Verb - Preposition Practice # 1
I have made up sentences for some of the verbs in the list motley provided the link for:
http://www.elearnspanishlanguage.com/grammar/verbs/verbswithprep.html
These are the verbs followed by "a" + infinitive. Please correct -- thanks!
17 Answers
samdie said:
Focusing on your "specific people". are the following contrasting examples correct? No me gustaría cuidar niños. -- I wouldn't want/like to take care of children (as a job or, perhaps, said by a confirmed bachelor).
Mientras su esposa estaba enferma, Alberto tenía que cuidar a los niños. -- While his wife was sick, Albert had to take of the children (by implication, his own children).
They are absolutely correct.
Lazarus said
:
"Cuidar" doesn't take a fixed preposition here; it is a transitive verb, and it takes a simple direct object, which requires "a" for specific people, like the rest of these objects with most verbs. E.g. Cuidar las plantas. Cuidar a los enfermos. See other verbs: Ver una casa. Ver a una persona.
Limpiar la ropa. Limpiar a los niños..
Focusing on your "specific people". are the following contrasting examples correct?
No me gustaría cuidar niños. -- I wouldn't want/like to take care of children (as a job or, perhaps, said by a confirmed bachelor).
Mientras su esposa estaba enferma, Alberto tenía que cuidar a los niños. -- While his wife was sick, Albert had to take of the children (by implication, his own children).
Quentin said:
Se preparon para cruzar el río. / They got ready to cross the river.This doesn't seem to follow the discusiion. I don't see the verb+ "a" + infinitive here.
Oops. I think my brain was getting a bit befuddled at that point.
Natasha said:
Wouldn't that be "bajaron para caminar"?
Both are fine. Many verbs of motion take a complement with "a" to indicate the purpose of going or coming to a place.
Se preparon para cruzar el río. / They got ready to cross the river.
This doesn't seem to follow the discusiion. I don't see the verb+ "a" + infinitive here.
samdie said:
Si a Lope de Vega se llamaban ¨monsturo de la naturleza¨¨, te deben llamar ¨monsturo de la ensenaza¨. ¡Me quedo completamente asustado por ver tu dedicación a ayudarles a los que quieren aprender el español.!One trivial correction: Just when I got (or had gotten) used to...And one small question: "Bajaron a caminar" could also mean something like "They got off (the bus) to walk..." or "They got out of (the car) to walk..." could it not?
Wouldn't that be "bajaron para caminar"'
Si a Lope de Vega se llamaban ¨monsturo de la naturleza¨¨, te deben llamar ¨monsturo de la ensenaza¨. ¡Me quedo completamente asustado por ver tu dedicación a ayudarles a los que quieren aprender el español.!
One trivial correction: Just when I got (or had gotten) used to...
And one small question: "Bajaron a caminar" could also mean something like "They got off (the bus) to walk..." or "They got out of (the car) to walk..." could it not'
Natasha said:
Pues, ¡no lo puedo comprar hasta que salga!
Si sale alguna vez..., claro. ¡Has usado el subjuntivo perfectamente, por cierto!
lazarus1907 said:
:
Five out of these constructions are already detailed in my dictionary, with 3 to 8 examples each.
Pues, ¡no lo puedo comprar hasta que salga!
Natasha said:
Lazarus, thank you for all your work correcting these sentences. It appears that I got a bit sloppy with the spelling rules, and I'm having trouble getting used to this new way of using (not using!) le/les. Anyway, could anyone give me an example of how to correctly use the following? These are words from the list on the website, which Lazarus indicated I had not used in the right context. cuidar a' to take care of echar(se) a to begin to impulsar a to urge to pasar a to go on to ponerse a to begin to, set about
volver a to ___| again
"Cuidar" doesn't take a fixed preposition here; it is a transitive verb, and it takes a simple direct object, which requires "a" for specific people, like the rest of these objects with most verbs. E.g. Cuidar las plantas. Cuidar a los enfermos. See other verbs: Ver una casa. Ver a una persona. Limpiar la ropa. Limpiar a los niños..
"Echarse a + inf." is not just "to being to", but "to begin to do something in a sudden way, and often in unexpected manner". Example: "Echaron a correr cuando vieron a la policía".
"Impulsar a + inf" requires a direct object (lo, la, los, las) and a complement with "a". Example: "Su situación económica lo impulsó a hacer esos actos tan cuestionables".
"Pasar a + ".Después de la crisis, la gasolina pasó a costar el doble.
"Ponerse a + inf" means to start to do something with intensity for a certain period of time. "Se puso a llover", "De repente se puso a toser muy fuerte".
"Volver a + inf": ¡Ha vuelto a conseguirlo! ¡Otra medalla! - Si vuelves a hacerlo, me voy a enfadar de verdad.
Five out of these constructions are already detailed in my dictionary, with 3 to 8 examples each.
lazarus1907 said:
And now the questions...
Disclaimer: there is a good chance that I've missed some mistakes with so many sentences.
Lazarus, thank you for all your work correcting these sentences. It appears that I got a bit sloppy with the spelling rules, and I'm having trouble getting used to this new way of using (not using!) le/les. Anyway, could anyone give me an example of how to correctly use the following? These are words from the list on the website, which Lazarus indicated I had not used in the right context.
cuidar a' to take care of
echar(se) a to begin to
impulsar a to urge to
pasar a to go on to
ponerse a to begin to, set about
volver a to ___| again
And now the questions...
Disclaimer: there is a good chance that I've missed some mistakes with so many sentences.
Natasha said:
Estaba convenciéndolos de que lo trataran mejor, cuando llegó el jefe. / He was persuading them to treat him better, when the chief arrived. Me estoy preparando para hacer la comida. / I'm getting ready to cook dinner. Se prepararon para cruzar el río. / They got ready to cross the river.
Renunció al tabaco. [Renunció a fumar = not so common] / He renounced smoking.
Mucha gente se resigna a quedarse a casa este verano. / Many people are resigned to stay at home this summer.
Los estudiantes se resisten a vestirse para la clase de gimnasia. / The students resist dressing out for gym class.
El coche tiende a torcerse hacia la izquierda. / The car tends to pull towards the left.
Mi hijo está sacando los libros de papá de la estantería. / My son is pulling Daddy's books of the shelf again.
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Natasha said:
Vamos a empezar a aprender alemán. / We are going to start to learn German. Nos enseñó a nadar. / He taught us how to swim. El presidente dijo que el govierno está forzado a instituir controles de precios. / The president said that the government is being forced to institute price controls. Los está incitando a apuntarse en la clase. / He is urging them to enroll in the course. Las bandas les incitan a sus miembros a cometer muchos crímenes. / The gans incite their members to commit many crimes. Estoy por echarme la siesta. / I'm inclined to take a nap. Lo invitaron a asistir a la iglesia. / They invited him to go to church. Voy a completar esta lección en unos minutos. / I'm going to finish this lesson in a few minutes.
Decidí no comer los dulces. / I limited myself to not eating sweets.
Llegamos a hablar francés bastante para poder [que pudieramos] viajar en tren. / We got so we could speak enough French to travel by train.
Si continúa así [de este modo = literal translation], un día llegará a ser presidente. / If he continues on this path, one day he will become president.
Este temor de un desplome económico los llevó a sacar su dinero de los bancos. / This fear of an economic collapse led them to withdraw their money from the banks.
Le Mandé a mi hijo a limpiar su cuarto de inmediato. / I ordered my son to clean his room immediately.
meterse a to start to
El dictador se niega a permitir una prensa libre. / The dictator refuses to allow a free press.
La tempestad nos obligó a aplazar la partida hasta mañana. / The storm forced them to postpone the game until tomorrow.
Voy seguir pintando la entrada, porque no puedo pintar más dentro de (la) casa hasta que llegue la alfombra. / I'm going to go on to paint the porch, because I can't paint anymore inside the house until the carpet arrives.
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Natasha said:
Estudiar bien conduce al éxito/ Studying well leads to success. Todos los jóvenes contribuyeron a constuir la casa. [an unstressed I between vowels (contrib-uie-ron) always changes to Y] / All the young people helped to build the house.
Lo convido a nadar en el mar con nosotros. / I invite you to go swimming in the ocean with us.
María cuidia a tiene cuidado de/se asegura de limpiar la habitación todos los viernes. / Maria is careful to clean the room every Friday.
Van a decidir a asistir a la universidad. / They are going to decide to attend college.
Se dedicó a intentar descubrir una cura. / He devoted himself to finding a cure.
Le desafiaron a cruzar corriendo el camino. / They dared him to run across the highway.
Me dispuse a preparar la comida. / I got ready to prepare the meal.
Si empiezas a quejarse de algo, recuerda que la comida es gratis. / If you start to complain about anything, remember that the meal is free.
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