It's all well and good knowing how to conjugate verbs, but where's the fun if you can't use them in idiomatic expressions?! We've compiled a list of idiomatic verbal phrases that use three of Spanish's most common verbs: 'dar,' 'estar,' and 'hacer.'
It can be pretty amusing to see how idioms literally translate, so we've provided you with a more literal translation next to each one, before telling you how to use it properly.
'Dar' - 'to give'
Here's how to conjugate 'dar' in the present tense:
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Here are some cool phrases that use it!
- Dar a conocer - to give to know
| Dar a conocer | To make known |
| Paco dio a conocer sus intenciones. | Paco made his intentions known. |
- Dar a luz - to give to light
| Dar a luz | To give birth |
| Rachel dio a luz un par de gemelos. | Rachel gave birth to a set of twins. |
- Dar calabazas - to give pumpkins
| Dar calabazas | To brush someone off |
| Pedà el número de Nancy pero me dio calabazas. | I asked for Nancy's number but she brushed me off. |
- Dar con la puerta en las narices - to give with the door on the noses
| Dar con la puerta en las narices | To slam the door in somebody's face |
| Fui a la casa de mi madre pero me dio con la puerta en las narices. | I went to my mother's house but she shut the door in my face. |
- Dar gato por liebre - to give a cat for a hare
| Dar gato por liebre | To swindle |
| Los vendedores me dieron gato por liebre. | The salespeople swindled me. |
- Dar la cara - to give face
| Dar la cara | To face the music |
| Has cometido un error. Ahora toca dar la cara. | You've made a mistake. Now it's time to face the music. |
- Dar lugar - to give place
| Dar lugar | To take place |
| El evento da lugar en el mismo pueblo cada año. | The event takes place in the same town each year. |
- Dar por + adjective - to give for + adjective
| Dar por ... | To take for ... |
| Doy por sentado que mis amigos me quieren. | I take for granted/I assume my friends love me. |
- Darle vueltas a algo - to give turns to something
| Darle vueltas a algo | To mull something over |
| Pasé mucho tiempo dándole vueltas a la relación. | I spent a lot of time mulling the relationship over. |
- Dar gusto - to give taste
| Dar gusto | To please |
| El verano me da gusto. | Summer pleases me. |
- Dar igual/Dar lo mismo - to give the same
| Dar igual/dar lo mismo | To not matter |
—¿Cuándo quieres salir?
—Me da igual/me da lo mismo. | "When do you want to go out?"
"I don't mind/care." |
- Darse cuenta de - to give account to oneself of
| Darse cuenta de | To realize |
| ¿Cuándo vas a darte cuenta de que mereces mejor que ella? | When are you going to realize that you deserve better than her? |
- Darse por vencido - to give oneself for defeated
| Darse por vencido | To give up |
| No puedo resolver el acertijo. ¡Me doy por vencido! | I can't solve the riddle. I give up! |
- Qué más da - what more does it give?
| Qué más da | What difference does it make?/What does it matter? |
| ¿Qué más da quién lo hizo? | What does it matter who did it? |
This one is heard in lots of famous reggaetón songs.
| ¡Dale! | Hit it!/Let's go!/Do it! |
| ¡Dale, canta! | Hit it, sing! |
In some countries, such as Colombia and Argentina, 'dale' is used as a stand-in for 'vale.' (Interestingly, some Mexicans use 'sale.' We're all about the rhymes!)
| Dale | Okay |
—¿Me puedes ayudar?
—Dale. | "Can you help me?"
"Okay, go for it." |
'Estar' - 'to be'
'Estar' is one of two verbs meaning 'to be' (the other one is 'ser'). Here's how to conjugate 'estar' in the present tense.
| estoy | estamos |
| estás | estáis |
| está | están |
And here are some idiomatic phrases!
| Estar | To be here |
| Abre. Estoy. | Open up. I'm here. (On the phone) |
- Estar a dos velas - to be at two candles
| Estar a dos velas | To be broke/penniless |
| Mi esposo me dejó y ahora estoy a dos velas. | My husband left me and now I'm penniless. |
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- Estar al caer - to be at falling
| Estar al caer | To be about to happen/arrive |
| La segunda temporada está al caer. | The second season is about to come out/drop. |
- Estar al corriente - to be at the current
| Estar al corriente | To be up to date/in the loop |
| Estoy al corriente de los eventos de anoche. | I'm up to date on the events of last night. |
- Estar como agua para chocolate - to be like water for chocolate (used in Mexico and some other Latin American countries)
| Estar como agua para chocolate | To be furious/to be at boiling point |
| Daniel le engañó a su novia. Ella está como agua para chocolate. | Daniel cheated on his girlfriend. She's absolutely furious. |
- Estar como pez en el agua - to be like fish in water
| Estar como pez en el agua | To be in one's element |
| Cuando estoy en la cocina, estoy como pez en el agua. | When I'm in the kitchen, I'm in my element. |
- Estar en la luna/Estar en las nubes - To be on the moon/To be in the clouds
| Estar en la luna/Estar en las nubes | To have one's head in the clouds |
| No creo que Gertrude me haya escuchado. La chica siempre está en la luna. | I don't think Gertrude listened to me. The girl has always got her head in the clouds. |
- Estar fuera de sà - to be outside of oneself
| Estar fuera de sà | To be beside oneself (with emotion) |
| John acaba de saber que su padre ha fallecido. Está fuera de sÃ. | John just found out that his father has passed away. He's beside himself. |
- Estar hasta las narices de ... - to be up to the noses of ...
| Estar hasta las narices de ... | To be fed up of ... |
| Estoy hasta las narices de tus mentiras. | I'm fed up of your lies. |
There are loads of fun variations of this one. They all refer to being sick and tired of something! Take your pick from these:
- Estar hasta el moño - to be up to the bun (hairstyle)
- Estar hasta el gorro - to be up to the hat
- Estar hasta la coronilla - to be up to the crown (of the head)
- Estar hasta los cojones - to be up to the balls
Okay, I've had it up to here with the 'up to' phrases. Back to our main list:
- Estar hecho polvo - to be made dust
| Estar hecho polvo | To be exhausted |
| Corrà un maratón esta mañana. ¡Estoy hecho polvo! | I ran a marathon this morning. I'm exhausted! |
- Estar hecho una fiera - to be made a beast
| Estar hecho una fiera | To be furious |
| Dos estudiantes se burlaron del profesor delante de la clase entera. Está hecho una fiera. | Two students mocked the teacher in front of the entire class. He's absolutely furious. |
- Estar hecho una sopa - to be made a soup
| Estar hecho una sopa | To be soaking wet |
| La tormenta está terrible. ¡Estoy hecho una sopa! | The storm is terrible. I'm soaked! |
- Estar sin blanca - to be without a blanca (Spanish coin from the olden days)
| Estar sin blanca | To be broke |
| No puedo ir a la fiesta. Estoy sin blanca este mes. | I can't go to the party. I'm flat broke this month. |
'Hacer' - 'to do'/'to make'
'Hacer' has to be one of the most common verbs in Spanish, and has heaps of uses. Here's its present tense conjugation.
| hago | hacemos |
| haces | hacéis |
| hace | hacen |
And here's a load of neat ways to use it idiomatically.
- Hace + period of time - does + period of time
| Hace + period of time - does + period of time | Period of time + ago |
| Hace un mes que me mudé. | A month ago I moved here. |
| Vi a Keziah hace poco. | I saw Keziah a short while ago. |
- Hacer (buenas) migas - to make (good) crumbs
| Hacer (buenas) migas | To hit it off |
| Graham hizo buenas migas con Trevor. | Graham hit it off with Trevor. |
- Hacer caso - to make fact
| Hacer caso de + thing | To pay attention to + thing |
| Hacer caso a + person | To pay attention to/obey + person |
| Siempre hago caso de las noticias. | I always pay attention to the news. |
| ¡Hazme caso! | Obey me!/Do as you're told! |
- Hacer de tripas corazón - to make heart from innards
| Hacer de tripas corazón | To bite the bullet |
| No quiero ir pero haré de tripas corazón. | I don't want to go, but I'll bite the bullet. |
- Hacer frente a - to make front to
| Hacer frente a | To face up to |
| Tengo que hacer frente a mi fobia. | I have to confront my phobia. |
- Hacer la vista gorda - to make the fat view
| Hacer la vista gorda | To turn a blind eye |
| La verdad es que muchos hacemos la vista gorda cuando vemos a las personas sin hogar. | The truth is that many of us turn a blind eye when we see homeless people. |
- Hacer su agosto* (en julio) - to make one's August (in July)
| Hacer su agosto | To make a killing/To make a fortune |
| Ana decidió vender paraguas en Inglaterra. Está haciendo su agosto. | Ana decided to sell umbrellas in England. She's making a killing. |
*Top tip: in Spanish, you don't have to use capital letters for days of the week or months of the year!
- Hacerse el sueco - to make like the Swede
| Hacerse el sueco | To play dumb |
| Sé que fuiste tú quien me robó el teléfono. No te hagas el sueco. | I know it was you who stole my phone. Don't play dumb. |
- Hacerse el tonto - to make like the idiot
| Hacerse el tonto | To play dumb |
| Cuando la policÃa le interrogó, se hizo el tonto. | When the police interrogated him, he played dumb. |
| Trato hecho | It's a deal |
—Si me das uno de esos chocolates, te doy un pedazo de pastel.
—¡Trato hecho! | "If you give me one of those chocolates, I'll give you a piece of cake."
"It's a deal!" |
- A lo hecho, pecho - to what's done, chest
| A lo hecho, pecho | You've made your bed, now lie in it/You do the crime, you do the time/What’s done is done/No use crying over spilt milk; face up to it |
—He borrado todos los datos por accidente. No quiero hacer frente a mi jefe.
—A lo hecho, pecho. | "I've accidentally deleted all the data. I don't want to face my boss."
"What’s done is done; face him!" |
| De hecho | In fact |
| Me encanta la comida española. De hecho, trabajo en un bar de tapas. | I love Spanish food. In fact, I work in a tapas bar. |
Estás al corriente...
Great job, you're now up to date on idioms using three of Spanish's most common verbs: dar, estar, and hacer. Practice them often to start sounding like a native!
Thanks for the great postings !!! I love to learn idiomatic phrasal verbs.