La Palabra del Día : voltear

Question

voltear - (transitive verb) to turn over, to turn around, to turn upside down, to turn inside out; to toss, to throw

Post your sentences in Spanish and English, then vote for the ones you like. The best answer will be chosen tomorrow on the basis of the greatest number of votes and language correctness.

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And don't forget to correct your posts as suggested. Do NOT use subject pronouns!

Voltear la tortilla no es fácil para un cocinero aficionado

Turning the tortilla is not easy for an amatuar cook.

Please correct my Spanish and English - Vaanz, Oct 26, 2010

It looks delicious and very tempting, Vaanz! - Brynleigh, Oct 26, 2010

So ture Byrn.. It is my favourite Spanish dish... - Vaanz, Oct 26, 2010

OOoh that looks so good , bang goes my diet for tonight . Good one Vaanz again. - ray76, Oct 26, 2010

Thanks Ray :) - Vaanz, Oct 26, 2010

Small typo, Vaanz - amateur :) - galsally, Oct 26, 2010

perfecto, siempre usamos dar la vuelta...pero voltear es correcto, se usa poco, - 00494d19, Oct 26, 2010

"amateur " cook - Brynleigh, Oct 26, 2010

Thanks guys.. I make this spelling mistake everytime. :( - Vaanz, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 1

Cartoons that can be turned upside down are a display of creativity.

Las caricaturas volteables son todo un alarde de creatividad.

Answer 2

Don't turn around to see if the woman is turning around to see you ,they never are. No te des la vuelta para ver si la mujer se está dando la vuelta para verte, nunca lo hacen .

A truism, no doubt, but the optimist never learns from life's experiences. - 0074b507, Oct 26, 2010

How true that is, and the compusion to look see is overwhelming. - ray76, Oct 26, 2010

:) Dear Ray! It fits better, "nunca lo hacen". - cogumela, Oct 26, 2010

jeez, ray, this is one of these sentences, ok, here you are: No te des la vuelta para ver si la mujer se está dando la vuelta para verte, nunca lo hacen - 00494d19, Oct 26, 2010

One thing: when you mean to say "turn around", you need to use the pronominal form of tha expression: "dar(se) la vuelta". "Dar la vuelta" means "to turn over", and "dar una vuelta" means to go around (like for a walk). - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

In this case: "No te des la vuelta para comprobar (or "ver") si la mujer se está dando la vuelta para mirarte: nunca lo hacen" - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

thank you all. One thing is for sur ," I shall never turn around again" it is too flaming complicated. Who was the fool who said Spanish was easy. "Lynch him!" - ray76, Oct 26, 2010

I'd say it is harder to pick the right conjugations, pronouns, etc.., but it is easier to make yourself understood. - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 3

Our dog will roll over and play dead. Nuestro perro rodará si mismo,y jugará a hacerse el muerto.

"will roll over" is best translated as "rodará sobre sí mismo". "dar(se) la vuelta" means to turn around . Also, "y se hará el muerto" or "y jugará a hacerse el muerto" - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Thanks Bill.Sorry about the mistakes.I'm trying .... - jennyo45, Oct 27, 2010

Now i've lost the word of the day .....so my sentence structure was incorrect ??? - jennyo45, Oct 27, 2010

Answer 4

Don't turn around to look at her. She is so sad.

No te des la vuelta para mirarla. Está tan triste.

Bryn, he is handsome... hehe! No lo voltees sounds a bit odd...No te gires para mirarla, no te des la vuelta para mirarla. - cogumela, Oct 26, 2010

Gracias, coqumela. :) - Brynleigh, Oct 26, 2010

"Está muy triste" is correct, but it means "She is very sad". To say "She is so sad.. " you need "Está tan triste.. " - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Gracias, billstpor :) - Brynleigh, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 5

No me gustan esas noches cuando me da vueltas acerca de problemas sin solución.

I don't like those nights when my head keeps on thinking about insoluble problems.

Cuando le doy vueltas a problemas insolubles (insolubles is right, but it's more common to say "sin solución") - cogumela, Oct 26, 2010

perhaps "unsolvable" - Brynleigh, Oct 26, 2010

"aquellas noches" seems too distant, as if you were speaking about something that happened a long time ago. In Spanish it's more common to say "esas noches" in this context - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Thanks Bill and Cogu - I had wondered about those very points! Therefore I feel happy that I had already considered them. :) - galsally, Oct 27, 2010

Yes, unsolvable would be correct too, I was trying to match the English and Spanish words. :) - galsally, Oct 27, 2010

Answer 6

Hay que tratar de voltear los panqueques sin usar espumadera!

Let's try and flip the pancakes without using a spatula!

Please make any corrections you see need to be made :) - amy_moreno, Oct 26, 2010

I've only seen "espátula" to describe the flat tools used by construction workers or painters, but never the cooking one. I call those 'espumadera(s)'. Maybe someone living in latin america can confirm that? - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Gracias Billstpor :) - amy_moreno, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 7

Dar la vuelta a una mala escuela es un trabajo difícil.

Turning around bad schools is a difficult job.

(I'm still not sure if it's "Voltear las malas escuelas... or not.)

You need a Spanish infinitive to translate an English gerund, and in Spanish it sounds better if you make it singular: "Dar la vuelta a una mala escuela es un trabajo difícil" - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Gracias Bill, this one made my brain hurt. - amykay, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 8

En la cocina de revmaf, voltee la tortilla cuando comience a humear y luego queme el otro lado.

In revmaf's kitchen, turn the tortilla over when it begins to smoke and then burn the other side.

"voltee" (imperative, not to confused with the preterite "volteé"). "cuando comience a humear". "To smoke" means both to smoke cigarettes and to give off smoke, but in Spanish they are 2 different verbs. - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Lol, the example sentence in the word of the day listing has the imperative wrong, then - thanks for your corrections! I have made the changes. I am learning a lot from your help! - revmaf, Oct 26, 2010

If you mean "voltear una tortilla no es.. ", that's not imperative. It's infinitive, and it's a perfectly valid sentence; it's just different. - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Volte la tortilla y cocine el otro lado. - Turn the tortilla over and cook the other side. is the example given with the word of the day listing. - revmaf, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 9

¿Por qué los perros voltear a tres veces antes de dormir?

Why do dogs turn around three times before sleeping?

Las teorias incluyen la genética, y el instinto la comodidad general.

Y, de nuevo, tal vez es para proteger a otros.

Theories include genetics, instinct and general comfort.

And then again, maybe it is to protect others.

Edit: I hope I understood correctly.

¿Por qué los perros se voltean tres veces antes de dormir?

Entre las teorías que se barajan, se incluyen la genética, y el instinto la comodidad en general.

O quizás es para proteger a otros.

"se voltean tres veces" or "se dan la vuelta tres veces". Like many other verbs, "voltear" or "dar la vuelta" takes a pronominal form when you do the action to yourself. - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Also, "theories include.. " is usually said like this in Spanish: "Entre las teorías que se barajan, se incluyen.. ". "el instinto y la comodidad en general". "O quizás es para proteger a otros" - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 10

Siempre llego demasiado tarde en dar la vuelta a mis emparedados tostados del queso.

I am always too late in turning my toasted cheese sandwiches over.

"to be late"= "llegar tarde". "Siempre llego demasiado tarde para dar la vuelta a mis emparedados de queso" - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Thanks Billstpor - wansell, Oct 26, 2010

Don't forget to fix the prepositions (para, de) they are important too :) - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 11

La tierra da la vuelta alrededor el sol en trecientos sesenta cinco días!

The earth revolves around the sun in three hundred and sixty five days!

Hm, when you talk about flipping pancakes "voltear" is alright, but I very much doubt you can use it for this one. I'd say "La tierra da la vuelta alrededor del sol en trescientos sesenta y cinco días!" Maybe someone in latin america uses "voltear"? - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 12

I hope this is right but if it isn't, I hope someone will correct me.

Lo que se voltean en el aire tiene que bajar! What they toss in the air must come down!

"lo que se voltea", though again I can't comment on the validity of using "voltear" here. - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Thanks, you can't learn if you don't try!! - Nilda-Ballardo, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 13

I tossed my lunch yesterday, it was a little stale.
Volté mi almuerzo de ayer fue un poco rancio.

"volteé" and ", estaba un poco rancio". I can't say if "voltear" can be used in this context in other countries? Not in Spain that's for sure. - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 14

Voltee el barco.

Sí. Creo que tienes razón.

Turn the ship around.

Yeah, I think you´re right.

One problem there. The word 'ship' can be used both for ships that travel on water and through space. The Spanish word that can be used like that is "nave". "Barco" is used a lot more often for naval ships, but it can't be used for space ones. - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Also, even though I'm not very familiar with "voltear" ,as it's not used much in Spain, it looks like "voltear un barco" means to capsize, rather than turn around. "Dar la vuelta" is a safer bet. - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Answer 15

Si se da cuenta de que está manejando en una calle de sentido único ....¡Dé la vuelta!

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If you notice you are driving on a one way street….turn around!

"Si nota.." is ok, but "Si se da cuenta de que está.." is better. Also, ".. ¡dé la vuelta!" - bill1111, Oct 26, 2010

Gracias Billstpor. - Rolest, Oct 26, 2010