Hacemos cola.

Question

Instant Immersion Spanish translates this as: "We are standing in line."

The site dictionary says:

hacer o guardar cola -> to queue (up) (British), to stand in line (United States)

me tuve que poner a la cola -> I had to join the end of the queue o (British) line (United States)

So does "hacer cola" mean "to stand in line," while "poner cola" means "to get in line"? If not, how do you differentiate the two?

P.S. No queues here, only lines.

Answer 1

I've never heard "poner cola", but "hacer cola" means "to stand in line", whereas "ponerse a la cola" means "to join the queue". So, "Te pones a la cola, y entonces te quedas haciendo cola".

Answer 2

lazarus1907 said:

I've never heard "poner cola", but "hacer cola" means "to stand in line", whereas "ponerse a la cola" means "to join the queue". So, "Te pones a la cola, y entonces te quedas haciendo cola".

Thanks!

(You couldn't resist mixing the British and American usages, could you'!)

Answer 3

By the way, Natasha, to say "Get in line!," you can use "Ponte a la cola" (or, Ponte al final de la cola). And "Hey, I was here first" is "Oye, yo estaba antes."

Useful the next time you need to scold a line-cutter in Spanish.

Answer 4

James Santiago said:

By the way, Natasha, to say "Get in line!," you can use "Ponte a la cola" (or, Ponte al final de la cola). And "Hey, I was here first" is "Oye, yo estaba antes."

Useful the next time you need to scold a line-cutter in Spanish.

Cool! And then what if I need to add: "Don't cut in line!"

Answer 5

Natasha said:

Cool! And then what if I need to add: "Don't cut in line!"

"Don't cut in line! = ¡No te cueles!

colarse
7. (pronominal, coloqial) Introducirse a escondidas o sin permiso en alguna parte.
Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados

Answer 6

There are probably several ways to say it, but I would say "No te metas en la cola."

Answer 7

lazarus1907 said:

Natasha said:

Cool! And then what if I need to add: "Don't cut in line!"

"Don't cut in line! = ¡No te cueles!

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about colarse.

Answer 8

Thanks. Wish I'd known all this back when I was assigned to high school cafeteria duty!

Answer 9

poner cola, is used to say something like
Vamos a ponerle cola a mi marido. wich means, We are going to send someone to follow my husband.
it's usually to say you will be getting someone to follow a person, but is more like a mexican street talk, ok.

Answer 10

Erika Barrera said:

poner cola, is used to say something likeVamos a ponerle cola a mi marido. wich means, We are going to send someone to follow my husband.it's usually to say you will be getting someone to follow a person, but is more like a mexican street talk, ok.

Ah, como ponerle un detective. Vaya, eso en España no se dice.

cut the line: colarse

a line-cutter : un colador (jeje, BROMA!!)

También decimos: saltarse la cola