Teaching Spanish Idiomatic Expressions in the Classroom
Even when a person has acquired a second language and has become socially functional, even if that is limited to classroom usage, it is a complement to say that he or she speaks textbook Spanish. Somehow, though, it stings the desire of many students who are eager to take a bit of a leap and begin to be much more spontaneous, or at least seem so. The first step in even seeming to be spontaneous is to master the usage of a reasonable number of high frequency expressions used in conversation.
List and Activities
The following 150 or so expressions should be given to such aspiring students as you may have in an AP class (if you teach high school) or any group of students in a conversation class. They should be encouraged to incorporate a certain number in any presentations they are to prepare before class. The number of course would depend on the length of the presentation.
For spontaneous oral work, teachers can create any number of reward systems for using them correctly. I once put small candies in a bowl around Halloween and if I heard someone use a challenging idiomatic expression in a grammatical fashion, I tossed them one. This list can be used for competition as well, for speed composition on the spot. Hand out the list and give then five sentences in English, to translate into Spanish. The winner is the once who first gets all five correct, with no errors. To make them more challenging, use different tenses.
Está bien/está bueno okay, correct, right, all right
Dar las gracias to thank
Pensar en to think about
Ganarse la vida to earn (make) a living
De memoria by heart
Poner la mesa to set the table
Valer la pena to be worth the trouble, effort
Tener cuidado to be careful
Hay que + inf one must…
Otra vez again, once more, another time or “go” at something
Ir de compras to go shopping
Estar de luto to be in mourning
Dar una vuelta to go for a walk, stroll, go for a spin
Dar el pésame por to express sympathy, offer condolences
A carta cabal fully, completely, in every respect
Tal vez perhaps
Querer decir to mean
Por extenso in detail, at great length
Por casualidad by chance, by the way, incidentally
Poco a poco little by little
Estar de moda to be fashionable, in style
En punto on the dot, sharp
Desde hace over a period of, for (a period of time), starting from, dating from
De nuevo once again, once more, anew
Preocuparse de to worry about
Preguntar por to inquire after someone, ask about someone
Por lo menos at least
Ida y vuelta round trip
Hacer cola to line up, form a line
Ocurrírsele a uno to occur to one, cross one’s mind
De todas maneras at any rate, anyway
Hasta la fecha up to now, to date
Hacerse tarde to be getting late
Frente a in front of\
Equivocarse de to be mistaken or wrong about something
Decidirse a to decide to do something, make up one’s mind, revolve to
De enfrente across from, directly opposite (such as a street)
Alegrarse de to be glad about something
Acabar de + inf to have just (done something)
Sin querer unintentionally, without meaning or wanting to
Por lo visto apparently, seemingly, evidently
Pasar un buen rato to have a good time, enjoy one’s self
Parece mentira to seem hardly possible
No hay de qué don’t mention it, think nothing of it
Lo de menos of little importance, insignificant
La mayor parte (de) the majority (of), the bulk (of)
En /de broma as a joke or in jest
Hacer caso a to pay attention to, heed, obey or give importance to someone
Faltar a to be absent from, miss OR show disrespect to someone
Hacer buenas migas to get along well together (also: llevarse bien con)
Echar a perder to spoil, ruin, go to waste
Delante de in the presence of, in front of (someone)
Dentro de inside (of); in or within a period of time
Dar que hacer to make or cause (extra) work
Al revés the contrary, opposite; wrong side of (inside out)
Tanto como as much as
Por primera vez for the first time
Por poco almost, just about, nearly (used with the present to refer to past events)
Por ahora for now, for the present
Parecido a like, similar to
Pagar a plazos to pay on installments
Oír hablar de to hear about, to hear tell of (compare: Oír decir que to hear it said that)
Por adelantado beforehand, in advance
Mientras tanto meanwhile, in the mean time
Meterse en lo que no le importa to pry into what doesn’t concern one
Estar de acuerdo to agree, be of the same opinion
En lugar de in place of, instead of
En cuanto as soon as, the moment that (+ subjunctive if action is anticipated)
Dejar de + inf to quit…
De ahora en adelante from now on, in the future
De más too much, too many
Con mucho gusto gladly, willingly, with great pleasure
Tener la culpa to be to blame, be at fault
Tener ganas de + inf to feel like, desire, wish to…
Quedarse con to take (as in choosing or buying); remain or stay with
No poder ver ni en pintura to not be able to stand the sight of (something or someone)
Por fuera on the outside, on the exterior, superficially
Ir del brazo to walk arm in arm
Importarle a uno to matter to one, or be of importance, concern
Hacer falta to be necessary, to have need of, lack
Fijarse en to pay attention to, mark one’s word
Estar con to have (an illness or other malady); to be with (something or someone)
Encargarse de to take charge of, assume responsibility for
En vano in vain
En el fondo deep down, at heart, by nature
Detrás de behind, in back of
Dentro de poco soon, in a little while, shortly
De mal en peor from bad to worse
En el extranjero abroad
Tener deseos de + inf to want to, be eager to (compare “tener ganas de)
A propósito by the way (compare “por casualidad”)
Dar lástima to cause pain, grief, pity
Dar cuerda a to wind (a clock)
Todavía still, yet (also “aún”)
Darle a uno vergüenza to be shameful to one, cause shame or bashfulness
Tarde o temprano sooner or later
Tan pronto como as soon as (also en cuanto, así que; + subjunctive if action is anticipated)
Sobre todo especially, above all, particularly
Sin remedio hopelessly, beyond solution
Por última vez for the last time
Pedir prestado to borrow
Ocuparse de to take care of, attend to
No poder ver a alguien not be able to tolerate someone (also no poder verle ni en pintura)
Mejor dicho or rather, better yet
Llamar la atención to attract attention, call attention to; to reprimand, censure, chide
Poner el grito en el cielo to scream and yell, make a great fuss (complaining, protesting)
Hacerle daño a uno to harm another; to not agree with one (physically, such a bad food)
En vez de instead of (also en lugar de)
Frente a frente face to face
En cambio on the other hand, but
Empleársele bien a uno to serve someone right, get one’s due
De aquí (or de hoy) en adelante from now on, from here on in
Cuando quiera whenever you want, as soon as you’re ready
Al principio at first, initially
Y pico and some odd (with numbers) NOTE: Do not use in Chile
Y así sucesivamente and so on, et cetera
Tomarle el pelo a uno to pull someone’s leg
Tener razón to be right
Sin falta without fail
Quedar en + inf to agree on, come to a mutual understanding or decision about something
Por supuesto of course
Por aquí cerca around here, nearby
Ponerse de acuerdo to come to an agreement, be in accord
Perderse de vista to be lost from sight, vanish, disappear
Pensar de to think of, have an opinion about someone or something
Pasar el rato to kill time, pass the time away
Menos de less than (used with numbers; but note más que)
Llevarse bien con to get along well with (also hacer buenas migas)
Hasta cierto punto up to a point
Estar rendido to be exhausted, worn out
Estar (or quedar) entendido que to be understood that…
En la mitad de in the middle of
En fila in (a) line, row
El día menos pensado when one least expects (also: cuando menos lo espera)
Después de after, following
Desde que since, ever since, from the moment that
Dejar en paz to leave alone
A más tardar at the latest
Por fin at last
No ser ni la sombra de uno to be barely a shadow of one’s former self (as in after an illness)
Poco después de soon after, a little after
Limitarse con to be bounded, bordered by; to be held down or back
Hecho y derecho mature, grown-up, full-fledged
En resumidas cuentas in short, in a word, in a nutshell
En representación de as an emissary of, representing
Desde entonces since then, ever since that time
De repente suddenly
De ninguna manera by no means, under no circumstances
De la noche a la mañana overnight, all at once (also en un abrir y cerrar de ojos)
Costar mucho trabajo to be difficult, hard
References
- Based on the author’s more than 20 years experience teaching and translating Spanish