How to Talk about "agreeing" in Spanish
What are you Agreeing “to” or “about”?
There are four ways in which agreement is commonly expressed in Spanish – when considered from the ways in which English speakers use the verb to agree.
When you mean quite simply that you are in accord with someone’s opinion on an issue or wish to just say you agree with someone, use the phrase estar de acuerdo. You can also use it to ask if someone agrees with you (or anyone else). In the following examples, note the various tenses used as well:
Creo que Juan y yo estamos de acuerdo (I think John and I agree).
Después de escuchar sus razones, creo que estaré de acuerdo con ellos (After hearing their reasons, I think I’ll agree with them).
No estaba de acuerdo con su decisión (He didn’t agree with their decision).
If you wish to state your consent, that you are going along with an idea or proposal, use estar conforme. Consider the following exchanges:
Es importante vender estas acciones inmediatamente (It’s important to sell these stocks immediately).
¡Estoy conforme!
Oye, ¿estás conforme? (Listen, are you in/do you agree [to this]?)
Sí.
In business settings, there are two expressions used to express coming to agreements, as in a meeting of the minds to establish contracts or to covenant or agree to do something. One is convenir en – think of convening a cordial meeting and you’ll probably remember it easily. The other is quedar en – which is used to express what people concluded and agreed to do about something. Both expressions often are followed by complementary infinitives. Consider these examples:
Los aficionados convinieron en comprar varios recuerdos de su equipo favorito (The fan club agreed to buy memorabilia of their favorite team).
Quedaron en volver a reunirse (They agreed to meet again).
¿En qué convenimos? (What are we agreeing to?)
Quedemos en esto: Vamos a vernos el jueves (Let’s agree to this: We’re going to meet on Thursday).
References
- Author’s more than 20 years experience teaching and translating Spanish.
This post is part of the series: Spanish Usage
The articles in this series deal with various questions about the right choice of word or phrase when English may have one or two structures but Spanish has more. They often deal with prepositional issues.
- Spanish Usage Questions: “Above”
- Using “Actual” and “Actually” in Spanish
- A Problem Preposition: The Ways “About” is Expressed in Spanish
- The Many Spanish Faces of the English Verb “to Agree”
- Spanish Usage Questions: Ways to say “Again”
- Expressing the Many Meanings of After
- Spanish Usage Questions: How to Say “Ahead”
- Spanish Usage Questions: “Anyone” and “Anybody”
- Using “Anyway…” in Spanish
- Let’s Learn About How to Talk About Appointments & Dating
- What Do You Use for “Around” in Spanish
- The Spanish Verbs Meaning “to Ask” are Many!
- Beware of False Cognates! How to Express “Attend,” “Assist,” and “Help”
- Are You “Cool” or “Cold”? Explore the Nuances in Spanish
- The Difference Between “Why” and “Because” in Spanish
- The Temporal and Spacial Meanings of “Before”: How to Get it Right in Spanish
- Don’t Be Left in the Dust! Learn to Express the Meanings of “Behind” in Spanish
- Get the Low Down on the Preposition “Below” and Say it Right in Spanish!
- Understand Saying “Help” in Spanish
- Translating “Beside” & “Besides” into Spanish: Interesting Solutions!
- Not all Meanings of “But” Are Equal!
- Expressing the Various Meanings of the Preposition “By” in Spanish
- What Can the English Word “Can” Mean and How to Get it Right in Spanish
- Spanish Usage Questions: “Corner”
- The Word “Country” in Spanish
- The Various Meanings of “Outweigh” in English and How to Express Them in Spanish
- Expressing the Idea of “Ownership” in Spanish
- How to Express “Time & Distance” in Spanish
- Treat, Try, Attempt, Deal with… In Spanish, You Probably Need “Tratar”
- Spanish Usage Questions: “Having Fun”
- Even a Word Like “Even” Has Many Counterparts in Spanish
- Don’t Go Wrong When You Look for Ways to Express “to fail”
- Do You Mean “Fair” Weather, a “Fair” Game or a “Fair” Complexion? Learn How to Say Them in Spanish!
- Love, Desire and Wanting – Spanish Style!
- Discover the Right Spanish Verbs for Taking, Holding, Grabbing… and More
- You Have Nothing to Fear Except Not Knowing How to Say “Fear” in Spanish!
- Spanish Equivalents of the Common English Word “Find”
- Discover the Various Meanings of “Middle” and How to Say Them in Spanish
- Not All Spanish Words Meaning “Worker” Are Created Equal