Level C1 Flashcards
Ni/Ni siquiera
= “not even”
Ni/Ni siquiera = “not even”
As the equivalent of not even in English, we can place either ni or ni siquiera in front of a clause
El pobre chico no tenía ni una manta para taparse.
The poor guy didn’t even have a blanket to cover himself.
El pobre chico no tenía ni siquiera una manta para taparse.
The poor guy didn’t even have a blanket to cover himself.
¡Ni te imaginas lo que acabo de ver!
You will not believe what I’ve just seen!
¡Ni me dirigió la palabra ayer en la reunión del colegio!
He didn’t talk to me yesterday at the school meeting!
más que”
to express “only / just”
No tenía más que unas monedas en el bolsillo.
He only had a few coins in his pocket.
No busca más que pelea.
He is just looking for trouble.
No tienes más que decirlo y yo estaré allí para ayudarte.
You just have to say it and I will be there to help you.
Es muy tacaño
He is very stingy.
Ni me ha invitado a una copa
He did not even buy me a drink.
Debe estar hambriento
He must be starving
¡Ni lo sueñes!
Do not even think about it!
Encontrar
= to find [something]
No encuentro mis gafas, ¿las has visto tú?
I cannot find my glasses, have you seen them?
Encontrarse
to bump into [someone]
Me encontré CON Marcos en la calle y estuvimos charlando un rato.
I bumped into Marcos in the street and we chatted for a bit.
¿Dónde nos encontramos esta tarde?
Where shall we meet this evening?
Sierra Nevada se encuentra en la provincia de Granada.
Sierra Nevada is located in the province of Granada.
¡Se encontró un billete de 50 euros en el suelo!
to be surprised to discover something
He found a 50 euro note on the ground!
to be surprised to discover something
Daniel ya ha encontrado A los niños. Estaban en el parque jugando.
Daniel found the children. They were playing in the park.
If someone is looking for someone (as oppossed to bumping into someone by chance) we can also use encontrar.
Los platos han sido lavados.
ser + participle (Compound tenses - passive voice)
The dishes have been washed.
Las manzanas habían sido comidas.
The apples had been eaten.
poner(se) a + infinitivo,
prevalent in spoken Spanish, is used to mean to begin/start doing [something], to get something/someone to do [something], to set about doing [something] or to get on with [something].
Me pongo a estudiar ahora mismo?
Shall I begin to study right now?
Nosotros nos vamos a poner a cantar en cinco minutos.
We are going to start singing in five minutes.
De repente se puso a llover.
It suddenly started to rain.
Poner + (algo/alguien) + a + infinitivo
¡Pon tu camisa a secar!
Put your shirt out to dry!
Pon a los niños a ver la televisión.
Get the children to watch TV.
Aprovechar =
to make the most of something/make good use of something
Susana aprovechó un rato libre que tenía en el trabajo para llamar a su novio.
Susana made good use of some free time at work to call her boyfriend.
Los enamorados aprovecharon la ocasión para anunciar su boda.
The lovebirds took advantage of the moment to announce their wedding.
Sometimes we can use “aprovechar” with the same meaning as above but with no direct object. The words “la ocasión”, “el momento” are implicit
Al cancelarse la clase de español, los estudiantes aprovecharon para irse a tomar una cerveza juntos. As the Spanish class was cancelled, the students took advantage of it and went to have a beer all together.
Aprovechó que sus padres estaban de viaje y organizó una fiesta en su casa.
He took advantage of his parents being away and organised a party at home.
Aprovecharse de
= to take advantage of someone or something/to use someone
Miguel se ha aprovechado de ella y luego la ha dejado por otra.
Miguel used her and then he left her for another.
No te aproveches de mí. Yo no soy idiota.
Don’t take advantage of me. I am not an idiot.
Note that “aprovecharse de alguien” can also imply taking advantage of someone sexually. For example:
Carmen lo denunció a la policía porque él se aprovechó de ella.
Carmen reported him to the police because he took advantage of her [sexually].
In Spanish we can use the verb tener followed by a past participle to express the completion of an action.
The effect of using this verbal structure is similar to using haber + participle, however using tener gives a nuance of a result obtained after accumulation or repetition of actions.
Tengo escritas veinte páginas de mi futura novela.
I have written twenty pages of my future novel.
Tienes pintadas dos habitaciones. Falta una más para terminar.
You have painted two rooms. There is one more left to finish.
Yo tenía organizados todos los documentos en orden alfabético.
I had all the documents organised in alphabetical order.
¿Tienes ya pensada la estrategia?
implies that there has been an accumulation of “thinking” with a result expressed with “tienes pensada”.
If we simply used the perfect tense with haber, this nuance wouldn’t exist. It would just express a completed action.
He pensado en la estrategia.
La noticia de Amanda nos tiene sorprendidas.
Amanda’s news has surprised us.
Sometimes this structure implies an indication of keeping someone in a certain state. For example:
Este libro me tiene intrigada.
This book has me hooked/intrigued.
La noticia de Amanda nos tiene sorprendidas.
Amanda’s news has surprised us.
Ese chico la tiene tan enamorada…
She has really fallen for that guy.
Coger un taxi (Spain) but not in Mexico!
Coger means…
¡Se encontró un billete de 50 euros en el suelo!
He found a 50 euro note on the ground!
Note that in the last example, despite meaning “to find”, we are using the pronominal verb encontrarse to emphasise the fact that it was a surprise.
Por si and por si acaso are interchangeable.
In Spanish we use “por si” or “por si acaso” to express “in case/just in case [something happens]”.
“por si” or “por si acaso”
“in case/just in case [something happens]”.
“por si” or “por si acaso”
With the indicative - more probable:
Me voy a llevar el paraguas por si llueve.
I am taking the umbrella in case it rains.
“por si” or “por si acaso”
With the subjunctive - less probable
Me voy a llevar el paraguas por si lloviera.
I am taking the umbrella in case it rains (less probability)
“por si” or “por si acaso” with indicative vs subjunctive
With the indicative - more probable:
Me voy a llevar el paraguas por si llueve.
I am taking the umbrella in case it rains.
Me voy a llevar el paraguas por si lloviera.
I am taking the umbrella in case it rains (less probability)
