Reference · module 30
Two verbs working together
Everything this module explains, on one page.
Starting and stopping
Say where in an action somebody is.
- empezar a starts something; ponerse a starts it suddenly: Se puso a llorar. The second carries more force.
- acabar de means to have just done it: Acabo de llegar. In the present it never means to finish.
- dejar de is to stop doing it: Dejé de fumar. And no dejar de is worth knowing: No dejes de llamarme means do not fail to.
The mistake you are about to make
Acabo llegar.
Acabo de llegar.
"I have just arrived" has no preposition. Without de the construction falls apart: acabo de llegar.
Seguir, llevar, ir with a gerund
Describe an action stretched over time.
- seguir plus a gerund means still doing it: Sigo trabajando aquí. Todavía trabajo says the same more plainly.
- llevar plus a gerund gives the length: Llevo dos horas esperando. The time phrase sits between the two verbs.
- ir plus a gerund is gradual change: Va mejorando. Poco a poco is often there too, and means the same thing twice.
The mistake you are about to make
Sigo trabajar aquí.
Sigo trabajando aquí.
"Keep working" has an -ing, and still an infinitive comes out. Seguir takes the gerund.
Must, should, might
Grade how strong an obligation is.
- tener que is the strongest: Tengo que irme. deber is a duty rather than a necessity: Debo llamarla.
- deber de, with the de, is a guess: Debe de estar en casa. Dropping the de changes the meaning, though speech often does.
- hace falta is impersonal: Hace falta más tiempo. And no hace falta is the polite way to refuse an offer.
The mistake you are about to make
Debe estar en casa. (= наверное)
Debe de estar en casa.
Deber means must, so de looks superfluous. A guess, in careful Spanish, is deber de; without it, it is a duty.
The verbs that colour a sentence
Add attitude without adding words.
- volver a says again in one word: Volvió a preguntar. soler says usually: Suele llegar tarde.
- quedar covers arranging, remaining, suiting and ending up: Quedamos mañana. Queda poco. Te queda bien. Quedó claro.
- resultar reports how something turned out: Resultó ser mentira. terminar por is to end up doing it in the end.
The mistake you are about to make
Volvió preguntar.
Volvió a preguntar.
"Asked again" is one adverb, so the a gets lost. The construction is volver a.