a) uno one by one
por casualidad by chance, bv any chance vivo o muerto tlead or qLive
por cierto by the way, incidentalllt ya ulready
por consiguiente refo re, c o ns e que
t he nt Ly ya Io creo I shctuld say so, oJ'course
por desgracia unJbrtunately ya no no longer

280 Appendix B