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"Apurarse" is a pronominal verb which is often translated as "to hurry", and "apresurarse" is a reflexive verb which is often translated as "to hurry up". Learn more about the difference between "apurarse" and "apresurarse" below.
apurarse(
ah
-
poo
-
rahr
-
seh
)A pronominal verb always uses a reflexive pronoun. (e.g., Te ves cansado.).
1. (to be in a hurry) (Latin America)
Regionalism used in Latin America: all the countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Does not include Spain.
a. to hurry
Se apuró para llegar a la cita a tiempo.He hurried to arrive at the appointment on time.
b. to hurry up
Si no te apuras vamos a perder el vuelo.If you don't hurry up, we're going to miss the flight.
c. to get a move on (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
¡Apúrate! Que no tenemos todo el día.Get a move on! We don't have all day.
A reflexive verb is a verb that indicates that the subject performs an action on itself (e.g., Miguel se lava.).
a. to worry oneself
No me voy a apurar por lo que queda. Podemos terminar el trabajo mañana.I'm not going to worry myself about what's left. We can finish the work tomorrow.
apurar
A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I bought a book.).
a. to finish
Habíamos apurado las sobras, pero aún seguíamos con hambre.We had finished the leftovers, but we were still hungry.
b. to finish off
Ya no quiero más galletas. ¿Las quieres apurar?I don't want any more cookies. Do you want to finish them off?
c. to use up
Deberíamos comprar más leche antes de apurar el cartón que tenemos en casa.We should buy more milk before we use up the carton that we have at home.
d. to exhaust
Al darse cuenta de que habían apurado sus provisiones, los exploradores tuvieron que recurrir al canibalismo.Upon realizing that they had exhausted their provisions, the explorers had to resort to cannibalism.
4. (to demand haste) (Latin America)
Regionalism used in Latin America: all the countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Does not include Spain.
b. to expedite (a process or package)
¿No hay manera de apurar el proceso? Nos marchamos en una semana.Isn't there any way to expedite the process? We leave in a week.
5. (to compel)
a. to put pressure on
Están apurando a los trabajadores para que hagan los informes trimestrales.They're putting pressure on the employees to produce the quarterly reports.
b. to push
Mis padres no me apuran a casarme. Yo me quiero casar.My parents aren't pushing me to get married. I want to get married.
a. to embarrass
Estoy muy enfadada con mis padres porque me apuraron delante de mi novio a propósito.I'm really mad at my parents because they embarrassed me in front of my boyfriend on purpose.
An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., The man sneezed.).
a. to be urgent
Tiene un par de cosas que hacer, pero no le apura.She has a few things to do, but they're not urgent.
apresurarse(
ah
-
preh
-
soo
-
rahr
-
seh
)A reflexive verb is a verb that indicates that the subject performs an action on itself (e.g., Miguel se lava.).
a. to hurry up
Apresúrense o no vamos a llegar a la fiesta a tiempo.Hurry up or we won't get to the party on time.
b. to hurry
Tendrás que apresurarte a llegar a la cocina antes de que la merienda se acabe.You will have to hurry to get to the kitchen before the snacks run out.
apresurar
A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I bought a book.).
2. (to hasten)
a. to hurry
No quiero apresurarlo a tomar una decisión sobre su carrera.I don't want to hurry him into making a decision about his career.
b. to hurry along
Apresuró a sus niños a la escuela para que no llegaran tarde el primer día.She hurried her children along to school so they would not be late on the first day.
c. to speed up
Lo siento, pero es difícil apresurar el paso con estos zapatos de tacón.I'm sorry, but it's difficult to speed up my pace in these heels.
d. to quicken
Un poco de calor debe apresurar el proceso de fusión.A little bit of heat should quicken the melting process.
