Repeating verbs

Question

Is there a way in Spanish to prevent having to repeat verbs over and over? For example, in English,just drop the verb completely, such as in this sentence:

"I don't want to study tonight," complained the student.

"Then don't," his friend replied

You don't have to say "Then don't study" in English, you can omit the verb.

Or, another way in English is to replace the verb with "do it"

For example:

I really want to go camping this weekend. But to do it, I have to find someone to cover my shift.

So, does Spanish have a way to not repeat verbs? Or do you have to repeat the verb every time?

Definitely worth a vote! Great post. - Kiwi-Girl, Sep 13, 2012

Answer 1

I think in some cases, saying "no" suffices. For example, A veces tengo ganas de nadar; otras veces no. - Sometimes I feel like swimming; other times I don't.

Great point Azabache :) - Kiwi-Girl, Sep 13, 2012

Answer 2

I have noticed this too and sometimes there seems no way around it, especially with don't.

I'll have to have a think about it and see if I can come up with anything.

In the meantime there are sometimes little phrases that can be used instead of repeating things already said such as just '¿por qué no? or the word 'así' in the right place can often replace something already referred to.

For your example of 'to do it' that translates to Spanish too and is about the same length - 'para hacerlo' and this works if it's a command too then you could just say ¡hazlo! - do it

Those examples using 'hacer' show that you can use this verb (meaning to do or to make) just like we do with 'do' in English to avoid repeating the same verb.

So, if you say 'no quiero comer todo esto', it is possible to say 'no te lo comas' (repeating the verb) or 'no lo hagas' for a bit of variety.

So, can hacerlo replace a verb. Like if I was saying, "Tengo que limpiar el baño" someone could reply "Sí, hazlo" Iistead of "Sí, limpíalo"? - Maxwell_R, Sep 13, 2012

I meant "...hacerlo replace a verb?" - Maxwell_R, Sep 13, 2012

yes perfect :) lol I was just adding that to my post - Kiwi-Girl, Sep 13, 2012

Okay, thank you so much. - Maxwell_R, Sep 13, 2012