Let's practice some exquisite verbs :)

Question

Hello Friends .. most of us are comfortable with the basic verbs like comer, beber, vivir, encontrar, romper, caer, ser, tener etc. But what about the less frequently used verbs or the ones used in advanced speech .. I wish to initiate a weekly activity to practice such **exquisite verbs ** where I will list four to five verbs and then we all can contribute our views and practice together.

List for the day :

1. Estropear : To damage.
2. Envejecer : To grow old, To age.
3. Perjudicar : To harm, To slander/vilify, to prejudice.
4. Atravesar : To cross, To go through. to run across.
5. Vislumbrar/Vislumbrarse : To glimpse.

I request the advanced and fluent members to please come forward and share some examples around these verbs to help beginners and intermediates to harness the power of these some what dreaded verbs .. hehe

Answer 1

Tan estropeado estaba el pobre auto, de lo tan envejecido y perjudicado por el mal uso que por años hizo de él su amo, que este, en ánimo de su perjuicio, le dió por atravesar, con el auto tal cual barco, una laguna en medio de una tormenta, tan sólo para alimentar su egocentrismo y vislumbrarse a si mismo como un héroe... pero el auto se hundió, con el dueño adentro, por supuesto.

There it was, a damaged and ruined old car, vilified by his owner thru years and years of abuse, so him, the owner, willing to keep the harm going, drove to the lagoon in the middle of a huge storm, and, assuming his car to be a ship, went very near the shore, trying to hit the road - over the water - , in order to feed his selfishness, in order to glimpse and admire himself as a hero... but the car just drowned, owner inside, course.

Few more ( exotic/poetic/uncommon forms )

Estropeábase esa casa: so old as damaged, that house. Envejecimiento: el efecto del paso del tiempo sobre las cosas. ( aging: the effect of time on things. ) Perjudicadito: just a little harm, just a little... Y el jardín atravesolo rapidamente: and then ran across the garden, fastly. Luego de ello, vislumbrábase una clara solución: after that, the solution was clearly glimpsed.

Regards.

poor car .. i feel sad for her :( - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

lol - jctv, Apr 14, 2014

Maybe my motehr was driving, she has Alzheimers and her driving in the last year has got very odd. - annierats, Apr 14, 2014

jvtc, a car sinks, it cannot drown. - annierats, Apr 14, 2014

And thaks jtvc, you're a breath of fresh air here! - annierats, Apr 14, 2014

Yes my friend JCVT and nor can it be vilified .. because it is an inanimate object and vilification means to slander or defame some one's reputation or some one's goodwill or fame etc (which is mostly used with humans only) - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

and the same is the case with drown .. it means to die due to the effect of sinking or submersing under water ,, so it is only used with living things.. but if you attribute too much love and affection to your car and wish to personify it - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

then u may use it figuratively .. i guess (am I right Annie ? ) - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

Exactly, I was trying to " personify " the car, wait for the other examples, and txs so much Annie, regards. - jctv, Apr 14, 2014

ohh yes ,, i get it now ,, cool dear // take care .. regards - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

Done, jimmy: http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/262177/examples-for-vislumbrar-vislumbrarse-siquiera - jctv, Apr 15, 2014

thank you ,, I will certainly check this one out when I get on to my computer ,, hehe - 00b055e0, Apr 15, 2014

Answer 2

Hasta los mayores más fuertes se envejecen cada semana, pero no se nota.

gracias a jtvc: El envejecimento es una cuestión semanal e innotable en los ancianitos más fuertes. - jctv /

Even the strongest of the elderly age every week, but it's not noticeable.

Great Example Annie, but if I may ask .. Why have we used hasta .. can hasta also mean "even" ?? I am too bad with Spanish prepositions .. kindly help // thanks :) - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

Much better: el envejecimento es una cuestión semanal e innotable en los ancianitos más fuertes. - jctv, Apr 14, 2014

@ jctv .. thank you for your comment .. but I think saying it in this way kind of changes the meaning slightly .. I think :) - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

I just took the " even " out because we dont use that word that way when referring to something which is not noticeable, it's somehow nonsense for us. - jctv, Apr 14, 2014

ohh ok .. this transitioning from one language to the other can really be a nightmare .. i am also feeling like the poor car now .. completely perjudicado .. thanks my friend - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

could you kindly also write us something to tell us the difference between vislumbrar and vislumbrarse .. (in a simple manner so even the beginners could understand the examples) .. thanks - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

Let's say it can be a funny nightmare. Regards. - jctv, Apr 14, 2014

Ok, I will, it's just I'm pretty short of time right now, I'll be back tonight with a few examples. Regards. - jctv, Apr 14, 2014

Gracias, jvtc. A Jimmy, yes, hasta works, as does incluso. - annierats, Apr 14, 2014

ohh no no .. my friend .. it is not at all funny for me .. it is rather a very daunting and horrid nightmare I would say .. I am also learning Mandarin Chinese and that is much more mind churning ,, all the tones and characters .. some times I get so sad - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

thanks JVTC and thanks Annie .. we guys have never seen or met each other but we still try to help each other like true friends .. this is called as true spirit of humanity .. thumbs up to all my friends on SD .. - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

Answer 3

Hello jimmy1978,

What would you like us to do for this activity?

Hi Jessica, If you are an expert then please share some examples to help others understand and practice these verbs, if you are a beginner and don't have much knowledge yet then read the examples I will post and try to make - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

and also try looking up examples on SD using the dictionary/translation function and they try making your own sentences and then we will request the experts to check our sentences for errors ... thanks for participating :) - 00b055e0, Apr 14, 2014

okay, I am definitely not an expert. I'll do what I can!! - jessicamccall117, Apr 15, 2014

Thats Ok Jessica ,, it aint meant for the experts .. it is for learners like myself so we could all practice together .. you could try making some sentences of your own to practice these verbs .. and we will have some one check them for us :) - 00b055e0, Apr 15, 2014

there are many helpful members there on SD and I will request them to check our sentences for us .. hope you get the idea :) - 00b055e0, Apr 15, 2014

Answer 4

ESTROPEAR : The basic meaning of this verb is to ruin,damage, harm or spoil and it is used as a transitive verb (with an object) but can also be used as a reflexive verb..

As a verb transitive it can mean : to ruin(aruinar), to damage or harm (dañar)

and as a verb reflexive it means : to get spoiled, to go bad, to break down ( like a car etc.)

Examples of ESTROPEAR

te vas a estropear la vista / you'll ruin your eyesight esa crema le ha estropeado el cutis / that cream has damaged or ruined her skin la lluvia nos estropeó la excursión / the rain ruined or spoiled our day out el final estropeaba la película / the ending ruined or spoiled the film estropeó el escritorio pintándolo de blanco / he ruined or spoiled the look of the desk by painting it white ese sofá estropea el salón / that sofa ruins the look of the living room el centro comercial nos ha estropeado la vista the shopping center has ruined or spoiled our view los años la han estropeado / she has aged really badly se me ha estropeado el vídeo /my video is or has broken