Miss, Miss, and Miss.

Question

OK, so,, there are at least 3 meanings for the verb to Miss in English.

The first, Señorita, is pretty obvious and unambiguous so I´ll just skip right over it.

A second, I think, would be to miss (attending) an event, which I think is perder. p.ej. Desafortunadamente, voy a perder ese evento.

The third, I´m quite a big vaguer on. I miss you. Or I will miss him or her. About a person, or maybe a pet.

I´ve seen something with faltar, and something with echar and menos but didn´t fully understand them when I was first exposed, and understand even less now. What are those, if that´s clear enough? What would be some examples?

Lastly, I can think of a 4th sense, which is maybe a bit between the 2nd and 3rd above.

If one is going to miss an event, not in the sense of simply being unable to attend, but if one is going to miss it more in the sense of missing it like a one misses a person. Besides an event, it could be a town or place one has lived, but I´m mostly thinking of missing a regularly ocurring.

A concrete example: For the last year I´ve been attending once-a-month paired Tequila tastings and Dinners and my favorite Mexican restaurant. For the first part of the year, I´lll miss them, because I have class on the nights when the event occurs. I would like to be able to express that I have enjoyed and value those events, and not only just won´t be able to attend (asistir) but will also miss the event and the people regularly in it. Clear as mud?

Would love help confirming what it seems I do and don´t already understand on cases 1 and 2 (OK, just two really) and for some basic education on cases 3 and 4.

I really don´t know how to express this.

Thanks Roger

Answer 1

"Perderse (un evento)" is definitely a common expression. "No te pierdas la celebración/don't miss the party" and "éste es un evento para no perderse/this is an event you don't want to miss (out on)," for example.

There are a few common ways to convey "I miss you." These include "te echo de menos," "me haces falta," and "te extraño." As you can see, these expressions are made from different verb formations: "echar a alguien de menos," "hacerle falta a alguien," and "extrañar a alguien."

I would say "extrañar (un evento del pasado)" will work for your fourth question. For example, "extraño esas reuniones del año pasado." Yes, this is the same as one of the options for missing a person, but I feel that these two phrases are appropriate for both questions.

Hopefully this is helpful. I am more than happy to answer questions because I know I do not have a gift for writing cohesive explanations, haha.

what swampy says about "perdimos el tren" and "falté a la clase de español" I also recommend as common expressions - unMica, Jan 26, 2013

So, again, thanks for the detailed explanation. - rogspax, Jan 26, 2013

Thanks for all that. Just what I needed. Now, I need to especially copy this one into my phone or evernote so I can refer back. I think there being so many way is why I have trouble focusing, and thus remembering case number 3 here. I´m trying though. - rogspax, Jan 26, 2013

thank you for your efforts rogspax! I'm glad to be able to help - unMica, Jan 27, 2013

Answer 2

To miss a loved one, a regular event, your bed etc. extrañar and echar de menos.

Perdimos el tren. We missed the train.

Falté a la clase de español. I missed the Spanish class.

Faltan once dólares de mi cartera. Eleven dollars is missing from my wallet.

Pasar rozando to graze

Pasar cerca to go by close

Un autobus casi atropella a mi marido. A bus just missed (running over) my husband.

Not sure how well this answers your question, but it gave me some typing practice.

Then it was good for both of us Swampy. :) Thanks! Every bit and example helps. - rogspax, Jan 26, 2013