El uso de "dar'
In my studies, I have an exercise that uses "dar" in a way with which I am not familiar. We are to use the correct form of the verbs to complete some sentences. The correct completion of this particular sentence is:
Estaba parado esperando a que el semáforo cambiara para seguir y un carro me dio por detrás.
Y mi intentar de traducir (and my attempt at translation): I was stopped waiting for the traffic signal to change so I could continue and a car gave it to me from behind.
Can you give some explanation/comments, etc. on this usage?
1 Answer
..."un carro me dio por detrás."
Your literal translation is correct. A general translation would be: ".. a car hit me from behind."
Dar is a very versatile word in Spanish, most frequently, it means "give", but in different contexts, although it carries the "spirit of give," it gets translated in to other words in English. For instance:
Me da vergüenza decírtelo.
Literal translation: Telling it to you gives me embarrassment. General translation: I'm embarrassed to tell you (this).
I think the best way is to keep observing how Dar is used in various contexts in Spanish, and develop a feel for it.
