Перевод: со всех языков на все языки

со всех языков на все языки

Со всех языков на:
Все языки
Со всех языков на:
Все языки
Английский
Французский

we have held costs to a minimum

Толкование Перевод

1 hold

hold [həʊld]

tenir ⇒ 1A (a), 1A (f), 1B (a), 1B (b), 1D (b), 1D (d), 2 (d) avoir ⇒ 1A (c) retenir ⇒ 1A (e), 1C (b) contenir ⇒ 1A (f) exercer ⇒ 1A (g) réserver ⇒ 1A (e), 1A (h) conserver ⇒ 1A (i) stocker ⇒ 1A (i) maintenir ⇒ 1B (a) détenir ⇒ 1A (i), 1C (a) croire ⇒ 1D (a) continuer ⇒ 1D (e) se tenir ⇒ 2 (a) tenir bon ⇒ 2 (b) durer ⇒ 2 (c) attendre ⇒ 2 (f) prise ⇒ 3D (a)-(c) en attente ⇒ 4D

(pt & pp held [held])

1 transitive verb

A.

(a) (clasp, grasp) tenir;

∎ to hold sth in one's hand (book, clothing, guitar) avoir qch à la main; (key, money) tenir qch dans la main;

∎ to hold sth with both hands tenir qch à deux mains;

∎ will you hold my coat a second? peux-tu prendre ou tenir mon manteau un instant?;

∎ to hold the door for sb tenir la porte à ou pour qn;

∎ also figurative to hold sb's hand tenir la main à qn;

∎ to hold hands se donner la main, se tenir (par) la main;

∎ hold my hand while we cross the street donne-moi la main pour traverser la rue;

∎ to hold sb in one's arms tenir qn dans ses bras;

∎ to hold sb close or tight serrer qn contre soi;

∎ hold it tight and don't let go tiens-le bien et ne le lâche pas;

∎ to hold one's nose se boucher le nez;

∎ to hold one's sides with laughter se tenir les côtes de rire

(b) (keep, sustain)

∎ to hold sb's attention/interest retenir l'attention de qn;

∎ the film doesn't hold the attention for long le film ne retient pas l'attention très longtemps;

∎ to hold an audience tenir un auditoire;

∎ to hold one's serve (in tennis) défendre son service;

∎ Politics to hold a seat (to be an MP) occuper un siège de député; (to be re-elected) être réélu;

∎ to hold one's own se défendre, bien se débrouiller;

∎ the Prime Minister held her own during the debate le Premier ministre a tenu bon ou ferme pendant le débat;

∎ she is well able to hold her own elle sait se défendre;

∎ he can hold his own in chess il se défend bien aux échecs;

∎ our products hold their own against the competition nos produits se tiennent bien par rapport à la concurrence;

∎ to hold the floor garder la parole;

∎ the senator held the floor for an hour le sénateur a gardé la parole pendant une heure

(c) (have, possess → degree, permit, ticket) avoir, posséder; (→ job, position) avoir, occuper;

∎ do you hold a clean driving licence? avez-vous déjà été sanctionné pour des infractions au code de la route?;

∎ she holds the post of treasurer elle occupe le poste de trésorière;

∎ to hold office (chairperson, deputy) être en fonction, remplir sa fonction; (minister) détenir ou avoir un portefeuille; (political party, president) être au pouvoir ou au gouvernement;

∎ Religion to hold a living jouir d'un bénéfice;

∎ Finance to hold stock or shares détenir ou avoir des actions;

∎ to hold 5 percent of the shares in a company détenir 5 pour cent du capital d'une société;

∎ also figurative to hold a record détenir un record;

∎ she holds the world record for the javelin elle détient le record mondial du javelot

(d) (keep control or authority over) Military

∎ the guerrillas held the bridge for several hours les guérilleros ont tenu le pont plusieurs heures durant;

∎ Military to hold the enemy contenir l'ennemi;

∎ figurative to hold centre stage occuper le centre de la scène;

∎ hold it!, hold everything! (stop and wait) attendez!; (stay still) arrêtez!, ne bougez plus!;

∎ familiar figurative hold your horses! pas si vite!

(e) (reserve, set aside) retenir, réserver;

∎ we'll hold the book for you until next week nous vous réserverons le livre ou nous vous mettrons le livre de côté jusqu'à la semaine prochaine;

∎ will the restaurant hold the table for us? est-ce que le restaurant va nous garder la table?

(f) (contain) contenir, tenir;

∎ this bottle holds 2 litres cette bouteille contient 2 litres;

∎ will this suitcase hold all our clothes? est-ce que cette valise sera assez grande pour tous nos vêtements?;

∎ the car is too small to hold us all la voiture est trop petite pour qu'on y tienne tous;

∎ the hall holds a maximum of 250 people la salle peut accueillir ou recevoir 250 personnes au maximum, il y a de la place pour 250 personnes au maximum dans cette salle;

∎ to hold one's drink bien supporter l'alcool;

∎ the letter holds the key to the murder la lettre contient la clé du meurtre

(g) (have, exercise) exercer;

∎ the subject holds a huge fascination for some people le sujet exerce une énorme fascination sur certaines personnes;

∎ sport held no interest for them pour eux, le sport ne présentait aucun intérêt

(h) (have in store) réserver;

∎ who knows what the future may hold? qui sait ce que nous réserve l'avenir?

(i) (conserve, store) conserver, détenir; Computing stocker;

∎ we can't hold this data forever nous ne pouvons pas conserver ou stocker ces données éternellement;

∎ how much data will this disk hold? quelle quantité de données cette disquette peut-elle stocker?;

∎ the commands are held in the memory/in a temporary buffer les instructions sont gardées en mémoire/sont enregistrées dans une mémoire intermédiaire;

∎ my lawyer holds a copy of my will mon avocat détient ou conserve un exemplaire de mon testament;

∎ this photo holds fond memories for me cette photo me rappelle de bons souvenirs

(j) Cars

∎ the new car holds the road well la nouvelle voiture tient bien la route

B.

(a) (maintain in position) tenir, maintenir;

∎ she held her arms by her sides elle avait les bras le long du corps;

∎ her hair was held in place with hairpins des épingles (à cheveux) retenaient ou maintenaient ses cheveux;

∎ what's holding the picture in place? qu'est-ce qui tient ou maintient le tableau en place?;

∎ hold the picture a bit higher tenez le tableau un peu plus haut

(b) (carry) tenir;

∎ to hold oneself upright or erect se tenir droit;

∎ also figurative to hold one's head high garder la tête haute

C.

(a) (confine, detain) détenir;

∎ the police are holding him for questioning la police l'a gardé à vue pour l'interroger;

∎ they're holding him for murder ils l'ont arrêté pour meurtre;

∎ she was held without trial for six weeks elle est restée en prison six semaines sans avoir été jugée

(b) (keep back, retain) retenir;

∎ Law to hold sth in trust for sb tenir qch par fidéicommis pour qn;

∎ the post office will hold my mail for me while I'm away la poste gardera mon courrier pendant mon absence;

∎ figurative once she starts talking politics there's no holding her! dès qu'elle commence à parler politique, rien ne peut l'arrêter!;

∎ American one burger, hold the mustard! (in restaurant) un hamburger, sans moutarde!

(c) (delay)

∎ don't hold dinner for me ne m'attendez pas pour dîner;

∎ they held the plane another thirty minutes ils ont retenu l'avion au sol pendant encore trente minutes;

∎ hold all decisions on the project until I get back attendez mon retour pour prendre des décisions concernant le projet;

∎ hold the front page! ne lancez pas la une tout de suite!;

∎ hold the lift! ne laissez pas les portes de l'ascenseur se refermer, j'arrive!

(d) (keep in check)

∎ we have held costs to a minimum nous avons limité nos frais au minimum;

∎ inflation has been held at the same level for several months le taux d'inflation est maintenu au même niveau depuis plusieurs mois;

∎ they held their opponents to a goalless draw ils ont réussi à imposer le match nul

D.

(a) (assert, claim) maintenir, soutenir; (believe) croire, considérer;

∎ formal I hold that teachers should be better paid je considère ou j'estime que les enseignants devraient être mieux payés;

∎ the Constitution holds that all men are free la Constitution stipule que tous les hommes sont libres;

∎ he holds strong beliefs on the subject of abortion il a de solides convictions en ce qui concerne l'avortement;

∎ she holds strong views on the subject elle a une opinion bien arrêtée sur le sujet;

∎ her statement is held to be true sa déclaration passe pour vraie

(b) (consider, regard) tenir, considérer;

∎ to hold sb responsible for sth tenir qn pour responsable de qch;

∎ I'll hold you responsible if anything goes wrong je vous tiendrai pour responsable ou je vous considérerai responsable s'il y a le moindre incident;

∎ the president is to be held accountable for his actions le président doit répondre de ses actes;

∎ to hold sb in contempt mépriser ou avoir du mépris pour qn;

∎ to hold sb in high esteem avoir beaucoup d'estime pour qn, tenir qn en haute estime

(c) Law (judge) juger;

∎ the appeal court held the evidence to be insufficient la cour d'appel a considéré que les preuves étaient insuffisantes

(d) (carry on, engage in → conversation, meeting) tenir; (→ party) donner; (organize) organiser;

∎ to hold an election/elections procéder à une élection/à des élections;

∎ the book fair is held in Frankfurt la foire du livre se tient ou a lieu à Francfort;

∎ the classes are held in the evening les cours ont lieu le soir;

∎ interviews will be held in early May les entretiens auront lieu au début du mois de mai ou début mai;

∎ to hold talks être en pourparlers;

∎ the city is holding a service for Armistice Day la ville organise un office pour commémorer le 11 novembre;

∎ mass is held at eleven o'clock la messe est célébrée à onze heures

(e) (continue without deviation) continuer;

∎ Nautical to hold course tenir la route;

∎ we held our southerly course nous avons maintenu le cap au sud, nous avons continué notre route vers le sud;

∎ Music to hold a note tenir une note

(f) Telecommunications

∎ will you hold (the line)? voulez-vous patienter?;

∎ hold the line! ne quittez pas!;

∎ the line's busy just now - I'll hold le poste est occupé pour le moment - je patiente ou je reste en ligne;

∎ hold all my calls ne me passez aucun appel

2 intransitive verb

(a) (cling → person) se tenir, s'accrocher;

∎ she held tight to the railing elle s'est cramponnée ou accrochée à la rampe;

∎ hold fast!, hold tight! accrochez-vous bien!;

∎ figurative their resolve held fast or firm in the face of fierce opposition ils ont tenu bon face à une opposition acharnée

(b) (remain in place → nail, fastening) tenir bon;

∎ the rope won't hold for long la corde ne tiendra pas longtemps

(c) (last → luck) durer; (→ weather) durer, se maintenir;

∎ prices held at the same level as last year les prix se sont maintenus au même niveau que l'année dernière;

∎ the pound held firm against the dollar la livre s'est maintenue par rapport au dollar;

∎ we might buy him a guitar if his interest in music holds nous lui achèterons peut-être une guitare s'il continue à s'intéresser à la musique

(d) (remain valid → invitation, offer) tenir; (→ argument, theory) valoir, être valable;

∎ to hold good (invitation, offer) tenir; (promises) tenir, valoir; (argument, theory) rester valable;

∎ the principle still holds good le principe tient ou vaut toujours;

∎ that theory only holds if you consider... cette théorie n'est valable que si vous prenez en compte...;

∎ the same holds for Spain il en est de même pour l'Espagne

(e) (stay, remain) familiar

∎ hold still! ne bougez pas!^□

(f) (on telephone) attendre;

∎ the line's British engaged or American busy, will you hold? la ligne est occupée, voulez-vous patienter?

3 noun

(a) (grasp, grip) prise f; (in wrestling) prise f; Boxing tenu m;

∎ to catch or to grab or to seize or to take hold of sth se saisir de ou saisir qch;

∎ she caught hold of the rope elle a saisi la corde;

∎ grab (a) hold of that towel tiens! prends cette serviette;

∎ there was nothing for me to grab hold of il n'y avait rien à quoi m'accrocher ou me cramponner;

∎ get a good or take a firm hold on or of the railing tenez-vous bien à la balustrade;

∎ I still had hold of his hand je le tenais toujours par la main;

∎ to get hold of sth (find) se procurer ou trouver qch;

∎ it's difficult to get hold of this book ce livre est difficile à trouver;

∎ we got hold of the book you wanted nous avons trouvé le livre que tu voulais;

∎ where did you get hold of that idea? où est-ce que tu es allé chercher cette idée?;

∎ to get hold of sb trouver qn;

∎ I've been trying to get hold of you all week! je t'ai cherché toute la semaine!;

∎ just wait till the newspapers get hold of the story attendez un peu que les journaux s'emparent de la nouvelle;

∎ she kept hold of the rope elle n'a pas lâché la corde;

∎ you'd better keep hold of the tickets tu ferais bien de garder les billets;

∎ get a hold on yourself ressaisis-toi, ne te laisse pas aller;

∎ to take hold (fire) prendre; (idea) se répandre;

∎ Sport & figurative no holds barred tous les coups sont permis

(b) (controlling force or influence) prise f, influence f;

∎ the Church still exerts a strong hold on the country l'Église a toujours une forte mainmise sur le pays;

∎ to have a hold over sb avoir de l'influence sur qn;

∎ I have no hold over him je n'ai aucune prise ou influence sur lui;

∎ the Mafia obviously has some kind of hold over him de toute évidence, la Mafia le tient d'une manière ou d'une autre

(c) (in climbing) prise f

(d) (delay, pause) pause f, arrêt m;

∎ the company has put a hold on all new orders l'entreprise a suspendu ou gelé toutes les nouvelles commandes

(e) American (order to reserve) réservation f;

∎ the association put a hold on all the hotel rooms l'association a réservé toutes les chambres de l'hôtel

(f) (prison) prison f; (cell) cellule f; (fortress) place f forte

(g) (store → in plane) soute f; (→ in ship) cale f

(h) Music point m d'orgue

4 on hold adverb

(gen) & Telecommunications en attente;

∎ to put sb on hold mettre qn en attente;

∎ we've put the project on hold nous avons mis le projet en attente;

∎ the operator kept me on hold for ten minutes le standardiste m'a mis en attente pendant dix minutes

➲ hold against separable transitive verb

∎ to hold sth against sb en vouloir à qn de qch;

∎ his collaboration with the enemy will be held against him sa collaboration avec l'ennemi lui sera préjudiciable;

∎ he lied to her and she still holds it against him il lui a menti et elle lui en veut toujours;

∎ I hope you won't hold it against me if I decide not to accept j'espère que tu ne m'en voudras pas si je décide de ne pas accepter

➲ hold back

1 separable transitive verb

(a) (control, restrain → animal, person) retenir, tenir; (→ crowd, enemy forces) contenir; (→ anger, laughter, tears) retenir, réprimer; (→ inflation) contenir;

∎ the government has succeeded in holding back inflation le gouvernement a réussi à contenir l'inflation

(b) (keep → money, supplies) retenir; figurative (→ information, truth) cacher, taire;

∎ she's holding something back from me elle me cache quelque chose

(c) American School

∎ they held her back a year ils lui ont fait redoubler une classe, ils l'ont fait redoubler

(d) (prevent progress of) empêcher de progresser;

∎ his difficulties with maths are holding him back ses difficultés en maths l'empêchent de progresser;

∎ lack of investment is holding industry back l'absence d'investissements freine l'industrie

2 intransitive verb

(stay back) rester en arrière; figurative (restrain oneself) se retenir;

∎ he has held back from making a commitment il s'est abstenu de s'engager;

∎ the president held back before sending in the army le président a hésité avant d'envoyer les troupes;

∎ don't hold back, tell me everything vas-y, dis-moi tout

➲ hold down separable transitive verb

(a) (keep in place → paper, carpet) maintenir en place; (→ person) forcer à rester par terre, maintenir au sol;

∎ it took four men to hold him down il a fallu quatre hommes pour le maîtriser ou pour le maintenir au sol

(b) (keep to limit) restreindre, limiter;

∎ they're holding unemployment down to 4 percent ils maintiennent le taux de chômage à 4 pour cent;

∎ to hold prices down empêcher les prix de monter, empêcher la montée des prix

(c) (of employee)

∎ to hold down a job (occupy) avoir un emploi; (keep) garder un emploi;

∎ he's never managed to hold down a job il n'a jamais pu garder un emploi bien longtemps;

∎ although she's a student, she holds down a full-time job bien qu'elle étudie, elle occupe un poste à plein temps

(d) Computing (key, mouse button) maintenir enfoncé

➲ hold forth intransitive verb

pérorer, disserter;

∎ he held forth on the evils of drink il a fait un long discours sur les conséquences néfastes de l'alcool

➲ hold in separable transitive verb

(a) (stomach) rentrer

(b) (emotion) retenir; (anger) contenir

➲ hold off

1 separable transitive verb

(a) (keep at distance) tenir à distance ou éloigné;

∎ the troops held off the enemy les troupes ont tenu l'ennemi à distance;

∎ they managed to hold off the attack ils ont réussi à repousser l'attaque;

∎ I can't hold the reporters off any longer je ne peux plus faire attendre ou patienter les journalistes

(b) (delay, put off) remettre à plus tard;

∎ he held off going to see the doctor until May il a attendu le mois de mai pour aller voir le médecin;

∎ I held off making a decision j'ai remis la décision à plus tard

2 intransitive verb

(a) (rain)

∎ at least the rain held off au moins il n'a pas plu

(b) (abstain) s'abstenir;

∎ hold off from smoking for a few weeks abstenez-vous de fumer ou ne fumez pas pendant quelques semaines

➲ hold on

1 intransitive verb

(a) (grasp, grip) tenir bien, s'accrocher;

∎ to hold on to sth bien tenir qch, s'accrocher à qch, se cramponner à qch;

∎ hold on! accrochez-vous!;

∎ hold on to your hat! tenez votre chapeau (sur la tête)!

(b) (keep possession of) garder;

∎ hold on to this contract for me (keep it) garde-moi ce contrat;

∎ all politicians try to hold on to power tous les hommes politiques essaient de rester au pouvoir;

∎ hold on to your dreams/ideals accrochez-vous à vos rêves/idéaux

(c) (continue, persevere) tenir, tenir le coup;

∎ how long can you hold on? combien de temps pouvez-vous tenir (le coup)?;

∎ I can't hold on much longer je ne peux pas tenir (le coup) beaucoup plus longtemps

(d) (wait) attendre; (stop) arrêter;

∎ hold on just one minute! (stop) arrêtez!; (wait) attendez!, pas si vite!;

∎ hold on, how do I know I can trust you? attends un peu! qu'est-ce qui me prouve que je peux te faire confiance?;

∎ Telecommunications hold on please! ne quittez pas!;

∎ I had to hold on for several minutes j'ai dû patienter plusieurs minutes

2 separable transitive verb

(maintain in place) tenir ou maintenir en place;

∎ her hat is held on with pins son chapeau est maintenu (en place) par des épingles

➲ hold out

1 intransitive verb

(a) (last → supplies, stocks) durer;

∎ will the car hold out till we get home? la voiture tiendra-t-elle (le coup) jusqu'à ce qu'on rentre?

(b) (refuse to yield) tenir bon, tenir le coup;

∎ the garrison held out for weeks la garnison a tenu bon pendant des semaines;

∎ the management held out against any suggested changes la direction a refusé tous les changements proposés

2 separable transitive verb

(extend) tendre;

∎ she held out the book to him elle lui a tendu le livre;

∎ also figurative to hold out one's hand to sb tendre la main à qn;

∎ I held out my hand j'ai tendu la main;

∎ his mother held her arms out to him sa mère lui a ouvert ou tendu les bras

3 inseparable transitive verb

(offer) offrir;

∎ I can't hold out any promise of improvement je ne peux promettre aucune amélioration;

∎ the doctors hold out little hope for him les médecins ont peu d'espoir pour lui;

∎ science holds out some hope for cancer patients la science offre un espoir pour les malades du cancer

➲ hold out for inseparable transitive verb

exiger;

∎ the workers held out for a shorter working week les ouvriers réclamaient une semaine de travail plus courte;

∎ we're holding out for a higher offer nous attendons qu'on nous en offre un meilleur prix

➲ hold out on inseparable transitive verb

familiar

∎ you're holding out on me! tu me caches quelque chose!^□

➲ hold over separable transitive verb

(a) (position) tenir au-dessus de;

∎ she held the glass over the sink elle tenait le verre au-dessus de l'évier;

∎ figurative they hold the threat of redundancy over their workers ils maintiennent la menace de licenciement sur leurs ouvriers

(b) (postpone) remettre, reporter;

∎ we'll hold these items over until the next meeting on va remettre ces questions à la prochaine réunion;

∎ payment was held over for six months le paiement a été différé pendant six mois

(c) (retain) retenir, garder;

∎ they're holding the show over for another month ils vont laisser le spectacle à l'affiche encore un mois

(d) Music tenir

➲ hold to

1 inseparable transitive verb

(promise, tradition) s'en tenir à, rester fidèle à; (decision) maintenir, s'en tenir à;

∎ you must hold to your principles vous devez rester fidèle à vos principes

2 separable transitive verb

∎ we held him to his promise nous lui avons fait tenir parole;

∎ if I win, I'll buy you lunch - I'll hold you to that! si je gagne, je t'invite à déjeuner - je te prends au mot!

➲ hold together separable transitive verb

(book, car) maintenir; (two objects) maintenir ensemble; (community, family) maintenir l'union de;

∎ the two pieces of wood are held together by nails les deux morceaux de bois sont cloués ensemble;

∎ we need a leader who can hold the workers together il nous faut un chef qui puisse rallier les ouvriers

➲ hold up

1 separable transitive verb

(a) (lift, raise) lever, élever;

∎ I held up my hand j'ai levé la main;

∎ hold the picture up to the light tenez la photo à contre-jour;

∎ to hold up one's head redresser la tête;

∎ figurative she felt she would never be able to hold her head up again elle pensait qu'elle ne pourrait plus jamais marcher la tête haute

(b) (support) soutenir;

∎ my trousers were held up with safety pins mon pantalon était maintenu par des épingles de sûreté

(c) (present as example)

∎ they were held up as an example of efficient local government on les présentaient comme un exemple de gouvernement local compétent;

∎ to hold sb up to ridicule tourner qn en ridicule

(d) (delay) retarder; (stop) arrêter;

∎ the traffic held us up la circulation nous a mis en retard;

∎ the accident held up traffic for an hour l'accident a bloqué la circulation pendant une heure;

∎ our departure was held up by bad weather notre départ a été retardé par le mauvais temps;

∎ I was held up j'ai été retenu;

∎ the project was held up for lack of funds (before it started) le projet a été mis en attente faute de financement; (after it started) le projet a été interrompu faute de financement;

∎ the goods were held up at customs les marchandises ont été immobilisées à la douane

(e) (rob) faire une attaque à main armée;

∎ to hold up a bank faire un hold-up dans une banque

2 intransitive verb

(clothing, equipment) tenir; (supplies) tenir, durer; (weather) se maintenir;

∎ the car held up well during the trip la voiture a bien tenu le coup pendant le voyage;

∎ she's holding up well under the pressure elle supporte bien la pression;

∎ my finances are holding up well je tiens le coup financièrement

➲ hold with inseparable transitive verb

British (agree with) être d'accord avec; (approve of) approuver;

∎ I don't hold with her ideas on socialism je ne suis pas d'accord avec ou je ne partage pas ses idées concernant le socialisme;

∎ his mother doesn't hold with private schools sa mère est contre ou désapprouve les écoles privées

Un panorama unique de l'anglais et du français > hold
2 mantener

v.

1 to keep.

mantener algo en buen estado to keep something in good condition

mantener una promesa to keep a promise

mantener la calma to stay calm

Los mantengo trabajando I keep them working.

Ellos mantienen el proyecto They maintain the project.

2 to support (with scaffold, columns).

mantén los brazos en alto keep your arms in the air

3 to support.

con su sueldo mantiene a toda la familia he has to support o keep his whole family with his wages

4 to have (relationships, conversations).

mantener relaciones con alguien to have a relationship with somebody

5 to stick to (to defend) (conviction).

mantiene su inocencia she maintains that she is innocent

mantiene que no la vió he maintains that he didn't see her

6 to maintain, to keep, to conserve, to hold.

Ellos mantienen unas mantas They maintain some bedcovers.

Mantiene sus mismas creencias de antes He keeps his old views.

Ellos mantienen su opinión They maintain their opinion.

María mantiene a su hijo Mary maintains=provides for her son.

Ella mantiene su declaración She maintains her declaration.

7 to claim to, to hold to, to maintain to.

Ellos mantienen haber limpiado They claim to have cleaned.

* * *

mantener

Conjugation model [ TENER], like link=tener tener

► verbo transitivo

1 (conservar) to keep

■ la policía mantiene el orden público the police keep law and order

■ la nevera mantiene los alimentos en buenas condiciones the fridge keeps food fresh

■ 'Mantenga Zamora limpia' "Keep Zamora tidy"

2 (tener) to keep

■ 'Mantener en posición vertical' "Keep vertical"

■ 'Mantener fuera del alcance de los niños' "Keep out of the reach of children"

3 (sostener) to support, hold up, hold

■ estos pilares mantienen el techo these pillars support the roof

■ no sé como se mantiene en pie con lo que ha bebido I don't know how he can stand up after having drunk so much

4 (sustentar) to support, maintain

■ ella sola mantiene a toda la familia she supports the whole family by herself

5 (afirmación etc) to maintain

■ pues yo mantengo que no es verdad well, I maintain that it is not true

6 (conversación, relaciones) to have; (reunión) to hold, have; (correspondencia) to keep up; (promesa, palabra) to keep

■ afirma que no mantuvieron relaciones sexuales he states that they did not have sexual intercourse

■ mantuvieron una larga correspondencia they kept up a lengthy correspondence

■ mantuvimos una reunión en su despacho we held a meeting in her office

► verbo pronominal mantenerse

1 (sostenerse) to remain, stand

2 (continuar en un estado, una posición) to keep

■ se mantuvo a distancia she kept her distance

■ se mantiene firme en sus creencias he remains firm in his beliefs

3 (sustenerse) to manage, maintain oneself, support oneself

4 (alimentarse) to eat, live

■ se mantiene a base de fruta she lives on fruit, she eats only fruit

■ no nos mantenemos del aire we can't live on air

\

FRASEOLOGÍA

mantener algo en secreto to keep something secret

mantenerse aparte to stay out of it, not get involved

mantenerse en contacto con to stay in contact with

mantenerse en forma to keep in shape, keep in trim, keep fit

mantenerse en pie to stand, remain standing

mantenerse en sus trece to stick to one's guns

mantenerse vivo,-a to stay alive

* * *

verb

1) to keep

2) maintain

3) hold

4) support

5) sustain

* * *

1. VT

1) (=sostener) [gen] to hold; [+ puente, techo] to support

mantén la caja un momento — hold the box a minute

los pilares que mantienen el puente — the pillars which support the bridge

2) (=preservar)

a) [en un lugar] to store, keep

una vez abierto manténgase refrigerado — once opened keep in a refrigerator

"manténgase en un lugar fresco y seco" — "store in a cool dry place"

b) [en un estado o situación] to keep

la ilusión es lo único que lo mantiene vivo — hope is the only thing that keeps him alive o going

hay que mantener actualizada la base de datos — we have to keep the database up to date

para mantener el motor en buen estado — to keep the engine in good condition

mantenga limpia su ciudad — keep your city clean

manténgase fuera del alcance de los niños — keep out of the reach of children

• mantener algo caliente — to keep sth hot

• mantener algo en equilibrio — to balance sth, keep sth balanced

• mantener algo en secreto — to keep sth a secret

mantuvo en secreto que tenía dos hijos — she kept her two children a secret
raya I, 1)
3) (=conservar) [+ opinión] to maintain, hold; [+ costumbre, ideales] to keep up, maintain; [+ disciplina] to maintain, keep; [+ promesa] to keep

un alto porcentaje mantenía su opinión sobre la crisis — a high percentage maintained o held their opinion about the crisis

me marcho manteniendo mi opinión — I'm leaving, but I stand by my opinion

una civilización que lucha por mantener sus tradiciones — a civilization struggling to uphold o maintain its traditions

eran partidarios de mantener el antiguo orden social — they were in favour of preserving the old social order

mantener el orden público — to keep the peace

• al conducir hay que mantener la distancia de seguridad — you have to keep (at) a safe distance when driving

• mantener el equilibrio — to keep one's balance

le cuesta mantener el equilibrio — he finds it difficult to keep his balance

hemos conseguido mantener el equilibrio entre ingresos y gastos — we have managed to maintain a balance between income and expenditure

• mantener el fuego — to keep the fire going

• mantener la línea — to keep one's figure, keep in shape

• mantener la paz — to keep the peace, maintain peace

- mantenella y no emendalla
calma, distancia
4) [económicamente] to support, maintain

ahora tiene una familia que mantener — now he has a family to support o maintain

ya no pienso mantenerla más — I refuse to keep o support o maintain her any longer

5) [+ conversación, contacto] to maintain, hold

es incapaz de mantener una conversación coherente — he is incapable of maintaining o holding a coherent conversation

en las conversaciones que hemos mantenido con el presidente — in the talks we have held with the president

¿han mantenido ustedes relaciones sexuales? — have you had sexual relations?
correspondencia 2)
6) (=afirmar) to maintain

siempre he mantenido lo contrario — I've always maintained the opposite

2.

See:

mantenerse

* * *
1.
verbo transitivo

1) ( económicamente) <familia/persona> to support, maintain; < perro> to keep; < amante> to keep

2)

a) (conservar, preservar) to keep

mantener la calma/la compostura — to keep calm/one's composure

para mantener su peso actual — to maintain his present weight

mantener las viejas tradiciones — to keep up the old traditions

el euro ha mantenido su valor — the euro has held its value

b) (cierto estado, cierta situación) (+ compl) to keep

mantener el equilibrio — to keep one's balance

mantener algo en equilibrio — to balance sth

mantenga limpia su ciudad — keep Norwich (o York etc) tidy

3)

a) < conversaciones> to have; < contactos> to maintain, keep up; < correspondencia> to keep up; < relaciones> to maintain

las negociaciones mantenidas en Ginebra — the negotiations held in Geneva

b) ( cumplir) <promesa/palabra> to keep

4) (afirmar, sostener) to maintain
2.
mantenerse verbo pronominal

1) ( sustentarse económicamente) to support oneself

2) (en cierto estado, cierta situación) (+ compl) to keep

se mantuvieron en primera división — they kept their place in the first division

la torre aún se mantiene en pie — the tower is still standing

mantenerse a distancia — to keep one's distance

mantenerse en contacto con algn — to keep in touch with sb

se mantuvo neutral en la disputa — he remained neutral in the dispute

3) ( alimentarse)

mantenerse a base de latas — to live off tinned food

se mantiene a base de vitaminas — he lives on vitamin pills

* * *

= hold together, keep, maintain, maintain, preserve, retain, store, support, sustain, uphold, hold, service, carry on, keep + Nombre + going, operate, hold on to.

Ex. The organization was trembling on the brink of financial disaster, and only the journal, American Documentation, was holding it together.

Ex. Guard book or scrapbook type arrangement, with possibly a loose-leaf format, is suitable for organising and keeping cuttings, letters and other small items.

Ex. Expressiveness can be difficult to maintain as new subjects are added.

Ex. They maintain, in an article written for Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS) 'that automated cataloging systems have addressed only half of the problems of maintaining a library catalog'.

Ex. The concepts are organised into facets, and the facets are arranged and applied in such a way that the general to special order is preserved.

Ex. At an earlier stage, the Library of Congress had decided to retain certain pre-AACR headings, in order to avoid the expense of extensive recataloguing.

Ex. The records in a computer data base are structured in order to suit the information that is being stored for various applications.

Ex. In order to support these three elements, and to ensure that schemes are updated it is important to have some organisation which takes responsibility for revision and publication.

Ex. Publishers in the United Stated benefit from a larger home market which serves to sustain the production of an information tool.

Ex. It's about time that we go back to these principles and make sure that the quality of cataloging is upheld.

Ex. Some theorists hold that one stage must be completely worked through before the next stage can be entered.

Ex. Special storage facilities have been constructed which are at present serviced manually but will soon be computerised.

Ex. If a child detects that no very strong value is placed on reading then he feels no compulsion to develop his own reading skill beyond the minimal, functional level we all need simply to carry on our daily lives in our print-dominated society.

Ex. The author explains how libraries can keep their services going without being slaves to the job.

Ex. These references operate in a similar fashion whether they are used to link authors' names or subject headings.

Ex. The girls were swept away by the water as they failed to hold on to the bus stand.

----

* capacidad de mantener la atención = attention span.

* debate + mantenerse = debate + rage.

* de mantener una conversación = conversational.

* el que mantiene a la familia = breadwinner [bread winner].

* mantener a Alguien alerta = keep + Nombre + on + Posesivo + toes.

* mantener a Alguien atento = keep + Nombre + on + Posesivo + toes.

* mantener a Alguien en vilo = keep + Nombre + on + Posesivo + toes.

* mantener a Alguien informado de = keep + Nombre + posted on.

* mantener activo = keep + Nombre + going.

* mantener a flote = keep + afloat.

* mantener a la par de = keep up with.

* mantener alejado = keep away, keep + Nombre + out.

* mantener Algo abierto = hold + Nombre + open.

* mantener Algo activo = keep + Nombre + at the fore.

* mantener Algo alejado = keep + Nombre + at arm's length.

* mantener Algo al mínimo = keep + Nombre + at a minimum.

* mantener Algo a salvo = keep + Nombre + out of harm's way.

* mantener Algo controlado = keep + Nombre + in check.

* mantener Algo en el buen camino = keep + Nombre + on track.

* mantener Algo en equilibrio = keep + Nombre + in balance.

* mantener Algo en la dirección correcta = keep + Nombre + on track.

* mantener Algo en orden = keep + Nombre + in order.

* mantener Algo fuera de peligro = keep + Nombre + out of harm's way.

* mantener Algo ordenado = keep + Nombre + tidy, keep + Nombre + in order.

* mantener Algo vivo = keep + the flame alive, keep + Nombre + at the fore.

* mantener al ralentí = idle.

* mantener a mano = keep to + hand.

* mantener aparte = keep + separate.

* mantener a raya = keep at + bay, hold off, keep + Nombre + in line, hold at + bay.

* mantener bajo control = keep + a rein on.

* mantener bajo vigilancia = keep under + observation.

* mantener constancia de = keep + record of.

* mantener contacto = maintain + contact.

* mantener control = hold + the reins of control.

* mantener cooperación = maintain + cooperation.

* mantener dentro = keep + Nombre + in.

* mantener el control = stay in + control.

* mantener el ímpetu = maintain + momentum.

* mantener el interés = hold + the interest.

* mantener el orden = keep + order, police.

* mantener el orden público = maintain + public order.

* mantener el ritmo = keep + pace.

* mantener el tipo = keep + a stiff upper lip.

* mantener en observación = hold under + observation, keep under + observation.

* mantener en privado = be out of the public eye.

* mantener en reserva = keep on + reserve, keep in + reserve.

* mantener en secreto = keep + secret, keep + hush hush, keep + confidential, keep + Nombre + under wraps.

* mantener en sintonía = keep in + step.

* mantener firme = keep + steady, hold in + line, hold + steady.

* mantener informado = keep + informed.

* mantener junto = keep together.

* mantener la atención de Alguien = hold + Posesivo + attention.

* mantener la boca cerrada = keep + Posesivo + mouth shut.

* mantener la bola rodando = keep + the ball rolling.

* mantener la cabeza = keep + Posesivo + head, keep + Posesivo + head together.

* mantener la cabeza alta = hold + Posesivo + head high.

* mantener la cabeza fría = keep + a cool head, remain + cool-headed, play it + cool.

* mantener la calma = keep + Posesivo + head, keep + Posesivo + head together, keep + Pronombre + cool, remain + cool-headed, keep + a cool head, play it + cool.

* mantener la coherencia = maintain + consistency.

* mantener la compostura = keep + a cool head, remain + cool-headed, play it + cool.

* mantener la condición (de) = retain + Posesivo + status (as).

* mantener la continuidad = maintain + continuity.

* mantener la delantera = keep + ahead.

* mantener la disciplina = maintain + discipline.

* mantener la palabra = keep + Posesivo + word, live up to + Posesivo + word.

* mantener la posición = hold + the line.

* mantener las apariencias = keep up + appearances.

* mantener las cosas en marcha = keep + the ball rolling, keep + it rolling.

* mantener las cosas en movimiento = keep + the ball rolling, keep + it rolling.

* mantener las cosas funcionando = keep + the ball rolling, keep + it rolling.

* mantener las cuentas = keep + Posesivo + accounts.

* mantener las distancias con = keep + Nombre + at arm's length.

* mantener la serenidad = keep + Pronombre + cool, keep + a cool head, remain + cool-headed, play it + cool.

* mantener la tradición = keep with + tradition.

* mantener la vida = sustain + life.

* mantener libre de = keep + free of.

* mantener los ojos bien abiertos = keep + Posesivo + eyes (wide) open, keep + Posesivo + eyes peeled, keep + Posesivo + eyes skinned.

* mantener los precios = hold + prices down.

* mantener oculto = keep + Nombre + under wraps.

* mantener ocupado = keep + busy.

* mantener ordenado = keep + Nombre + neat and tidy.

* mantener presente = keep before.

* mantener presionado = hold down.

* mantener registro de = keep + record of.

* mantener relaciones = maintain + contact, maintain + relationships, maintain + relations.

* mantener relaciones comerciales = do + business.

* mantenerse actualizado = keep up to + date (with).

* mantenerse actualizado de = keep + abreast of.

* mantenerse a distancia = stand off.

* mantenerse a flote = keep + Posesivo + head above the water, keep + the wolves from the door, stay + afloat, stay in + business.

* mantenerse aislado = keep to + Reflexivo.

* mantenerse a la cabeza = stay + ahead of the pack.

* mantenerse a la escucha = stay + tuned.

* mantenerse al corriente = keep + current.

* mantenerse al corriente de = keep + abreast of, stay + abreast of, keep + track of.

* mantenerse al día = keep up to + date (with), keep up with + the current scene, keep + current.

* mantenerse al día de = keep + abreast of, keep + pace with, keep up with, stay + abreast of, keep + a finger on the pulse of, stay in + step with, keep in + step with, keep + step with.

* mantenerse al día de las noticias = keep up with + the news.

* mantenerse al día de los avances = track + developments.

* mantenerse alejado = stay away, remain + aloof.

* mantenerse alejado de = stay away from, steer + clear of, give + Nombre + a wide berth, steer away from.

* mantenerse alejado de la mirada del público = shun + the public eye, keep out of + the public eye.

* mantenerse alejado de la mirada pública = shun + the public eye, keep out of + the public eye.

* mantenerse alejado de + Nombre = keep + Nombre + at a distance.

* mantenerse alerta = keep + alert, keep + an eye open, keep + Posesivo + eyes (wide) open.

* mantenerse al frente = keep + ahead.

* mantenerse al margen = keep to + Reflexivo, take + a back seat, stand by, remain on + the sidelines.

* mantenerse al margen de = remain + uninvolved in, hold + Reflexivo + apart from.

* mantenerse al margen de Algo = stay above + Algo.

* mantenerse al tanto = stay + tuned.

* mantenerse al tanto de = keep in + sync, keep + a finger on the pulse of, keep + track of, stay in + step with, keep in + step with, keep + step with.

* mantenerse al tanto de las cosas = stay on + top of things, keep on + top of things, be on top of things.

* mantenerse al tanto de las noticias = keep up with + the news.

* mantenerse al tanto de los avances = track + developments.

* mantenerse atento = keep + Posesivo + eyes (wide) open.

* mantenerse atento a lo que ocurre alrededor = have + an ear to the ground, keep + Posesivo + ear to the ground.

* mantenerse bien = keep + well.

* mantenerse caliente = keep + warm.

* mantenerse callado = keep + quiet.

* mantenerse callado y pensativo con cierto resentimiento = brood.

* mantenerse como válido = hold up.

* mantener secreto = keep + secret.

* mantenerse despierto = keep + alert, stay + awake.

* mantenerse en buen estado físico = keep + fit.

* mantenerse en contacto = stay + tuned.

* mantenerse en contacto (con) = keep in + touch (with), stay in + touch (with).

* mantenerse en espera = stay + tuned.

* mantenerse en forma = keep + fit.

* mantenerse en línea con = keep in + line with.

* mantenerse en pie = hold + Posesivo + own.

* mantenerse en + Posesivo + trece = stick to + Posesivo + guns.

* mantenerse en sincronía = keep in + sync.

* mantenerse en su sitio = stand + Posesivo + ground.

* mantenerse en sus trece = stand + Posesivo + ground.

* mantenerse fiel a = stick with.

* mantenerse fiel a los principios de Uno = stick to + Posesivo + principles.

* mantenerse firme = stand + Posesivo + ground, stick to + Posesivo + guns.

* mantenerse impasible = keep + a stiff upper lip.

* mantenerse informado = keep up to + date (with), keep + current.

* mantenerse informado de = keep + abreast of.

* mantenerse lejos de = steer + clear of, give + Nombre + a wide berth, steer away from.

* mantenerse líder = stay + ahead of the pack.

* mantener(se) ocupado = keep + busy.

* mantener separado = keep apart.

* mantenerse por delante = keep + ahead.

* mantenerse por delante de la competencia = keep + one step ahead of the game, keep + one step ahead of the competition.

* mantenerse unidos = stick together.

* mantenerse vigente = hold + Posesivo + own.

* mantener silencio = keep + silent, keep + silence.

* mantener sincronizado = keep in + step.

* mantener suspenso en el aire = suspend.

* mantener todo controlado = stay on + top of things, keep on + top of things, be on top of things.

* mantener una actitud = hold + attitude.

* mantener una actitud abierta = be open-minded.

* mantener una apariencia de = maintain + a semblance of.

* mantener una conversación = hold + conversation.

* mantener una opinión = hold + view, hold + opinion.

* mantener una promesa = keep + Posesivo + promise.

* mantener una relación con = carry on + relationship with.

* mantener un concepto = hold + concept.

* mantener un control férreo sobre = hold + an iron grip on.

* mantener un debate = hold + discussion.

* mantener un equilibrio = balance, maintain + a balance, keep + a balance.

* mantener un estándar = uphold + standard.

* mantener un interés = pursue + interest.

* mantener un registro = keep + log.

* mantener un registro de = keep + track of, record.

* mantener un sistema de turnos = hold + a rota of.

* mantener vigente = keep + alive.

* mantener vivo = keep + alive, maintain + momentum, keep + Nombre + going.

* máquina que mantiene las constantes vitales = life-support system.

* para mantener(se) ocupado = keep-busy.

* voluntad de mantener Algo en secreto = secretiveness.

* * *
1.
verbo transitivo

1) ( económicamente) <familia/persona> to support, maintain; < perro> to keep; < amante> to keep

2)

a) (conservar, preservar) to keep

mantener la calma/la compostura — to keep calm/one's composure

para mantener su peso actual — to maintain his present weight

mantener las viejas tradiciones — to keep up the old traditions

el euro ha mantenido su valor — the euro has held its value

b) (cierto estado, cierta situación) (+ compl) to keep

mantener el equilibrio — to keep one's balance

mantener algo en equilibrio — to balance sth

mantenga limpia su ciudad — keep Norwich (o York etc) tidy

3)

a) < conversaciones> to have; < contactos> to maintain, keep up; < correspondencia> to keep up; < relaciones> to maintain

las negociaciones mantenidas en Ginebra — the negotiations held in Geneva

b) ( cumplir) <promesa/palabra> to keep

4) (afirmar, sostener) to maintain
2.
mantenerse verbo pronominal

1) ( sustentarse económicamente) to support oneself

2) (en cierto estado, cierta situación) (+ compl) to keep

se mantuvieron en primera división — they kept their place in the first division

la torre aún se mantiene en pie — the tower is still standing

mantenerse a distancia — to keep one's distance

mantenerse en contacto con algn — to keep in touch with sb

se mantuvo neutral en la disputa — he remained neutral in the dispute

3) ( alimentarse)

mantenerse a base de latas — to live off tinned food

se mantiene a base de vitaminas — he lives on vitamin pills

* * *

= hold together, keep, maintain, maintain, preserve, retain, store, support, sustain, uphold, hold, service, carry on, keep + Nombre + going, operate, hold on to.

Ex: The organization was trembling on the brink of financial disaster, and only the journal, American Documentation, was holding it together.

Ex: Guard book or scrapbook type arrangement, with possibly a loose-leaf format, is suitable for organising and keeping cuttings, letters and other small items.

Ex: Expressiveness can be difficult to maintain as new subjects are added.

Ex: They maintain, in an article written for Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS) 'that automated cataloging systems have addressed only half of the problems of maintaining a library catalog'.

Ex: The concepts are organised into facets, and the facets are arranged and applied in such a way that the general to special order is preserved.

Ex: At an earlier stage, the Library of Congress had decided to retain certain pre-AACR headings, in order to avoid the expense of extensive recataloguing.

Ex: The records in a computer data base are structured in order to suit the information that is being stored for various applications.

Ex: In order to support these three elements, and to ensure that schemes are updated it is important to have some organisation which takes responsibility for revision and publication.

Ex: Publishers in the United Stated benefit from a larger home market which serves to sustain the production of an information tool.

Ex: It's about time that we go back to these principles and make sure that the quality of cataloging is upheld.

Ex: Some theorists hold that one stage must be completely worked through before the next stage can be entered.

Ex: Special storage facilities have been constructed which are at present serviced manually but will soon be computerised.

Ex: If a child detects that no very strong value is placed on reading then he feels no compulsion to develop his own reading skill beyond the minimal, functional level we all need simply to carry on our daily lives in our print-dominated society.

Ex: The author explains how libraries can keep their services going without being slaves to the job.

Ex: These references operate in a similar fashion whether they are used to link authors' names or subject headings.

Ex: The girls were swept away by the water as they failed to hold on to the bus stand.

* capacidad de mantener la atención = attention span.

* debate + mantenerse = debate + rage.

* de mantener una conversación = conversational.

* el que mantiene a la familia = breadwinner [bread winner].

* mantener a Alguien alerta = keep + Nombre + on + Posesivo + toes.

* mantener a Alguien atento = keep + Nombre + on + Posesivo + toes.

* mantener a Alguien en vilo = keep + Nombre + on + Posesivo + toes.

* mantener a Alguien informado de = keep + Nombre + posted on.

* mantener activo = keep + Nombre + going.

* mantener a flote = keep + afloat.

* mantener a la par de = keep up with.

* mantener alejado = keep away, keep + Nombre + out.

* mantener Algo abierto = hold + Nombre + open.

* mantener Algo activo = keep + Nombre + at the fore.

* mantener Algo alejado = keep + Nombre + at arm's length.

* mantener Algo al mínimo = keep + Nombre + at a minimum.

* mantener Algo a salvo = keep + Nombre + out of harm's way.

* mantener Algo controlado = keep + Nombre + in check.

* mantener Algo en el buen camino = keep + Nombre + on track.

* mantener Algo en equilibrio = keep + Nombre + in balance.

* mantener Algo en la dirección correcta = keep + Nombre + on track.

* mantener Algo en orden = keep + Nombre + in order.

* mantener Algo fuera de peligro = keep + Nombre + out of harm's way.

* mantener Algo ordenado = keep + Nombre + tidy, keep + Nombre + in order.

* mantener Algo vivo = keep + the flame alive, keep + Nombre + at the fore.

* mantener al ralentí = idle.

* mantener a mano = keep to + hand.

* mantener aparte = keep + separate.

* mantener a raya = keep at + bay, hold off, keep + Nombre + in line, hold at + bay.

* mantener bajo control = keep + a rein on.

* mantener bajo vigilancia = keep under + observation.

* mantener constancia de = keep + record of.

* mantener contacto = maintain + contact.

* mantener control = hold + the reins of control.

* mantener cooperación = maintain + cooperation.

* mantener dentro = keep + Nombre + in.

* mantener el control = stay in + control.

* mantener el ímpetu = maintain + momentum.

* mantener el interés = hold + the interest.

* mantener el orden = keep + order, police.

* mantener el orden público = maintain + public order.

* mantener el ritmo = keep + pace.

* mantener el tipo = keep + a stiff upper lip.

* mantener en observación = hold under + observation, keep under + observation.

* mantener en privado = be out of the public eye.

* mantener en reserva = keep on + reserve, keep in + reserve.

* mantener en secreto = keep + secret, keep + hush hush, keep + confidential, keep + Nombre + under wraps.

* mantener en sintonía = keep in + step.

* mantener firme = keep + steady, hold in + line, hold + steady.

* mantener informado = keep + informed.

* mantener junto = keep together.

* mantener la atención de Alguien = hold + Posesivo + attention.

* mantener la boca cerrada = keep + Posesivo + mouth shut.

* mantener la bola rodando = keep + the ball rolling.

* mantener la cabeza = keep + Posesivo + head, keep + Posesivo + head together.

* mantener la cabeza alta = hold + Posesivo + head high.

* mantener la cabeza fría = keep + a cool head, remain + cool-headed, play it + cool.

* mantener la calma = keep + Posesivo + head, keep + Posesivo + head together, keep + Pronombre + cool, remain + cool-headed, keep + a cool head, play it + cool.

* mantener la coherencia = maintain + consistency.

* mantener la compostura = keep + a cool head, remain + cool-headed, play it + cool.

* mantener la condición (de) = retain + Posesivo + status (as).

* mantener la continuidad = maintain + continuity.

* mantener la delantera = keep + ahead.

* mantener la disciplina = maintain + discipline.

* mantener la palabra = keep + Posesivo + word, live up to + Posesivo + word.

* mantener la posición = hold + the line.

* mantener las apariencias = keep up + appearances.

* mantener las cosas en marcha = keep + the ball rolling, keep + it rolling.

* mantener las cosas en movimiento = keep + the ball rolling, keep + it rolling.

* mantener las cosas funcionando = keep + the ball rolling, keep + it rolling.

* mantener las cuentas = keep + Posesivo + accounts.

* mantener las distancias con = keep + Nombre + at arm's length.

* mantener la serenidad = keep + Pronombre + cool, keep + a cool head, remain + cool-headed, play it + cool.

* mantener la tradición = keep with + tradition.

* mantener la vida = sustain + life.

* mantener libre de = keep + free of.

* mantener los ojos bien abiertos = keep + Posesivo + eyes (wide) open, keep + Posesivo + eyes peeled, keep + Posesivo + eyes skinned.

* mantener los precios = hold + prices down.

* mantener oculto = keep + Nombre + under wraps.

* mantener ocupado = keep + busy.

* mantener ordenado = keep + Nombre + neat and tidy.

* mantener presente = keep before.

* mantener presionado = hold down.

* mantener registro de = keep + record of.

* mantener relaciones = maintain + contact, maintain + relationships, maintain + relations.

* mantener relaciones comerciales = do + business.

* mantenerse actualizado = keep up to + date (with).

* mantenerse actualizado de = keep + abreast of.

* mantenerse a distancia = stand off.

* mantenerse a flote = keep + Posesivo + head above the water, keep + the wolves from the door, stay + afloat, stay in + business.

* mantenerse aislado = keep to + Reflexivo.

* mantenerse a la cabeza = stay + ahead of the pack.

* mantenerse a la escucha = stay + tuned.

* mantenerse al corriente = keep + current.

* mantenerse al corriente de = keep + abreast of, stay + abreast of, keep + track of.

* mantenerse al día = keep up to + date (with), keep up with + the current scene, keep + current.

* mantenerse al día de = keep + abreast of, keep + pace with, keep up with, stay + abreast of, keep + a finger on the pulse of, stay in + step with, keep in + step with, keep + step with.

* mantenerse al día de las noticias = keep up with + the news.

* mantenerse al día de los avances = track + developments.

* mantenerse alejado = stay away, remain + aloof.

* mantenerse alejado de = stay away from, steer + clear of, give + Nombre + a wide berth, steer away from.

* mantenerse alejado de la mirada del público = shun + the public eye, keep out of + the public eye.

* mantenerse alejado de la mirada pública = shun + the public eye, keep out of + the public eye.

* mantenerse alejado de + Nombre = keep + Nombre + at a distance.

* mantenerse alerta = keep + alert, keep + an eye open, keep + Posesivo + eyes (wide) open.

* mantenerse al frente = keep + ahead.

* mantenerse al margen = keep to + Reflexivo, take + a back seat, stand by, remain on + the sidelines.

* mantenerse al margen de = remain + uninvolved in, hold + Reflexivo + apart from.

* mantenerse al margen de Algo = stay above + Algo.

* mantenerse al tanto = stay + tuned.

* mantenerse al tanto de = keep in + sync, keep + a finger on the pulse of, keep + track of, stay in + step with, keep in + step with, keep + step with.

* mantenerse al tanto de las cosas = stay on + top of things, keep on + top of things, be on top of things.

* mantenerse al tanto de las noticias = keep up with + the news.

* mantenerse al tanto de los avances = track + developments.

* mantenerse atento = keep + Posesivo + eyes (wide) open.

* mantenerse atento a lo que ocurre alrededor = have + an ear to the ground, keep + Posesivo + ear to the ground.

* mantenerse bien = keep + well.

* mantenerse caliente = keep + warm.

* mantenerse callado = keep + quiet.

* mantenerse callado y pensativo con cierto resentimiento = brood.

* mantenerse como válido = hold up.

* mantener secreto = keep + secret.

* mantenerse despierto = keep + alert, stay + awake.

* mantenerse en buen estado físico = keep + fit.

* mantenerse en contacto = stay + tuned.

* mantenerse en contacto (con) = keep in + touch (with), stay in + touch (with).

* mantenerse en espera = stay + tuned.

* mantenerse en forma = keep + fit.

* mantenerse en línea con = keep in + line with.

* mantenerse en pie = hold + Posesivo + own.

* mantenerse en + Posesivo + trece = stick to + Posesivo + guns.

* mantenerse en sincronía = keep in + sync.

* mantenerse en su sitio = stand + Posesivo + ground.

* mantenerse en sus trece = stand + Posesivo + ground.

* mantenerse fiel a = stick with.

* mantenerse fiel a los principios de Uno = stick to + Posesivo + principles.

* mantenerse firme = stand + Posesivo + ground, stick to + Posesivo + guns.

* mantenerse impasible = keep + a stiff upper lip.

* mantenerse informado = keep up to + date (with), keep + current.

* mantenerse informado de = keep + abreast of.

* mantenerse lejos de = steer + clear of, give + Nombre + a wide berth, steer away from.

* mantenerse líder = stay + ahead of the pack.

* mantener(se) ocupado = keep + busy.

* mantener separado = keep apart.

* mantenerse por delante = keep + ahead.

* mantenerse por delante de la competencia = keep + one step ahead of the game, keep + one step ahead of the competition.

* mantenerse unidos = stick together.

* mantenerse vigente = hold + Posesivo + own.

* mantener silencio = keep + silent, keep + silence.

* mantener sincronizado = keep in + step.

* mantener suspenso en el aire = suspend.

* mantener todo controlado = stay on + top of things, keep on + top of things, be on top of things.

* mantener una actitud = hold + attitude.

* mantener una actitud abierta = be open-minded.

* mantener una apariencia de = maintain + a semblance of.

* mantener una conversación = hold + conversation.

* mantener una opinión = hold + view, hold + opinion.

* mantener una promesa = keep + Posesivo + promise.

* mantener una relación con = carry on + relationship with.

* mantener un concepto = hold + concept.

* mantener un control férreo sobre = hold + an iron grip on.

* mantener un debate = hold + discussion.

* mantener un equilibrio = balance, maintain + a balance, keep + a balance.

* mantener un estándar = uphold + standard.

* mantener un interés = pursue + interest.

* mantener un registro = keep + log.

* mantener un registro de = keep + track of, record.

* mantener un sistema de turnos = hold + a rota of.

* mantener vigente = keep + alive.

* mantener vivo = keep + alive, maintain + momentum, keep + Nombre + going.

* máquina que mantiene las constantes vitales = life-support system.

* para mantener(se) ocupado = keep-busy.

* voluntad de mantener Algo en secreto = secretiveness.

* * *

mantener [ E27 ]

vt

A (sustentar económicamente) ‹familia/persona› to support, maintain

cuesta una fortuna mantener a ese perro tan grande it costs a fortune to keep that enormous dog

¡y pretende que ella lo mantenga! and he expects her to support o keep him!

B

1 (conservar, preservar) to keep

mantener la calma/la compostura to keep calm/one's composure

mantener el orden to keep o ( frml) maintain order

para mantener la paz in order to keep the peace

mantener su peso actual to maintain his present weight

mantener las viejas tradiciones to keep up the old traditions

2 (en cierto estado, cierta situación) (+ compl) to keep

los postes mantienen la viga en posición the posts keep the beam in position

mantener el equilibrio to keep one's balance

lo mantiene en equilibrio sobre la punta de la nariz he balances it on the end of his nose

los militares lo mantuvieron en el poder the military kept him in power

todos los medicamentos deben mantenerse fuera del alcance de los niños all medicines should be kept out of reach of children

[ S ] mantenga limpia su ciudad keep Norwich ( o York etc) tidy

[ S ] una vez abierto manténgase refrigerado keep refrigerated once open

no mantiene su coche en buenas condiciones he doesn't keep his car in good condition, he doesn't maintain his car very well

sigue manteniendo vivos sus ideales he still keeps his ideals alive

C

1 ‹conversaciones› to have; ‹contactos› to maintain, keep up; ‹correspondencia› to keep up; ‹relaciones› to maintain

durante las negociaciones mantenidas en Ginebra during the negotiations held in Geneva

2 (cumplir) ‹promesa/palabra› to keep

D (afirmar, sostener) to maintain

mantiene que es inocente he maintains that he is innocent

■ mantenerse

v pron

A (sustentarse económicamente) to support o maintain o keep oneself

B (en cierto estado, cierta situación) (+ compl) to keep

se mantuvieron en primera división they kept their place o they stayed in the first division

mantenerse en forma to keep in shape, to keep fit

lo único que se mantiene en pie es la torre all that remains is the tower, only the tower is still standing

se mantiene al día she keeps up to date

siempre se mantuvo a distancia he always kept his distance

se mantuvo en contacto con sus amigos de la infancia he kept in touch with o kept up with his childhood friends

se mantuvo neutral en la disputa he remained neutral in the dispute

C

(alimentarse): nos mantuvimos a base de latas we lived off tinned food

se mantiene a base de vitaminas he lives on vitamin pills

* * *

mantener ( conjugate mantener) verbo transitivo
1 ( económicamente) ‹familia/persona› to support, maintain;
‹ amante› to keep
2 (conservar, preservar) to keep;
◊ mantener la calma to keep calm;

mantener el equilibrio to keep one's balance;
mantener algo en equilibrio to balance sth;
para mantener su peso actual to maintain his present weight
3
a) ‹ conversaciones› to have;

‹ contactos› to maintain, keep up;
‹ correspondencia› to keep up;
‹ relaciones› to maintain
b) ( cumplir) ‹promesa/palabra› to keep

4 (afirmar, sostener) to maintain
mantenerse verbo pronominal
1 ( sustentarse económicamente) to support oneself
2 (en cierto estado, cierta situación) to keep;
◊ mantenerse en forma to keep fit;

la torre aún se mantiene en pie the tower is still standing;
mantenerse en contacto (con algn) to keep in touch (with sb)
3 ( alimentarse):
◊ mantenerse a base de latas to live off tinned food

mantener verbo transitivo
1 (conservar) to keep: ella mantiene vivo su recuerdo, she keeps his memory alive
mantén la calma, keep calm
2 (sostener) to have: mantuvimos una conversación muy seria, we had a very serious talk
(una teoría, hipótesis) to defend, maintain
3 (alimentar, sustentar) to support, feed: no podían mantener las dos casas, they couldn't keep up both houses
4 (peso) to support, hold up
' mantener' also found in these entries:
Spanish:
callarse
- conchabarse
- conservar
- conservarse
- continuismo
- escribirse
- ir
- hilo
- línea
- raya
- sustentar
- tener
- tipo
- ahuyentar
- alerta
- calma
- correspondencia
- corriente
- disciplina
- flote
- guardar
- llevar
- mantiene
- mantuve
- orden
- preservar
- sujetar
English:
balance
- bay
- buoy
- captive
- carry on
- cherish
- cool
- fire
- hold
- hold off
- house
- hygiene
- image
- keep
- keep away
- keep down
- keep up
- maintain
- order
- preserve
- provide for
- retain
- secrecy
- stall
- support
- suspense
- sustain
- swear
- track
- unionist
- uphold
- weight-watching
- white elephant
- carry
- clear
- conduct
- correspond
- credit
- door
- go
- head
- inform
- occupy
- peace
- police
- provide
- segregate
- stand
- stick
- struggle

* * *

mantener

♦ vt

1. [económicamente] to support;

con su sueldo mantiene a toda la familia he has to support o keep his whole family with his wages

2. [sostener] to keep;

un andamio mantiene el edificio en pie a scaffold supports the building o keeps the building from falling down;

mantén los brazos en alto keep your arms in the air

3. [conservar] to keep;
[ritmo, nivel, presión] to keep up;
mantener las amistades to keep up one's friendships;

mantener algo en buen estado to keep sth in good condition;

mantener la calma to stay calm;

mantener el orden to keep order;

mantener la línea to keep one's figure;

mantener una promesa/la palabra to keep a promise/one's word;

mantenga limpia su ciudad [en letrero] keep your city tidy;

manténgase en un lugar seco [en etiqueta] keep in a dry place;

manténgase fuera del alcance de los niños [en medicamento, producto tóxico] keep out of the reach of children;

es incapaz de mantener la boca cerrada he can't keep his mouth shut

4. [tener] [conversación] to have;
[negociaciones, diálogo] to hold;
mantener correspondencia con alguien to correspond with sb;

mantener relaciones con alguien to have a relationship with sb;

mantener contactos con alguien to be in contact with sb

5. [defender] [convicción, idea] to stick to;
[candidatura] to refuse to withdraw;
mantiene su inocencia she maintains that she is innocent;

mantiene que no la vio he maintains that he didn't see her

♦ See also the pronominal verb mantenerse

* * *

mantener

v/t

1 ( sujetar) hold; techo etc hold up

2 ( preservar) keep

3 conversación, relación have

4 económicamente support

5 ( afirmar) maintain

* * *

mantener {80} vt

1) sustentar: to support, to feed

mantener uno su familia: to support one's family

2) conservar: to keep, to preserve

3) continuar: to keep up, to sustain

mantener una correspondencia: to keep up a correspondence

4) afirmar: to maintain, to affirm

♦ See also the reflexive verb mantenerse

* * *

mantener vb

1. (en general) to keep [pt. & pp. kept]

la nevera mantiene los alimentos fríos the fridge keeps food cold

he mantenido mi promesa I've kept my promise

2. (económicamente) to support

su hijo mantiene a toda la familia their son supports the whole family

3. (afirmar) to maintain

mantengo lo que dije el mes pasado I maintain what I said last month

4. (sujetar) to hold [pt. & pp. held]

mantén bien sujeto el cuadro hold the picture tight

Spanish-English dictionary > mantener
3 como

adv.

1 as.

lo he hecho como es debido I did it as o the way it should be done

me encanta como bailas I love the way you dance

lo hagamos como lo hagamos habrá problemas whichever way we do it there'll be problems

2 as.

como te decía ayer… as I was telling you yesterday…

3 as.

trabaja como bombero he works as a fireman

dieron el dinero como anticipo they gave the money as an advance

4 about (aproximadamente).

me quedan como mil pesos I've got about a thousand pesos left

estamos como a mitad de camino we're about half-way there

tiene un sabor como a naranja it tastes a bit like an orange

5 like, as, such as, qua.

6 how, in which way.

7 some.

Pesa como cien libras It weighs some hundred pounds.

conj.

1 as, since (ya que).

como no llegabas, nos fuimos as o since you didn't arrive, we left

2 if (si). (peninsular Spanish)

como no me hagas caso, lo pasarás mal if you don't listen to me, there will be trouble

3 that (que).

después de tantas veces como te lo he explicado after all the times (that) I've explained it to you

prep.

1 like, as, just like, such as.

Te di esto en condición de préstamo I gave this to you as a loan.

2 as to.

3 how to.

pres.indicat.

1^st person singular (yo) present indicative of spanish verb: comer.

* * *

como

► adverbio

1 (modo) how

■ así fue como nos encontramos this is how we met

■ lo hizo como quiso he did it the way he wanted to

2 (comparación) as, like

■ negro como la noche as dark as night

■ camina como su madre he walks like his mother

■ hablas como un político you talk like a politician

3 (en calidad de) as

■ como director as director

■ como invitado as a guest

4 (según) as

■ como dice tu amigo as your friend says

5 familiar (aproximadamente) about

■ había como unos cien there were about a hundred

► conjunción

1 (así que) as

■ como llegaban se presentaban they introduced themselves as they arrived

2 (si) if

■ como lo vuelvas a hacer... if you do it again...

3 (porque) as, since

■ como llegamos tarde no pudimos entrar since we arrived late we couldn't get in

\

FRASEOLOGÍA

como quiera que (no importa cómo) however 2 (ya que) since, as, inasmuch as

como no sea que unless

como sea whatever happens, no matter what

como si lo viera familiar I can imagine perfectly well

como si nada / como si tal cosa as if nothing had happened

hacer como quien to pretend to +inf

■ hizo como quien estaba enfermo he pretended to be ill

hacer como si to pretend to +inf

■ hace como si no viese nada he's pretending not to see anything

tanto como eso no familiar not as much as that

* * *
1. conj.
1) as

2) like

3) if

4) since, given that
2. prep.
as, like

* * *

1. ADV

1) [indicando semejanza] like

tienen un perro como el nuestro — they've got a dog like ours

se portó como un imbécil — he behaved like an idiot

es como un pez — it's like a fish

juega como yo — he plays like me o like I do

como este hay pocos — there are few like this o him

sabe como a queso — it tastes a bit like cheese

blanco como la nieve — as white as snow

tuvo resultados como no se habían conocido antes — it had results such as had never been known before

2) [introduciendo ejemplo] such as

hay peces, como truchas y salmones — there are fish, such as trout and salmon

tiene ventajas, como son la resistencia y durabilidad — it has advantages, such as o like strength and durability

3) [indicando modo]

a) + indic

lo hice como me habían enseñado — I did it as I had been taught

hazlo como te dijo ella — do it like * o the way she told you

toca como canta — she plays like * o the same way as she sings

no es como me lo imaginaba — it isn't as o like * I imagined it

prefiero como lo haces tú — I prefer it the way you do it

la manera como sucedió — the way (in which) it happened

fue así como comenzó — that was how it began

lo levanté como pude — I lifted it as best I could

• tal como, tal como lo había planeado — just as o the way I had planned it

b) + subjun

hazlo como quieras — do it however you want o like

hazlo como puedas — do your best, do the best you can

• como sea — at all costs

tratan de mantenerse en el poder como sea — they will do whatever it takes to stay in power

está decidido a salvar como sea la vida del niño — he's determined to do whatever it takes to save the child's life

sea como sea — in any case

hay que evitar que nos eliminen sea como sea — we must avoid getting knocked out at all costs

4) (=en calidad de) as

lo usé como cuchara — I used it as a spoon

asistió como espectador — he attended as a spectator

lo dice como juez — he says it speaking as a judge

vale más como poeta — he is better as a poet

5) (=más o menos) about, around

había como cincuenta — there were about o around fifty

vino como a las dos — he came at about o around two

sentía como tristeza — she felt a sort o kind of sadness

6) [con valor causal]

libre como estaba — free as he was

2. CONJ

1) + indic (=ya que) as, since

como no tenía dinero — as o since I had no money

2) + indic (=según) as

como dice mi profesor — as my teacher says

como se ve en el gráfico — as you can see from the diagram

• tal (y) como están las cosas — the way things are, as things stand

tal como están los precios de las motos... — with motorbike prices as they are at the moment...

3) + indic (=cuando) as soon as

así como nos vio lanzó un grito — as soon as he saw us he shouted

4) + indic
(=que)
verás como les ganamos — we'll beat them, you'll see

ya verás como no vienen — I bet they won't come

• de tanto como, tienen las manos doloridas de tanto como aplaudieron — they clapped so much their hands hurt

de tanto como odio a los dos, no sé a quien odio más — I hate them both so much, I don't know which I hate the most

5) + subjun (=si) if

como vengas tarde, no comes — if you're late you'll get nothing to eat

como sea cierto, ¡estamos perdidos! — if it's true, we're done for!

¡como lo pierdas! — you'd better not lose it!, don't you lose it!

• como no, como no lo haga en seguida... — if he doesn't do it at once..., unless he does it at once...

no salimos, como no sea para ir al cine — we only go out if it's to go to the cinema, we don't go out unless it's to go to the cinema

6)

• como que — as if

¡como que yo soy tonto y me creo esas mentiras! — as if I was stupid enough to believe lies like that!

¡como que te van a pagar! — don't tell me they're going to pay you!

hizo como que no nos veía — he pretended not to see us

al tragar nota como que le molesta — he shows discomfort when swallowing

7)

• como si — as if, as though

siguió leyendo, como si no hubiera oído nada — he kept on reading, as if o as though he hadn't heard

sentí como si fuera a caerme — I felt as if o as though I was about to fall

como si no hubiera pasado nada — as if o as though nothing had happened

se comporta como si me odiara — he behaves as if o as though he hated me

como si fuera a llover — as if o as though it was going to rain

8)

• como para, ¡es como para denunciarlos! — it's enough to make you want to report them to the police!

tampoco es como para enfadarse tanto — there's no need to get so angry about it

9) CAm, Méx

a como dé o diera lugar — at any cost
así 1., 5), pronto 1., 4), querer 2., 1)
* * *
I
preposición

1)

a) ( en calidad de) as

quiero hablarte como amigo — I want to speak to you as a friend

el director tendrá como funciones... — the director's duties will be...

está considerado como lo mejor — he's considered (to be) the best

b) ( con el nombre de) as

se la conoce como `flor de luz' — it's known as `flor de luz'

c) ( por ejemplo) like

en algunos lugares como Londres — in some places such as o like London

2) (en comparaciones, contrastes) like

uno como el tuyo — one like yours

pienso como tú — I agree with you

fue ella, como que me llamo Beatriz — it was her, as sure as my name's Beatriz

bailó como nunca — she danced as o like she'd never danced before

me trata como a un imbécil — he treats me like an idiot

no hay nada como un buen coñac! — there's nothing like a good brandy!

como para + inf: es como para echarse a llorar it's enough to make you want to cry; fue como para pegarle — I could have hit him

3) (en locs)

así como — (frml) as well as

como él solo/ella sola: es egoísta como él solo he's so o he's incredibly selfish!; como mucho/poco at (the) most/at least; como nadie: cocina como nadie nobody cooks like her; como que...: conduce muy bien - como que es piloto de carreras he drives very well - well, he is a racing driver, after all; y no me lo dijiste - como que no lo sabía! and you didn't tell me about it - that's because I didn't know about it!; como ser (CS) such as, for example; como si (+ subj) as if, as though; ella está grave y él como si nada or como si tal cosa — she's seriously ill and he doesn't seem at all o in the least worried
II
conjunción

1) ( de la manera que) as

tal como había prometido — just as he had promised

como era de esperar — as was to be expected

como dice el refrán — as the saying goes

no me gustó como lo dijo — I didn't like the way she said it

(tal y) como están las cosas — as things stand; (+ subj)

hazlo como quieras/como puedas — do it any way you like/as best as you can

no voy - como quieras — I'm not going - please yourself o as you like

como quiera que sea — no matter what

la buganvilla, o como quiera que se llame — bougainvillea or whatever it's called

2) ( puesto que) as, since

como era temprano, nos fuimos a dar una vuelta — since o as it was early, we went for a walk

3) (si) (+ subj) if

como te pille... — if I catch you...

4) ( en oraciones concesivas)

cansado como estaba, me ayudó — tired though o tired as he was, he helped me

5) ( que)

vimos como se los llevaban — we saw them being taken away

vas a ver como llega tarde — he'll be late, you'll see
III
adverbio

1) ( expresando aproximación) about

está como a cincuenta kilómetros — it's about fifty kilometers away

un sabor como a almendras — a kind of almondy taste

2) ( uso expletivo) kind of (colloq)

me da como vergüenza... — I find it kind of embarrassing...

* * *

= as, by way of, for the purpose of + Nombre, how, in the guise of, just as, like, qua, much as, as a kind of, as serving as, along the lines of, in + Posesivo + capacity as, such as, kind of like.

Ex. This scheme aims for a more helpful order than the major schemes, by following the groupings of subjects as they are taught in schools.

Ex. An annotation is a note added to the title and/or other bibliographic information concerning a document, by way of comment or explanation.

Ex. Taking the second situation for the purpose of illustration, there are four options for choice of title.

Ex. Inevitably any abridgement poses the dilemma how to abridge, that is, what to leave out and what to include.

Ex. Further, these indexers are probably so familiar with their subject area that, they whether in the guise of indexer or searcher, will profit little from any additional guides to relationships.

Ex. Just as Ivan finds that by taking pleasure in an extra piece of food he makes survival possible and beats Stalin and his jailors at heir own game.

Ex. Thus, the computer-held term record files are most suitable for applications like Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) systems.

Ex. Such a concept came as a great surprise to many information educators who rather dismissively regarded the information qua information field of activity as being too limited.

Ex. More studies are needed to identify the full temporal effects of the personal computer, much as they did for television.

Ex. In a way, it is acting as a kind of bridge between the two, permitting traffic both ways where once there was a divide.

Ex. 45 libraries have been unofficially recognised by librarians as serving as model children's libraries.

Ex. The author considers the possibility of a shift from libraries to personal information service along the lines of the shift that has occured from public to private transport.

Ex. Strange that so helpful and charming a person in his capacity as a librarian could behave so monstrously; but behave thus he did.

Ex. Indicative abstracts abound in phrases such as 'is discussed' or 'has been surveyed', but do not record the outcome of the discussion or survey.

Ex. It's kind of like trumping in public -- You simply do not do it!.

----

* ¡cómo se nota que no está el jefe! = while the cat's away, the mice will play.

* aducir como evidencia = adduce as + evidence.

* algo así como = something like.

* añádase cómo = expand like.

* así como = as, as well as.

* así como así = just like that.

* así como... de igual modo... = just as... so....

* así es como = this is how.

* así es como es = that's how it is.

* caer como moscas = drop like + flies.

* como aclaración = in parenthesis.

* como algo natural = as a matter of course.

* como algo normal = as a matter of course.

* como algo opuesto a = as against.

* como algo residual = residually.

* como alternativa = as an alternative.

* como anillo al dedo = just the ticket, the right twigs for an eagle's nest, perfect fit, perfect match, that's the ticket!.

* como antes = as before.

* como apoyo a = in support of.

* como barcos que se cruzan (en la noche) = like passing ships (in the night).

* como barcos que se cruzan (en la oscuridad) = like passing ships (in the night).

* como base para = as a basis for.

* como cabe esperar = unsurprisingly, as one might expect, as expected.

* como cabía esperar = as expected.

* como cabría esperar = as might be expected, as one might expect.

* como cabría suponer = as might be expected.

* como consecuencia = on this basis, on that basis, in doing so, in consequence, in accordance.

* como consecuencia (de) = as a result (of), in the wake of, as a consequence (of).

* cómo conseguir = obtainability.

* como con todo en la vida = as with everything in life.

* como contrapartida = in return.

* como cooperativa = collegially.

* como corresponde = fittingly.

* como corresponde a = as befits.

* como cuando + Indicativo = as in + Gerundio.

* como de costumbre = as usual, as always, according to normal practice.

* cómo demonios = how on earth.

* como dice el dicho = as the saying goes, so the saying goes.

* como dice el refrán = as the saying goes, so the saying goes.

* como diferente a = as distinct from.

* cómo disponer de (algo) = disposition.

* como dos gotas de agua = as alike as two peas in a pod, like two peas in a pod.

* como ejemplo = as an example, by way of illustration.

* como el cuero = leathery.

* como el desierto = desert-like.

* como el día y la noche = worlds apart, like oil and water, like chalk and cheese, like apples and oranges.

* como el fuego = like wildfire.

* como el perro del hortelano que ni come ni deja comer = a dog in the manger.

* como en casa = like home (away) from home.

* como en casa no se está en ningún sitio = there's no place like home.

* como en el caso de = as with, just as for, as in the case of.

* como era de esperar = as expected.

* como es debido = fittingly.

* como es de esperar = predictably, not surprisingly, as expected.

* como es el caso de = as it is with, as with.

* como es habitual = as always.

* como es natural = not unnaturally.

* como es normal = as always.

* como esto = like this.

* como fecha final = at the very latest.

* como forma de vida = as a way of life.

* como grogui = drowsily, groggily.

* como grupo = collectively.

* como guía = for guidance.

* como la noche y el día = like oil and water, worlds apart, like chalk and cheese, like apples and oranges.

* como la pólvora = like wildfire.

* como las ardillas = squirrel-like.

* como las empresas = business-like.

* como loca = like a madwoman.

* como loco = like hell, like crazy, like mad, like a lunatic, like a madman.

* como medida de seguridad = as a backup.

* como medida provisional = as an interim measure.

* como medida temporal = as an interim measure.

* como medida transitoria = as an interim measure.

* como mejor + poder = as best + Pronombre + can.

* como mínimo = at least, conservatively, at a minimum.

* como mínimo hasta que = minimally until.

* como mucho = at best, at most, if at all, at the most, at the very latest.

* como muestra de agradecimiento = as a token of thanks.

* como muestra de + Posesivo + agradecimiento = as a token of + Posesivo + appreciation.

* como muestra de + Posesivo + gratitud = as a token of + Posesivo + gratitude.

* como muy tarde = at the latest.

* como norma = as a rule, as a matter of policy.

* como norma general = as a rule of thumb, as a general rule, as a general rule of thumb, as a rough guide.

* cómo nos las ingeniamos para... = how in the world....

* como nota al margen = on a sidenote.

* como nuevo = in mint condition, in tip-top condition, in tip-top form.

* como ocurre en estos casos = as is the way with these things.

* como + ocurrir + en el caso de = as + be + the case for.

* como opuesto a = as distinct from, as opposed to.

* como otra posibilidad = as an alternative.

* ¡como para creérselo! = Posesivo + famous last words.

* como parásito = parasitically.

* como persona que = as one who.

* como pez fuera del agua = like a fish out of water.

* como polo opuesto = by polar contrast.

* como por arte de magia = magically, into thin air.

* como por ejemplo = such as, to the effect of.

* como por encanto = magically.

* como poseído = as one possessed.

* como preámbulo de = as a preamble to.

* como primera elección = as a first preference.

* como prueba de = as a token of, as a sign of.

* como prueba de agradecimiento = as a token of thanks.

* como prueba de + Posesivo + agradecimiento = as a token of + Posesivo + appreciation.

* como prueba de + Posesivo + gratitud = as a token of + Posesivo + gratitude.

* como pruebas = in evidence, in evidence.

* como quiera que + Verbo = however + Verbo.

* como quieras llamarlo = whatever you call it.

* como reconocimiento a = in recognition of.

* como respuesta a = in reply to, in response to.

* como resultado = in consequence, on this basis, on that basis, in doing so.

* como resultado (de) = as a consequence (of).

* como salido de fábrica = in mint condition.

* como segunda alternativa = as a backup.

* como se indicó en = as was pointed out in.

* como señal de agradecimiento = as a token of thanks.

* como señal de + Posesivo + agradecimiento = as a token of + Posesivo + appreciation.

* como señal de + Posesivo + gratitud = as a token of + Posesivo + gratitude.

* cómo + ser = what + be like.

* como si = as though.

* como si dijéramos = as it were.

* como siempre = as always.

* como si fuese = as it were.

* como siga así = at this rate.

* como sigue = as follows.

* como símbolo de = as a token of, as a sign of.

* como si nada = be right as rain, unfazed.

* como si no hubiera mañana = like there's no tomorrow.

* como si + Pronombre + fuese la vida en ello = like there's no tomorrow.

* como si se acabara el mundo = like there's no tomorrow.

* como si se fuese a acabar el mundo = like there's no tomorrow.

* como si se + Pronombre + hubiera tragado la tierra = into thin air.

* como si (se tratase de) = as if.

* como si tal cosa = be right as rain, unfazed, just like that.

* como sustituto de = in place of.

* como tal = as such, in this capacity, qua.

* como término medio = on average.

* como todo un caballero = sportingly.

* como último recurso = as a last resort, in the last resort.

* como una aguja en un pajar = like a needle in a haystack.

* como una balsa de aceite = like a millpond, calm like a millpond.

* como una cabra = stark raving mad, raving mad.

* como una cebolla = onion-like.

* como una condenada = like a madwoman.

* como una descosida = like a madwoman.

* como una forma de = as a means of.

* como una metralladora = quick-fire.

* como un basilisco = like a bear with a sore head.

* como un bobo = stupidly.

* como un bólido = like the clappers.

* como un campo de batalla = like a war zone.

* como un cencerro = barking mad, raving mad, stark raving mad.

* como un condenado = like the clappers, like crazy, like mad, like a lunatic, like a madman, as one possessed.

* como un descosido = like a lunatic, like a madman, as one possessed.

* como un detective = detectivelike, sleuthlike.

* como un elefante en una cacharrería = like an elephant in a china shop.

* como un energúmeno = like a bear with a sore head.

* como un estúpido = stupidly.

* como un experto = expertly.

* como un glaciar = glacially.

* como unidad global = as a whole.

* como un idiota = stupidly.

* como un loca = like a madwoman.

* como un loco = like crazy, like mad, like a lunatic, madly, like a madman.

* como un método para = as a means of.

* como un modo de = as a way of.

* como un necio = stupidly.

* como un observador que pasa desapercibido = fly-on-the-wall, fly-on-the-wall.

* cómo uno se identifica a sí mismo = self-identification.

* como un platillo = saucer-like.

* como un poseído = as one possessed.

* como un rayo = in a flash.

* como un reguero de pólvora = like wildfire.

* como un relámpago = like greased lightning, like the clappers.

* como un reloj = as regular as clockwork, like clockwork.

* como un televisor = television-type.

* como un todo = as a whole.

* como un tonto = stupidly, foolishly.

* como un torpe = foolishly.

* como un zombi = zombielike.

* como vivir en un escaparate = like being in a (gold)fish bowl.

* como + Voz Pasiva = as + Participio Pasado.

* como y cuando = as and when.

* como y cuando sea + Adjetivo = as + Adjetivo.

* comportarse como se espera = be a sport.

* con el mismo + Nombre + como el que... = as + Adverbio + as....

* conocerse como = be known as.

* dar como resultado = result (in).

* de cómo = as to how.

* durante tanto tiempo como sea posible = for as long as possible.

* el modo como = the way in which.

* el problema no es el qué, sino el cómo = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* frase como encabezamiento = phrase heading.

* llegar a ser conocido como = become + known as.

* mantenerse como válido = hold up.

* nada menos que + Nombre + tan + Adjetivo + como = no less + Adjetivo + Nombre + than.

* no + haber + nada como = there + be + nothing like.

* ofrecerse como voluntario = volunteer.

* para colmo = on top of everything else.

* plan de cómo disponer de Algo = disposition instruction.

* proponer como principio = posit.

* sea como sea = be that as it may, at all costs, at any cost.

* seleccionar como relevante = hit.

* ser como hablar con la pared = be like talking to a brick wall.

* ser tan buen momento como cualquier otro = be as good a time as any.

* ser un momento tan bueno como cualquier otro = be as good a time as any.

* tal como = such as, such + Nombre + as, just as.

* tal y como aparece = as it/they stand(s).

* tal y como es/son = as it/they stand(s).

* tal y como + ser = in + Posesivo + true colours.

* tan + Adjetivo + como = as + Adjetivo + as, every bit as + Adjetivo + as.

* tan + Adjetivo + como de costumbre = as + Adjetivo + as ever.

* tan + Adjetivo + como siempre = as + Adjetivo + as ever.

* tan pronto como = as soon as, just as soon as, no sooner... than.

* tan pronto como sea posible = as soon as possible (asap).

* tanto como = as many... as..., as much as + Adjetivo, both... and..., no less than, equally, if not, so much as.

* tanto como siempre = as much as ever.

* tener como equivalente = have + counterpart.

* tener como motivo central = plan around + Nombre.

* tener como objetivo = have + as + Posesivo + objective.

* tomar como ejemplo = take.

* un poco como = kind of like.

* * *
I
preposición

1)

a) ( en calidad de) as

quiero hablarte como amigo — I want to speak to you as a friend

el director tendrá como funciones... — the director's duties will be...

está considerado como lo mejor — he's considered (to be) the best

b) ( con el nombre de) as

se la conoce como `flor de luz' — it's known as `flor de luz'

c) ( por ejemplo) like

en algunos lugares como Londres — in some places such as o like London

2) (en comparaciones, contrastes) like

uno como el tuyo — one like yours

pienso como tú — I agree with you

fue ella, como que me llamo Beatriz — it was her, as sure as my name's Beatriz

bailó como nunca — she danced as o like she'd never danced before

me trata como a un imbécil — he treats me like an idiot

no hay nada como un buen coñac! — there's nothing like a good brandy!

como para + inf: es como para echarse a llorar it's enough to make you want to cry; fue como para pegarle — I could have hit him

3) (en locs)

así como — (frml) as well as

como él solo/ella sola: es egoísta como él solo he's so o he's incredibly selfish!; como mucho/poco at (the) most/at least; como nadie: cocina como nadie nobody cooks like her; como que...: conduce muy bien - como que es piloto de carreras he drives very well - well, he is a racing driver, after all; y no me lo dijiste - como que no lo sabía! and you didn't tell me about it - that's because I didn't know about it!; como ser (CS) such as, for example; como si (+ subj) as if, as though; ella está grave y él como si nada or como si tal cosa — she's seriously ill and he doesn't seem at all o in the least worried
II
conjunción

1) ( de la manera que) as

tal como había prometido — just as he had promised

como era de esperar — as was to be expected

como dice el refrán — as the saying goes

no me gustó como lo dijo — I didn't like the way she said it

(tal y) como están las cosas — as things stand; (+ subj)

hazlo como quieras/como puedas — do it any way you like/as best as you can

no voy - como quieras — I'm not going - please yourself o as you like

como quiera que sea — no matter what

la buganvilla, o como quiera que se llame — bougainvillea or whatever it's called

2) ( puesto que) as, since

como era temprano, nos fuimos a dar una vuelta — since o as it was early, we went for a walk

3) (si) (+ subj) if

como te pille... — if I catch you...

4) ( en oraciones concesivas)

cansado como estaba, me ayudó — tired though o tired as he was, he helped me

5) ( que)

vimos como se los llevaban — we saw them being taken away

vas a ver como llega tarde — he'll be late, you'll see
III
adverbio

1) ( expresando aproximación) about

está como a cincuenta kilómetros — it's about fifty kilometers away

un sabor como a almendras — a kind of almondy taste

2) ( uso expletivo) kind of (colloq)

me da como vergüenza... — I find it kind of embarrassing...

* * *

= as, by way of, for the purpose of + Nombre, how, in the guise of, just as, like, qua, much as, as a kind of, as serving as, along the lines of, in + Posesivo + capacity as, such as, kind of like.

Ex: This scheme aims for a more helpful order than the major schemes, by following the groupings of subjects as they are taught in schools.

Ex: An annotation is a note added to the title and/or other bibliographic information concerning a document, by way of comment or explanation.

Ex: Taking the second situation for the purpose of illustration, there are four options for choice of title.

Ex: Inevitably any abridgement poses the dilemma how to abridge, that is, what to leave out and what to include.

Ex: Further, these indexers are probably so familiar with their subject area that, they whether in the guise of indexer or searcher, will profit little from any additional guides to relationships.

Ex: Just as Ivan finds that by taking pleasure in an extra piece of food he makes survival possible and beats Stalin and his jailors at heir own game.

Ex: Thus, the computer-held term record files are most suitable for applications like Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) systems.

Ex: Such a concept came as a great surprise to many information educators who rather dismissively regarded the information qua information field of activity as being too limited.

Ex: More studies are needed to identify the full temporal effects of the personal computer, much as they did for television.

Ex: In a way, it is acting as a kind of bridge between the two, permitting traffic both ways where once there was a divide.

Ex: 45 libraries have been unofficially recognised by librarians as serving as model children's libraries.

Ex: The author considers the possibility of a shift from libraries to personal information service along the lines of the shift that has occured from public to private transport.

Ex: Strange that so helpful and charming a person in his capacity as a librarian could behave so monstrously; but behave thus he did.

Ex: Indicative abstracts abound in phrases such as 'is discussed' or 'has been surveyed', but do not record the outcome of the discussion or survey.

Ex: It's kind of like trumping in public -- You simply do not do it!.

* ¡cómo se nota que no está el jefe! = while the cat's away, the mice will play.

* aducir como evidencia = adduce as + evidence.

* algo así como = something like.

* añádase cómo = expand like.

* así como = as, as well as.

* así como así = just like that.

* así como... de igual modo... = just as... so....

* así es como = this is how.

* así es como es = that's how it is.

* caer como moscas = drop like + flies.

* como aclaración = in parenthesis.

* como algo natural = as a matter of course.

* como algo normal = as a matter of course.

* como algo opuesto a = as against.

* como algo residual = residually.

* como alternativa = as an alternative.

* como anillo al dedo = just the ticket, the right twigs for an eagle's nest, perfect fit, perfect match, that's the ticket!.

* como antes = as before.

* como apoyo a = in support of.

* como barcos que se cruzan (en la noche) = like passing ships (in the night).

* como barcos que se cruzan (en la oscuridad) = like passing ships (in the night).

* como base para = as a basis for.

* como cabe esperar = unsurprisingly, as one might expect, as expected.

* como cabía esperar = as expected.

* como cabría esperar = as might be expected, as one might expect.

* como cabría suponer = as might be expected.

* como consecuencia = on this basis, on that basis, in doing so, in consequence, in accordance.

* como consecuencia (de) = as a result (of), in the wake of, as a consequence (of).

* cómo conseguir = obtainability.

* como con todo en la vida = as with everything in life.

* como contrapartida = in return.

* como cooperativa = collegially.

* como corresponde = fittingly.

* como corresponde a = as befits.

* como cuando + Indicativo = as in + Gerundio.

* como de costumbre = as usual, as always, according to normal practice.

* cómo demonios = how on earth.

* como dice el dicho = as the saying goes, so the saying goes.

* como dice el refrán = as the saying goes, so the saying goes.

* como diferente a = as distinct from.

* cómo disponer de (algo) = disposition.

* como dos gotas de agua = as alike as two peas in a pod, like two peas in a pod.

* como ejemplo = as an example, by way of illustration.

* como el cuero = leathery.

* como el desierto = desert-like.

* como el día y la noche = worlds apart, like oil and water, like chalk and cheese, like apples and oranges.

* como el fuego = like wildfire.

* como el perro del hortelano que ni come ni deja comer = a dog in the manger.

* como en casa = like home (away) from home.

* como en casa no se está en ningún sitio = there's no place like home.

* como en el caso de = as with, just as for, as in the case of.

* como era de esperar = as expected.

* como es debido = fittingly.

* como es de esperar = predictably, not surprisingly, as expected.

* como es el caso de = as it is with, as with.

* como es habitual = as always.

* como es natural = not unnaturally.

* como es normal = as always.

* como esto = like this.

* como fecha final = at the very latest.

* como forma de vida = as a way of life.

* como grogui = drowsily, groggily.

* como grupo = collectively.

* como guía = for guidance.

* como la noche y el día = like oil and water, worlds apart, like chalk and cheese, like apples and oranges.

* como la pólvora = like wildfire.

* como las ardillas = squirrel-like.

* como las empresas = business-like.

* como loca = like a madwoman.

* como loco = like hell, like crazy, like mad, like a lunatic, like a madman.

* como medida de seguridad = as a backup.

* como medida provisional = as an interim measure.

* como medida temporal = as an interim measure.

* como medida transitoria = as an interim measure.

* como mejor + poder = as best + Pronombre + can.

* como mínimo = at least, conservatively, at a minimum.

* como mínimo hasta que = minimally until.

* como mucho = at best, at most, if at all, at the most, at the very latest.

* como muestra de agradecimiento = as a token of thanks.

* como muestra de + Posesivo + agradecimiento = as a token of + Posesivo + appreciation.

* como muestra de + Posesivo + gratitud = as a token of + Posesivo + gratitude.

* como muy tarde = at the latest.

* como norma = as a rule, as a matter of policy.

* como norma general = as a rule of thumb, as a general rule, as a general rule of thumb, as a rough guide.

* cómo nos las ingeniamos para... = how in the world....

* como nota al margen = on a sidenote.

* como nuevo = in mint condition, in tip-top condition, in tip-top form.

* como ocurre en estos casos = as is the way with these things.

* como + ocurrir + en el caso de = as + be + the case for.

* como opuesto a = as distinct from, as opposed to.

* como otra posibilidad = as an alternative.

* ¡como para creérselo! = Posesivo + famous last words.

* como parásito = parasitically.

* como persona que = as one who.

* como pez fuera del agua = like a fish out of water.

* como polo opuesto = by polar contrast.

* como por arte de magia = magically, into thin air.

* como por ejemplo = such as, to the effect of.

* como por encanto = magically.

* como poseído = as one possessed.

* como preámbulo de = as a preamble to.

* como primera elección = as a first preference.

* como prueba de = as a token of, as a sign of.

* como prueba de agradecimiento = as a token of thanks.

* como prueba de + Posesivo + agradecimiento = as a token of + Posesivo + appreciation.

* como prueba de + Posesivo + gratitud = as a token of + Posesivo + gratitude.

* como pruebas = in evidence, in evidence.

* como quiera que + Verbo = however + Verbo.

* como quieras llamarlo = whatever you call it.

* como reconocimiento a = in recognition of.

* como respuesta a = in reply to, in response to.

* como resultado = in consequence, on this basis, on that basis, in doing so.

* como resultado (de) = as a consequence (of).

* como salido de fábrica = in mint condition.

* como segunda alternativa = as a backup.

* como se indicó en = as was pointed out in.

* como señal de agradecimiento = as a token of thanks.

* como señal de + Posesivo + agradecimiento = as a token of + Posesivo + appreciation.

* como señal de + Posesivo + gratitud = as a token of + Posesivo + gratitude.

* cómo + ser = what + be like.

* como si = as though.

* como si dijéramos = as it were.

* como siempre = as always.

* como si fuese = as it were.

* como siga así = at this rate.

* como sigue = as follows.

* como símbolo de = as a token of, as a sign of.

* como si nada = be right as rain, unfazed.

* como si no hubiera mañana = like there's no tomorrow.

* como si + Pronombre + fuese la vida en ello = like there's no tomorrow.

* como si se acabara el mundo = like there's no tomorrow.

* como si se fuese a acabar el mundo = like there's no tomorrow.

* como si se + Pronombre + hubiera tragado la tierra = into thin air.

* como si (se tratase de) = as if.

* como si tal cosa = be right as rain, unfazed, just like that.

* como sustituto de = in place of.

* como tal = as such, in this capacity, qua.

* como término medio = on average.

* como todo un caballero = sportingly.

* como último recurso = as a last resort, in the last resort.

* como una aguja en un pajar = like a needle in a haystack.

* como una balsa de aceite = like a millpond, calm like a millpond.

* como una cabra = stark raving mad, raving mad.

* como una cebolla = onion-like.

* como una condenada = like a madwoman.

* como una descosida = like a madwoman.

* como una forma de = as a means of.

* como una metralladora = quick-fire.

* como un basilisco = like a bear with a sore head.

* como un bobo = stupidly.

* como un bólido = like the clappers.

* como un campo de batalla = like a war zone.

* como un cencerro = barking mad, raving mad, stark raving mad.

* como un condenado = like the clappers, like crazy, like mad, like a lunatic, like a madman, as one possessed.

* como un descosido = like a lunatic, like a madman, as one possessed.

* como un detective = detectivelike, sleuthlike.

* como un elefante en una cacharrería = like an elephant in a china shop.

* como un energúmeno = like a bear with a sore head.

* como un estúpido = stupidly.

* como un experto = expertly.

* como un glaciar = glacially.

* como unidad global = as a whole.

* como un idiota = stupidly.

* como un loca = like a madwoman.

* como un loco = like crazy, like mad, like a lunatic, madly, like a madman.

* como un método para = as a means of.

* como un modo de = as a way of.

* como un necio = stupidly.

* como un observador que pasa desapercibido = fly-on-the-wall, fly-on-the-wall.

* cómo uno se identifica a sí mismo = self-identification.

* como un platillo = saucer-like.

* como un poseído = as one possessed.

* como un rayo = in a flash.

* como un reguero de pólvora = like wildfire.

* como un relámpago = like greased lightning, like the clappers.

* como un reloj = as regular as clockwork, like clockwork.

* como un televisor = television-type.

* como un todo = as a whole.

* como un tonto = stupidly, foolishly.

* como un torpe = foolishly.

* como un zombi = zombielike.

* como vivir en un escaparate = like being in a (gold)fish bowl.

* como + Voz Pasiva = as + Participio Pasado.

* como y cuando = as and when.

* como y cuando sea + Adjetivo = as + Adjetivo.

* comportarse como se espera = be a sport.

* con el mismo + Nombre + como el que... = as + Adverbio + as....

* conocerse como = be known as.

* dar como resultado = result (in).

* de cómo = as to how.

* durante tanto tiempo como sea posible = for as long as possible.

* el modo como = the way in which.

* el problema no es el qué, sino el cómo = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* frase como encabezamiento = phrase heading.

* llegar a ser conocido como = become + known as.

* mantenerse como válido = hold up.

* nada menos que + Nombre + tan + Adjetivo + como = no less + Adjetivo + Nombre + than.

* no + haber + nada como = there + be + nothing like.

* ofrecerse como voluntario = volunteer.

* para colmo = on top of everything else.

* plan de cómo disponer de Algo = disposition instruction.

* proponer como principio = posit.

* sea como sea = be that as it may, at all costs, at any cost.

* seleccionar como relevante = hit.

* ser como hablar con la pared = be like talking to a brick wall.

* ser tan buen momento como cualquier otro = be as good a time as any.

* ser un momento tan bueno como cualquier otro = be as good a time as any.

* tal como = such as, such + Nombre + as, just as.

* tal y como aparece = as it/they stand(s).

* tal y como es/son = as it/they stand(s).

* tal y como + ser = in + Posesivo + true colours.

* tan + Adjetivo + como = as + Adjetivo + as, every bit as + Adjetivo + as.

* tan + Adjetivo + como de costumbre = as + Adjetivo + as ever.

* tan + Adjetivo + como siempre = as + Adjetivo + as ever.

* tan pronto como = as soon as, just as soon as, no sooner... than.

* tan pronto como sea posible = as soon as possible (asap).

* tanto como = as many... as..., as much as + Adjetivo, both... and..., no less than, equally, if not, so much as.

* tanto como siempre = as much as ever.

* tener como equivalente = have + counterpart.

* tener como motivo central = plan around + Nombre.

* tener como objetivo = have + as + Posesivo + objective.

* tomar como ejemplo = take.

* un poco como = kind of like.

* * *

como¹

prep

A

1 (en calidad de) as

usando el paraguas como bastón using his umbrella as a walking stick

quiero hablarte como amigo y no como abogado I want to speak to you as a friend and not as a lawyer

el director tendrá como funciones … the director's duties will be …

está considerado como lo mejor he's considered (to be) the best

lo presentó como su ex-marido she introduced him as her ex-husband

2 (con el nombre de) as

la flor conocida allí como `Santa Rita' the flower known there as `Santa Rita'

3 (por ejemplo) like

en algunas capitales como Londres in some capital cities such as London o like London

necesitamos a alguien como tú we need someone like you

tengo ganas de comer algo dulce — ¿como qué? I fancy something sweet — like what?

B (en comparaciones, contrastes) like

quiero un vestido como el tuyo I want a dress like yours

pienso como tú I agree with you

fue ella, como que me llamo Beatriz it was her, as sure as my name's Beatriz

se portó como un caballero he behaved like a gentleman

la quiero como a una hija I love her like a daughter o as if she were my own daughter

bailó como nunca she danced as o like she'd never danced before

me trata como a un imbécil he treats me like an idiot o as if I were an idiot

se llama algo así como Genaro o Gerardo he's called something like Genaro or Gerardo

¡no hay nada como un buen coñac! there's nothing like a good brandy!

era verde, un verde como el de la alfombra de la oficina it was green, the color of the office carpet

como PARA + INF:

es como para echarse a llorar it's enough to make you want to cry, it makes you want to cry

C ( en locs):

así como ( frml); as well as

por esto, así como por muchas otras razones because of this, and for many other reasons as well o as well as for many other reasons

sus abundantes recursos naturales, así como su importancia estratégica its abundant natural resources, together with o as well as its strategic importance

como él solo/ella sola: es egoísta como él solo he's so o he's incredibly selfish!

como mucho at (the) most, at the outside

como poco at least

como nadie: hace la paella como nadie she makes wonderful paella, nobody makes paella like her

como que …: conduce muy bien — como que es piloto de carreras he drives very well — well, he is a racing driver, after all

le voy a decir cuatro cosas — sí, sí, como que te vas a atrever … I'm going to give him a piece of my mind — oh, yes? I'll believe that when I see it

y no me lo dijiste — ¡como que no sabía nada! and you didn't tell me about it — that's because I didn't know anything about it myself!

como ser (CS); such as, for example, like

como si (+ subj) as if, as though

actuó como si no le importara she acted as if o as though she didn't care

ella está grave y él como si nada or como si tal cosa she's seriously ill and he doesn't seem at all worried o he behaves as if it's nothing (to worry about)

él como si nada or como si tal cosa, ni se inmutó he just stood there without batting an eyelid

como²

conjunction

A (de la manera que) as

no me gustó el modo or la manera como lo dijo I didn't like the way she said it

llegó temprano, tal como había prometido he arrived early, just as he had promised

ganó Raúl, como era de esperar Raúl won, as was to be expected

así en la tierra como en el cielo on Earth as it is in Heaven

como dice el refrán as the saying goes

(tal y) como están las cosas as things stand, the way things are

(+ subj): hazlo como quieras do it any way you like o how you like

no voy — como quieras I'm not going — please yourself o as you like

me dijo que me las arreglara como pudiera he told me to sort things as best I could

la buganvilla, o como quiera que se llame bougainvillea or whatever it's called

como quiera que sea, ellos se llevaron la copa anyway, the point is they won the cup

B (puesto que) as, since

como todavía era temprano, nos fuimos a dar una vuelta since o as it was still early, we went for a walk, it was still early so we went for a walk

C (+ subj) (si) if

como te vuelva a encontrar por aquí if I catch you around here again

D

(en oraciones concesivas): cansado como estaba, se ofreció a ayudarme tired though o tired as he was, he offered to help me

joven como es, tiene más sentido común que tú he may be young but he has more common sense than you

E

(que): vimos como se los llevaban en una furgoneta we saw them being taken away in a van, we saw how they were taken away in a van

vas a ver como llega tarde he'll be late, you'll see

como³

adverb

A (expresando aproximación) about

como a la mitad del camino about half way there

está como a cincuenta kilómetros it's about fifty kilometers away

vino como a las seis she came at around o about six

tiene un sabor como a almendras it has a kind of almondy taste, it tastes something like o a bit like almonds

un ruido como de un motor a noise like that of an engine

B (uso expletivo) kind of ( colloq)

es que me da como vergüenza … I find it kind of embarrassing …

* * *

Del verbo comer: ( conjugate comer)

como es:

1ª persona singular (yo) presente indicativo

Multiple Entries:
algo como
comer
como
cómo
comer ( conjugate comer) verbo intransitivo
a) ( en general) to eat;

◊ no tengo ganas de cómo I'm not hungry;

este niño no me come nada (fam) this child won't eat anything (colloq);
dar(le) de cómo a algn (en la boca) to spoonfeed sb;
darle de cómo al gato/al niño to feed the cat/the kid;
salir a cómo (fuera) to go out for a meal, to eat out;
¿qué hay de cómo? ( a mediodía) what's for lunch?;

( por la noche) what's for dinner o supper?
b) (esp Esp, Méx) ( almorzar) to have lunch;

◊ nos invitaron a cómo they asked us to lunch

c) (esp AmL) ( cenar) to have dinner

verbo transitivo
a) ‹fruta/verdura/carne› to eat;

◊ ¿puedo cómo otro? can I have another one?;

no tienen qué cómo they don't have anything to eat
b) (fam) ( hacer desaparecer) See Also→ comerse 3

c) (en ajedrez, damas) to take

comerse verbo pronominal
1
a) ( al escribir) ‹acento/palabra› to leave off;

‹línea/párrafo› to miss out
b) ( al hablar) ‹ letra› to leave off;

‹ palabra› to swallow
2 ( enf) ‹ comida› to eat;
◊ cómetelo todo eat it all up;

cómose las uñas to bite one's nails
3 (fam) ( hacer desaparecer)
a) [acido/óxido] to eat away (at);

[polilla/ratón] to eat away (at)
b) [inflación/alquiler] ‹sueldo/ahorros› to eat away at

como preposición
a) ( en calidad de) as;

◊ quiero hablarte cómo amigo I want to speak to you as a friend

b) ( con el nombre de) as;

◊ se la conoce cómo `flor de luz' it's known as `flor de luz'

c) (en comparaciones, contrastes) like;

◊ uno cómo el tuyo one like yours;

¡no hay nada cómo un buen coñac! there's nothing like a good brandy!;
es cómo para echarse a llorar it's enough to make you want to cry
d) ( en locs)

◊ así como (frml) as well as;

como mucho/poco at (the) most/at least;
como ser (CS) such as, for example;
como si (+ subj) as if, as though
■ conjunción
a) ( de la manera que) as;

◊ tal cómo había prometido just as he had promised;

cómo era de esperar as was to be expected;
no me gustó cómo lo dijo I didn't like the way she said it;
(tal y) cómo están las cosas as things stand;
hazlo cómo quieras/cómo mejor puedas do it any way you like/as best as you can;
no voy — cómo quieras I'm not going — please yourself
b) ( puesto que) as, since;

◊ cómo era temprano, fui a dar una vuelta as it was early, I went for a walk

c) (si) (+ subj) if;

◊ cómo te pille … if I catch you …

■ adverbio ( expresando aproximación) about;
◊ está cómo a cincuenta kilómetros it's about fifty kilometers away;

un sabor cómo a almendras a kind of almondy taste
cómo adverbio
a) ( de qué manera) how;

◊ ¿cómo estás? how are you?;

¿cómo es tu novia? what's your girlfriend like?;
¿cómo es de grande? how big is it?;
¿cómo te llamas? what's your name?
b) ( por qué) why, how come (colloq);

◊ ¿cómo no me lo dijiste antes? why didn't you tell me before?

c) ( al solicitar que se repita algo) sorry?, pardon?;

◊ ¿cómo dijo? sorry, what did you say?

d) ( en exclamaciones):

◊ ¡cómo llueve! it's really raining!;

¡cómo comes! the amount you eat!;
¡cómo! ¿no te lo han dicho? what! haven't they told you?
e) ( en locs)

◊ ¿a cómo …?: ¿a cómo están los tomates? (fam) how much are the tomatoes?;

¿a cómo estamos hoy? (AmL) what's the date today?;
¡cómo no! of course!;
¿cómo que …?: ¿cómo que no fuiste tú? what do you mean it wasn't you?;
aquí no está — ¿cómo que no? it isn't here — what do you mean it isn't there?
comer
I verbo transitivo
1 to eat
2 (en el parchís, etc) to take
3 (estrechar) ese corte de pelo te come la cara, that haircut makes your face look thinner
ese mueble te come mucho salón, that piece of furniture makes your living room look smaller
II verbo intransitivo to eat: hay que darle de comer al perro, we have to feed the dog
♦ Locuciones: familiar comer como una lima, to eat like a horse
familiar comer el coco/tarro a alguien, to brainwash somebody
sin comerlo ni beberlo, le pusieron una sanción, although he has nothing to do with it, he was disciplined
como
I adverbio
1 (manera) how: hazlo como quieras, do it however you like
me gusta como habla, I like the way he speaks
2 (semejanza, equivalencia) as: es como tú, he's just like you
terco como una mula, as stubborn as a mule
3 (conformidad) as: como estaba diciendo..., as I was saying...
como indica el prospecto, as the instructions say
4 (aproximadamente) about
como a la mitad de camino, more or less halfway
como unos treinta, about thirty
II conj
1 como [+ subj], (si) if: como no comas, no vas al cine, if you don't eat, you won't go to the cinema
2 (porque) as, since
como llamó tan tarde, ya no me encontró, as he phoned so late, he didn't find me in
3 como si, as if
como si nada o tal cosa, as if nothing had happened
familiar como si lo viera, I can just imagine it
III prep (en calidad de) as: lo aconsejé como amigo, I advised him as a friend
visitó el museo como experto, she visited the museum as an expert
¿As, like o how?
As se usa para hablar de la función, uso, papel o trabajo de una persona o cosa (trabajó como camarera durante las vacaciones, she worked as a waitress during the holidays) o para comparar dos acciones o situaciones y expresar su similitud. En este caso es necesario disponer de un verbo: Entró de botones, como lo había hecho su padre veinte años antes. He entered as an office-boy, as his father had twenty years before.
Cuando como va seguido de un sustantivo o pronombre también puedes usar like para comparar dos acciones o situaciones: Es como su padre. He's just like his father. Sin embargo, si va seguido de una preposición, hay que usar as: En marzo, como en abril, llovió. In March, as in April, it rained.
Nunca debes usar how en comparaciones, porque sólo expresa la manera de hacer las cosas: ¿Cómo lo hiciste?, How did you do it?
cómo adverbio
1 (interrogativo) how: ¿cómo es de alto?, how high is it?
¿cómo estás?, how are you?
¿cómo se hace?, how is it made?
2 (cuánto) ¿a cómo están los plátanos?, how much are the bananas?
3 (por qué) ¿cómo es que no nos avisaste?, why didn't you warn us?
familiar ¿cómo es eso?, how come?
4 (cuando no se ha oído bien) ¿cómo?, what?
5 (exclamativo) how
¡cómo ha cambiado!, how she's changed!
♦ Locuciones: cómo no, of course
' cómo' also found in these entries:
Spanish:
aburrirse
- acabada
- acabado
- acondicionar
- acreditar
- actuar
- adiós
- alma
- alquilar
- alta
- alto
- amable
- andar
- apear
- apenas
- aprendizaje
- arreglarse
- arte
- así
- atizar
- atonía
- baja
- bajo
- bala
- balsa
- bañera
- bastante
- beber
- bestia
- borrega
- borrego
- botija
- buenamente
- cabra
- cada
- caracterización
- casa
- cencerro
- cerrarse
- cesar
- chinche
- cielo
- coco
- coletilla
- colorada
- colorado
- comer
- como
- como quiera
- comoquiera
English:
ablaze
- above
- abroad
- acclaim
- accordingly
- act
- address
- alternatively
- always
- arouse
- as
- ashen
- attractive
- awaken
- away
- back
- barrage
- bash out
- be
- beaver away
- best
- bicker
- big
- black
- blind
- bolt
- bombshell
- bone
- border
- bored
- both
- break
- breed
- brownout
- by-product
- cake
- calculate
- care
- chalk
- champagne
- change
- charm
- cheer
- churn out
- class
- climax
- clown around
- coin
- colour
- come about

* * *

Como nm

el lago Como Lake Como

* * *

como

I adv

1 as;

como amigo as a friend

2 ( aproximadamente)

:

había como cincuenta there were about fifty;

hace como una hora about an hour ago

3

:

así como as well as

II conj

1 if;

como si as if;

como si fuera tonto as if he were o was an idiot;

como no bebas vas a enfermar if you don’t drink you’ll get sick

2 expresando causa as, since;

como no llegó, me fui solo as o since she didn’t arrive, I went by myself

3

:

me gusta como habla I like the way he talks;

como quiera any way you want

* * *

cómo adv

: how

¿cómo estás?: how are you?

¿a cómo están las manzanas?: how much are the apples?

¿cómo?: excuse me?, what was that?

¿se puede? ¡cómo no!: may I? please do!

como adv

1) : around, about

cuesta como 500 pesos: it costs around 500 pesos

2) : kind of, like

tengo como mareos: I'm kind of dizzy

como conj

1) : how, as

hazlo como dijiste que lo harías: do it the way you said you would

2) : since, given that

como estaba lloviendo, no salí: since it was raining, I didn't go out

3) : if

como lo vuelva a hacer lo arrestarán: if he does that again he'll be arrested

4)

como quiera : in any way

como prep

1) : like, as

ligero como una pluma: light as a feather

2)

así como : as well as

* * *

como¹ adv

1. (manera) how

te puedes vestir como quieras you can dress how you like

hazlo como te he enseñado do it the way I showed you

2. (comparaciones) as / like

ya estás tan alta como tu hermano you're as tall as your brother now

tengo una camiseta como ésa I've got a T shirt like that one

3. (según) as

como se puede ver as can be seen

4. (ejemplo) like

algunas aves, como el pingüino, no vuelan some birds, like penguins, can't fly

5. (aproximadamente) about

creo que tengo como cien novelas de aventuras I think I've got about a hundred adventure novels

6. (en calidad de) as

utiliza la caja como una mesilla use the box as a beside table

como sea at all costs / no matter what

como si as if / as though

sigue como si no estuviera aquí carry on as if I weren't here

como² conj

1. (causa) as

como hacía sol, nos fuimos a la playa as it was sunny, we went to the beach

2. (condición) if

como llegues tarde, te quedarás sin pastel if you're late, you won't get any cake

Spanish-English dictionary > como
4 ser

m.

1 being (ente).

ser humano human being

los seres vivos living things

2 ens.

v.

1 to be (to be in some place or situation, to originate in, to belong to, to pertain, to exist really).

fue aquí it was here

lo importante es decidirse the important thing is to reach a decision

ser de to be made of; (estar hecho de) to be from; (provenir de) to belong to; (ser propiedad de) to be a member of (formar parte de)

¿de dónde eres? where are you from?

los juguetes son de mi hijo the toys are my son's

es alto/gracioso he is tall/funny

es azul/difícil it's blue/difficult

es un amigo/el dueño he is a friend/the owner

Yo soy buena I am good.

2 to be (to be worth, quantity).

¿cuánto es? how much is it?

son 300 pesos that'll be 300 pesos

¿qué (día) es hoy? what day is it today?, what's today?

mañana será 15 de julio tomorrow (it) will be 15 July

¿qué hora es? what time is it?, what's the time?

son las tres (de la tarde) it's three o'clock (in the afternoon), it's three (pm)

3 to be (joined to nouns which signify employment or occupation).

soy abogado/actriz I'm a lawyer/an actress

son estudiantes they're students

4 to be (to happen, to occur, to fall out).

es muy tarde it's rather late

era de noche/de día it was night/day

5 to be (auxiliary verb, by which the passive is formed).

fue visto por un testigo he was seen by a witness

6 to exist, to live.

7 to be for.

Me es muy fácil aprender español It is very easy for me to learn Spanish.

* * *

SER

CONJUGACIÓN

Present Indicative

soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son.

Imperfect Subjunctive

era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran.

Past Indicative

fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron.

Future Indicative

seré, serás, será, seremos, seréis, serán.

Conditional

sería, serías, sería, seríamos, seríais, serían.

Present Subjunctive

sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean.

Imperfect Subjunctive

fuera, fueras, fuera, fuéramos, fuerais, fueran;

fuese, fueses, fuese, fuésemos, fueseis, fuesen.

Future Subjunctive

fuere, fueres, fuere, fuéremos, fuereis, fueren.

Imperative

sé (tú), sea (él/Vd.), seamos (nos.), sed (vos.), sean (ellos/Vds.).

Past Participle

sido.

\

\

————————

SER

► abreviatura

1 RADIO ( Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión) Spanish private broadcasting company

* * *
1. verb
to be

- ser de
2. noun m.
being

* * *

SF ABR Esp
= Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión radio network
* * *
I 1.
cópula

1) ( seguido de adjetivos) to be

[ ser expresses identity or nature as opposed to condition or state, which is normally conveyed by estar. The examples given below should be contrasted with those to be found in estar 1 cópula 1]

es bajo — he's short

es muy callada — she's very quiet

mi padre es calvo — my father's bald

es sorda de nacimiento — she was born deaf

es inglés/rubio/católico — he's English/fair/(a) Catholic

era cierto/posible — it was true/possible

sé bueno, estáte quieto — be a good boy and keep still

que seas muy feliz — I hope you'll be very happy; (+ me/te/le etc)

para serte sincero — to be honest with you, to tell you the truth

siempre le he sido fiel — I've always been faithful to her; ver tb verbo intransitivo I 5

¿éste es o se hace?/¿tú eres o te haces? — (AmL fam) is he/are you stupid or something? (colloq)

2) ( hablando de estado civil) to be

el mayor es casado/divorciado — the oldest is married/divorced

es viuda — she's a widow; ver tb estar I 3)

3) (seguido de nombre, pronombre, sintagma nominal) to be

soy peluquera/abogada — I'm a hairdresser/a lawyer

es madre de dos niños — she's a mother of two

ábreme, soy Mariano/yo — open the door, it's Mariano/it's me

el que fuera presidente — the former president

años más tarde sería mi asistente — years later she would become my assistant

por ser usted, haremos una excepción — for you o since it's you, we'll make an exception

dame cualquiera que no sea ése — give me any one except o but that one

ya no soy lo que era — I'm not what I used to be

4) (con predicado introducido por `de')

esos zapatos son de plástico — those shoes are (made of) plastic

soy de Córdoba — I'm from Cordoba

es de los vecinos — it belongs to the neighbors, it's the neighbors'

este libro no es de aquí — this book doesn't go o belong here

ésa es de las que... — she's one of those people who..., she's the sort of person who...

ser de lo que no hay — (fam) to be incredible (colloq)

5) (hipótesis, futuro)

será un error — it must be a mistake

¿será cierto? — can it be true?

pero será animal! — he must be a complete idiot
2.
ser vi

Sentido I

1)

a) ( existir) to be

b) (liter) ( en cuentos)

érase una vez... — once upon a time there was...

2)

a) (tener lugar, ocurrir)

la fiesta va a ser en su casa — the party is going to be (held) at her house

¿dónde fue el accidente? — where did the accident happen?

el asunto fue así... — it happened like this...

b) ( en preguntas)

ser de algo/alguien: ¿qué habrá sido de él? I wonder what happened to o what became of him; ¿qué es de Marisa? (fam) what's Marisa up to (these days)? (colloq); ¿qué va a ser de nosotros? — what will become of us?

3) ( sumar)

¿cuánto es (todo)? — how much is that (altogether)?

son 3.000 pesos — that'll be o that's 3,000 pesos

cuatro y cuatro son ocho — four and four are o make eight

somos diez en total — there are ten of us altogether

4) (causar, significar) to be

aquello fue su ruina — that was his downfall

5) ( resultar)

me va a ser imposible venir — I'm not going to be able to come

me fue muy difícil entenderlo — I found it very difficult to understand

6) ( consistir en) to be

lo importante es participar — the important o main thing is to take part

7) (indicando finalidad, adecuación)

ser para algo — to be for something

este agua es para beber — this water is for drinking

este traje no es para usarlo mucho — this suit is not for frequent wear

Sentido II

8) ( usado para enfatizar)

así es como queda mejor — like that it looks best

fue aquí donde lo vi — this is where I saw him, it was here that I saw him

era él el que quería — he was the one who wanted to

fueron los bancos los que se beneficiaron — it was the banks that benefited

fui yo quien or la que lo dije fui yo quien or la que lo dijo — I was the one who said it, it was me that said it

9)

es que...: ¿es que no lo saben? do you mean to say they don't know?; es que no sé nadar the thing is I can't swim; díselo, si es que te atreves — tell him, if you dare

10)

lo que es... — (fam)

lo que es yo, no pienso hablarle más — I certainly have no intention of speaking to him again

lo que es saber idiomas! — it sure is something to be able to speak languages! (AmE), what it is to be able to speak languages! (BrE)

11) (en locs)

a no ser que — (+ subj) unless

como debe ser: ¿ves como me acordé? - como debe ser! see, I did remember- I should think so too!; los presentó uno por uno, como debe ser she introduced them one by one, as you should; ¿cómo es eso? why is that?, how come? (colloq); como/cuando/donde sea: tengo que conseguir ese trabajo como sea I have to get that job no matter what; hazlo como sea, pero hazlo do it any way o however you want but get it done; puedo dormir en el sillón o donde sea I can sleep in the armchair or wherever you like o anywhere you like; como ser (CS) such as; de no ser así (frml) should this not be the case (frml); de ser así (frml) should this be so o the case (frml); de no ser por...: de no ser por él,... if it hadn't been o if it weren't for him,...; eso es! that's it!, that's right!; lo que sea: cómete una manzana, o lo que sea have an apple or something; tú pagas tus mil pesos o lo que sea... you pay your thousand pesos or whatever...; estoy dispuesta a hacer lo que sea I'm prepared to do whatever it takes o anything; no sea que or no vaya a ser que (+ subj) in case; cierra la ventana, no sea or no vaya a ser que llueva close the window in case it rains; ten cuidado, no sea or no vaya a ser que lo eches todo a perder be careful or you'll ruin everything; o sea: los empleados de más antigüedad, o sea los que llevan aquí más de... longer serving employees, that is to say those who have been here more than...; o sea que no te interesa in other words, you're not interested; o sea que nunca lo descubriste so you never found out; (ya) sea..., (ya) sea... either..., or...; (ya) sea por caridad, (ya) sea por otra razón,... whether he did it out of charity or for some other reason,...; sea como sea: hay que impedirlo, sea como sea it must be prevented now matter how o at all costs; sea cuando sea whenever it is; sea quien sea le dices que no estoy whoever it is, tell them I'm not in; si no fuera/hubiera sido por... — if it wasn't o weren't/hadn't been for...

Sentido III

12) ( en el tiempo) to be

¿qué fecha es hoy? — what's the date today?, what's today's date

¿qué día es hoy? — what day is it today?

es miércoles — it's Wednesday

serían las cuatro cuando llegó — it must have been (about) four (o'clock) when she arrived; ver tb verbo impersonal
3.
ser v impers to be

era primavera — it was spring(time)

es demasiado tarde para llamar — it's too late to phone
4.
ser v aux ( en la voz pasiva)

ser + pp — to be + pp

fue construido en 1900 — it was built in 1900
II
masculino

1)

a) ( ente) being

seres sobrenaturales — supernatural beings

b) (individuo, persona)

un ser querido — a loved one

un ser muy especial — a very special person

- ser humano/vivo

2)

a) ( naturaleza)

desde lo más profundo de mi ser — from the bottom of my heart

b) ( carácter esencial) essence

3) (Fil) being

la mujer que te dio el ser — the woman who brought you into this world

* * *
I 1.
cópula

1) ( seguido de adjetivos) to be

[ ser expresses identity or nature as opposed to condition or state, which is normally conveyed by estar. The examples given below should be contrasted with those to be found in estar 1 cópula 1]

es bajo — he's short

es muy callada — she's very quiet

mi padre es calvo — my father's bald

es sorda de nacimiento — she was born deaf

es inglés/rubio/católico — he's English/fair/(a) Catholic

era cierto/posible — it was true/possible

sé bueno, estáte quieto — be a good boy and keep still

que seas muy feliz — I hope you'll be very happy; (+ me/te/le etc)

para serte sincero — to be honest with you, to tell you the truth

siempre le he sido fiel — I've always been faithful to her; ver tb verbo intransitivo I 5

¿éste es o se hace?/¿tú eres o te haces? — (AmL fam) is he/are you stupid or something? (colloq)

2) ( hablando de estado civil) to be

el mayor es casado/divorciado — the oldest is married/divorced

es viuda — she's a widow; ver tb estar I 3)

3) (seguido de nombre, pronombre, sintagma nominal) to be

soy peluquera/abogada — I'm a hairdresser/a lawyer

es madre de dos niños — she's a mother of two

ábreme, soy Mariano/yo — open the door, it's Mariano/it's me

el que fuera presidente — the former president

años más tarde sería mi asistente — years later she would become my assistant

por ser usted, haremos una excepción — for you o since it's you, we'll make an exception

dame cualquiera que no sea ése — give me any one except o but that one

ya no soy lo que era — I'm not what I used to be

4) (con predicado introducido por `de')

esos zapatos son de plástico — those shoes are (made of) plastic

soy de Córdoba — I'm from Cordoba

es de los vecinos — it belongs to the neighbors, it's the neighbors'

este libro no es de aquí — this book doesn't go o belong here

ésa es de las que... — she's one of those people who..., she's the sort of person who...

ser de lo que no hay — (fam) to be incredible (colloq)

5) (hipótesis, futuro)

será un error — it must be a mistake

¿será cierto? — can it be true?

pero será animal! — he must be a complete idiot
2.
ser vi

Sentido I

1)

a) ( existir) to be

b) (liter) ( en cuentos)

érase una vez... — once upon a time there was...

2)

a) (tener lugar, ocurrir)

la fiesta va a ser en su casa — the party is going to be (held) at her house

¿dónde fue el accidente? — where did the accident happen?

el asunto fue así... — it happened like this...

b) ( en preguntas)

ser de algo/alguien: ¿qué habrá sido de él? I wonder what happened to o what became of him; ¿qué es de Marisa? (fam) what's Marisa up to (these days)? (colloq); ¿qué va a ser de nosotros? — what will become of us?

3) ( sumar)

¿cuánto es (todo)? — how much is that (altogether)?

son 3.000 pesos — that'll be o that's 3,000 pesos

cuatro y cuatro son ocho — four and four are o make eight

somos diez en total — there are ten of us altogether

4) (causar, significar) to be

aquello fue su ruina — that was his downfall

5) ( resultar)

me va a ser imposible venir — I'm not going to be able to come

me fue muy difícil entenderlo — I found it very difficult to understand

6) ( consistir en) to be

lo importante es participar — the important o main thing is to take part

7) (indicando finalidad, adecuación)

ser para algo — to be for something

este agua es para beber — this water is for drinking

este traje no es para usarlo mucho — this suit is not for frequent wear

Sentido II

8) ( usado para enfatizar)

así es como queda mejor — like that it looks best

fue aquí donde lo vi — this is where I saw him, it was here that I saw him

era él el que quería — he was the one who wanted to

fueron los bancos los que se beneficiaron — it was the banks that benefited

fui yo quien or la que lo dije fui yo quien or la que lo dijo — I was the one who said it, it was me that said it

9)

es que...: ¿es que no lo saben? do you mean to say they don't know?; es que no sé nadar the thing is I can't swim; díselo, si es que te atreves — tell him, if you dare

10)

lo que es... — (fam)

lo que es yo, no pienso hablarle más — I certainly have no intention of speaking to him again

lo que es saber idiomas! — it sure is something to be able to speak languages! (AmE), what it is to be able to speak languages! (BrE)

11) (en locs)

a no ser que — (+ subj) unless

como debe ser: ¿ves como me acordé? - como debe ser! see, I did remember- I should think so too!; los presentó uno por uno, como debe ser she introduced them one by one, as you should; ¿cómo es eso? why is that?, how come? (colloq); como/cuando/donde sea: tengo que conseguir ese trabajo como sea I have to get that job no matter what; hazlo como sea, pero hazlo do it any way o however you want but get it done; puedo dormir en el sillón o donde sea I can sleep in the armchair or wherever you like o anywhere you like; como ser (CS) such as; de no ser así (frml) should this not be the case (frml); de ser así (frml) should this be so o the case (frml); de no ser por...: de no ser por él,... if it hadn't been o if it weren't for him,...; eso es! that's it!, that's right!; lo que sea: cómete una manzana, o lo que sea have an apple or something; tú pagas tus mil pesos o lo que sea... you pay your thousand pesos or whatever...; estoy dispuesta a hacer lo que sea I'm prepared to do whatever it takes o anything; no sea que or no vaya a ser que (+ subj) in case; cierra la ventana, no sea or no vaya a ser que llueva close the window in case it rains; ten cuidado, no sea or no vaya a ser que lo eches todo a perder be careful or you'll ruin everything; o sea: los empleados de más antigüedad, o sea los que llevan aquí más de... longer serving employees, that is to say those who have been here more than...; o sea que no te interesa in other words, you're not interested; o sea que nunca lo descubriste so you never found out; (ya) sea..., (ya) sea... either..., or...; (ya) sea por caridad, (ya) sea por otra razón,... whether he did it out of charity or for some other reason,...; sea como sea: hay que impedirlo, sea como sea it must be prevented now matter how o at all costs; sea cuando sea whenever it is; sea quien sea le dices que no estoy whoever it is, tell them I'm not in; si no fuera/hubiera sido por... — if it wasn't o weren't/hadn't been for...

Sentido III

12) ( en el tiempo) to be

¿qué fecha es hoy? — what's the date today?, what's today's date

¿qué día es hoy? — what day is it today?

es miércoles — it's Wednesday

serían las cuatro cuando llegó — it must have been (about) four (o'clock) when she arrived; ver tb verbo impersonal
3.
ser v impers to be

era primavera — it was spring(time)

es demasiado tarde para llamar — it's too late to phone
4.
ser v aux ( en la voz pasiva)

ser + pp — to be + pp

fue construido en 1900 — it was built in 1900
II
masculino

1)

a) ( ente) being

seres sobrenaturales — supernatural beings

b) (individuo, persona)

un ser querido — a loved one

un ser muy especial — a very special person

- ser humano/vivo

2)

a) ( naturaleza)

desde lo más profundo de mi ser — from the bottom of my heart

b) ( carácter esencial) essence

3) (Fil) being

la mujer que te dio el ser — the woman who brought you into this world

* * *

ser¹

¹ = being, creature.

Ex: A feeling of unshielded relief filled Pope's whole being.

Ex: Stories that lead to doing things are all the more attractive to children, who are active rather than passive creatures.

* abducción por seres extraterrestres = alien abduction.

* alimentación del ser humano = human nutrition.

* llegada de seres extraterrestres = alien visitation.

* nutrición del ser humano = human nutrition.

* ser consecuente con Uno mismo = be true to + Reflexivo.

* ser extraterrestre = alien creature.

* ser fiel con Uno mismo = be true to + Reflexivo.

* ser humano = human being, human, human person.

* ser inteligente = intelligent being.

* ser pensante = sentient being.

* ser superior = supreme being, higher being, superior being.

* ser supremo = supreme being.

* ser todo un éxito = hit + a home run, knock it out of + the park.

* ser vivo = living being, sentient being.

* todo ser humano = every living soul.

* tráfico de seres humanos = trafficking in human beings.

* trata de seres humanos = trafficking in human beings.

ser²

² = be, take + the form of, stand as.

Ex: Systems such as Dialog, IRS, ORBIT and BLAISE may be accessed by libraries and information units.

Ex: Hierarchical relationships may also take the form of co-ordinate relationships, in which case they may be represented by 'RT' or related term, in a similar manner to affinitive relationships below.

Ex: Meantime, our new library stand as as a confident symbol of the importance of ALL librarires to the nation's cultural, educational and economic success.

* anhelar ser = ache to be.

* a no ser que = unless.

* así es = that's how it is.

* así sea = amen.

* así son las cosas = that's they way things are.

* centrado en el ser humano = anthropocentric.

* clonación del ser humano = human cloning.

* como es el caso de = as it is with.

* cómo + ser = what + be like.

* conseguir ser el centro de atención = capture + spotlight.

* continuar siendo importante = remain + big.

* crearse el prestigio de ser = establish + a record as.

* cualquiera que fuere = any... whatsoever.

* cualquiera que fuese = any... whatsoever.

* cualquiera que sea + Nombre = whichever + Nombre.

* debilidad del ser humano = mankind's frailty.

* dejar de ser útil = outlive + Posesivo + usefulness.

* demostrar ser = prove + to be.

* de tal forma que + ser/estar = in such form as to + be.

* dicho sea de paso = by the by(e).

* dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres = you are known by the company you keep.

* dinero + ser para = money + go towards.

* el + Nombre + es inestimable = the + Nombre + cannot be overestimated.

* el ser barato = cheapness.

* el sueño de todo ser viviente = the stuff dreams are made of.

* entrar sin ser visto = sneak into.

* es = it's [it is].

* esa es la cuestión = herein lies the rub, there's the rub.

* esa es la dificultad = herein lies the rub, there's the rub.

* es decir = i.e. (latín - id est), in other words, that is, that is to say, which is to say.

* es de deducir que = it follows that.

* es de destacar que = significantly.

* es de esperar = hopefully.

* es de esperar que = all being well.

* es de resaltar que = significantly.

* es de suponer que = presumably.

* ese es el asunto = herein lies the rub, there's the rub.

* ese es el problema = herein lies the rub, there's the rub.

* es el momento adecuado = the moment is ripe, the time is ripe.

* es el momento oportuno = the moment is ripe, the time is ripe.

* es evidente = clearly.

* es importante destacar = importantly.

* es inevitable que = inevitably.

* es interesante que = interestingly.

* es lo que a mí me parece = my two cents' worth.

* es lo que yo pienso = my two cents' worth.

* es más = more important, moreover.

* es más fácil decirlo que hacerlo = easier said than done.

* es mi opinión = my two cents' worth.

* es mi parecer = my two cents' worth.

* es por lo tanto deducible que = it therefore follows that.

* es por lo tanto de esperar que = it therefore follows that.

* es por lo tanto lógico que = it therefore follows that.

* ¡esta es tu oportunidad! = here's your chance!.

* estar siendo + Participio = be in process of + Nombre.

* evitar ser afectado = escape + unaffected.

* fue durante mucho tiempo = long remained.

* haber sido aceptado = be here to stay, have come + to stay.

* haber sido comprobado exhaustivamente = be thoroughly tested.

* la razón de ser = the reason for being.

* la verdad sea dicha = to tell the truth.

* llegar a ser = become, develop into.

* llegar a ser conocido como = become + known as.

* lo que es aun peor = worse still.

* lo que es peor = what's worse.

* lo que haya que de ser, será = que sera sera, what's meant to be, will be, whatever will be, will be.

* lo que + ser = what + be like.

* lo que tenga que ser, será = que sera sera, whatever will be, will be, what's meant to be, will be.

* merecer ser mencionado = deserve + mention.

* no ser aconsejable = be undesirable.

* no ser + Adjetivo + Infinitivo = be less than + Adjetivo + Infinitivo.

* no ser así ya = be no longer the case.

* no ser bien visto = be in the doghouse.

* no ser cobarde = be no chicken.

* no ser consciente de = remain + unaware of.

* no ser deseable = be undesirable.

* no + ser + de sorprender que = it + be + not surprising that.

* no ser fácil = be no picnic, not be easy.

* no ser gran cosa = not add up to much, add up to + nothing.

* no ser lo suficientemente bueno = not be good enough.

* no ser más que = be nothing more than, be nothing but.

* no ser nada = add up to + nothing.

* no ser nada fácil = be hard-pushed to.

* no ser ningún jovencito = be no chicken.

* no ser ni una cosa ni otra = fall between + two stools.

* no ser sino = be nothing but.

* no ser una gran pérdida = be no great loss.

* no ser un lecho de rosas = be not all roses.

* no ser verdad = be untrue.

* no somos todos iguales = one size doesn't fit all.

* no tener razón de ser + Infinitivo = there + be + no sense in + Gerundio.

* para ser específico = to be specific.

* para ser franco = in all honesty.

* para ser sincero = to be honest, in all honesty.

* pasar a ser = become, develop into.

* por ser + Adjetivo = as being + Adjetivo.

* por si fuera poco = to boot, to add salt to injury, to rub salt in the wound.

* posible de ser consultado por máquina = machine-viewable.

* posible de ser visto en pantalla = displayable.

* primer puesto + ser para = pride of place + go to.

* puede muy bien ser = could well be.

* puede muy bien ser que = it may well be that.

* que fue = one-time.

* que fue común antes = once-common.

* que ha sido abordado con preguntas = accost.

* que puede ser apilado = stacking.

* razón de ser = point, raison d'etre, rationale, sense of purpose.

* ser reconocido = gain + recognition.

* resultar ser = prove + to be, turn out to be, happen + to be.

* sea como sea = be that as it may, at all costs, at any cost, at any price, come hell or high water.

* sea cual fuere = any... whatsoever, any... whatsoever.

* sea cual fuese = any... whatsoever, any... whatsoever.

* sea cual sea el criterio utilizado = by any standard(s).

* sea lo que sea = whatever it is, be that as it may, call it what you want.

* seamos realistas = face it, let's face it.

* sean cuales sean = whatever they may be.

* sentido del ser humano = human sense.

* ser accesible a través de = be available through.

* ser aceptado = take + hold, gain + acceptance, take off.

* ser acertado = be spot on.

* ser aconsejable = be welcome, be better served by, be in order.

* ser acorde con = be commensurate with.

* ser acuciante = be acute.

* ser acusado de delito criminal = face + criminal charge.

* ser adecuado = be right, stand up, fit + the bill.

* ser + Adjetivo = get + Adjetivo.

* ser + Adjetivo + para = have + a + Adjetivo + effect on.

* ser afectado por = have + a high stake in.

* ser aficionado a = be fond of.

* ser afortunado = be lucky, strike + lucky.

* ser agradable de oír = be good to hear.

* ser agradable + Verbo = be neat to + Verbo.

* ser algo bien conocido que = it + be + a (well)-known fact that.

* ser algo bueno = be a good thing.

* ser algo completamente distinto = be nothing of the sort.

* ser algo común = be a fact of life, dominate + the scene, be a common occurrence, become + a common feature, be a part of life.

* ser Algo demasiado difícil para = be in over + Posesivo + head, be out of + Posesivo + depth.

* ser algo excepcional = be the exception rather than the rule, be in a league of its own.

* ser algo fácil = be a cinch, be a doddle, be a breeze, be a picnic, be duck soup.

* ser algo facilísimo = be a cinch, be a doddle, be a breeze, be a picnic, be duck soup.

* ser algo habitual = become + a common feature, be a fact of life.

* ser Algo imponente = loom + large.

* ser algo inevitable = the (hand)writing + be + on the wall, see it + coming.

* ser algo más profundo que = go + deeper than.

* ser algo más serio que = go + deeper than.

* ser algo (muy) bien sabido que = it + be + a (well)-known fact that.

* ser algo muy claro = be a dead giveaway.

* ser algo muy fácil de conseguir = be there for the taking.

* ser Algo muy importante = loom + large.

* ser algo muy obvio = be a dead giveaway.

* ser algo muy poco frecuente = be a rare occurrence.

* ser algo muy raro = be a rare occurrence.

* ser algo muy revelador = be a giveaway.

* ser algo natural para = be second nature to + Pronombre, come + naturally to.

* ser algo normal = be a fact of life, become + a common feature, be a part of life.

* ser algo permanente = be here to stay.

* ser algo poco común = be the exception rather than the rule.

* ser algo poco conocido que = it + be + a little known fact that.

* ser algo poco frecuente = be a rare occurrence.

* ser algo poco sabido que = it + be + a little known fact that.

* ser algo por lo que = be a matter for/of.

* ser algo por ver = be an open question.

* ser algo que no ocurre con frecuencia = be a rare occurrence.

* ser algo seguro = be a cinch, be a doddle, be a breeze, be a picnic, be duck soup.

* ser algo útil para = be something in the hand for.

* ser amado = loved-one.

* ser amigo de = be buddies with.

* ser analizado como una frase = be phrase parsed.

* ser apreciado = receive + appreciation.

* ser apropiado = be right.

* ser aproximadamente + Número = be around + Número, be about + Número.

* ser arrestado = be under arrest.

* ser asequible = be available, become + available.

* ser asequible a = be amenable to.

* ser así = be the case (with), be just like that.

* ser atacado = be under attack, come under + fire, be under assault.

* ser atractivo = look + attractive, be popular in appeal.

* ser atrevido = make + a bold statement.

* ser atribuible a = be attributable to.

* ser aun más = be all the more.

* ser autosuficiente = stand on + Posesivo + own, self-serve.

* ser autosuficiente económicamente = pay + Posesivo + own way.

* ser avaricioso = have + Posesivo + cake and eat it.

* ser bienvenido = be most welcome, make + welcome, be welcome.

* ser bonito + Verbo = be neat to + Verbo.

* ser buenísimo + Gerundio = be terrific at + Gerundio.

* ser bueno = make + good + Nombre.

* ser bueno en = be good at.

* ser bueno para Alguien = be to + Posesivo + advantage.

* ser cada vez más importante = increase in + importance.

* ser capaz de = be capable of.

* ser capaz de hacer cualquier cosa por = go to + any lengths to, go to + great lengths to.

* ser característico de = be emblematic of.

* ser carísimo = cost + be prohibitive.

* ser caro = be steep.

* ser casi seguro = be a good bet.

* ser chiquito pero matón = punch above + Posesivo + weight.

* ser chulo = be cool.

* ser clavado a = be a dead ringer for.

* ser cliente de una tienda = patronise + shop.

* ser coherente = cohere.

* ser como el día y la noche = different as night and day.

* ser como hablar con la pared = be like talking to a brick wall.

* ser como mínimo = be no less than.

* ser como una esfera = wrap around.

* ser como un círculo = wrap around.

* ser como un libro abierto = be an open book.

* ser complementario el uno del otro = be integral one to another.

* ser complementarios = be integral one to another.

* ser completamente diferente = be in a different league.

* ser completo = be all inclusive.

* ser común = be the case (with).

* ser condenado a prisión = receive + prison sentence.

* ser confuso = be deceiving.

* ser conocido por = famously, have + a track record of.

* ser conocido por todos = be out in the open.

* ser consciente = sentient being.

* ser consciente de = be alive to, be aware of, be cognisant of, be mindful of/that, become + cognisant of, be aware of, realise [realize, -USA].

* ser consciente de + Posesivo + valía = be alive to + Posesivo + worth.

* ser consciente + desafortunadamente = be painfully aware of.

* ser contradictorio de = run + contrary to.

* ser contraproducente = defeat + Posesivo + purpose, blowback.

* ser contrario a = be contrary to, be hostile to.

* ser conveniente + Infinitivo = be as well + Infinitivo, be well + Infinitivo.

* ser correcto = be all right, be correct, be right.

* ser cortés con = be civil towards.

* ser costumbre = be customary.

* ser creativo = be inventive.

* ser creíble = invoke + belief.

* ser criticado = be subjected to + criticism, be (the) subject of/to criticism, take + heat, come under + fire.

* ser crucial (para) = be central (to).

* ser cuestión de = come down to.

* ser culpable = be to blame.

* ser culpable (por/de) = be at fault (for/to).

* ser dado a = be amenable to, be apt to, be given to.

* ser de = be a native of.

* ser de alto nivel = be at a high level.

* ser de armas tomar = be a (real) handful.

* ser de ayuda = be of assistance.

* ser debatible = be a moot point, be open to question, be open to debate, be at issue.

* ser de calidad = be up to snuff, be up to scratch.

* ser decisión de + Nombre = be down to + Nombre.

* ser de contenido + Adjetivo = be + Adjetivo + in content.

* ser de crecimiento rápido = be a quick grower.

* ser de difícil acceso = tuck away.

* ser de dominio público = be public domain.

* ser deficiente = be wanting.

* ser definitivo = be final.

* ser de gran ayuda para = be a boon to.

* ser de gran beneficio para = be of great benefit to.

* ser de importancia primordial = be of key importance.

* ser de importancia vital = lie at + the heart of.

* ser de interés para = be of interest (to/for).

* ser dejado en la obligación de Uno = be derelict in + duty.

* ser de la izquierda = be of the left.

* ser de la noche = night creature.

* ser de la opinión de que = be of the opinion that, be of the view that.

* ser del gusto de Uno = be to + Posesivo + taste.

* ser del orden de + Número = be of the order of + Número.

* ser de los que piensan que = subscribe to + view.

* ser demasiado = be over-provided, be a mouthful.

* ser demasiado + Adjetivo = be too + Adjetivo + by half.

* ser demasiado complaciente = lean over + too far backwards.

* ser demasiado común = be all too common.

* ser demasiado para = be too much for, be too much for.

* ser demasiado precavido = err + on the side of caution.

* ser demasiado preciso = put + too fine a point on, split + hairs.

* ser demasiado quisquilloso = put + too fine a point on, split + hairs.

* ser demasiado tarde para echar atrás = reach + the point of no return.

* ser de mucho uso = take + Nombre + a long way.

* ser de número limitado = be limited in number.

* ser de origen + Adjetivo = be + Adjetivo + in origin.

* ser de poco valor = be of little use, be of little value.

* ser de primera categoría = be top notch.

* ser de raza negra o de piel morena = be coloured.

* ser de sabios = be a point of wisdom.

* ser desacertado = miss + the mark, miss + the point.

* ser desastroso = spell + bad news, be a shambles, be (in) a mess.

* ser desconocido para = be alien to.

* ser descorazonador = be dispiriting.

* ser desoído = be unheeded.

* ser despiadado = play + hardball.

* ser detenido = be under arrest.

* ser de un solo uso = be a one-trip pony.

* ser de un tipo diferente = be different in kind, differ in + kind (from).

* ser de un valor especial = be of particular value.

* ser de uso general = be in general use, be generally available.

* ser de utilidad = be of use.

* ser de utilidad a = be of service to.

* ser diestro en = be skilled at.

* ser difícil = be a stretch.

* ser difícil de bregar = be a (real) handful.

* ser difícil de conseguir = be hard to get.

* ser difícil de creer = beggar + belief.

* ser difícil de encontrar = be hard to find.

* ser difícil de lograr = be hard to get.

* ser difícil de superar = take + some beating.

* ser digno de = merit.

* ser digno de admiración = deserve + admiration.

* ser digno de crítica = merit + a critical eye.

* ser digno de + Infinitivo = be worth + Gerundio.

* ser diplomático = say + the right thing.

* ser discutible = be open to question, be open to debate, be at issue.

* ser dogmático = be dogmatic.

* ser dos mundos completamente distintos = be poles apart.

* ser dudoso = be doubtful.

* ser duro = play + hardball.

* ser eficaz para + Infinitivo = be efficient at + Gerundio.

* ser el acabóse = take + the biscuit, take + the cake, be the limit.

* ser el alma de = be the life of, be the life and soul of.

* ser el asunto = be the point.

* ser el beneficiario de = be on the receiving end of.

* ser el blanco de = be a pushover for.

* ser el blanco de las críticas = come under + fire.

* ser el canalizador de = be the conduit for.

* ser el capitán = skipper, captain.

* ser el caso (de) = be the case (with).

* ser el centro de atención = steal + the limelight, steal + the show, cut + a dash.

* ser el centro de todas las miradas = cut + a dash.

* ser el colmo = be the last straw, bring + the situation to a head, take + the biscuit, take + the cake, be the limit.

* ser el contrincante más débil = punch above + Posesivo + weight.

* ser el culo del mundo = be the pits.

* ser elegido = get in.

* ser elevado = be steep.

* ser el éxito de la fiesta = steal + the limelight, steal + the show.

* ser el fin de = sign + a death warrant (for).

* ser el jefe = be in charge, call + the shots, be the boss, call + the tune, rule + the roost.

* ser el límite = be the limit.

* ser el mandamás = call + the shots, be the boss, call + the tune, rule + the roost.

* ser el más afectado por = bear + the brunt of.

* ser el máximo = be the limit.

* ser el momento clave = mark + the watershed.

* ser el momento (de) = be the time to.

* ser el momento decisivo = mark + the watershed.

* ser el momento de/para = it + be + time to/for.

* ser el objetivo de Uno = be in business for.

* ser el orgullo de = be the pride and joy of.

* ser el origen de = provide + the material for.

* ser el paraje natural de = be home to.

* ser el preludio = usher in.

* ser el primero = be second to none, come out on + top.

* ser el primero en = lead + the way in.

* ser el primero en + Infinitivo = take + the lead in + Gerundio.

* ser el punto de partida de = form + the basis of.

* ser el punto más débil de Alguien = be at + Posesivo + weakest.

* ser el punto más flaco de Alguien = be at + Posesivo + weakest.

* ser el que con mayor frecuencia = be (the) most likely to.

* ser el que con menor frecuencia = be (the) least likely to.

* ser el resultado de = follow from, result from.

* ser el segundo de a bordo = play + second fiddle.

* ser el último grito = be all the rage.

* ser el último mono ser el último mono = feel + pulled and tugged.

* ser emblemático de = be emblematic of.

* ser en balde = be of no avail, be to no avail.

* ser en cierto modo un + Nombre = be something of a + Nombre.

* ser en vano = be of no avail, be to no avail.

* ser enviado a = have + the lead to.

* ser equiparable a = be commensurate with.

* ser erróneo = be wide of the mark, be wrong.

* ser escaso = be few and far between, be in short supply.

* ser esclavo de = be slave to.

* ser estupendo = sound + great, be fine and dandy.

* ser estúpido = be off + Posesivo + rocker.

* ser exigente al elegir = pick and choose.

* ser exigente al escoger = pick and choose.

* ser experto en = be skilled at.

* ser expulsado de = be dropped from.

* ser extraño para = be alien to.

* ser extremadamente + Adjetivo = be too + Adjetivo + by half.

* ser fácil = be easy.

* ser fácil de conseguir = be readily available.

* ser facilísimo = be a snap, be a piece of cake.

* ser factible de = be amenable to.

* ser familiar = strike + familiar chords, ring + a bell.

* ser famoso = gain + recognition, be popular.

* ser famoso por = famously, have + a track record of.

* ser favorable = be a plus.

* ser ficticio = be fiction.

* ser fiel a = cleave to.

* ser fructífero = come to + fruition.

* ser goloso = have + a sweet tooth.

* ser grosero con = be abusive of.

* ser hábil para = be adroit at.

* ser habitual = be customary.

* ser harina de otro costal = be a different kettle of fish.

* ser hipertenso = be hyper.

* ser hora de = it + be + time to/for.

* ser hora de definirse = time to climb off the fence.

* ser hora de irse = be time to go.

* ser hora de marcharse = be time to go.

* ser hora ya de que = be about time (that), be high time (that/to/for).

* ser humilde = hide + Posesivo + light under a bushel.

* sería mejor que + Subjuntivo = better + Infinitivo.

* ser ideal = suit + best, be just the thing, be just the ticket, be just the job.

* ser ideal para Uno = be (right) up + Posesivo + alley, be + Posesivo + cup of tea.

* ser idóneo para = be suited to.

* ser ignorado = be unheeded.

* ser igual a = be equivalent to, equal.

* ser igual que = amount to + the same thing as.

* ser ilegal = be against the law.

* ser ilimitado = be boundless.

* ser implacable = play + hardball.

* ser imponente = be awe-inspiring.

* ser importante = be of importance, make + a difference, be of consequence.

* ser importantísimo = make + all the difference in the world, make + difference in the world.

* ser importantísimo (para) = be central (to).

* ser imposible = be dead meat.

* ser imprescindible = be a must.

* ser improcedente = be out of order.

* ser imprudente = be reckless.

* ser inalterable = set in + stone, set in + tablets of stone.

* ser incapaz de = be unable to.

* ser incoherente = Negativo + hold + water.

* ser incompatible (con) = be irreconcilable (with).

* ser inconsistente = Negativo + hold + water.

* ser increíble = beggar + belief.

* ser independiente = go + Posesivo + own way, stew in + Posesivo + own juice, stand on + Posesivo + own (two) feet.

* ser indescriptible = beggar + description.

* ser indispensable = be a must.

* ser ineficaz = fire + blanks.

* ser infundado = be unfounded.

* ser inherente a = inhere in.

* ser inimaginable = beggar + imagination.

* ser inminente = be on the cards.

* ser inmune a = be immune from, be immune against.

* ser innovador = break + new ground, break + ground.

* ser innumerable = be without number, be legion.

* ser innumerables = run into + the thousands.

* ser insignificante = pale into + insignificance, stick + Algo + on a pin-point, be of no consequence.

* ser insignificante de = be slight in.

* ser inteligente = be talented.

* ser interesante = be of interest (to/for).

* ser interesante + Infinitivo = be as well + Infinitivo, be well + Infinitivo.

* ser interesante + Verbo = be neat to + Verbo.

* ser interminable = there + be + no end to.

* ser intransigente = play + hardball.

* ser inútil = fire + blanks.

* ser irrespetuoso con = disrespect, diss.

* ser justo = play + fair.

* ser justo con todos = give the devil his due.

* ser justo hasta con el diablo = give the devil his due.

* ser justo lo que se necesita = be just the thing, be just the ticket, be just the job.

* ser justo lo que Uno necesita = be (right) up + Posesivo + alley.

* ser justo que = there + be + justice in.

* ser juzgado = stand + trial, stand for + trial.

* ser la abreviatura de = be short for.

* ser la base de = be at the core of, form + the basis of, be at the heart of.

* ser la ciudad de = be home to.

* ser la clave de = hold + the key to.

* ser la comidilla del barrio = be the talk of the town.

* ser la comidilla del pueblo = be the talk of the town.

* ser la consecuencia de = follow from, result from.

* ser la costumbre = be customary.

* ser la cuestión = be the point.

* ser la culminación de Algo = represent + the culmination of, mark + the culmination of.

* ser la culpa de = be the fault of.

* ser la debilidad de Alguien = be a sucker for.

* ser la elección lógica = be a/the natural choice.

* ser la elección natural = be a/the natural choice.

* ser la excepción = be the exception.

* ser la excepción a la regla = constitute + the exception to the rule.

* ser la excepción que confirma la regla = be the exception rather than the rule.

* ser la forma abreviada de = be short for.

* ser la forma de = be a recipe for.

* ser la fórmula para = be a recipe for.

* ser la gota que colma el vaso = bring + the situation to a head.

* ser la idea central de = be at the core of, be at the heart of.

* ser la imagen de = be a picture of.

* ser la intención = be the intention.

* ser la intención de uno = be + Posesivo + intention.

* ser la manera de = be a recipe for.

* ser la materia prima de = be grist to + Posesivo + mill.

* ser la mayoría = be in the majority.

* ser la mejor alternativa = be the best bet.

* ser la mejor manera de = be the conduit for.

* ser lamentable = be a pity.

* ser la minoría = be in the minority.

* ser la norma = be the norm, be the rule, become + the norm.

* ser la novedad = be on the scene.

* ser la obra de = be the work of.

* ser la persona ideal para = be the best placed to.

* ser la persona más indicada para = be in a position to.

* ser la propia responsabilidad de Alguien = be of + Posesivo + own making.

* ser la prueba de fuego de Algo = test + Nombre + to the limit.

* ser la punta de lanza de = spearhead.

* ser la razón de = lie at + the root of.

* ser la representación misma de = be a picture of.

* ser la responsabilidad de = be the responsibility of.

* ser la responsabilidad de Alguien + Infinitivo = it + lie with + Nombre/Pronombre + to + Infinitivo.

* ser la última palabra = be all the rage.

* ser la última persona del mundo que + Infinitivo = be one of the last people in the world to + Infinitivo.

* ser lector de una biblioteca = library membership.

* ser lento = be slow off the mark, be slow off the blocks.

* ser líder en = take + the lead in + Gerundio.

* ser lo de Uno = be cut out for, be (right) up + Posesivo + alley.

* ser lo más parecido a = be as close as we come to.

* ser lo mismo = be one and the same.

* ser lo normal = be the order of the day.

* ser lo principal de = be at the core of, be at the heart of.

* ser lo que a Uno le encanta = be (right) up + Posesivo + alley.

* ser lo que a Uno le gusta = be (right) up + Posesivo + alley, be + Posesivo + cup of tea.

* ser lo que a Uno le interesa = be (right) up + Posesivo + alley, be + Posesivo + cup of tea.

* ser lo que a Uno le va = be (right) up + Posesivo + alley.

* ser lo que a Uno más le gusta = be + Posesivo + big scene.

* ser lo que nos espera = be the shape of things to come.

* ser lo suficientemente + Adjetivo + como para = be + Adjetivo + enough to.

* ser lo suficientemente comprensivo = go + far enough.

* ser lo suficientemente conocido como para que = be sufficiently well known for.

* serlo todo para todos = be all things to all men, be all things to all people.

* ser lo último = be all the rage, be the pits.

* ser lo último en = become + the next stop in.

* ser lo último en lo que + pensar = be the last thing of + Posesivo + mind.

* ser lo último que + ocurrir + a Alguien = be the last thing of + Posesivo + mind.

* ser magnífico + Gerundio = be terrific at + Gerundio.

* ser malo = be a joke, spell + bad news, make + poor + Nombre.

* ser maravilloso = sound + great.

* ser más astuto que = outfox, outwit, outsmart.

* ser más interno = inner being.

* ser más un + Nombre = be more of a + Nombre.

* ser mayor = be older.

* ser mejor en = be better at.

* ser mejor que = be superior to, compare + favourably.

* ser mejor que + Subjuntivo = better + Infinitivo.

* ser menor = be less.

* ser menos + Adjetivo = be less of a(n) + Nombre.

* ser mínimo = be at a minimum.

* ser mirado de forma extraña = get + some funny looks.

* ser modesto = hide + Posesivo + light under a bushel.

* ser molesto = be disturbing.

* ser moroso = be in default.

* ser motivador = be motivating.

* ser motivo de preocupación = loom + large.

* ser mucho = be a mouthful.

* ser mucho más = be all the more.

* ser mucho más que = be far more than.

* ser muy aconsejable que = be well advised to.

* ser muy alto = be metres high.

* ser muy amigo de = be pally with.

* ser muy antiguo = go ba

* * *

SER

/ser/

feminine

= Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión

* * *

ser ( conjugate ser) cópula
1 ( seguido de adjetivos) to be
◊ ser expresses identity or nature as opposed to condition or state, which is normally conveyed by estar. The examples given below should be contrasted with those to be found in estar 1 cópula 1 es bajo/muy callado he's short/very quiet;

es sorda de nacimiento she was born deaf;
es inglés/católico he's English/(a) Catholic;
era cierto it was true;
sé bueno, estate quieto be a good boy and keep still;
que seas muy feliz I hope you'll be very happy;

(+ me/te/le etc)
◊ siempre le he sido fiel I've always been faithful to her;

ver tb imposible, difícil etc
2 ( hablando de estado civil) to be;
◊ el mayor es casado the oldest is married;

es viuda she's a widow;
ver tb estar 1 cópula 2
3 (seguido de nombre, pronombre) to be;
◊ soy abogada I'm a lawyer;

ábreme, soy yo open the door, it's me
4 (con predicado introducido por `de'):
◊ esos zapatos son de plástico those shoes are (made of) plastic;

soy de Córdoba I'm from Cordoba;
es de los vecinos it belongs to the neighbors, it's the neighbors';
no soy de aquí I'm not from around here
5 (hipótesis, futuro):
◊ será un error it must be a mistake;

¿será cierto? can it be true?
verbo intransitivo
1
a) ( existir) to be

b) (liter) ( en cuentos):

◊ érase una vez … once upon a time there was …

2
a) (tener lugar, ocurrir):

◊ la fiesta va a ser en su casa the party is going to be (held) at her house;

¿dónde fue el accidente? where did the accident happen?
b) ( en preguntas):

◊ ¿qué habrá sido de él? I wonder what happened to o what became of him;

¿qué es de Marisa? (fam) what's Marisa up to (these days)? (colloq);
¿qué va a ser de nosotros? what will become of us?
3 ( sumar):
◊ ¿cuánto es (todo)? how much is that (altogether)?;

son 3.000 pesos that'll be o that's 3,000 pesos;
somos diez en total there are ten of us altogether
4 (indicando finalidad, adecuación) ser para algo to be for sth;
◊ este agua es para beber this water is for drinking

( en locs)
◊ a no ser que (+ subj) unless;

¿cómo es eso? why is that?, how come? (colloq);
como/cuando/donde sea: tengo que conseguir ese trabajo como sea I have to get that job no matter what;
hazlo como sea, pero hazlo do it any way o however you want but get it done;
el lunes o cuando sea next Monday or whenever;
puedo dormir en el sillón o donde sea I can sleep in the armchair or wherever you like o anywhere you like;
de ser así (frml) should this be so o the case (frml);
¡eso es! that's it!, that's right!;
es que …: ¿es que no lo saben? do you mean to say they don't know?;
es que no sé nadar the thing is I can't swim;
lo que sea: cómete una manzana, o lo que sea have an apple or something;
estoy dispuesta a hacer lo que sea I'm prepared to do whatever it takes;
o sea: en febrero, o sea hace un mes in February, that is to say a month ago;
o sea que no te interesa in other words, you're not interested;
o sea que nunca lo descubriste so you never found out;
(ya) sea …, (ya) sea … either …, or …;
sea como sea at all costs;
sea cuando sea whenever it is;
sea donde sea no matter where;
sea quien sea whoever it is;
si no fuera/hubiera sido por … if it wasn't o weren't/hadn't been for …
( en el tiempo) to be;
◊ ¿qué fecha es hoy? what's the date today?, what's today's date;

serían las cuatro cuando llegó it must have been (about) four (o'clock) when she arrived;
ver tb v impers
ser v impers to be;
◊ era primavera it was spring(time)

ser v aux ( en la voz pasiva) to be;
fue construido en 1900 it was built in 1900
■ sustantivo masculino
1
a) ( ente) being;

◊ ser humano/vivo human/living being

b) (individuo, persona):

◊ un ser querido a loved one

2 ( naturaleza):
◊ desde lo más profundo de mi ser from the bottom of my heart

ser
I sustantivo masculino
1 being: es un ser despreciable, he's despicable
ser humano, human being
ser vivo, living being
2 (esencia) essence: eso forma parte de su ser, that is part of him
II verbo intransitivo
1 (cualidad) to be: eres muy modesto, you are very modest
2 (fecha) to be: hoy es lunes, today is Monday
ya es la una, it's one o'clock
3 (cantidad) eran unos cincuenta, there were about fifty people
(al pagar) ¿cuánto es?, how much is it?
son doscientas, it is two hundred pesetas
Mat dos y tres son cinco, two and three make five
4 (causa) aquella mujer fue su ruina, that woman was his ruin
5 (oficio) to be a(n): Elvira es enfermera, Elvira is a nurse
6 (pertenencia) esto es mío, that's mine
es de Pedro, it is Pedro's
7 (afiliación) to belong: es del partido, he's a member of the party
es un chico del curso superior, he is a boy from the higher year
8 (origen) es de Málaga, she is from Málaga
¿de dónde es esta fruta? where does this fruit come from?
9 (composición, material) to be made of: este jersey no es de lana, this sweater is not (made of) wool
10 ser de, (afinidad, comparación) lo que hizo fue de tontos, what she did was a foolish thing
11 (existir) Madrid ya no es lo que era, Madrid isn't what it used to be
12 (suceder) ¿qué fue de ella?, what became of her?
13 (tener lugar) to be: esta tarde es el entierro, the funeral is this evening 14 ser para, (finalidad) to be for: es para pelar patatas, it's for peeling potatoes
(adecuación, aptitud) no es una película para niños, the film is not suitable for children
esta vida no es para ti, this kind of life is not for you
15 (efecto) era para llorar, it was painful
es (como) para darle una bofetada, it makes me want to slap his face
no es para tomárselo a broma, it is no joke
16 (auxiliar en pasiva) to be: fuimos rescatados por la patrulla de la Cruz Roja, we were rescued by the Red Cross patrol
17 ser de (+ infinitivo) era de esperar que se marchase, it was to be expected that she would leave
♦ Locuciones: a no ser que, unless
como sea, anyhow
de no ser por..., had it not been for
es más, furthermore
es que..., it's just that...
lo que sea, whatever
o sea, that is (to say)
sea como sea, in any case o be that as it may
ser de lo que no hay, to be the limit
' ser' also found in these entries:
Spanish:
A
- acceder
- además
- aficionada
- aficionado
- alardear
- alcanzar
- alimentar
- alta
- alto
- ambicionar
- antigüedad
- aparición
- arma
- atinar
- atorarse
- aúpa
- babear
- básica
- básico
- bendición
- caber
- cacho
- cada
- cafetera
- cafetero
- calco
- callo
- canela
- cansada
- cansado
- cantar
- capaz
- capirote
- carácter
- cardo
- carne
- carné
- caso
- cero
- colarse
- comida
- comidilla
- comido
- conmigo
- conquistador
- conquistadora
- contagiarse
- contemplar
- contienda
English:
accountable
- addicted
- adjust
- allow
- allowance
- ambition
- amount to
- anathema
- anomaly
- arduous
- around
- aspire
- aware
- bad
- be
- beating
- being
- belong
- betray
- big
- bill
- bind over
- bird
- booby trap
- boring
- bounce
- can
- carry
- catch up
- cerebral
- ceremonial
- ceremony
- charm
- chip
- claim
- come into
- come under
- connoisseur
- court
- degree
- deserve
- destroy
- differ
- do
- dodger
- doubly
- due
- ear
- easy
- edit

* * *

ser The auxiliary verb ser is used with the past participle of a verb to form the passive (e.g. la película fue criticada the movie was criticized).

♦ v aux
[para formar la voz pasiva] to be;
fue visto por un testigo he was seen by a witness;

la propuesta es debatida o [m5] está siendo debatida en el parlamento the proposal is being debated in parliament

♦ v copulativo

1. [con adjetivos, sustantivos, pronombres] [indica cualidad, identidad, condición] to be;

es alto/gracioso he's tall/funny;

soy chileno/chiapaneco I'm Chilean/from Chiapas;

es azul/difícil it's blue/difficult;

sé discreta/paciente be discreet/patient;

es un amigo/el dueño he's a friend/the owner;

son unos amigos míos they're friends of mine;

es el cartero/tu madre it's the postman o US mailman/your mother;

soy yo, ábreme open up, it's me;

soy Víctor [al teléfono] it's Víctor;

la casa es aquella de ahí the house is that one over there;

es un tipo muy simpático he's a very nice guy;

¿es eso verdad? is that true?;

eso no es cierto that isn't true;

es obvio que le gustas it's obvious that he likes you;

no es necesario ir it isn't necessary to go;

es posible que llueva it may rain;

no está mal para ser de segunda mano it's not bad considering it's second-hand;

no pierde sus derechos por ser inmigrante just because he's an immigrant doesn't mean he doesn't have any rights;

te lo dejo en la mitad por ser tú seeing as o because it's you, I'll let you have it half-price;

por ser usted, señora, 15 euros to you, madam, 15 euros;

que seas muy feliz I wish you every happiness, I hope you'll be very happy;

¡será imbécil el tipo! the guy must be stupid!;

este restaurante ya no es lo que era this restaurant isn't as good as it used to be o isn't what it used to be;
RP Fam
ser loco por algo to be wild about sth

2. [con sustantivos, adjetivos] [indica empleo, dedicación, estado civil, religión] to be;

soy abogado/actriz I'm a lawyer/an actress;

son estudiantes they're students;

para ser juez hay que trabajar mucho you have to work very hard to be o become a judge;

es padre de tres hijos he's a father of three;

es soltero/casado/divorciado he's single/married/divorced;

era viuda she was a widow;

son budistas/protestantes they are Buddhists/Protestants;

el que fuera gobernador del estado the former governor of the state;

Comp
Am Fam
¿tú eres o te haces? are you stupid or what?;

Comp
RP Fam
¿vos sos o te hacés? are you stupid or what?

3. [con "de"] [indica material, origen, propiedad]
ser de [estar hecho de] to be made of;
[provenir de] to be from; [pertenecer a] to belong to;
un juguete que es todo de madera a completely wooden toy, a toy made completely of wood;

¿de dónde eres? where are you from?;

estas pilas son de una linterna these batteries are from a torch;

¿es de usted este abrigo? is this coat yours?, does this coat belong to you?;

los juguetes son de mi hijo the toys are my son's;

portarse así es de cobardes only cowards behave like that, it's cowardly to behave like that

4. [con "de"] [indica pertenencia a grupo]
ser de [club, asociación, partido] to be a member of;

¿de qué equipo eres? [aficionado] which team o who do you support?;

soy del Barcelona I support Barcelona;

ser de los que… to be one of those people who…;

ése es de los que están en huelga he is one of those on strike;

no es de las que se asustan por cualquier cosa she's not one to get scared easily

♦ vi

1. [ocurrir, tener lugar] to be;

fue aquí it was here;

¿cuándo es la boda? when's the wedding?;

la final era ayer the final was yesterday;

¿cómo fue lo de tu accidente? how did your accident happen?;

¿qué fue de aquel amigo tuyo? what happened to that friend of yours?;

¿qué es de Pablo? how's Pablo (getting on)?

2. [constituir, consistir en] to be;

fue un acierto que nos quedáramos en casa we were right to stay at home;

lo importante es decidirse the important thing is to reach a decision;

su ambición era dar la vuelta al mundo her ambition was to travel round the world;

tratar así de mal a la gente es buscarse problemas treating people so badly is asking for trouble

3. [con fechas, horas] to be;

¿qué (día) es hoy? what day is it today?, what's today?;

hoy es jueves today's Thursday, it's Thursday today;

¿qué (fecha) es hoy? what's the date today?, what date is it today?;

mañana será 15 de julio tomorrow (it) will be 15 July;

¿qué hora es? what time is it?, what's the time?;

son las tres (de la tarde) it's three o'clock (in the afternoon), it's three (pm);

serán o [m5] deben de ser las tres it must be three (o'clock)

4. [con precios] to be;

¿cuánto es? how much is it?;

son 300 pesos that'll be 300 pesos;

¿a cómo son esos tomates? how much are those tomatoes?

5. [con cifras, en operaciones] to be;

ellos eran unos 500 there were about 500 of them;

11 por 100 son 1.100 11 times 100 is 1,100

6. [servir, ser adecuado]
ser para to be for;

este trapo es para (limpiar) las ventanas this cloth is for (cleaning) the windows;

este libro es para niños this book is for children;

la ciudad no es para mí the city isn't for me

7. [con "de" más infinitivo] [indica necesidad, posibilidad]
es de desear que… it is to be hoped that…;

era de esperar que pasara algo así it was to be expected that something like that would happen;

es de suponer que aparecerá presumably, he'll turn up;

es de temer cuando se enoja she's really scary when she gets angry

8. [para recalcar, poner énfasis]
ése es el que me lo contó he's the one who told me;

lo que es a mí, no me llamaron they certainly didn't call me, they didn't call me, anyway;

¿es que ya no te acuerdas? don't you remember any more, then?, you mean you don't remember any more?

9. [indica excusa, motivo]
es que no me hacen caso but o the thing is they don't listen to me;

es que no vine porque estaba enfermo the reason I didn't come is that I was ill, I didn't come because I was ill, you see;

¿cómo es que no te han avisado? how come they didn't tell you?

10. Literario [existir]
Platón, uno de los grandes sabios que en el mundo han sido Plato, one of the wisest men ever to walk this earth

11. [en frases]
a no ser que venga unless she comes;

tengo que conseguirlo (sea) como sea I have to get it one way or another;

hay que evitar (sea) como sea que se entere we have to prevent her from finding out at all costs o no matter what;

hazlo cuando sea do it whenever;

de no ser/haber sido por… if it weren't/hadn't been for…;

de no ser por él no estaríamos vivos if it weren't for him, we wouldn't be alive;

de no ser así otherwise;

de ser así if that should happen;

déjalo donde sea leave it anywhere o wherever;

érase una vez, érase que se era once upon a time;

dile lo que sea, da igual tell her anything o whatever, it doesn't make any difference;

haré lo que sea para recuperar mi dinero I will do whatever it takes o anything to get my money back;

se enfadó, y no era para menos she got angry, and not without reason;

no sea que…, no vaya a ser que… in case…;

la llamaré ahora no sea que luego me olvide I'll call her now in case I forget later;

Estados Unidos y Japón, o sea, las dos economías mundiales más importantes the United States and Japan, that is to say o in other words, the two most important economies in the world;

50 euros, o sea unas 8.300 pesetas 50 euros, that's about 8,300 pesetas;

o sea que no quieres venir so you don't want to come then?;

por si fuera poco as if that wasn't enough;

habla con quien sea talk to anyone;

sea quien sea no abras la puerta don't open the door, whoever it is;

si no fuera/hubiera sido por… if it weren't/hadn't been for…;
Am
siendo que… seeing that o as…, given that…;
Am
siendo que tienes la plata, cómprate el vestido más caro seeing as o since you've got the money, buy yourself the more expensive dress

♦ v impersonal
[indica tiempo] to be;
es muy tarde it's rather late;

era de noche/de día it was night/day

♦ nm

1. [ente] being;

seres de otro planeta beings from another planet

Comp
ser humano human being;
Ser Supremo Supreme Being;

los seres vivos living things

2. [persona] person;

sus seres queridos his loved ones

3. [existencia]
mis padres me dieron el ser my parents gave me my life

4. [esencia, naturaleza] being;

la quiero con todo mi ser I love her with all my being o soul

* * *

SER

f abr (= Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión) network of independent Spanish radio stations

* * *

ser {77} vi

1) : to be

él es mi hermano: he is my brother

Camila es linda: Camila is pretty

2) : to exist, to live

ser, o no ser: to be or not to be

3) : to take place, to occur

el concierto es el domingo: the concert is on Sunday

4) (used with expressions of time, date, season)

son las diez: it's ten o'clock

hoy es el 9: today's the 9th

5) : to cost, to come to

¿cuánto es?: how much is it?

6) (with the future tense) : to be able to be

¿será posible?: can it be possible?

7)

ser de : to come from

somos de Managua: we're from Managua

8)

ser de : to belong to

ese lápiz es de Juan: that's Juan's pencil

9)

es que : the thing is that

es que no lo conozco: it's just that I don't know him

10)

¡sea! : agreed!, all right!

11)

sea... sea : either... or

ser v aux (used in passive constructions) : to be

la cuenta ha sido pagada: the bill has been paid

él fue asesinado: he was murdered

ser nm

: being

ser humano: human being

* * *

ser¹ n (ente) being

ser humano human being

ser vivo living creature

ser² vb

1. (en general) to be

mi amigo es alemán my friend is German

es médico he's a doctor

el cuadro es de Picasso the painting is by Picasso

cinco más cinco son diez five plus five are ten

serán quince euros that'll be fifteen euros

somos cinco there are five of us

la fiesta es el sábado the party is on Saturday

el presidente fue asesinado the president was murdered

2. (estar hecho) to be made

la mesa es de madera the table is made of wood

3. (pertenecer) to belong

este libro es de María this book belongs to María / this book is María's

a no ser que unless

a no ser que llueva unless it rains

érase una vez once upon a time

Spanish-English dictionary > ser
5 Historical Portugal

   Before Romans described western Iberia or Hispania as "Lusitania," ancient Iberians inhabited the land. Phoenician and Greek trading settlements grew up in the Tagus estuary area and nearby coasts. Beginning around 202 BCE, Romans invaded what is today southern Portugal. With Rome's defeat of Carthage, Romans proceeded to conquer and rule the western region north of the Tagus, which they named Roman "Lusitania." In the fourth century CE, as Rome's rule weakened, the area experienced yet another invasion—Germanic tribes, principally the Suevi, who eventually were Christianized. During the sixth century CE, the Suevi kingdom was superseded by yet another Germanic tribe—the Christian Visigoths.

   A major turning point in Portugal's history came in 711, as Muslim armies from North Africa, consisting of both Arab and Berber elements, invaded the Iberian Peninsula from across the Straits of Gibraltar. They entered what is now Portugal in 714, and proceeded to conquer most of the country except for the far north. For the next half a millennium, Islam and Muslim presence in Portugal left a significant mark upon the politics, government, language, and culture of the country.

   Islam, Reconquest, and Portugal Created, 714-1140

   The long frontier struggle between Muslim invaders and Christian communities in the north of the Iberian peninsula was called the Reconquista (Reconquest). It was during this struggle that the first dynasty of Portuguese kings (Burgundian) emerged and the independent monarchy of Portugal was established. Christian forces moved south from what is now the extreme north of Portugal and gradually defeated Muslim forces, besieging and capturing towns under Muslim sway. In the ninth century, as Christian forces slowly made their way southward, Christian elements were dominant only in the area between Minho province and the Douro River; this region became known as "territorium Portu-calense."

   In the 11th century, the advance of the Reconquest quickened as local Christian armies were reinforced by crusading knights from what is now France and England. Christian forces took Montemor (1034), at the Mondego River; Lamego (1058); Viseu (1058); and Coimbra (1064). In 1095, the king of Castile and Léon granted the country of "Portu-cale," what became northern Portugal, to a Burgundian count who had emigrated from France. This was the foundation of Portugal. In 1139, a descendant of this count, Afonso Henriques, proclaimed himself "King of Portugal." He was Portugal's first monarch, the "Founder," and the first of the Burgundian dynasty, which ruled until 1385.

   The emergence of Portugal in the 12th century as a separate monarchy in Iberia occurred before the Christian Reconquest of the peninsula. In the 1140s, the pope in Rome recognized Afonso Henriques as king of Portugal. In 1147, after a long, bloody siege, Muslim-occupied Lisbon fell to Afonso Henriques's army. Lisbon was the greatest prize of the 500-year war. Assisting this effort were English crusaders on their way to the Holy Land; the first bishop of Lisbon was an Englishman. When the Portuguese captured Faro and Silves in the Algarve province in 1248-50, the Reconquest of the extreme western portion of the Iberian peninsula was complete—significantly, more than two centuries before the Spanish crown completed the Reconquest of the eastern portion by capturing Granada in 1492.

   Consolidation and Independence of Burgundian Portugal, 1140-1385

   Two main themes of Portugal's early existence as a monarchy are the consolidation of control over the realm and the defeat of a Castil-ian threat from the east to its independence. At the end of this period came the birth of a new royal dynasty (Aviz), which prepared to carry the Christian Reconquest beyond continental Portugal across the straits of Gibraltar to North Africa. There was a variety of motives behind these developments. Portugal's independent existence was imperiled by threats from neighboring Iberian kingdoms to the north and east. Politics were dominated not only by efforts against the Muslims in

   Portugal (until 1250) and in nearby southern Spain (until 1492), but also by internecine warfare among the kingdoms of Castile, Léon, Aragon, and Portugal. A final comeback of Muslim forces was defeated at the battle of Salado (1340) by allied Castilian and Portuguese forces. In the emerging Kingdom of Portugal, the monarch gradually gained power over and neutralized the nobility and the Church.

   The historic and commonplace Portuguese saying "From Spain, neither a good wind nor a good marriage" was literally played out in diplomacy and war in the late 14th-century struggles for mastery in the peninsula. Larger, more populous Castile was pitted against smaller Portugal. Castile's Juan I intended to force a union between Castile and Portugal during this era of confusion and conflict. In late 1383, Portugal's King Fernando, the last king of the Burgundian dynasty, suddenly died prematurely at age 38, and the Master of Aviz, Portugal's most powerful nobleman, took up the cause of independence and resistance against Castile's invasion. The Master of Aviz, who became King João I of Portugal, was able to obtain foreign assistance. With the aid of English archers, Joao's armies defeated the Castilians in the crucial battle of Aljubarrota, on 14 August 1385, a victory that assured the independence of the Portuguese monarchy from its Castilian nemesis for several centuries.

   Aviz Dynasty and Portugal's First Overseas Empire, 1385-1580

   The results of the victory at Aljubarrota, much celebrated in Portugal's art and monuments, and the rise of the Aviz dynasty also helped to establish a new merchant class in Lisbon and Oporto, Portugal's second city. This group supported King João I's program of carrying the Reconquest to North Africa, since it was interested in expanding Portugal's foreign commerce and tapping into Muslim trade routes and resources in Africa. With the Reconquest against the Muslims completed in Portugal and the threat from Castile thwarted for the moment, the Aviz dynasty launched an era of overseas conquest, exploration, and trade. These efforts dominated Portugal's 15th and 16th centuries.

   The overseas empire and age of Discoveries began with Portugal's bold conquest in 1415 of the Moroccan city of Ceuta. One royal member of the 1415 expedition was young, 21-year-old Prince Henry, later known in history as "Prince Henry the Navigator." His part in the capture of Ceuta won Henry his knighthood and began Portugal's "Marvelous Century," during which the small kingdom was counted as a European and world power of consequence. Henry was the son of King João I and his English queen, Philippa of Lancaster, but he did not inherit the throne. Instead, he spent most of his life and his fortune, and that of the wealthy military Order of Christ, on various imperial ventures and on voyages of exploration down the African coast and into the Atlantic. While mythology has surrounded Henry's controversial role in the Discoveries, and this role has been exaggerated, there is no doubt that he played a vital part in the initiation of Portugal's first overseas empire and in encouraging exploration. He was naturally curious, had a sense of mission for Portugal, and was a strong leader. He also had wealth to expend; at least a third of the African voyages of the time were under his sponsorship. If Prince Henry himself knew little science, significant scientific advances in navigation were made in his day.

   What were Portugal's motives for this new imperial effort? The well-worn historical cliche of "God, Glory, and Gold" can only partly explain the motivation of a small kingdom with few natural resources and barely 1 million people, which was greatly outnumbered by the other powers it confronted. Among Portuguese objectives were the desire to exploit known North African trade routes and resources (gold, wheat, leather, weaponry, and other goods that were scarce in Iberia); the need to outflank the Muslim world in the Mediterranean by sailing around Africa, attacking Muslims en route; and the wish to ally with Christian kingdoms beyond Africa. This enterprise also involved a strategy of breaking the Venetian spice monopoly by trading directly with the East by means of discovering and exploiting a sea route around Africa to Asia. Besides the commercial motives, Portugal nurtured a strong crusading sense of Christian mission, and various classes in the kingdom saw an opportunity for fame and gain.

   By the time of Prince Henry's death in 1460, Portugal had gained control of the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeiras, begun to colonize the Cape Verde Islands, failed to conquer the Canary Islands from Castile, captured various cities on Morocco's coast, and explored as far as Senegal, West Africa, down the African coast. By 1488, Bar-tolomeu Dias had rounded the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and thereby discovered the way to the Indian Ocean.

   Portugal's largely coastal African empire and later its fragile Asian empire brought unexpected wealth but were purchased at a high price. Costs included wars of conquest and defense against rival powers, manning the far-flung navel and trade fleets and scattered castle-fortresses, and staffing its small but fierce armies, all of which entailed a loss of skills and population to maintain a scattered empire. Always short of capital, the monarchy became indebted to bankers. There were many defeats beginning in the 16th century at the hands of the larger imperial European monarchies (Spain, France, England, and Holland) and many attacks on Portugal and its strung-out empire. Typically, there was also the conflict that arose when a tenuously held world empire that rarely if ever paid its way demanded finance and manpower Portugal itself lacked.

   The first 80 years of the glorious imperial era, the golden age of Portugal's imperial power and world influence, was an African phase. During 1415-88, Portuguese navigators and explorers in small ships, some of them caravelas (caravels), explored the treacherous, disease-ridden coasts of Africa from Morocco to South Africa beyond the Cape of Good Hope. By the 1470s, the Portuguese had reached the Gulf of Guinea and, in the early 1480s, what is now Angola. Bartolomeu Dias's extraordinary voyage of 1487-88 to South Africa's coast and the edge of the Indian Ocean convinced Portugal that the best route to Asia's spices and Christians lay south, around the tip of southern Africa. Between 1488 and 1495, there was a hiatus caused in part by domestic conflict in Portugal, discussion of resources available for further conquests beyond Africa in Asia, and serious questions as to Portugal's capacity to reach beyond Africa. In 1495, King Manuel and his council decided to strike for Asia, whatever the consequences. In 1497-99, Vasco da Gama, under royal orders, made the epic two-year voyage that discovered the sea route to western India (Asia), outflanked Islam and Venice, and began Portugal's Asian empire. Within 50 years, Portugal had discovered and begun the exploitation of its largest colony, Brazil, and set up forts and trading posts from the Middle East (Aden and Ormuz), India (Calicut, Goa, etc.), Malacca, and Indonesia to Macau in China.

   By the 1550s, parts of its largely coastal, maritime trading post empire from Morocco to the Moluccas were under siege from various hostile forces, including Muslims, Christians, and Hindi. Although Moroccan forces expelled the Portuguese from the major coastal cities by 1550, the rival European monarchies of Castile (Spain), England, France, and later Holland began to seize portions of her undermanned, outgunned maritime empire.

   In 1580, Phillip II of Spain, whose mother was a Portuguese princess and who had a strong claim to the Portuguese throne, invaded Portugal, claimed the throne, and assumed control over the realm and, by extension, its African, Asian, and American empires. Phillip II filled the power vacuum that appeared in Portugal following the loss of most of Portugal's army and its young, headstrong King Sebastião in a disastrous war in Morocco. Sebastiao's death in battle (1578) and the lack of a natural heir to succeed him, as well as the weak leadership of the cardinal who briefly assumed control in Lisbon, led to a crisis that Spain's strong monarch exploited. As a result, Portugal lost its independence to Spain for a period of 60 years.

   Portugal under Spanish Rule, 1580-1640

   Despite the disastrous nature of Portugal's experience under Spanish rule, "The Babylonian Captivity" gave birth to modern Portuguese nationalism, its second overseas empire, and its modern alliance system with England. Although Spain allowed Portugal's weakened empire some autonomy, Spanish rule in Portugal became increasingly burdensome and unacceptable. Spain's ambitious imperial efforts in Europe and overseas had an impact on the Portuguese as Spain made greater and greater demands on its smaller neighbor for manpower and money. Portugal's culture underwent a controversial Castilianization, while its empire became hostage to Spain's fortunes. New rival powers England, France, and Holland attacked and took parts of Spain's empire and at the same time attacked Portugal's empire, as well as the mother country.

   Portugal's empire bore the consequences of being attacked by Spain's bitter enemies in what was a form of world war. Portuguese losses were heavy. By 1640, Portugal had lost most of its Moroccan cities as well as Ceylon, the Moluccas, and sections of India. With this, Portugal's Asian empire was gravely weakened. Only Goa, Damão, Diu, Bombay, Timor, and Macau remained and, in Brazil, Dutch forces occupied the northeast.

   On 1 December 1640, long commemorated as a national holiday, Portuguese rebels led by the duke of Braganza overthrew Spanish domination and took advantage of Spanish weakness following a more serious rebellion in Catalonia. Portugal regained independence from Spain, but at a price: dependence on foreign assistance to maintain its independence in the form of the renewal of the alliance with England.

   Restoration and Second Empire, 1640-1822

   Foreign affairs and empire dominated the restoration era and aftermath, and Portugal again briefly enjoyed greater European power and prestige. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was renewed and strengthened in treaties of 1642, 1654, and 1661, and Portugal's independence from Spain was underwritten by English pledges and armed assistance. In a Luso-Spanish treaty of 1668, Spain recognized Portugal's independence. Portugal's alliance with England was a marriage of convenience and necessity between two monarchies with important religious, cultural, and social differences. In return for legal, diplomatic, and trade privileges, as well as the use during war and peace of Portugal's great Lisbon harbor and colonial ports for England's navy, England pledged to protect Portugal and its scattered empire from any attack. The previously cited 17th-century alliance treaties were renewed later in the Treaty of Windsor, signed in London in 1899. On at least 10 different occasions after 1640, and during the next two centuries, England was central in helping prevent or repel foreign invasions of its ally, Portugal.

   Portugal's second empire (1640-1822) was largely Brazil-oriented. Portuguese colonization, exploitation of wealth, and emigration focused on Portuguese America, and imperial revenues came chiefly from Brazil. Between 1670 and 1740, Portugal's royalty and nobility grew wealthier on funds derived from Brazilian gold, diamonds, sugar, tobacco, and other crops, an enterprise supported by the Atlantic slave trade and the supply of African slave labor from West Africa and Angola. Visitors today can see where much of that wealth was invested: Portugal's rich legacy of monumental architecture. Meanwhile, the African slave trade took a toll in Angola and West Africa.

   In continental Portugal, absolutist monarchy dominated politics and government, and there was a struggle for position and power between the monarchy and other institutions, such as the Church and nobility. King José I's chief minister, usually known in history as the marquis of Pombal (ruled 1750-77), sharply suppressed the nobility and the

   Church (including the Inquisition, now a weak institution) and expelled the Jesuits. Pombal also made an effort to reduce economic dependence on England, Portugal's oldest ally. But his successes did not last much beyond his disputed time in office.

   Beginning in the late 18th century, the European-wide impact of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon placed Portugal in a vulnerable position. With the monarchy ineffectively led by an insane queen (Maria I) and her indecisive regent son (João VI), Portugal again became the focus of foreign ambition and aggression. With England unable to provide decisive assistance in time, France—with Spain's consent—invaded Portugal in 1807. As Napoleon's army under General Junot entered Lisbon meeting no resistance, Portugal's royal family fled on a British fleet to Brazil, where it remained in exile until 1821. In the meantime, Portugal's overseas empire was again under threat. There was a power vacuum as the monarch was absent, foreign armies were present, and new political notions of liberalism and constitutional monarchy were exciting various groups of citizens.

   Again England came to the rescue, this time in the form of the armies of the duke of Wellington. Three successive French invasions of Portugal were defeated and expelled, and Wellington succeeded in carrying the war against Napoleon across the Portuguese frontier into Spain. The presence of the English army, the new French-born liberal ideas, and the political vacuum combined to create revolutionary conditions. The French invasions and the peninsular wars, where Portuguese armed forces played a key role, marked the beginning of a new era in politics.

   Liberalism and Constitutional Monarchy, 1822-1910

   During 1807-22, foreign invasions, war, and civil strife over conflicting political ideas gravely damaged Portugal's commerce, economy, and novice industry. The next terrible blow was the loss of Brazil in 1822, the jewel in the imperial crown. Portugal's very independence seemed to be at risk. In vain, Portugal sought to resist Brazilian independence by force, but in 1825 it formally acknowledged Brazilian independence by treaty.

   Portugal's slow recovery from the destructive French invasions and the "war of independence" was complicated by civil strife over the form of constitutional monarchy that best suited Portugal. After struggles over these issues between 1820 and 1834, Portugal settled somewhat uncertainly into a moderate constitutional monarchy whose constitution (Charter of 1826) lent it strong political powers to exert a moderating influence between the executive and legislative branches of the government. It also featured a new upper middle class based on land ownership and commerce; a Catholic Church that, although still important, lived with reduced privileges and property; a largely African (third) empire to which Lisbon and Oporto devoted increasing spiritual and material resources, starting with the liberal imperial plans of 1836 and 1851, and continuing with the work of institutions like the Lisbon Society of Geography (established 1875); and a mass of rural peasants whose bonds to the land weakened after 1850 and who began to immigrate in increasing numbers to Brazil and North America.

   Chronic military intervention in national politics began in 19th-century Portugal. Such intervention, usually commencing with coups or pronunciamentos (military revolts), was a shortcut to the spoils of political office and could reflect popular discontent as well as the power of personalities. An early example of this was the 1817 golpe (coup) attempt of General Gomes Freire against British military rule in Portugal before the return of King João VI from Brazil. Except for a more stable period from 1851 to 1880, military intervention in politics, or the threat thereof, became a feature of the constitutional monarchy's political life, and it continued into the First Republic and the subsequent Estado Novo.

   Beginning with the Regeneration period (1851-80), Portugal experienced greater political stability and economic progress. Military intervention in politics virtually ceased; industrialization and construction of railroads, roads, and bridges proceeded; two political parties (Regenerators and Historicals) worked out a system of rotation in power; and leading intellectuals sparked a cultural revival in several fields. In 19th-century literature, there was a new golden age led by such figures as Alexandre Herculano (historian), Eça de Queirós (novelist), Almeida Garrett (playwright and essayist), Antero de Quental (poet), and Joaquim Oliveira Martins (historian and social scientist). In its third overseas empire, Portugal attempted to replace the slave trade and slavery with legitimate economic activities; to reform the administration; and to expand Portuguese holdings beyond coastal footholds deep into the African hinterlands in West, West Central, and East Africa. After 1841, to some extent, and especially after 1870, colonial affairs, combined with intense nationalism, pressures for economic profit in Africa, sentiment for national revival, and the drift of European affairs would make or break Lisbon governments.

   Beginning with the political crisis that arose out of the "English Ultimatum" affair of January 1890, the monarchy became discredtted and identified with the poorly functioning government, political parties splintered, and republicanism found more supporters. Portugal participated in the "Scramble for Africa," expanding its African holdings, but failed to annex territory connecting Angola and Mozambique. A growing foreign debt and state bankruptcy as of the early 1890s damaged the constitutional monarchy's reputation, despite the efforts of King Carlos in diplomacy, the renewal of the alliance in the Windsor Treaty of 1899, and the successful if bloody colonial wars in the empire (1880-97). Republicanism proclaimed that Portugal's weak economy and poor society were due to two historic institutions: the monarchy and the Catholic Church. A republic, its stalwarts claimed, would bring greater individual liberty; efficient, if more decentralized government; and a stronger colonial program while stripping the Church of its role in both society and education.

   As the monarchy lost support and republicans became more aggressive, violence increased in politics. King Carlos I and his heir Luís were murdered in Lisbon by anarchist-republicans on 1 February 1908. Following a military and civil insurrection and fighting between monarchist and republican forces, on 5 October 1910, King Manuel II fled Portugal and a republic was proclaimed.

   First Parliamentary Republic, 1910-26

   Portugal's first attempt at republican government was the most unstable, turbulent parliamentary republic in the history of 20th-century Western Europe. During a little under 16 years of the republic, there were 45 governments, a number of legislatures that did not complete normal terms, military coups, and only one president who completed his four-year term in office. Portuguese society was poorly prepared for this political experiment. Among the deadly legacies of the monarchy were a huge public debt; a largely rural, apolitical, and illiterate peasant population; conflict over the causes of the country's misfortunes; and lack of experience with a pluralist, democratic system.

   The republic had some talented leadership but lacked popular, institutional, and economic support. The 1911 republican constitution established only a limited democracy, as only a small portion of the adult male citizenry was eligible to vote. In a country where the majority was Catholic, the republic passed harshly anticlerical laws, and its institutions and supporters persecuted both the Church and its adherents. During its brief disjointed life, the First Republic drafted important reform plans in economic, social, and educational affairs; actively promoted development in the empire; and pursued a liberal, generous foreign policy. Following British requests for Portugal's assistance in World War I, Portugal entered the war on the Allied side in March 1916 and sent armies to Flanders and Portuguese Africa. Portugal's intervention in that conflict, however, was too costly in many respects, and the ultimate failure of the republic in part may be ascribed to Portugal's World War I activities.

   Unfortunately for the republic, its time coincided with new threats to Portugal's African possessions: World War I, social and political demands from various classes that could not be reconciled, excessive military intervention in politics, and, in particular, the worst economic and financial crisis Portugal had experienced since the 16th and 17th centuries. After the original Portuguese Republican Party (PRP, also known as the "Democrats") splintered into three warring groups in 1912, no true multiparty system emerged. The Democrats, except for only one or two elections, held an iron monopoly of electoral power, and political corruption became a major issue. As extreme right-wing dictatorships elsewhere in Europe began to take power in Italy (1922), neighboring Spain (1923), and Greece (1925), what scant popular support remained for the republic collapsed. Backed by a right-wing coalition of landowners from Alentejo, clergy, Coimbra University faculty and students, Catholic organizations, and big business, career military officers led by General Gomes da Costa executed a coup on 28 May 1926, turned out the last republican government, and established a military government.

   The Estado Novo (New State), 1926-74

   During the military phase (1926-32) of the Estado Novo, professional military officers, largely from the army, governed and administered Portugal and held key cabinet posts, but soon discovered that the military possessed no magic formula that could readily solve the problems inherited from the First Republic. Especially during the years 1926-31, the military dictatorship, even with its political repression of republican activities and institutions (military censorship of the press, political police action, and closure of the republic's rowdy parliament), was characterized by similar weaknesses: personalism and factionalism; military coups and political instability, including civil strife and loss of life; state debt and bankruptcy; and a weak economy. "Barracks parliamentarism" was not an acceptable alternative even to the "Nightmare Republic."

   Led by General Óscar Carmona, who had replaced and sent into exile General Gomes da Costa, the military dictatorship turned to a civilian expert in finance and economics to break the budget impasse and bring coherence to the disorganized system. Appointed minister of finance on 27 April 1928, the Coimbra University Law School professor of economics Antônio de Oliveira Salazar (1889-1970) first reformed finance, helped balance the budget, and then turned to other concerns as he garnered extraordinary governing powers. In 1930, he was appointed interim head of another key ministry (Colonies) and within a few years had become, in effect, a civilian dictator who, with the military hierarchy's support, provided the government with coherence, a program, and a set of policies.

   For nearly 40 years after he was appointed the first civilian prime minister in 1932, Salazar's personality dominated the government. Unlike extreme right-wing dictators elsewhere in Europe, Salazar was directly appointed by the army but was never endorsed by a popular political party, street militia, or voter base. The scholarly, reclusive former Coimbra University professor built up what became known after 1932 as the Estado Novo ("New State"), which at the time of its overthrow by another military coup in 1974, was the longest surviving authoritarian regime in Western Europe. The system of Salazar and the largely academic and technocratic ruling group he gathered in his cabinets was based on the central bureaucracy of the state, which was supported by the president of the republic—always a senior career military officer, General Óscar Carmona (1928-51), General Craveiro Lopes (1951-58), and Admiral Américo Tómaz (1958-74)—and the complicity of various institutions. These included a rubber-stamp legislature called the National Assembly (1935-74) and a political police known under various names: PVDE (1932-45), PIDE (1945-69),

   and DGS (1969-74). Other defenders of the Estado Novo security were paramilitary organizations such as the National Republican Guard (GNR); the Portuguese Legion (PL); and the Portuguese Youth [Movement]. In addition to censorship of the media, theater, and books, there was political repression and a deliberate policy of depoliticization. All political parties except for the approved movement of regime loyalists, the União Nacional or (National Union), were banned.

   The most vigorous and more popular period of the New State was 1932-44, when the basic structures were established. Never monolithic or entirely the work of one person (Salazar), the New State was constructed with the assistance of several dozen top associates who were mainly academics from law schools, some technocrats with specialized skills, and a handful of trusted career military officers. The 1933 Constitution declared Portugal to be a "unitary, corporative Republic," and pressures to restore the monarchy were resisted. Although some of the regime's followers were fascists and pseudofascists, many more were conservative Catholics, integralists, nationalists, and monarchists of different varieties, and even some reactionary republicans. If the New State was authoritarian, it was not totalitarian and, unlike fascism in Benito Mussolini's Italy or Adolf Hitler's Germany, it usually employed the minimum of violence necessary to defeat what remained a largely fractious, incoherent opposition.

   With the tumultuous Second Republic and the subsequent civil war in nearby Spain, the regime felt threatened and reinforced its defenses. During what Salazar rightly perceived as a time of foreign policy crisis for Portugal (1936-45), he assumed control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From there, he pursued four basic foreign policy objectives: supporting the Nationalist rebels of General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and concluding defense treaties with a triumphant Franco; ensuring that General Franco in an exhausted Spain did not enter World War II on the Axis side; maintaining Portuguese neutrality in World War II with a post-1942 tilt toward the Allies, including granting Britain and the United States use of bases in the Azores Islands; and preserving and protecting Portugal's Atlantic Islands and its extensive, if poor, overseas empire in Africa and Asia.

   During the middle years of the New State (1944-58), many key Salazar associates in government either died or resigned, and there was greater social unrest in the form of unprecedented strikes and clandestine Communist activities, intensified opposition, and new threatening international pressures on Portugal's overseas empire. During the earlier phase of the Cold War (1947-60), Portugal became a steadfast, if weak, member of the US-dominated North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance and, in 1955, with American support, Portugal joined the United Nations (UN). Colonial affairs remained a central concern of the regime. As of 1939, Portugal was the third largest colonial power in the world and possessed territories in tropical Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe Islands) and the remnants of its 16th-century empire in Asia (Goa, Damão, Diu, East Timor, and Macau). Beginning in the early 1950s, following the independence of India in 1947, Portugal resisted Indian pressures to decolonize Portuguese India and used police forces to discourage internal opposition in its Asian and African colonies.

   The later years of the New State (1958-68) witnessed the aging of the increasingly isolated but feared Salazar and new threats both at home and overseas. Although the regime easily overcame the brief oppositionist threat from rival presidential candidate General Humberto Delgado in the spring of 1958, new developments in the African and Asian empires imperiled the authoritarian system. In February 1961, oppositionists hijacked the Portuguese ocean liner Santa Maria and, in following weeks, African insurgents in northern Angola, although they failed to expel the Portuguese, gained worldwide media attention, discredited the New State, and began the 13-year colonial war. After thwarting a dissident military coup against his continued leadership, Salazar and his ruling group mobilized military repression in Angola and attempted to develop the African colonies at a faster pace in order to ensure Portuguese control. Meanwhile, the other European colonial powers (Britain, France, Belgium, and Spain) rapidly granted political independence to their African territories.

   At the time of Salazar's removal from power in September 1968, following a stroke, Portugal's efforts to maintain control over its colonies appeared to be successful. President Americo Tomás appointed Dr. Marcello Caetano as Salazar's successor as prime minister. While maintaining the New State's basic structures, and continuing the regime's essential colonial policy, Caetano attempted wider reforms in colonial administration and some devolution of power from Lisbon, as well as more freedom of expression in Lisbon. Still, a great deal of the budget was devoted to supporting the wars against the insurgencies in Africa. Meanwhile in Asia, Portuguese India had fallen when the Indian army invaded in December 1961. The loss of Goa was a psychological blow to the leadership of the New State, and of the Asian empire only East Timor and Macau remained.

   The Caetano years (1968-74) were but a hiatus between the waning Salazar era and a new regime. There was greater political freedom and rapid economic growth (5-6 percent annually to late 1973), but Caetano's government was unable to reform the old system thoroughly and refused to consider new methods either at home or in the empire. In the end, regime change came from junior officers of the professional military who organized the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) against the Caetano government. It was this group of several hundred officers, mainly in the army and navy, which engineered a largely bloodless coup in Lisbon on 25 April 1974. Their unexpected action brought down the 48-year-old New State and made possible the eventual establishment and consolidation of democratic governance in Portugal, as well as a reorientation of the country away from the Atlantic toward Europe.

   Revolution of Carnations, 1974-76

   Following successful military operations of the Armed Forces Movement against the Caetano government, Portugal experienced what became known as the "Revolution of Carnations." It so happened that during the rainy week of the military golpe, Lisbon flower shops were featuring carnations, and the revolutionaries and their supporters adopted the red carnation as the common symbol of the event, as well as of the new freedom from dictatorship. The MFA, whose leaders at first were mostly little-known majors and captains, proclaimed a three-fold program of change for the new Portugal: democracy; decolonization of the overseas empire, after ending the colonial wars; and developing a backward economy in the spirit of opportunity and equality. During the first 24 months after the coup, there was civil strife, some anarchy, and a power struggle. With the passing of the Estado Novo, public euphoria burst forth as the new provisional military government proclaimed the freedoms of speech, press, and assembly, and abolished censorship, the political police, the Portuguese Legion, Portuguese Youth, and other New State organizations, including the National Union. Scores of political parties were born and joined the senior political party, the Portuguese Community Party (PCP), and the Socialist Party (PS), founded shortly before the coup.

   Portugal's Revolution of Carnations went through several phases. There was an attempt to take control by radical leftists, including the PCP and its allies. This was thwarted by moderate officers in the army, as well as by the efforts of two political parties: the PS and the Social Democrats (PPD, later PSD). The first phase was from April to September 1974. Provisional president General Antonio Spínola, whose 1974 book Portugal and the Future had helped prepare public opinion for the coup, met irresistible leftist pressures. After Spinola's efforts to avoid rapid decolonization of the African empire failed, he resigned in September 1974. During the second phase, from September 1974 to March 1975, radical military officers gained control, but a coup attempt by General Spínola and his supporters in Lisbon in March 1975 failed and Spínola fled to Spain.

   In the third phase of the Revolution, March-November 1975, a strong leftist reaction followed. Farm workers occupied and "nationalized" 1.1 million hectares of farmland in the Alentejo province, and radical military officers in the provisional government ordered the nationalization of Portuguese banks (foreign banks were exempted), utilities, and major industries, or about 60 percent of the economic system. There were power struggles among various political parties — a total of 50 emerged—and in the streets there was civil strife among labor, military, and law enforcement groups. A constituent assembly, elected on 25 April 1975, in Portugal's first free elections since 1926, drafted a democratic constitution. The Council of the Revolution (CR), briefly a revolutionary military watchdog committee, was entrenched as part of the government under the constitution, until a later revision. During the chaotic year of 1975, about 30 persons were killed in political frays while unstable provisional governments came and went. On 25 November 1975, moderate military forces led by Colonel Ramalho Eanes, who later was twice elected president of the republic (1976 and 1981), defeated radical, leftist military groups' revolutionary conspiracies.

   In the meantime, Portugal's scattered overseas empire experienced a precipitous and unprepared decolonization. One by one, the former colonies were granted and accepted independence—Guinea-Bissau (September 1974), Cape Verde Islands (July 1975), and Mozambique (July 1975). Portugal offered to turn over Macau to the People's Republic of China, but the offer was refused then and later negotiations led to the establishment of a formal decolonization or hand-over date of 1999. But in two former colonies, the process of decolonization had tragic results.

   In Angola, decolonization negotiations were greatly complicated by the fact that there were three rival nationalist movements in a struggle for power. The January 1975 Alvor Agreement signed by Portugal and these three parties was not effectively implemented. A bloody civil war broke out in Angola in the spring of 1975 and, when Portuguese armed forces withdrew and declared that Angola was independent on 11 November 1975, the bloodshed only increased. Meanwhile, most of the white Portuguese settlers from Angola and Mozambique fled during the course of 1975. Together with African refugees, more than 600,000 of these retornados ("returned ones") went by ship and air to Portugal and thousands more to Namibia, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, and the United States.

   The second major decolonization disaster was in Portugal's colony of East Timor in the Indonesian archipelago. Portugal's capacity to supervise and control a peaceful transition to independence in this isolated, neglected colony was limited by the strength of giant Indonesia, distance from Lisbon, and Portugal's revolutionary disorder and inability to defend Timor. In early December 1975, before Portugal granted formal independence and as one party, FRETILIN, unilaterally declared East Timor's independence, Indonesia's armed forces invaded, conquered, and annexed East Timor. Indonesian occupation encountered East Timorese resistance, and a heavy loss of life followed. The East Timor question remained a contentious international issue in the UN, as well as in Lisbon and Jakarta, for more than 20 years following Indonesia's invasion and annexation of the former colony of Portugal. Major changes occurred, beginning in 1998, after Indonesia underwent a political revolution and allowed a referendum in East Timor to decide that territory's political future in August 1999. Most East Timorese chose independence, but Indonesian forces resisted that verdict until

   UN intervention in September 1999. Following UN rule for several years, East Timor attained full independence on 20 May 2002.

   Consolidation of Democracy, 1976-2000

   After several free elections and record voter turnouts between 25 April 1975 and June 1976, civil war was averted and Portugal's second democratic republic began to stabilize. The MFA was dissolved, the military were returned to the barracks, and increasingly elected civilians took over the government of the country. The 1976 Constitution was revised several times beginning in 1982 and 1989, in order to reempha-size the principle of free enterprise in the economy while much of the large, nationalized sector was privatized. In June 1976, General Ram-alho Eanes was elected the first constitutional president of the republic (five-year term), and he appointed socialist leader Dr. Mário Soares as prime minister of the first constitutional government.

   From 1976 to 1985, Portugal's new system featured a weak economy and finances, labor unrest, and administrative and political instability. The difficult consolidation of democratic governance was eased in part by the strong currency and gold reserves inherited from the Estado Novo, but Lisbon seemed unable to cope with high unemployment, new debt, the complex impact of the refugees from Africa, world recession, and the agitation of political parties. Four major parties emerged from the maelstrom of 1974-75, except for the Communist Party, all newly founded. They were, from left to right, the Communists (PCP); the Socialists (PS), who managed to dominate governments and the legislature but not win a majority in the Assembly of the Republic; the Social Democrats (PSD); and the Christian Democrats (CDS). During this period, the annual growth rate was low (l-2 percent), and the nationalized sector of the economy stagnated.

   Enhanced economic growth, greater political stability, and more effective central government as of 1985, and especially 1987, were due to several developments. In 1977, Portugal applied for membership in the European Economic Community (EEC), now the European Union (EU) since 1993. In January 1986, with Spain, Portugal was granted membership, and economic and financial progress in the intervening years has been significantly influenced by the comparatively large investment, loans, technology, advice, and other assistance from the EEC. Low unemployment, high annual growth rates (5 percent), and moderate inflation have also been induced by the new political and administrative stability in Lisbon. Led by Prime Minister Cavaco Silva, an economist who was trained abroad, the PSD's strong organization, management, and electoral support since 1985 have assisted in encouraging economic recovery and development. In 1985, the PSD turned the PS out of office and won the general election, although they did not have an absolute majority of assembly seats. In 1986, Mário Soares was elected president of the republic, the first civilian to hold that office since the First Republic. In the elections of 1987 and 1991, however, the PSD was returned to power with clear majorities of over 50 percent of the vote.

   Although the PSD received 50.4 percent of the vote in the 1991 parliamentary elections and held a 42-seat majority in the Assembly of the Republic, the party began to lose public support following media revelations regarding corruption and complaints about Prime Minister Cavaco Silva's perceived arrogant leadership style. President Mário Soares voiced criticism of the PSD's seemingly untouchable majority and described a "tyranny of the majority." Economic growth slowed down. In the parliamentary elections of 1995 and the presidential election of 1996, the PSD's dominance ended for the time being. Prime Minister Antônio Guterres came to office when the PS won the October 1995 elections, and in the subsequent presidential contest, in January 1996, socialist Jorge Sampaio, the former mayor of Lisbon, was elected president of the republic, thus defeating Cavaco Silva's bid. Young and popular, Guterres moved the PS toward the center of the political spectrum. Under Guterres, the PS won the October 1999 parliamentary elections. The PS defeated the PSD but did not manage to win a clear, working majority of seats, and this made the PS dependent upon alliances with smaller parties, including the PCP.

   In the local elections in December 2001, the PSD's criticism of PS's heavy public spending allowed the PSD to take control of the key cities of Lisbon, Oporto, and Coimbra. Guterres resigned, and parliamentary elections were brought forward from 2004 to March 2002. The PSD won a narrow victory with 40 percent of the votes, and Jose Durão Barroso became prime minister. Having failed to win a majority of the seats in parliament forced the PSD to govern in coalition with the right-wing Popular Party (PP) led by Paulo Portas. Durão Barroso set about reducing government spending by cutting the budgets of local authorities, freezing civil service hiring, and reviving the economy by accelerating privatization of state-owned enterprises. These measures provoked a 24-hour strike by public-sector workers. Durão Barroso reacted with vows to press ahead with budget-cutting measures and imposed a wage freeze on all employees earning more than €1,000, which affected more than one-half of Portugal's work force.

   In June 2004, Durão Barroso was invited by Romano Prodi to succeed him as president of the European Commission. Durão Barroso accepted and resigned the prime ministership in July. Pedro Santana Lopes, the leader of the PSD, became prime minister. Already unpopular at the time of Durão Barroso's resignation, the PSD-led government became increasingly unpopular under Santana Lopes. A month-long delay in the start of the school year and confusion over his plan to cut taxes and raise public-sector salaries, eroded confidence even more. By November, Santana Lopes's government was so unpopular that President Jorge Sampaio was obliged to dissolve parliament and hold new elections, two years ahead of schedule.

   Parliamentary elections were held on 20 February 2005. The PS, which had promised the electorate disciplined and transparent governance, educational reform, the alleviation of poverty, and a boost in employment, won 45 percent of the vote and the majority of the seats in parliament. The leader of the PS, José Sôcrates became prime minister on 12 March 2005. In the regularly scheduled presidential elections held on 6 January 2006, the former leader of the PSD and prime minister, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, won a narrow victory and became president on 9 March 2006. With a mass protest, public teachers' strike, and street demonstrations in March 2008, Portugal's media, educational, and social systems experienced more severe pressures. With the spreading global recession beginning in September 2008, Portugal's economic and financial systems became more troubled.

    Contemporary Portugal

   Owing to its geographic location on the southwestern most edge of continental Europe, Portugal has been historically in but not of Europe. Almost from the beginning of its existence in the 12th century as an independent monarchy, Portugal turned its back on Europe and oriented itself toward the Atlantic Ocean. After carving out a Christian kingdom on the western portion of the Iberian peninsula, Portuguese kings gradually built and maintained a vast seaborne global empire that became central to the way Portugal understood its individuality as a nation-state. While the creation of this empire allows Portugal to claim an unusual number of "firsts" or distinctions in world and Western history, it also retarded Portugal's economic, social, and political development. It can be reasonably argued that the Revolution of 25 April 1974 was the most decisive event in Portugal's long history because it finally ended Portugal's oceanic mission and view of itself as an imperial power. After the 1974 Revolution, Portugal turned away from its global mission and vigorously reoriented itself toward Europe. Contemporary Portugal is now both in and of Europe.

   The turn toward Europe began immediately after 25 April 1974. Portugal granted independence to its African colonies in 1975. It was admitted to the European Council and took the first steps toward accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1976. On 28 March 1977, the Portuguese government officially applied for EEC membership. Because of Portugal's economic and social backwardness, which would require vast sums of EEC money to overcome, negotiations for membership were long and difficult. Finally, a treaty of accession was signed on 12 June 1985. Portugal officially joined the EEC (the European Union [EU] since 1993) on 1 January 1986. Since becoming a full-fledged member of the EU, Portugal has been steadily overcoming the economic and social underdevelopment caused by its imperial past and is becoming more like the rest of Europe.

   Membership in the EU has speeded up the structural transformation of Portugal's economy, which actually began during the Estado Novo. Investments made by the Estado Novo in Portugal's economy began to shift employment out of the agricultural sector, which, in 1950, accounted for 50 percent of Portugal's economically active population. Today, only 10 percent of the economically active population is employed in the agricultural sector (the highest among EU member states); 30 percent in the industrial sector (also the highest among EU member states); and 60 percent in the service sector (the lowest among EU member states). The economically active population numbers about 5,000,000 employed, 56 percent of whom are women. Women workers are the majority of the workforce in the agricultural and service sectors (the highest among the EU member states). The expansion of the service sector has been primarily in health care and education. Portugal has had the lowest unemployment rates among EU member states, with the overall rate never being more than 10 percent of the active population. Since joining the EU, the number of employers increased from 2.6 percent to 5.8 percent of the active population; self-employed from 16 to 19 percent; and employees from 65 to 70 percent. Twenty-six percent of the employers are women. Unemployment tends to hit younger workers in industry and transportation, women employed in domestic service, workers on short-term contracts, and poorly educated workers. Salaried workers earn only 63 percent of the EU average, and hourly workers only one-third to one-half of that earned by their EU counterparts. Despite having had the second highest growth of gross national product (GNP) per inhabitant (after Ireland) among EU member states, the above data suggest that while much has been accomplished in terms of modernizing the Portuguese economy, much remains to be done to bring Portugal's economy up to the level of the "average" EU member state.

   Membership in the EU has also speeded up changes in Portuguese society. Over the last 30 years, coastalization and urbanization have intensified. Fully 50 percent of Portuguese live in the coastal urban conurbations of Lisbon, Oporto, Braga, Aveiro, Coimbra, Viseu, Évora, and Faro. The Portuguese population is one of the oldest among EU member states (17.3 percent are 65 years of age or older) thanks to a considerable increase in life expectancy at birth (77.87 years for the total population, 74.6 years for men, 81.36 years for women) and one of the lowest birthrates (10.59 births/1,000) in Europe. Family size averages 2.8 persons per household, with the strict nuclear family (one or two generations) in which both parents work being typical. Common law marriages, cohabitating couples, and single-parent households are more and more common. The divorce rate has also increased. "Youth Culture" has developed. The young have their own meeting places, leisure-time activities, and nightlife (bars, clubs, and discos).

   All Portuguese citizens, whether they have contributed or not, have a right to an old-age pension, invalidity benefits, widowed persons' pension, as well as payments for disabilities, children, unemployment, and large families. There is a national minimum wage (€385 per month), which is low by EU standards. The rapid aging of Portugal's population has changed the ratio of contributors to pensioners to 1.7, the lowest in the EU. This has created deficits in Portugal's social security fund.

   The adult literacy rate is about 92 percent. Illiteracy is still found among the elderly. Although universal compulsory education up to grade 9 was achieved in 1980, only 21.2 percent of the population aged 25-64 had undergone secondary education, compared to an EU average of 65.7 percent. Portugal's higher education system currently consists of 14 state universities and 14 private universities, 15 state polytechnic institutions, one Catholic university, and one military academy. All in all, Portugal spends a greater percentage of its state budget on education than most EU member states. Despite this high level of expenditure, the troubled Portuguese education system does not perform well. Early leaving and repetition rates are among the highest among EU member states.

   After the Revolution of 25 April 1974, Portugal created a National Health Service, which today consists of 221 hospitals and 512 medical centers employing 33,751 doctors and 41,799 nurses. Like its education system, Portugal's medical system is inefficient. There are long waiting lists for appointments with specialists and for surgical procedures.

   Structural changes in Portugal's economy and society mean that social life in Portugal is not too different from that in other EU member states. A mass consumption society has been created. Televisions, telephones, refrigerators, cars, music equipment, mobile phones, and personal computers are commonplace. Sixty percent of Portuguese households possess at least one automobile, and 65 percent of Portuguese own their own home. Portuguese citizens are more aware of their legal rights than ever before. This has resulted in a trebling of the number of legal proceeding since 1960 and an eight-fold increase in the number of lawyers. In general, Portuguese society has become more permissive and secular; the Catholic Church and the armed forces are much less influential than in the past. Portugal's population is also much more culturally, religiously, and ethnically diverse, a consequence of the coming to Portugal of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, mainly from former African colonies.

   Portuguese are becoming more cosmopolitan and sophisticated through the impact of world media, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. A prime case in point came in the summer and early fall of 1999, with the extraordinary events in East Timor and the massive Portuguese popular responses. An internationally monitored referendum in East Timor, Portugal's former colony in the Indonesian archipelago and under Indonesian occupation from late 1975 to summer 1999, resulted in a vote of 78.5 percent for rejecting integration with Indonesia and for independence. When Indonesian prointegration gangs, aided by the Indonesian military, responded to the referendum with widespread brutality and threatened to reverse the verdict of the referendum, there was a spontaneous popular outpouring of protest in the cities and towns of Portugal. An avalanche of Portuguese e-mail fell on leaders and groups in the UN and in certain countries around the world as Portugal's diplomats, perhaps to compensate for the weak initial response to Indonesian armed aggression in 1975, called for the protection of East Timor as an independent state and for UN intervention to thwart Indonesian action. Using global communications networks, the Portuguese were able to mobilize UN and world public opinion against Indonesian actions and aided the eventual independence of East Timor on 20 May 2002.

   From the Revolution of 25 April 1974 until the 1990s, Portugal had a large number of political parties, one of the largest Communist parties in western Europe, frequent elections, and endemic cabinet instability. Since the 1990s, the number of political parties has been dramatically reduced and cabinet stability increased. Gradually, the Portuguese electorate has concentrated around two larger parties, the right-of-center Social Democrats (PSD) and the left-of-center Socialist (PS). In the 1980s, these two parties together garnered 65 percent of the vote and 70 percent of the seats in parliament. In 2005, these percentages had risen to 74 percent and 85 percent, respectively. In effect, Portugal is currently a two-party dominant system in which the two largest parties — PS and PSD—alternate in and out of power, not unlike the rotation of the two main political parties (the Regenerators and the Historicals) during the last decades (1850s to 1880s) of the liberal constitutional monarchy. As Portugal's democracy has consolidated, turnout rates for the eligible electorate have declined. In the 1970s, turnout was 85 percent. In Portugal's most recent parliamentary election (2005), turnout had fallen to 65 percent of the eligible electorate.

   Portugal has benefited greatly from membership in the EU, and whatever doubts remain about the price paid for membership, no Portuguese government in the near future can afford to sever this connection. The vast majority of Portuguese citizens see membership in the EU as a "good thing" and strongly believe that Portugal has benefited from membership. Only the Communist Party opposed membership because it reduces national sovereignty, serves the interests of capitalists not workers, and suffers from a democratic deficit. Despite the high level of support for the EU, Portuguese voters are increasingly not voting in elections for the European Parliament, however. Turnout for European Parliament elections fell from 40 percent of the eligible electorate in the 1999 elections to 38 percent in the 2004 elections.

   In sum, Portugal's turn toward Europe has done much to overcome its backwardness. However, despite the economic, social, and political progress made since 1986, Portugal has a long way to go before it can claim to be on a par with the level found even in Spain, much less the rest of western Europe. As Portugal struggles to move from underde-velopment, especially in the rural areas away from the coast, it must keep in mind the perils of too rapid modern development, which could damage two of its most precious assets: its scenery and environment. The growth and future prosperity of the economy will depend on the degree to which the government and the private sector will remain stewards of clean air, soil, water, and other finite resources on which the tourism industry depends and on which Portugal's world image as a unique place to visit rests. Currently, Portugal is investing heavily in renewable energy from solar, wind, and wave power in order to account for about 50 percent of its electricity needs by 2010. Portugal opened the world's largest solar power plant and the world's first commercial wave power farm in 2006.

   An American documentary film on Portugal produced in the 1970s described this little country as having "a Past in Search of a Future." In the years after the Revolution of 25 April 1974, it could be said that Portugal is now living in "a Present in Search of a Future." Increasingly, that future lies in Europe as an active and productive member of the EU.

Historical dictionary of Portugal > Historical Portugal
6 el

art.

the (in general).

el coche the car

la casa the house

los niños the children

el agua/hacha/águila the water/ax/eagle

fui a recoger a los niños I went to pick up the children

* * *

el

► determinante

1 the

■ el coche the car

■ el agua water

■ el Japón Japan

■ la Sra. Rodríguez Mrs. Rodríguez

■ llegó el martes he arrived on Tuesday

2 el de the one

■ el del traje azul the one in the blue suit

■ el de Valencia the one from Valencia

■ el de tu hermano your brother's

■ el de hoy today's

3 el que (persona - sujeto) the one who; (- objeto) the one, the one that, the one whom

■ el que vino ayer the one who came yesterday

■ el que vi the one I saw

4 (cosa) the one, the one that, the one which

■ el que me diste the one (that) you gave me

* * *
1. pron.
the one

- el que
2. art.
the

* * *

el; la; los; las
ART DEF
1) [con nombres de referente único o concreto] the

el sol — the sun

perdí el autobús — I missed the bus

¿está fría el agua? — is the water cold?

¿ha llegado ya el abogado? — has the lawyer arrived yet?

el tío ese — * that chap

2) [en algunos casos no se traduce]

a) [con nombres propios]

La India — India

en el México de hoy — in present-day Mexico

el Real Madrid ganó la liga — Real Madrid won the league

el General Prim — General Prim

¿qué manda la señora? — what would madam like?

ha llamado el Sr. Sendra — Mr. Sendra called

dáselo a la Luisa — * give it to Luisa

b) [con nombres en sentido genérico]

me gusta el baloncesto — I like basketball

no me gusta el pescado — I don't like fish

está en la cárcel — he's in jail

c) [con infinitivo]

el hacerlo fue un error — doing it was a mistake, it was a mistake to do it

d) [con cifras, proporciones]

la mitad de la población — half of the population

ahora gano el 3% más — I now earn 3% more

3) [traducido por el posesivo]

se lavó las manos — he washed his hands

me he cortado el pelo — I've had my hair cut

ayer me lavé la cabeza — I washed my hair yesterday

me puse el abrigo — I put my coat on

4) [con expresiones temporales]

a las ocho — at eight o'clock

a los quince días — after a fortnight

vendrá el lunes que viene — he's coming next Monday

la reunión será el 15 de abril — the meeting's on 15 April

en el mes de julio — in (the month of) July

5) (=uso distributivo)

cuesta dos euros el kilo — it costs two euros a kilo

6) [en exclamaciones]

¡el frío que hacía! — it was freezing!

7) [posesivo]

• el de, mi libro y el de usted — my book and yours

este jugador y el de la camisa azul — this player and the one in the blue shirt

el del sombrero rojo — the one with o in the red hat

es un traje bonito, pero prefiero el de Ana — it's a nice suit, but I prefer Ana's

y el de todos los demás — and that of everybody else, and everybody else's

el idiota de Pedro no me contestó al teléfono — that idiot Pedro didn't answer the phone

8)

• el que —

a) + indic

el que compramos no vale — the one we bought is no good

a los que mencionamos añádase este — add this one to the ones we mentioned

yo fui el que lo encontró — I was the one who found it

él es el que quiere — it's he who wants to, he's the one who wants to

los que hacen eso son tontos — anyone who does that is a fool, those who do so are foolish

b) + subjun whoever

el que quiera, que lo haga — whoever wants to can do it

* * *

(pl los), la (pl las) articulo

[the masculine article el is also used before feminine nouns which begin with accented a or ha, e.g. el agua pura, el hada madrina]

1)

a) ( con un referente único) the

el sol — the sun

la Tierra — the Earth

b) ( con sustantivos en sentido genérico)

odio el pescado — I hate fish

así es la vida — that's life

(nosotros) los mexicanos — we Mexicans

¿ya vas a la escuela? — do you go to school yet?

en el mar — at sea

c) ( con un referente conocido o que se define)

en la calle Solis — in Solis street

el mío/las tuyas — mine/yours

el rojo/último — the red/last one

el estúpido del marido — that stupid husband of hers

los nacidos entre... — those born between...

2)

a)

el + de...: la del sombrero the one with the hat; el de Valencia the one from Valencia; el de las nueve the nine o'clock one; el de Juan/de mi hijo — Juan's/my son's

b)

el + que...: el que acaba de entrar the one who's just come in; las que yo ví the ones I saw; los que estén cansados; those who are tired, anyone who's tired; la que te guste whichever you like; el que lo haya hecho — whoever has done it

3) ( en expresiones de tiempo)

ocurrió el domingo — it happened last Sunday

mi cumpleaños es el 28 de mayo — my birthday's on May 28

el mes pasado/que viene — last/next month

no trabajo los sábados — I don't work (on) Saturdays

toda la mañana — all morning

a las ocho — at eight o'clock

4) ( cada)

$80 el metro/kilo — $80 a meter/a kilo

5) (con fracciones, porcentajes, números)

la mitad/la cuarta parte del dinero — half the money/a quarter of the money

el 20% de... — 20% of...

el cuarto piso — the fifth floor (AmE) o (BrE) fourth floor

6) (refiriéndose a partes del cuerpo, prendas de vestir, artículos personales, etc)

tenía las manos en los bolsillos — she had her hands in her pockets

te cortaste el pelo! — you've had your hair cut!

tienes la falda sucia — your skirt is dirty

tiene los ojos azules — he has blue eyes

7) ( con nombres propios)

a) (con apellidos acompañados de título, adjetivos, etc)

el señor Ortiz/la doctora Vidal — Mr Ortiz/Doctor Vidal

b) ( en plural)

los Ortega — the Ortegas

c) ( con algunos nombres geográficos)

en la India — in India

en (el) Perú — in Peru; ver África, Argentina, etc

d) ( al calificar)

la España de Franco — Franco's Spain

el Buñuel que todos conocemos — the Buñuel we all know

e) ( con algunos equipos deportivos)

juegan contra el Juventus — they're playing against Juventus

8) el ( con infinitivo)

odiaba el tener que pedírselo — he hated having to ask her

es cuidadoso en el hablar — he's careful in the way he speaks

el frenético girar de los bailarines — the frenzied spinning of the dancers

* * *

(pl los), la (pl las) articulo

[the masculine article el is also used before feminine nouns which begin with accented a or ha, e.g. el agua pura, el hada madrina]

1)

a) ( con un referente único) the

el sol — the sun

la Tierra — the Earth

b) ( con sustantivos en sentido genérico)

odio el pescado — I hate fish

así es la vida — that's life

(nosotros) los mexicanos — we Mexicans

¿ya vas a la escuela? — do you go to school yet?

en el mar — at sea

c) ( con un referente conocido o que se define)

en la calle Solis — in Solis street

el mío/las tuyas — mine/yours

el rojo/último — the red/last one

el estúpido del marido — that stupid husband of hers

los nacidos entre... — those born between...

2)

a)

el + de...: la del sombrero the one with the hat; el de Valencia the one from Valencia; el de las nueve the nine o'clock one; el de Juan/de mi hijo — Juan's/my son's

b)

el + que...: el que acaba de entrar the one who's just come in; las que yo ví the ones I saw; los que estén cansados; those who are tired, anyone who's tired; la que te guste whichever you like; el que lo haya hecho — whoever has done it

3) ( en expresiones de tiempo)

ocurrió el domingo — it happened last Sunday

mi cumpleaños es el 28 de mayo — my birthday's on May 28

el mes pasado/que viene — last/next month

no trabajo los sábados — I don't work (on) Saturdays

toda la mañana — all morning

a las ocho — at eight o'clock

4) ( cada)

$80 el metro/kilo — $80 a meter/a kilo

5) (con fracciones, porcentajes, números)

la mitad/la cuarta parte del dinero — half the money/a quarter of the money

el 20% de... — 20% of...

el cuarto piso — the fifth floor (AmE) o (BrE) fourth floor

6) (refiriéndose a partes del cuerpo, prendas de vestir, artículos personales, etc)

tenía las manos en los bolsillos — she had her hands in her pockets

te cortaste el pelo! — you've had your hair cut!

tienes la falda sucia — your skirt is dirty

tiene los ojos azules — he has blue eyes

7) ( con nombres propios)

a) (con apellidos acompañados de título, adjetivos, etc)

el señor Ortiz/la doctora Vidal — Mr Ortiz/Doctor Vidal

b) ( en plural)

los Ortega — the Ortegas

c) ( con algunos nombres geográficos)

en la India — in India

en (el) Perú — in Peru; ver África, Argentina, etc

d) ( al calificar)

la España de Franco — Franco's Spain

el Buñuel que todos conocemos — the Buñuel we all know

e) ( con algunos equipos deportivos)

juegan contra el Juventus — they're playing against Juventus

8) el ( con infinitivo)

odiaba el tener que pedírselo — he hated having to ask her

es cuidadoso en el hablar — he's careful in the way he speaks

el frenético girar de los bailarines — the frenzied spinning of the dancers

* * *

el²

= the, ye.

Nota: Forma arcaica.

Ex: The first institute, 'The Catalog: Its Nature and Prospects,' was held in New York City on October 9 and 10, 1975.

Ex: The article 'Ye olde smart card' presents an annotated list of information sources on the credit card industry.

* a lo extremo = to the extreme.

* aunque no lo creas = believe it or not.

* barrio de los ricos = upper town.

* de los mejores = as good as any.

* el abuelo de = the granddaddy of.

* el acabose = the last straw.

* el alcance = comprehensiveness.

* el amor de + Posesivo + vida = the love of + Posesivo + life.

* el año próximo = the year ahead.

* el arte de = the art of, the fine art of.

* el ataque es la mejor defensa = attack is the best form of defence.

* el auténtico = the real McCoy.

* el beneficio de la duda = the benefit of the doubt.

* el bien de = the good of.

* el buenazo de + Nombre = good old + Nombre.

* el bueno de + Nombre = good old + Nombre.

* el camino a seguir = the way ahead, the way to go.

* el camino correcto = the way ahead, the way to go.

* el camino hacia + Nombre + está lleno de + Nombre = the road (to/towards) + Nombre + is paved with + Nombre.

* el camino hacia + Nombre + está plagado de + Nombre = the road (to/towards) + Nombre + is paved with + Nombre.

* el camino por recorrer = the way ahead.

* el camino que lleva a = a/the doorway to.

* el camino recorrido = the road travelled so far.

* el camino se hace andando = actions speak louder than words.

* el centro de atención + ser = all eyes + be + on.

* el charco = the big pond.

* el ciudadano de a pie = the average Joe.

* el ciudadano medio = the average Joe.

* el cliente siempre tiene la razón = the customer is always right.

* el colmo = the last straw.

* el consejo de otra persona = a second opinion.

* el copón = the dog's bollocks, the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's whiskers.

* el corazón de = the heart of.

* el crecimiento de = the rising tide of.

* el cual = which.

* el de = that in, that of.

* el diablo está en los detalles = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* el día del Juicio Final = the Day of Judgement.

* El Diluvio = the Flood.

* el dinero es el origen de todos los males = money is the root of all evil.

* el dinero es la fuente de todos los males = money is the root of all evil.

* el dinero mueve al mundo = money makes the world go (a)round.

* el dinero no crece en los árboles = money doesn't grow on trees.

* el doble = twice + as many.

* el doble de = twice + the number of.

* El Dorado = El Dorado.

* el enemigo en casa = the enemy within.

* el entonces + Nombre = the then + Nombre.

* el espíritu de la época = the spirit of the times.

* el estado de las cosas = the lay of the land [the lie of the land, -UK].

* el evitar = avoidance.

* el éxito genera éxito = success breeds success (SBS).

* el éxito llama al éxito = success breeds success (SBS).

* el final de = the close of.

* el final de los problemas = the light at the end of the tunnel.

* el fin del mundo = the ends of the earth.

* el fin de semana = over the weekend, at the weekend.

* el fin de todos los fines = the end of all ends.

* el fin justifica los medios = the end justifies the means.

* el fruto de + Nombre = the fruit of + Nombre.

* el futuro = the way ahead, the way of the future.

* el futuro + estar + justo a la vuelta de la esquina = the future + be + just around the corner.

* el Gato con Botas = Puss in Boots.

* el grado de = the extent of.

* el grado de + Nombre = the breadth and depth of + Nombre.

* el grado en que = the extent to which.

* el gran hermano = big brother.

* el guapo de + Nombre = good old + Nombre.

* el hecho es que = fact is, the fact is (that).

* el hecho es que... = the fact of the matter is that....

* el hombre de la calle = the average Joe.

* el hombre no es una isla = no man is an island.

* el hombre propone y Dios dispone = Man proposes, God disposes.

* el impulsor de = the power behind.

* el interés público = the public interest.

* El Juicio Final = The Last Judgement.

* el lastre de = the shackles of.

* el llevar = carrying.

* el lugar que le corresponde a = the due place of.

* El Mago de Oz = The Wizard of Oz, The Wizard of Oz.

* el más = all-time.

* el más + Adjetivo = the most + Adjetivo.

* el más allá = hereafter.

* el más bajo = rock-bottom.

* el más favorito del mes = pick of the month.

* el más leído = the most widely read.

* el más recomendado = best of breed, the.

* el Mediterráneo = Mediterranean Sea, the, the Med.

* el mejor = best of breed, the.

* el mejor de todos = the cream of the crop, crème de la crème.

* el mejor hasta ahora = the best yet.

* el mejor modo de = the best way of.

* el mejor momento de todos = the time of all times.

* el mejor + Nombre = the best available + Nombre.

* el mejor que ha hecho hasta ahora = Posesivo + best yet.

* el mentir = lying.

* el mes pasado = last month.

* el mío = mine.

* el mismo + Nombre (+ que) = every bit as much + Nombre (+ as).

* el mismo número = as many.

* el modo como = the way in which.

* el modo de = the way in which.

* el modo de + Infinitivo = the way to go about + Gerundio.

* el momento preciso = the point in time at which.

* el motor de = the power behind.

* el movimiento se demuestra andando = actions speak louder than words.

* el muerto al hoyo y el vivo al bollo = dead men have no friends.

* el mundo de las noticias = newsmaking.

* el mundo en la palma de la mano = the world in the palm of + Posesivo + hand.

* el mundo está a sus pies = the world is + Posesivo + oyster.

* el mundo es un pañuelo = it's a small world.

* el + Nombre + correcto al + Nombre + adecuado en el momento oportuno = the right + Nombre + to the right + Nombre + at the right time.

* el + Nombre + es inestimable = the + Nombre + cannot be overestimated.

* el + Nombre + más completo = the + Nombre + to end all + Nombre.

* el no va más = the be all and end all, the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* el nuevo aspecto de = the changing face of, the changing nature of.

* el orgullo de = showpiece.

* el otro lado de la barrera = the other side of the fence.

* el padre de = the father of.

* el pan nuestro de cada día = all in a day's work.

* el paso del tiempo = the passage of time, the sands of time.

* el peor de todos = the worst of the lot.

* el perro es el mejor amigo del hombre = a dog is man's best friend.

* el peso de = brunt of, the.

* el populacho = the great unwashed.

* el porqué de = the reason behind, the thinking behind, the reasoning behind, the idea behind.

* el portavoz de = the voice of.

* el presente = thisness.

* el primer intento = the first time around.

* el primer + Nombre = the earliest + Nombre.

* el primero mencionado = former.

* el principal = the number one.

* el principio de = the dawn of.

* el principio del fin = the beginning of the end.

* el principio de + Mes/Estación = early + Mes/Estación.

* el problema no es el qué, sino el cómo = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* el problema obvio = the elephant in the room.

* el proletariado = the great unwashed.

* el pulmón de = the heart of.

* el punto más bajo = rock-bottom.

* el que = that, the one.

* el que aprende = learner.

* el que las hace, las paga = you've made your bed, now you must lie in it!.

* el que lo encuentre se lo queda = finders keepers.

* el que mantiene a la familia = breadwinner [bread winner].

* el que mucho abarca poco aprieta = jack of all trades, master of none.

* el que no llora, no mama = the squeaky (squeaking) wheel gets the grease (the oil/oiled).

* el que no se aventura no cruza el mar = nothing ventured, nothing gained.

* el que pregunta = inquirer [enquirer, -UK].

* el quid de la cuestión = the crux of the problem, the crux of the matter.

* el registro de los registros = record-of-record.

* el registro modelo = record-of-record.

* el resto = rest, the.

* el resto (de) = the remainder (of), the rest (of).

* El Salvador = El Salvador.

* el segundo mencionado = latter.

* el sendero que lleva a = a/the doorway to.

* el ser barato = cheapness.

* el siguiente no, el otro = next but one.

* el sitio adecuado en el momento adecuado = the right place at the right time.

* el sueño de toda persona = the stuff dreams are made of.

* el sueño de todos = the stuff dreams are made of.

* el sueño de todo ser viviente = the stuff dreams are made of.

* el súmmum = the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* el tamaño de = the extent of.

* el tema de la discusión = the focus of the discussion.

* el tema del debate = the focus of the discussion.

* el tiempo de Algo = in season.

* el tiempo es oro = time is money.

* el tiempo lo dirá = only time will tell.

* el tiempo vuela = time flies (by).

* el tipo de = the range of.

* el todo es más grande que la suma de sus partes = the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

* el total de = the total sum of, the sum total of.

* el transcurrir del tiempo = the sands of time.

* el transcurso del tiempo = as time goes by.

* el último citado = latter.

* el último grito = the last word, the cat's meow, the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* el último + Nombre = the latest + Nombre.

* el último pero no el menos importante = the last but by no means least.

* el único = the one and only.

* el único e incomparable = the one and only.

* el único e inimitable = the one and only.

* el único problema = a fly in the soup, the fly in the ointment.

* el verdadero = the real McCoy.

* el verdadero problema = the elephant in the room.

* el ver televisión = television viewing.

* el viejo = the elder.

* el vulgo = the great unwashed.

* el yugo de = the shackles of.

* espicharlas = kick + the bucket.

* la = the, ye.

* la alternativa + ser = the alternative + be.

* la belleza es superficial = beauty is only skin deep.

* La Biblioteca Responde = Ask the Library.

* la Biblioteca y el Archivo de Canadá = Library and Archives Canada.

* la buena noticia = the good news.

* la calidad es nuestro lema = quality is our middle name.

* la calma que precede a la tormenta = the lull before the storm.

* la cambiante fisonomía de = the changing face of, the changing nature of.

* la caridad empieza por uno mismo = charity begins at home.

* la ciudadana de a pie = the average Jane.

* la ciudadana media = the average Jane.

* la ciudad que nunca duerme = the city that never sleeps.

* la clave de = at the heart of.

* la clave está en la letra pequeña = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* la comunidad en general = the community at large.

* la Convención de la Haya de 1954 = the 1954 Hague Convention.

* la copa del árbol = the top of the tree.

* la cosa es que = the thing is.

* la cosa principal = the number one thing.

* la crème de la crème = the cream of the crop, crème de la crème.

* la cruz de = the bane of.

* la cuestión es que = the thing is.

* la década de los + Número = the + Número + s.

* la demanda de = a call for.

* la diversidad de = the range of.

* la diversidad de + Nombre = the many + Nombre.

* la edad se lleva en el alma = you are as old as you feel.

* la época de Algo = in season.

* la escoria de la sociedad = the gutter.

* la espalda de = the back of.

* la evidencia = the writing on the wall.

* la fe mueve montañas = faith will move mountains.

* la filosofía de = the reason behind, the reasoning behind.

* la flor de + Nombre = the prime of + Nombre.

* la flor y nata = the cream of the crop, crème de la crème.

* la forma correcta de hacer las cosas = the way to go.

* la forma de = ways and means (of/for/to/in/by).

* la forma de + Infinitivo = the way to go about + Gerundio.

* la forma de ver las cosas = the way + to see things.

* la fuerza de la mayoría = strength in numbers.

* la gente decía que = rumour had it that.

* la gente dice que = rumour has it that.

* la gente se está inquietando = the natives are nervous.

* la gente se está poniendo nerviosa = the natives are nervous.

* la gente se puso de pie para aplaudir = standing ovation.

* la gota que colmó el vaso = the straw that broke the camel's back.

* la Gran Manzana = the Big Apple.

* la gran mayoría de = the vast majority of, the bulk of.

* la historia + repetirse = history + come full circle.

* la historia + volverse a repetir = history + come full circle.

* la hostia = the cat's pyjamas, the cat's pyjamas, the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* la hoz y el martillo = the hammer and sickle.

* la idea que hay detrás de = the idea behind.

* la imaginación no tiene límites = your imagination is the limit.

* la imitación es la mejor forma de que lo halaguen a uno = imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

* La Isla del Tesoro = Treasure Island.

* la joya de = showpiece.

* la judicatura = the Bench.

* la justicia = the Bench.

* la juventud no es cuestión de edad sino de espíritu = you are as old as you feel.

* la leche = the dog's bollocks, the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's whiskers.

* la luz al final del túnel = the light at the end of the tunnel.

* la magistratura = the Bench.

* la manera de + Infinitivo = the way to go about + Gerundio.

* la mano que mece la cuna es la mano que domina el mundo = the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

* la mano que mece la cuna gobierna el mundo = the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

* la mar de = a whole slew of.

* la mayoría con mucho de = the vast majority of.

* la mayoría de = the majority of, most + Nombre, the main bulk of.

* la mayoría de la gente = most people, the majority of the people.

* la mayoría de las personas = most people, the majority of the people.

* la mayoría de las veces = most of the time, more often than not.

* la mayoría del mundo = the majority of the world, most people, the majority of the people.

* la mayoría del tiempo = most of the time.

* la mayor parte de = the majority of, the main bulk of, the lion's share of.

* la mayor parte de las veces = more often than not.

* la medida en que = the extent to which.

* la mejor forma de hacer Algo = best practices, lessons learned [lessons learnt].

* la mejor manera = how best.

* la mejor manera de = the best way of.

* la mejor oferta = the best deal.

* la mejor opción = the best bet.

* la mejor salida = the best way forward.

* la mejor solución = the best way forward.

* la menor duda de que = no doubt whatsoever.

* la mentira = lying.

* la mirada en = eye(s) on.

* la misma persona = one and the same person.

* la mitad (1/2) = one-half (1/2).

* la necesidad agudiza el ingenio = necessity mothers invention.

* la ocasión la pintan calva = make + hay while the sun shines.

* la opinión de otra persona = a second opinion.

* la oportunidad de + Posesivo + vida = the opportunity of a lifetime.

* la parte de atrás de = the back of.

* la parte más dura de = brunt of, the.

* la parte más importante = the heart of.

* la parte principal de = the bulk of.

* la parte superior izquierda de = the upper left of.

* la parte trasera de = the back of.

* la personificación de la confianza en uno mismo = confidence personified.

* la pesadilla de = the bane of.

* la pesca del día = the day's catch, the catch of the day.

* la petición de = a call for.

* la píldora = the pill.

* la plebe = the great unwashed.

* la polla = the dog's bollocks, the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's whiskers.

* la práctica hace al maestro = practice makes perfect.

* la primera tentativa = the first time around.

* la primera vez = the first time around.

* la proporción mayor de = the lion's share of.

* la próxima moda = the next hot thing.

* la puntilla = the final/last nail in + Posesivo + coffin.

* la que = that, the one.

* la razón de ser = the reason for being.

* la realidad es que = the fact remains that..., fact is, the fact is (that).

* la rehostia = the dog's bollocks, the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's whiskers.

* la responsabilidad ahora recae en + Nombre = the ball is in + Posesivo + court.

* la responsabilidad es de... = the buck + stops....

* la riqueza de = the wealth of.

* la ruina de = the bane of.

* las = the, ye.

* las 24 horas = round the clock, around the clock.

* las apariencias engañan = don't judge a book by its cover, there's more to it than meets the eye.

* las ataduras de = the shackles of.

* las autoridades = the powers-that-be.

* las cosas + cambiar = pendulum + swing.

* las cosas + estar + claras = the (hand)writing + be + on the wall, see it + coming.

* las cosas no pasan así como así = everything happens for a reason (and a purpose).

* las cosas no pasan (así) porque sí = everything happens for a reason (and a purpose).

* las cosas no son tan simples como parecen = there's more to it than meets the eye.

* las cosas + seguir + igual = business + revolve + as usual.

* las cosas siguen igual = business as usual.

* las cosas sólo pasan una vez = lightning never strikes twice.

* las cosas son más complicadas de lo que parecen = there's more to it than meets the eye.

* las cosas tal y como son = the birds and the bees.

* las cosas + volver + a su punto de partida = the wheel + turn + full circle.

* las de = those for.

* las doce del mediodía = noon.

* la segunda mitad de + Fecha = the latter part of + Fecha.

* la segunda opción = the next best choice.

* la segunda vez = the second time around.

* la semana pasada = last week.

* la senda que lleva a = a/the doorway to.

* la situación = the course of events.

* la sociedad en general = society at large.

* las posibilidades son infinitas = the possibilities are endless.

* las profundidades del mar = the deep.

* las profundidades del océano = the deep.

* las pruebas = the writing on the wall.

* las raíces se encuentran = roots + lie.

* las raíces se remontan a = roots + lie.

* las razones de = the reason behind, the thinking behind, the reasoning behind, the idea behind.

* las Reglas de Cutter para un Catálogo Diccionario = Cutter's Rules for a Dictionary Catalog.

* las triquiñuelas de la letra pequeña = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* la suerte + cambiar = the tide + turn.

* la suerte estaba echada = the die was cast, the die had been cast.

* la suerte está echada = the die is cast.

* la suma total de = the total sum of, the sum total of.

* las uvas están verdes = sour grapes.

* las veinticuatro horas = day and night, day or night, night and day.

* la temporada de Algo = in season.

* la tierra de la abundancia = the land of plenty.

* la tierra de las oportunidades = the land of opportunity.

* la tira de = a whole slew of.

* la tira de tiempo = donkey's years.

* la triste realidad es que = the sad fact is (that).

* la última palabra = the last word, the last word, the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* la última vez = last time.

* la última vez que = the last time.

* la única pega = the fly in the ointment, a fly in the soup.

* la unión hace la fuerza = strength in numbers.

* la ventaja de = the beauty of.

* la ventaja es que = on the positive side, the advantage is that, on the bright side.

* la verdad = the lowdown (on).

* la verdad es que = if the truth be known, if the truth be told, the fact is (that), fact is.

* la verdad es que... = the fact of the matter is that....

* la verdad sea dicha = to tell the truth.

* la verdad sea dicha que = if the truth be told.

* la Vía Láctea = the Milky Way.

* la vida continúa = the show must go on.

* la vida + continuar = life + go on.

* la vida es así = life's like that.

* ¡la vida no es un camino de rosas! = the course of true love never did run smooth!.

* la vida + seguir = life + go on.

* la víspera de = on the eve of.

* la voz de = the voice of.

* la voz de la conciencia = the voice within.

* la voz de la experiencia = the voice of experience.

* la voz de la razón = the voice of reason.

* la voz del odio = the voice of hate.

* la voz interior = the voice within.

* lo absurdo = ridiculousness.

* lo adecuado = adequacy.

* lo + Adjetivo + que sea/esté = how + Adjetivo.

* lo anodino = blandness.

* lo anteriormente expuesto = the preceding.

* lo apropiado = appropriateness.

* lo barato = inexpensiveness.

* lo básico = essential, the, nuts and bolts, bare minimum, bare necessities, the, the lowdown (on).

* lo bastante elevado = high enough.

* lo bastante extenso = adequately scoped.

* lo bueno de = the beauty of.

* lo bueno es que = the good news is (that)..., on the positive side, on the bright side.

* lo bueno viene en frascos pequeños = small is beautiful.

* lo bueno y lo malo = the rights and wrongs.

* lo caro = expensiveness.

* lo chicano = Chicana.

* lo chulo = coolness.

* lo cierto es que = fact is, the fact is (that).

* lo completo = completeness.

* lo completo que Algo está = fullness.

* lo creas o no = believe it or not.

* lo decisivo = the last word.

* lo definitivo = the last word.

* lo desagradable = unpleasantness.

* ¿lo dices en broma? = you must be joking!, you must be kidding!.

* lo directo = directness.

* lo divertido = the fun part.

* lo engorroso de = cumbersomeness.

* lo esencial = essential, the, nuts and bolts, bare minimum, bare necessities, the, the lowdown (on).

* lo estrafalario = zaniness.

* lo estrambótico = zaniness.

* lo extenso = comprehensiveness.

* lo favorable = propitiousness.

* lo hebraico = Hebraica.

* lo hecho hecho está = no use crying over spilt/spilled milk.

* lo importante es lo que eres no cómo te llamas = a rose by any other name.

* lo imprescindible = bare necessities, the, bare minimum.

* lo incómodo de = cumbersomeness.

* lo indefinido = indefiniteness.

* lo indirecto = indirectness.

* lo indispensable = bare necessities, the, bare minimum.

* lo insulso = blandness.

* lo interesante = the fun part.

* lo judío = Judaica.

* lo lindo = cuteness.

* lo llano = flatness.

* lo más cercano a = the nearest thing to.

* lo más conveniente es que = optimally.

* lo más destacado = highlights.

* lo más detestado = pet hate.

* lo más importante = most of all, at its core.

* lo más interesante = highlights.

* lo más mínimo = so much as.

* lo más novedoso = the last word.

* lo más odiado = pet hate.

* lo más parecido a = the nearest thing to.

* lo más probable es que = most probably.

* lo más recio de = brunt of, the.

* lo más recóndito = nooks and crannies.

* lo máximo = the be all and end all, the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* lo mejor = the top of the tree.

* lo mejor de = the beauty of, showpiece.

* lo mejor de ambas partes = the best of both worlds.

* lo mejor de lo mejor = the best of the best.

* lo mejor de todo = best of all.

* lo mejor entre lo mejor = the best of the best.

* lo mejor es que... = the good news is (that)....

* lo mejor está aún por llegar = the best is yet to come.

* lo mejor posible = to the best of + Posesivo + ability, at + Posesivo + (very) best, optimally.

* lo mejor que pueda = to the best of + Posesivo + ability.

* lo mejor que se puede hacer = the best bet.

* lo mejor + ser = the beautiful part + be.

* lo menos posible = as little as possible.

* lo mínimo = bare minimum, bare necessities, the.

* lo mismo ocurre con = the same goes for.

* lo mismo ocurre en el caso de = the same is true (for/of/with).

* lo mismo que = the same as, along the lines of, in much the same way as.

* lo mismo que antes = the same as before.

* lo mismo que para = the same as that for.

* lo mismo se aplica a = the same is true (for/of/with).

* lo molesto de = cumbersomeness.

* lo mucho que = how extensively.

* lo noble = high-mindedness.

* lo no convencional = unconventional, the.

* lo normal + ser + que = there + be + a tendency (to/for), there + be + a tendency (to/for).

* lo oportuno = timeliness.

* lo pasado pasado está = let bygones be bygones.

* lo peor de = brunt of, the.

* lo peor del = the armpit of the.

* lo pintoresco = quaintness.

* lo plano = flatness.

* lo poco común = rarity, rareness.

* lo poco convencional = unconventional, the.

* lo primero = for one, first off.

* lo primero de todo = first of all, first off.

* lo prometido es deuda = a promise is a promise.

* lo propicio = propitiousness.

* lo público = publicness.

* lo que = that which, what.

* lo que aguarda a = what is on store for.

* lo que Algo o Alguien se merece, lo que le corresponde, bastante = fair share, fair share.

* lo que a uno cura a otro mata = one man's meat is another man's poison.

* lo que demuestra que = which (just) goes to show that.

* lo que el futuro depara a = what is on store for.

* lo que es aun más inquietante = more disturbingly.

* lo que es aun más preocupante = more disturbingly.

* lo que es aun mejor = better still.

* lo que es aun peor = worse still.

* lo que es bueno para uno es bueno para otro = what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

* lo que es bueno para uno también es bueno para otro = what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

* lo que es más = what is more, what's more.

* lo que es más importante = most importantly, more importantly, most of all, most important.

* lo que es mejor aun = better still.

* lo que es muy importante = importantly.

* lo que es peor = what's worse.

* lo que es peor aun = worse still.

* lo que espera a = what is on store for.

* lo que está bien y lo que está mal = rights and wrongs.

* lo que existe (en el mercado) = what's out there.

* lo que haya que de ser, será = que sera sera, what's meant to be, will be, whatever will be, will be.

* lo que hay (en el mercado) = what's out there.

* lo que hay que hacer = do + the right thing, the way to go.

* lo que hay que hacer y lo que hay que evitar = do's and don'ts, rights and wrongs.

* lo que le corresponde = fair share.

* lo que nos espera = things to come.

* lo que quiera que = whatever.

* lo que sea = something or other.

* lo que se gana por un lado se pierde por otro = swings and roundabouts.

* lo que se pierda en una cosa se gana en la otra = what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts.

* lo que + ser = what + be like.

* lo que se suele pagar = going rate, the.

* lo que tenga que pasar, que pase = que sera sera, what's meant to be, will be, whatever will be, will be.

* lo que tenga que ser, será = que sera sera, whatever will be, will be, what's meant to be, will be.

* lo que vale para tí también vale para mí = what's good for the goose is good for the gander, what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

* lo rural = rurality.

* los = the, ye.

* los 365 días del año = year-round.

* los 40 principales = Top 40 singles chart.

* los abajo firmantes = the parties hereto.

* los acontecimientos = the course of events.

* lo sagrado = sacredness.

* los albores de = the dawn of.

* los años cincuenta = fifties.

* los años treinta = thirties.

* los árboles no dejan ver el bosque = lose + sight of the forest for the trees.

* los avatares de la guerra = the tides of war.

* los buenos tiempos = the good old days.

* los comienzos de = the dawn of.

* los constantes cambios de = the changing face of, the changing nature of.

* los de = those for, those in.

* los demás = rest, the, everybody else.

* los detalles de la letra pequeña = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* los días antes de = leading up to.

* los dos = both, both of them, both of which.

* los efectos negativos se están dejando sentir ahora = chickens come home to roost.

* los gobernantes = the powers-that-be.

* los hay para dar y regalar = there's one born every minute.

* los mandamás = the powers-that-be.

* los más necesitados = those most in need.

* los más pobres + Nombre = the poorest + Nombre.

* los menos locuaces = inarticulate, the.

* los motivos de = the reason behind, the thinking behind, the reasoning behind, the idea behind.

* los necesitados = the needy.

* los orígenes de = the dawn of.

* los otros con los que aparece(n) = neighbours [neighbors, -USA].

* los peores + Nombre = the poorest + Nombre.

* los poderes fáticos = the powers-that-be.

* los pormenores de la letra pequeña = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* Los Principios de París = Paris Principles.

* los que = those who.

* los que detentan el poder = the powers-that-be.

* los que mandan = the powers-that-be.

* los que no han recibido formación específica = uninstructed, the.

* los que + Verbo = those + Participio.

* los tribunales = the Bench.

* lo suficientemente cerca = within range.

* lo suficientemente cerca como para oír = within earshot of.

* lo suficientemente estúpido como para = dumb enough to.

* lo suficientemente grande = large enough, big enough.

* lo suficientemente lejos como para no poder oír = out of earshot.

* los últimos coletazos = fag-end.

* lo sumo = the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks, the cat's pyjamas.

* los unos a costa de los otros = at each other's expense.

* los viejos tiempos = the good old days.

* lo tomas o lo dejas = take it or leave it.

* lo último = the last word.

* lo uno es tan malo como lo otro = one is as bad as the other.

* lo vanguardista = cutting edge.

* lo yidish = Yiddica.

* parmarlas = kick + the bucket.

* ser lo que nos espera = be the shape of things to come.

* * *

el (pl los), la; (pl las)

art

[ the masculine article el is also used before feminine nouns which begin with accented a or, ha e.g. el agua pura, el hada madrina]

A (con un referente único, conocido o que se define) the

el sol the sun

el lápiz/la goma/los lápices/las gomas que compré the pencil/the eraser/the pencils/the erasers I bought

no, ése no, el que te presté ayer/el de Julio/el rojo no, not that one, the one I lent you yesterday/Julio's/the red one

en la calle Solís in Solís Street

prefiero el mío/los tuyos I prefer mine/yours

me atendió el estúpido del marido that stupid husband of hers served me

yo soy la arquitecta, ella es lexicógrafa I'm the architect, she's a lexicographer

yo fui la que lo rompí or rompió I was the one who broke it

los nacidos entre … those born between …

los que faltamos ayer those of us who weren't here yesterday

¿cuál es Ardiles? — el del sombrero negro which one's Ardiles? — the one with the black hat

un encuentro al que asistieron muchas personalidades a meeting which was attended by many well known people

la obra de la que or de la cual hablábamos the play we were talking about

B

(con sustantivos en sentido genérico): me encanta la ópera I love opera

odio el pescado I hate fish

así es la vida that's life

(nosotros) los mexicanos lo sabemos muy bien we Mexicans know only too well

¿ya vas a la escuela? do you go to school yet?

ya salió del hospital she's out of the hospital ( AmE) o ( BrE) out of hospital

en el mar at sea

viajar por el espacio to travel in space

C

(en expresiones de tiempo): ocurrió el domingo de Pascua/en el verano del 76 it happened on Easter Sunday/in the summer of '76

mi cumpleaños es el 28 de mayo my birthday's on May 28

el mes pasado/que viene last/next month

no trabaja los sábados she doesn't work (on) Saturdays

estudió toda la mañana he studied all morning

a las ocho at eight o'clock, at eight

a eso de las seis around six o'clock

D

(cada): lo venden a $80 el kilo/metro they're selling it at $80 a kilo/a meter o at $80 per kilo/meter

¿cuánto cuesta el paquete de diez? how much does a packet of ten cost?

E

(con fracciones, porcentajes, números): me dio la mitad/la cuarta parte del dinero she gave me half the money/a quarter of the money

el 20% de los peruanos 20% of Peruvians

vivo en el cuarto I live on the fifth floor ( AmE) o ( BrE) fourth floor

F [ Vocabulary notes (Spanish) ]

(refiriéndose a partes del cuerpo, prendas de vestir, artículos personales, etc): con las manos en los bolsillos with my/your/his hands in my/your/his pockets

¡te cortaste el pelo! you've had your hair cut!

tienes la falda sucia your skirt is dirty

tienes el suéter puesto al revés you've got your sweater on inside out

tiene el pelo largo/los ojos azules he has long hair/blue eyes

G (con nombres propios)

1

(con apellidos acompañados de título, adjetivos, etc): llamó el señor Ortiz/la doctora Vidal/el general Santos Mr Ortiz/Doctor Vidal/General Santos phoned

el gran Caruso the Great Caruso

2

(con nombres de mujeres famosas): la última película de la Monroe Monroe's last movie

3

(en plural): los Ortega (matrimonio) the Ortegas, Mr and Mrs Ortega; (familia) the Ortegas, the Ortega family

a los Josés se les suele llamar Pepe people called José are often known as Pepe

4 (fam: en muchas regiones crit)

(con nombres de pila): pregúntale a la Carmen/al Ricardo ask Carmen/Ricardo

5

(con algunos nombres geográficos): en la India in India

en (el) Perú in Peru

ver África, Argentina, el etc

6

(al calificar): la España de Franco Franco's Spain

el Buñuel que todos conocemos the Buñuel we all know

la Italia del siglo pasado Italy in the last century

7

(con algunos equipos deportivos): juegan contra el Juventus/el Barcelona they're playing against Juventus/Barcelona

H el

(con infinitivo): odiaba el tener que pedírselo he hated having to ask her

es cuidadoso y pausado en el hablar he's careful and deliberate in the way he speaks

el frenético girar de los bailarines the frenzied spinning of the dancers

al + INF ver a prep B 2. (↑ a 3)

* * *

Multiple Entries:
el
él
el (pl
◊ los), la (pl las) art the masculine article el is also used before feminine nouns which begin with accented a or ha, e.g. el agua pura, el hada madrina

1
a) ( en general) the;

◊ la Tierra the Earth

b) ( con sustantivos en sentido genérico):

◊ odio el pescado I hate fish;

así es la vida that's life;
(nosotros) los mexicanos we Mexicans;
¿ya vas a la escuela? do you go to school yet?
c) ( refiriéndose a algo que se conoce o se está definiendo):

◊ en la calle Solis in Solis street;

las tuyas yours;
el último the last one;
el estúpido del marido that stupid husband of hers
2
a) el + de:

◊ la del sombrero the one with the hat;

el de las nueve the nine o'clock one;
el de mi hijo my son's
b) el + que:

◊ las que yo ví the ones I saw;

los que estén cansados;
those who are tired, anyone who's tired;
la que te guste whichever you like
3 ( en expresiones de tiempo):
◊ ocurrió el domingo it happened last Sunday;

mi cumpleaños es el 28 de mayo my birthday's on May 28;
el mes pasado last month;
toda la mañana all morning;
a las ocho at eight o'clock
4 ( cada):
◊ $80 el metro/kilo $80 a meter/a kilo, $80 per kilo/meter

5 (con fracciones, porcentajes, números):
◊ la mitad/la cuarta parte del dinero half the money/a quarter of the money;

el 20% de … 20% of …
6 (con partes del cuerpo, prendas de vestir, artículos personales, etc):
◊ tenía las manos en los bolsillos she had her hands in her pockets;

¡te cortaste el pelo! you've had your hair cut!;
tiene los ojos azules he has blue eyes
7
a) (con apellidos acompañados de título, adjetivos, etc):

◊ el señor Ortiz/la doctora Vidal Mr Ortiz/Doctor Vidal;

los Ortega the Ortegas
b) ( con algunos nombres geográficos):

◊ en la India in India;

ver África, Argentina, etc
él pron pers
a) ( como sujeto) he;

◊ ¿quién se lo va a decir? — él who's going to tell her? — he is;

lo hizo él mismo he did it himself;
fue él it was him
b) (en comparaciones, con preposiciones) him;

( refiriéndose a cosas) it;
◊ llegué antes que él I arrived before him o before he did;

con/para él with/for him;
son de él they're his
el art def m
1 the
2 (no se traduce) (ante un tratamiento formal) el sr. Gómez, Mr Gomez
(cuando el sustantivo es general) el hambre/tiempo, hunger/time
3 (se traduce por un posesivo) (con partes del cuerpo) se ha cortado el pelo, she's cut her hair
(prendas) se lo metió en el bolsillo, he put it in his pocket
(pertenencias) guarda el diario en el cajón, put your diary into the drawer
4 (con días de la semana) iré el miércoles, I'll go on Wednesday
5 (cuando el sustantivo está elidido) the one: prefiero el azul, I prefer the blue one
el de las diez, the ten o'clock one
el que está en la mesa, the one that's on the table
el que más nos guste, whichever one we like best
(delante de un posesivo) el de María, Maria's
es el mío, it's mine
él pron pers
1 (sujeto) (persona) he
(animal, cosa) it: fue él, it was him, fue él el que..., it was him that... o it was he who...
2 (complemento) (persona) him
(animal, cosa) it
dáselo a él, give it to him, es para él, it's for him
3 (posesivo) de él, his
4 (oración comparativa) ella es mejor que él, she's better than him o she's better than he is
'él' also found in these entries:
Spanish:
A
- abajo
- abalanzarse
- abaratarse
- abarquillarse
- abarrotar
- abarrotada
- abarrotado
- abastecimiento
- abatir
- abatimiento
- abdicar
- abierta
- abierto
- abismo
- abogada
- abogado
- abominar
- abominable
- abordar
- aborigen
- aborregarse
- abortar
- abotargada
- abotargado
- abrir
- abreviar
- abrirse
- absoluta
- absoluto
- abstención
- abundancia
- acabar
- acabarse
- acabose
- acallar
- acanallar
- accionariado
- acero
- achacosa
- achacoso
- achatamiento
- achicharrarse
- aclarar
- aclarado
- acomodarse
- acompañar
- acondicionar
- acostumbrada
- acostumbrado
English:
A
- abandon
- ABC
- ability
- about
- above
- abroad
- abseil
- absence
- absent
- absolute
- absolve
- absorb
- abstract
- academic
- accelerate
- accommodate
- accomplice
- account
- accurately
- accusation
- accused
- accustom
- aching
- act
- act on
- act up
- actual
- actually
- acute
- address
- adequately
- adjourn
- admission
- admit
- advance
- advanced
- advantage
- advantageous
- advise
- advocate
- affair
- afford
- afloat
- afraid
- after
- against
- age
- agenda
- aggregate

* * *

el (f la, mpl los, fpl las) art determinado el is used instead of la before feminine nouns which are stressed on the first syllable and begin with “a” or “ha” (e.g. el agua, el hacha). Note that el combines with the prepositions a and de to produce the contracted forms al and del.

1. [con valor especificador] the;

el coche the car;

la casa the house;

los niños the children;

el agua/hacha/águila the water/axe/eagle;

fui a recoger a los niños I went to pick up the children

2. [con sustantivo abstracto, valor genérico]
el amor love;

la vida life;

el hombre Man, human beings;

los derechos de la mujer women's rights;

los niños imitan a los adultos children copy adults;

el pan es un alimento básico bread is a basic food;

la mayoría de la gente no la conoce most people don't know her;

vuelve el biquini bikinis are back

3. [indica posesión, pertenencia]
se partió la pierna he broke his leg;

se quitó los zapatos she took her shoes off;

tiene el pelo oscuro he has dark hair;

me han robado la maleta my suitcase has been stolen;

se dieron la mano they shook hands

4. [con días de la semana, fechas, horas]
vuelven el sábado they're coming back on Saturday;

los domingos vamos al cine we go to the movies (on) Sundays;

llegaré el 1 de mayo [escrito] I'll arrive on 1 May;
[hablado] I'll arrive on the first of May;
son las siete it's seven o'clock;

el año pasado/que viene last/next year

5. [con nombres propios geográficos]
el Sena the (River) Seine;

el Everest (Mount) Everest;

la India India;

La Haya The Hague;

El Cairo Cairo;

la España de la posguerra post-war Spain

6. [con apellido]
la señora Márquez Mrs Márquez;

el señor/el doctor Juárez Mr/Doctor Juárez;

los Amaya [matrimonio] Mr and Mrs Amaya, the Amayas;
[familia completa] the Amayas, the Amaya family;
los Austrias the Hapsburgs;

el Hitler español the Spanish Hitler

7. Fam [con nombre propio de persona]
llama a la María call Maria

8. [con numerales, porcentajes, fracciones]
el siete es mi número de la suerte seven's my lucky number;

llegó el tercero he came third;

el tercer piso the third floor;

un aumento del 30 por ciento a 30 percent increase;

la quinta parte (de) a fifth (of);

el 20 por ciento (de) 20 percent (of)

9. [en proporciones, precios]
100 pesos el kilo 100 pesos a o per kilo

10. [con complemento especificativo]
el/la del sombrero the one with the hat;

los/las de azul [cosas] the blue ones;
[personas] the ones in blue;
he perdido el tren, cogeré el de las nueve I've missed the train, I'll get the nine o'clock one;

el de aquí this one here;

¿los del parque son amigos tuyos? were those people in the park friends of yours?;

prefiero las del escaparate I prefer the ones in the window;

los del fondo no se callan the people at the back won't shut up

11. [con complemento posesivo]
mi hermano y el de Juan my brother and Juan's;

el mío mine;

la tuya yours;

los suyos theirs

12. [con adjetivo]
prefiero el rojo al azul I prefer the red one to the blue one;

el/la mejor the best;

es la mejor de la clase she's the best in the class, she's top of the class;

los seleccionados realizarán un examen those chosen will sit an exam;

el tonto de Ignacio se equivocó that idiot Ignacio got it wrong

13. [con infinitivo]
el beber tanto acabó con él all that drinking is what finished him off;

es amante del buen comer she loves good food;

me sienta mal el tener que decírtelo I don't like to have to tell you

14. [con frases subordinadas]
el/la que [cosa] whichever;
[persona] whoever;
los/las que [cosas] whichever;
[personas] whoever;
coge el/los que quieras take whichever you like;

el que más corra whoever runs fastest, the one who runs the fastest;

las que quieran venir que levanten la mano those who want to come o anyone who wants to come should put their hand up;

el que no te guste no quiere decir que sea malo the fact that you don't like him doesn't make him a bad person

15. [con valor enfático]
¡la pena que me dio verlo en ese estado! I felt so sorry for him when I saw him in that state!

* * *

el

I art the

II pron

:

el de … that of …;

el de Juan Juan’s;

el más grande the biggest (one);

el que está … the one that is …

* * *

él pron

: he, him

él es mi amigo: he's my friend

hablaremos con él: we will speak with him

el pron, (referring to masculine nouns)

1) : the one

tengo mi libro y el tuyo: I have my book and yours

de los cantantes me gusta el de México: I prefer the singer from México

2)

el que : he who, whoever, the one that

el que vino ayer: the one who came yesterday

el que trabaja duro estará contento: he who works hard will be happy

el, la art, pl los, las : the

los niños están en la casa: the boys are in the house

me duele el pie: my foot hurts

* * *

el det

1. the

¿qué te pareció el libro? what did you think of the book?

perdimos el tren we missed the train

2. (posesivo) my / your / his / her etcétera

me rompí el brazo I broke my arm

es el hermano de María it's María's brother

¿te has cortado el pelo? have you had your hair cut?

se puso el jersey he put his jumper on

3. (característica) the one

¿cuál prefieres? el azul which one do you prefer? the blue one

el del pelo largo the one with long hair

el de la camisa negra the one in the black shirt

me gusta el de Alejo I like Alejo's

¡Ojo! Algunas veces no se traduce

¿quieres salir el sábado? do you want to go out on Saturday?

el Sr. García Mr. García

me gusta el arroz I like rice

el que (persona) the one who / the one that (cosa) the one which / the one that

el que llegó primero the one who came first

el que me dejaste the one you lent me

el que (quienquiera) whoever

con el que that... with

el chico con el que salgo the boy that I go out with

el cuchillo con el que lo corté the knife that I cut it with

en el que that... in

el cajón en el que lo puse the drawer that I put it in

el coche en el que iban the car that they were in

Spanish-English dictionary > el
7 él

art.

the (in general).

el coche the car

la casa the house

los niños the children

el agua/hacha/águila the water/ax/eagle

fui a recoger a los niños I went to pick up the children

* * *

el

► determinante

1 the

■ el coche the car

■ el agua water

■ el Japón Japan

■ la Sra. Rodríguez Mrs. Rodríguez

■ llegó el martes he arrived on Tuesday

2 el de the one

■ el del traje azul the one in the blue suit

■ el de Valencia the one from Valencia

■ el de tu hermano your brother's

■ el de hoy today's

3 el que (persona - sujeto) the one who; (- objeto) the one, the one that, the one whom

■ el que vino ayer the one who came yesterday

■ el que vi the one I saw

4 (cosa) the one, the one that, the one which

■ el que me diste the one (that) you gave me

* * *
1. pron.
the one

- el que
2. art.
the

* * *

el; la; los; las
ART DEF
1) [con nombres de referente único o concreto] the

el sol — the sun

perdí el autobús — I missed the bus

¿está fría el agua? — is the water cold?

¿ha llegado ya el abogado? — has the lawyer arrived yet?

el tío ese — * that chap

2) [en algunos casos no se traduce]

a) [con nombres propios]

La India — India

en el México de hoy — in present-day Mexico

el Real Madrid ganó la liga — Real Madrid won the league

el General Prim — General Prim

¿qué manda la señora? — what would madam like?

ha llamado el Sr. Sendra — Mr. Sendra called

dáselo a la Luisa — * give it to Luisa

b) [con nombres en sentido genérico]

me gusta el baloncesto — I like basketball

no me gusta el pescado — I don't like fish

está en la cárcel — he's in jail

c) [con infinitivo]

el hacerlo fue un error — doing it was a mistake, it was a mistake to do it

d) [con cifras, proporciones]

la mitad de la población — half of the population

ahora gano el 3% más — I now earn 3% more

3) [traducido por el posesivo]

se lavó las manos — he washed his hands

me he cortado el pelo — I've had my hair cut

ayer me lavé la cabeza — I washed my hair yesterday

me puse el abrigo — I put my coat on

4) [con expresiones temporales]

a las ocho — at eight o'clock

a los quince días — after a fortnight

vendrá el lunes que viene — he's coming next Monday

la reunión será el 15 de abril — the meeting's on 15 April

en el mes de julio — in (the month of) July

5) (=uso distributivo)

cuesta dos euros el kilo — it costs two euros a kilo

6) [en exclamaciones]

¡el frío que hacía! — it was freezing!

7) [posesivo]

• el de, mi libro y el de usted — my book and yours

este jugador y el de la camisa azul — this player and the one in the blue shirt

el del sombrero rojo — the one with o in the red hat

es un traje bonito, pero prefiero el de Ana — it's a nice suit, but I prefer Ana's

y el de todos los demás — and that of everybody else, and everybody else's

el idiota de Pedro no me contestó al teléfono — that idiot Pedro didn't answer the phone

8)

• el que —

a) + indic

el que compramos no vale — the one we bought is no good

a los que mencionamos añádase este — add this one to the ones we mentioned

yo fui el que lo encontró — I was the one who found it

él es el que quiere — it's he who wants to, he's the one who wants to

los que hacen eso son tontos — anyone who does that is a fool, those who do so are foolish

b) + subjun whoever

el que quiera, que lo haga — whoever wants to can do it

* * *

pronombre personal

a) ( como sujeto) he

él me lo dijo — he told me

¿quién se lo va a decir? - él — who's going to tell her? - he is

lo hizo él mismo — he did it himself

fue él — it was him, it was he (frml)

b) (en comparaciones, con preposiciones) him; ( refiriéndose a cosas) it

llegué antes que él — I arrived before him o before he did

eres tan alto como él — you are as tall as him o as he is

con/contra/para él — with/against/for him

son de él — they're his

con/contra/para él — with/against/for him

* * *

(pl los), la (pl las) articulo

[the masculine article el is also used before feminine nouns which begin with accented a or ha, e.g. el agua pura, el hada madrina]

1)

a) ( con un referente único) the

el sol — the sun

la Tierra — the Earth

b) ( con sustantivos en sentido genérico)

odio el pescado — I hate fish

así es la vida — that's life

(nosotros) los mexicanos — we Mexicans

¿ya vas a la escuela? — do you go to school yet?

en el mar — at sea

c) ( con un referente conocido o que se define)

en la calle Solis — in Solis street

el mío/las tuyas — mine/yours

el rojo/último — the red/last one

el estúpido del marido — that stupid husband of hers

los nacidos entre... — those born between...

2)

a)

el + de...: la del sombrero the one with the hat; el de Valencia the one from Valencia; el de las nueve the nine o'clock one; el de Juan/de mi hijo — Juan's/my son's

b)

el + que...: el que acaba de entrar the one who's just come in; las que yo ví the ones I saw; los que estén cansados; those who are tired, anyone who's tired; la que te guste whichever you like; el que lo haya hecho — whoever has done it

3) ( en expresiones de tiempo)

ocurrió el domingo — it happened last Sunday

mi cumpleaños es el 28 de mayo — my birthday's on May 28

el mes pasado/que viene — last/next month

no trabajo los sábados — I don't work (on) Saturdays

toda la mañana — all morning

a las ocho — at eight o'clock

4) ( cada)

$80 el metro/kilo — $80 a meter/a kilo

5) (con fracciones, porcentajes, números)

la mitad/la cuarta parte del dinero — half the money/a quarter of the money

el 20% de... — 20% of...

el cuarto piso — the fifth floor (AmE) o (BrE) fourth floor

6) (refiriéndose a partes del cuerpo, prendas de vestir, artículos personales, etc)

tenía las manos en los bolsillos — she had her hands in her pockets

te cortaste el pelo! — you've had your hair cut!

tienes la falda sucia — your skirt is dirty

tiene los ojos azules — he has blue eyes

7) ( con nombres propios)

a) (con apellidos acompañados de título, adjetivos, etc)

el señor Ortiz/la doctora Vidal — Mr Ortiz/Doctor Vidal

b) ( en plural)

los Ortega — the Ortegas

c) ( con algunos nombres geográficos)

en la India — in India

en (el) Perú — in Peru; ver África, Argentina, etc

d) ( al calificar)

la España de Franco — Franco's Spain

el Buñuel que todos conocemos — the Buñuel we all know

e) ( con algunos equipos deportivos)

juegan contra el Juventus — they're playing against Juventus

8) el ( con infinitivo)

odiaba el tener que pedírselo — he hated having to ask her

es cuidadoso en el hablar — he's careful in the way he speaks

el frenético girar de los bailarines — the frenzied spinning of the dancers

* * *

el²

= the, ye.

Nota: Forma arcaica.

Ex: The first institute, 'The Catalog: Its Nature and Prospects,' was held in New York City on October 9 and 10, 1975.

Ex: The article 'Ye olde smart card' presents an annotated list of information sources on the credit card industry.

* a lo extremo = to the extreme.

* aunque no lo creas = believe it or not.

* barrio de los ricos = upper town.

* de los mejores = as good as any.

* el abuelo de = the granddaddy of.

* el acabose = the last straw.

* el alcance = comprehensiveness.

* el amor de + Posesivo + vida = the love of + Posesivo + life.

* el año próximo = the year ahead.

* el arte de = the art of, the fine art of.

* el ataque es la mejor defensa = attack is the best form of defence.

* el auténtico = the real McCoy.

* el beneficio de la duda = the benefit of the doubt.

* el bien de = the good of.

* el buenazo de + Nombre = good old + Nombre.

* el bueno de + Nombre = good old + Nombre.

* el camino a seguir = the way ahead, the way to go.

* el camino correcto = the way ahead, the way to go.

* el camino hacia + Nombre + está lleno de + Nombre = the road (to/towards) + Nombre + is paved with + Nombre.

* el camino hacia + Nombre + está plagado de + Nombre = the road (to/towards) + Nombre + is paved with + Nombre.

* el camino por recorrer = the way ahead.

* el camino que lleva a = a/the doorway to.

* el camino recorrido = the road travelled so far.

* el camino se hace andando = actions speak louder than words.

* el centro de atención + ser = all eyes + be + on.

* el charco = the big pond.

* el ciudadano de a pie = the average Joe.

* el ciudadano medio = the average Joe.

* el cliente siempre tiene la razón = the customer is always right.

* el colmo = the last straw.

* el consejo de otra persona = a second opinion.

* el copón = the dog's bollocks, the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's whiskers.

* el corazón de = the heart of.

* el crecimiento de = the rising tide of.

* el cual = which.

* el de = that in, that of.

* el diablo está en los detalles = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* el día del Juicio Final = the Day of Judgement.

* El Diluvio = the Flood.

* el dinero es el origen de todos los males = money is the root of all evil.

* el dinero es la fuente de todos los males = money is the root of all evil.

* el dinero mueve al mundo = money makes the world go (a)round.

* el dinero no crece en los árboles = money doesn't grow on trees.

* el doble = twice + as many.

* el doble de = twice + the number of.

* El Dorado = El Dorado.

* el enemigo en casa = the enemy within.

* el entonces + Nombre = the then + Nombre.

* el espíritu de la época = the spirit of the times.

* el estado de las cosas = the lay of the land [the lie of the land, -UK].

* el evitar = avoidance.

* el éxito genera éxito = success breeds success (SBS).

* el éxito llama al éxito = success breeds success (SBS).

* el final de = the close of.

* el final de los problemas = the light at the end of the tunnel.

* el fin del mundo = the ends of the earth.

* el fin de semana = over the weekend, at the weekend.

* el fin de todos los fines = the end of all ends.

* el fin justifica los medios = the end justifies the means.

* el fruto de + Nombre = the fruit of + Nombre.

* el futuro = the way ahead, the way of the future.

* el futuro + estar + justo a la vuelta de la esquina = the future + be + just around the corner.

* el Gato con Botas = Puss in Boots.

* el grado de = the extent of.

* el grado de + Nombre = the breadth and depth of + Nombre.

* el grado en que = the extent to which.

* el gran hermano = big brother.

* el guapo de + Nombre = good old + Nombre.

* el hecho es que = fact is, the fact is (that).

* el hecho es que... = the fact of the matter is that....

* el hombre de la calle = the average Joe.

* el hombre no es una isla = no man is an island.

* el hombre propone y Dios dispone = Man proposes, God disposes.

* el impulsor de = the power behind.

* el interés público = the public interest.

* El Juicio Final = The Last Judgement.

* el lastre de = the shackles of.

* el llevar = carrying.

* el lugar que le corresponde a = the due place of.

* El Mago de Oz = The Wizard of Oz, The Wizard of Oz.

* el más = all-time.

* el más + Adjetivo = the most + Adjetivo.

* el más allá = hereafter.

* el más bajo = rock-bottom.

* el más favorito del mes = pick of the month.

* el más leído = the most widely read.

* el más recomendado = best of breed, the.

* el Mediterráneo = Mediterranean Sea, the, the Med.

* el mejor = best of breed, the.

* el mejor de todos = the cream of the crop, crème de la crème.

* el mejor hasta ahora = the best yet.

* el mejor modo de = the best way of.

* el mejor momento de todos = the time of all times.

* el mejor + Nombre = the best available + Nombre.

* el mejor que ha hecho hasta ahora = Posesivo + best yet.

* el mentir = lying.

* el mes pasado = last month.

* el mío = mine.

* el mismo + Nombre (+ que) = every bit as much + Nombre (+ as).

* el mismo número = as many.

* el modo como = the way in which.

* el modo de = the way in which.

* el modo de + Infinitivo = the way to go about + Gerundio.

* el momento preciso = the point in time at which.

* el motor de = the power behind.

* el movimiento se demuestra andando = actions speak louder than words.

* el muerto al hoyo y el vivo al bollo = dead men have no friends.

* el mundo de las noticias = newsmaking.

* el mundo en la palma de la mano = the world in the palm of + Posesivo + hand.

* el mundo está a sus pies = the world is + Posesivo + oyster.

* el mundo es un pañuelo = it's a small world.

* el + Nombre + correcto al + Nombre + adecuado en el momento oportuno = the right + Nombre + to the right + Nombre + at the right time.

* el + Nombre + es inestimable = the + Nombre + cannot be overestimated.

* el + Nombre + más completo = the + Nombre + to end all + Nombre.

* el no va más = the be all and end all, the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* el nuevo aspecto de = the changing face of, the changing nature of.

* el orgullo de = showpiece.

* el otro lado de la barrera = the other side of the fence.

* el padre de = the father of.

* el pan nuestro de cada día = all in a day's work.

* el paso del tiempo = the passage of time, the sands of time.

* el peor de todos = the worst of the lot.

* el perro es el mejor amigo del hombre = a dog is man's best friend.

* el peso de = brunt of, the.

* el populacho = the great unwashed.

* el porqué de = the reason behind, the thinking behind, the reasoning behind, the idea behind.

* el portavoz de = the voice of.

* el presente = thisness.

* el primer intento = the first time around.

* el primer + Nombre = the earliest + Nombre.

* el primero mencionado = former.

* el principal = the number one.

* el principio de = the dawn of.

* el principio del fin = the beginning of the end.

* el principio de + Mes/Estación = early + Mes/Estación.

* el problema no es el qué, sino el cómo = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* el problema obvio = the elephant in the room.

* el proletariado = the great unwashed.

* el pulmón de = the heart of.

* el punto más bajo = rock-bottom.

* el que = that, the one.

* el que aprende = learner.

* el que las hace, las paga = you've made your bed, now you must lie in it!.

* el que lo encuentre se lo queda = finders keepers.

* el que mantiene a la familia = breadwinner [bread winner].

* el que mucho abarca poco aprieta = jack of all trades, master of none.

* el que no llora, no mama = the squeaky (squeaking) wheel gets the grease (the oil/oiled).

* el que no se aventura no cruza el mar = nothing ventured, nothing gained.

* el que pregunta = inquirer [enquirer, -UK].

* el quid de la cuestión = the crux of the problem, the crux of the matter.

* el registro de los registros = record-of-record.

* el registro modelo = record-of-record.

* el resto = rest, the.

* el resto (de) = the remainder (of), the rest (of).

* El Salvador = El Salvador.

* el segundo mencionado = latter.

* el sendero que lleva a = a/the doorway to.

* el ser barato = cheapness.

* el siguiente no, el otro = next but one.

* el sitio adecuado en el momento adecuado = the right place at the right time.

* el sueño de toda persona = the stuff dreams are made of.

* el sueño de todos = the stuff dreams are made of.

* el sueño de todo ser viviente = the stuff dreams are made of.

* el súmmum = the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* el tamaño de = the extent of.

* el tema de la discusión = the focus of the discussion.

* el tema del debate = the focus of the discussion.

* el tiempo de Algo = in season.

* el tiempo es oro = time is money.

* el tiempo lo dirá = only time will tell.

* el tiempo vuela = time flies (by).

* el tipo de = the range of.

* el todo es más grande que la suma de sus partes = the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

* el total de = the total sum of, the sum total of.

* el transcurrir del tiempo = the sands of time.

* el transcurso del tiempo = as time goes by.

* el último citado = latter.

* el último grito = the last word, the cat's meow, the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* el último + Nombre = the latest + Nombre.

* el último pero no el menos importante = the last but by no means least.

* el único = the one and only.

* el único e incomparable = the one and only.

* el único e inimitable = the one and only.

* el único problema = a fly in the soup, the fly in the ointment.

* el verdadero = the real McCoy.

* el verdadero problema = the elephant in the room.

* el ver televisión = television viewing.

* el viejo = the elder.

* el vulgo = the great unwashed.

* el yugo de = the shackles of.

* espicharlas = kick + the bucket.

* la = the, ye.

* la alternativa + ser = the alternative + be.

* la belleza es superficial = beauty is only skin deep.

* La Biblioteca Responde = Ask the Library.

* la Biblioteca y el Archivo de Canadá = Library and Archives Canada.

* la buena noticia = the good news.

* la calidad es nuestro lema = quality is our middle name.

* la calma que precede a la tormenta = the lull before the storm.

* la cambiante fisonomía de = the changing face of, the changing nature of.

* la caridad empieza por uno mismo = charity begins at home.

* la ciudadana de a pie = the average Jane.

* la ciudadana media = the average Jane.

* la ciudad que nunca duerme = the city that never sleeps.

* la clave de = at the heart of.

* la clave está en la letra pequeña = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* la comunidad en general = the community at large.

* la Convención de la Haya de 1954 = the 1954 Hague Convention.

* la copa del árbol = the top of the tree.

* la cosa es que = the thing is.

* la cosa principal = the number one thing.

* la crème de la crème = the cream of the crop, crème de la crème.

* la cruz de = the bane of.

* la cuestión es que = the thing is.

* la década de los + Número = the + Número + s.

* la demanda de = a call for.

* la diversidad de = the range of.

* la diversidad de + Nombre = the many + Nombre.

* la edad se lleva en el alma = you are as old as you feel.

* la época de Algo = in season.

* la escoria de la sociedad = the gutter.

* la espalda de = the back of.

* la evidencia = the writing on the wall.

* la fe mueve montañas = faith will move mountains.

* la filosofía de = the reason behind, the reasoning behind.

* la flor de + Nombre = the prime of + Nombre.

* la flor y nata = the cream of the crop, crème de la crème.

* la forma correcta de hacer las cosas = the way to go.

* la forma de = ways and means (of/for/to/in/by).

* la forma de + Infinitivo = the way to go about + Gerundio.

* la forma de ver las cosas = the way + to see things.

* la fuerza de la mayoría = strength in numbers.

* la gente decía que = rumour had it that.

* la gente dice que = rumour has it that.

* la gente se está inquietando = the natives are nervous.

* la gente se está poniendo nerviosa = the natives are nervous.

* la gente se puso de pie para aplaudir = standing ovation.

* la gota que colmó el vaso = the straw that broke the camel's back.

* la Gran Manzana = the Big Apple.

* la gran mayoría de = the vast majority of, the bulk of.

* la historia + repetirse = history + come full circle.

* la historia + volverse a repetir = history + come full circle.

* la hostia = the cat's pyjamas, the cat's pyjamas, the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* la hoz y el martillo = the hammer and sickle.

* la idea que hay detrás de = the idea behind.

* la imaginación no tiene límites = your imagination is the limit.

* la imitación es la mejor forma de que lo halaguen a uno = imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

* La Isla del Tesoro = Treasure Island.

* la joya de = showpiece.

* la judicatura = the Bench.

* la justicia = the Bench.

* la juventud no es cuestión de edad sino de espíritu = you are as old as you feel.

* la leche = the dog's bollocks, the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's whiskers.

* la luz al final del túnel = the light at the end of the tunnel.

* la magistratura = the Bench.

* la manera de + Infinitivo = the way to go about + Gerundio.

* la mano que mece la cuna es la mano que domina el mundo = the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

* la mano que mece la cuna gobierna el mundo = the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

* la mar de = a whole slew of.

* la mayoría con mucho de = the vast majority of.

* la mayoría de = the majority of, most + Nombre, the main bulk of.

* la mayoría de la gente = most people, the majority of the people.

* la mayoría de las personas = most people, the majority of the people.

* la mayoría de las veces = most of the time, more often than not.

* la mayoría del mundo = the majority of the world, most people, the majority of the people.

* la mayoría del tiempo = most of the time.

* la mayor parte de = the majority of, the main bulk of, the lion's share of.

* la mayor parte de las veces = more often than not.

* la medida en que = the extent to which.

* la mejor forma de hacer Algo = best practices, lessons learned [lessons learnt].

* la mejor manera = how best.

* la mejor manera de = the best way of.

* la mejor oferta = the best deal.

* la mejor opción = the best bet.

* la mejor salida = the best way forward.

* la mejor solución = the best way forward.

* la menor duda de que = no doubt whatsoever.

* la mentira = lying.

* la mirada en = eye(s) on.

* la misma persona = one and the same person.

* la mitad (1/2) = one-half (1/2).

* la necesidad agudiza el ingenio = necessity mothers invention.

* la ocasión la pintan calva = make + hay while the sun shines.

* la opinión de otra persona = a second opinion.

* la oportunidad de + Posesivo + vida = the opportunity of a lifetime.

* la parte de atrás de = the back of.

* la parte más dura de = brunt of, the.

* la parte más importante = the heart of.

* la parte principal de = the bulk of.

* la parte superior izquierda de = the upper left of.

* la parte trasera de = the back of.

* la personificación de la confianza en uno mismo = confidence personified.

* la pesadilla de = the bane of.

* la pesca del día = the day's catch, the catch of the day.

* la petición de = a call for.

* la píldora = the pill.

* la plebe = the great unwashed.

* la polla = the dog's bollocks, the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's whiskers.

* la práctica hace al maestro = practice makes perfect.

* la primera tentativa = the first time around.

* la primera vez = the first time around.

* la proporción mayor de = the lion's share of.

* la próxima moda = the next hot thing.

* la puntilla = the final/last nail in + Posesivo + coffin.

* la que = that, the one.

* la razón de ser = the reason for being.

* la realidad es que = the fact remains that..., fact is, the fact is (that).

* la rehostia = the dog's bollocks, the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's whiskers.

* la responsabilidad ahora recae en + Nombre = the ball is in + Posesivo + court.

* la responsabilidad es de... = the buck + stops....

* la riqueza de = the wealth of.

* la ruina de = the bane of.

* las = the, ye.

* las 24 horas = round the clock, around the clock.

* las apariencias engañan = don't judge a book by its cover, there's more to it than meets the eye.

* las ataduras de = the shackles of.

* las autoridades = the powers-that-be.

* las cosas + cambiar = pendulum + swing.

* las cosas + estar + claras = the (hand)writing + be + on the wall, see it + coming.

* las cosas no pasan así como así = everything happens for a reason (and a purpose).

* las cosas no pasan (así) porque sí = everything happens for a reason (and a purpose).

* las cosas no son tan simples como parecen = there's more to it than meets the eye.

* las cosas + seguir + igual = business + revolve + as usual.

* las cosas siguen igual = business as usual.

* las cosas sólo pasan una vez = lightning never strikes twice.

* las cosas son más complicadas de lo que parecen = there's more to it than meets the eye.

* las cosas tal y como son = the birds and the bees.

* las cosas + volver + a su punto de partida = the wheel + turn + full circle.

* las de = those for.

* las doce del mediodía = noon.

* la segunda mitad de + Fecha = the latter part of + Fecha.

* la segunda opción = the next best choice.

* la segunda vez = the second time around.

* la semana pasada = last week.

* la senda que lleva a = a/the doorway to.

* la situación = the course of events.

* la sociedad en general = society at large.

* las posibilidades son infinitas = the possibilities are endless.

* las profundidades del mar = the deep.

* las profundidades del océano = the deep.

* las pruebas = the writing on the wall.

* las raíces se encuentran = roots + lie.

* las raíces se remontan a = roots + lie.

* las razones de = the reason behind, the thinking behind, the reasoning behind, the idea behind.

* las Reglas de Cutter para un Catálogo Diccionario = Cutter's Rules for a Dictionary Catalog.

* las triquiñuelas de la letra pequeña = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* la suerte + cambiar = the tide + turn.

* la suerte estaba echada = the die was cast, the die had been cast.

* la suerte está echada = the die is cast.

* la suma total de = the total sum of, the sum total of.

* las uvas están verdes = sour grapes.

* las veinticuatro horas = day and night, day or night, night and day.

* la temporada de Algo = in season.

* la tierra de la abundancia = the land of plenty.

* la tierra de las oportunidades = the land of opportunity.

* la tira de = a whole slew of.

* la tira de tiempo = donkey's years.

* la triste realidad es que = the sad fact is (that).

* la última palabra = the last word, the last word, the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* la última vez = last time.

* la última vez que = the last time.

* la única pega = the fly in the ointment, a fly in the soup.

* la unión hace la fuerza = strength in numbers.

* la ventaja de = the beauty of.

* la ventaja es que = on the positive side, the advantage is that, on the bright side.

* la verdad = the lowdown (on).

* la verdad es que = if the truth be known, if the truth be told, the fact is (that), fact is.

* la verdad es que... = the fact of the matter is that....

* la verdad sea dicha = to tell the truth.

* la verdad sea dicha que = if the truth be told.

* la Vía Láctea = the Milky Way.

* la vida continúa = the show must go on.

* la vida + continuar = life + go on.

* la vida es así = life's like that.

* ¡la vida no es un camino de rosas! = the course of true love never did run smooth!.

* la vida + seguir = life + go on.

* la víspera de = on the eve of.

* la voz de = the voice of.

* la voz de la conciencia = the voice within.

* la voz de la experiencia = the voice of experience.

* la voz de la razón = the voice of reason.

* la voz del odio = the voice of hate.

* la voz interior = the voice within.

* lo absurdo = ridiculousness.

* lo adecuado = adequacy.

* lo + Adjetivo + que sea/esté = how + Adjetivo.

* lo anodino = blandness.

* lo anteriormente expuesto = the preceding.

* lo apropiado = appropriateness.

* lo barato = inexpensiveness.

* lo básico = essential, the, nuts and bolts, bare minimum, bare necessities, the, the lowdown (on).

* lo bastante elevado = high enough.

* lo bastante extenso = adequately scoped.

* lo bueno de = the beauty of.

* lo bueno es que = the good news is (that)..., on the positive side, on the bright side.

* lo bueno viene en frascos pequeños = small is beautiful.

* lo bueno y lo malo = the rights and wrongs.

* lo caro = expensiveness.

* lo chicano = Chicana.

* lo chulo = coolness.

* lo cierto es que = fact is, the fact is (that).

* lo completo = completeness.

* lo completo que Algo está = fullness.

* lo creas o no = believe it or not.

* lo decisivo = the last word.

* lo definitivo = the last word.

* lo desagradable = unpleasantness.

* ¿lo dices en broma? = you must be joking!, you must be kidding!.

* lo directo = directness.

* lo divertido = the fun part.

* lo engorroso de = cumbersomeness.

* lo esencial = essential, the, nuts and bolts, bare minimum, bare necessities, the, the lowdown (on).

* lo estrafalario = zaniness.

* lo estrambótico = zaniness.

* lo extenso = comprehensiveness.

* lo favorable = propitiousness.

* lo hebraico = Hebraica.

* lo hecho hecho está = no use crying over spilt/spilled milk.

* lo importante es lo que eres no cómo te llamas = a rose by any other name.

* lo imprescindible = bare necessities, the, bare minimum.

* lo incómodo de = cumbersomeness.

* lo indefinido = indefiniteness.

* lo indirecto = indirectness.

* lo indispensable = bare necessities, the, bare minimum.

* lo insulso = blandness.

* lo interesante = the fun part.

* lo judío = Judaica.

* lo lindo = cuteness.

* lo llano = flatness.

* lo más cercano a = the nearest thing to.

* lo más conveniente es que = optimally.

* lo más destacado = highlights.

* lo más detestado = pet hate.

* lo más importante = most of all, at its core.

* lo más interesante = highlights.

* lo más mínimo = so much as.

* lo más novedoso = the last word.

* lo más odiado = pet hate.

* lo más parecido a = the nearest thing to.

* lo más probable es que = most probably.

* lo más recio de = brunt of, the.

* lo más recóndito = nooks and crannies.

* lo máximo = the be all and end all, the bee's knees, the cat's pyjamas, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks.

* lo mejor = the top of the tree.

* lo mejor de = the beauty of, showpiece.

* lo mejor de ambas partes = the best of both worlds.

* lo mejor de lo mejor = the best of the best.

* lo mejor de todo = best of all.

* lo mejor entre lo mejor = the best of the best.

* lo mejor es que... = the good news is (that)....

* lo mejor está aún por llegar = the best is yet to come.

* lo mejor posible = to the best of + Posesivo + ability, at + Posesivo + (very) best, optimally.

* lo mejor que pueda = to the best of + Posesivo + ability.

* lo mejor que se puede hacer = the best bet.

* lo mejor + ser = the beautiful part + be.

* lo menos posible = as little as possible.

* lo mínimo = bare minimum, bare necessities, the.

* lo mismo ocurre con = the same goes for.

* lo mismo ocurre en el caso de = the same is true (for/of/with).

* lo mismo que = the same as, along the lines of, in much the same way as.

* lo mismo que antes = the same as before.

* lo mismo que para = the same as that for.

* lo mismo se aplica a = the same is true (for/of/with).

* lo molesto de = cumbersomeness.

* lo mucho que = how extensively.

* lo noble = high-mindedness.

* lo no convencional = unconventional, the.

* lo normal + ser + que = there + be + a tendency (to/for), there + be + a tendency (to/for).

* lo oportuno = timeliness.

* lo pasado pasado está = let bygones be bygones.

* lo peor de = brunt of, the.

* lo peor del = the armpit of the.

* lo pintoresco = quaintness.

* lo plano = flatness.

* lo poco común = rarity, rareness.

* lo poco convencional = unconventional, the.

* lo primero = for one, first off.

* lo primero de todo = first of all, first off.

* lo prometido es deuda = a promise is a promise.

* lo propicio = propitiousness.

* lo público = publicness.

* lo que = that which, what.

* lo que aguarda a = what is on store for.

* lo que Algo o Alguien se merece, lo que le corresponde, bastante = fair share, fair share.

* lo que a uno cura a otro mata = one man's meat is another man's poison.

* lo que demuestra que = which (just) goes to show that.

* lo que el futuro depara a = what is on store for.

* lo que es aun más inquietante = more disturbingly.

* lo que es aun más preocupante = more disturbingly.

* lo que es aun mejor = better still.

* lo que es aun peor = worse still.

* lo que es bueno para uno es bueno para otro = what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

* lo que es bueno para uno también es bueno para otro = what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

* lo que es más = what is more, what's more.

* lo que es más importante = most importantly, more importantly, most of all, most important.

* lo que es mejor aun = better still.

* lo que es muy importante = importantly.

* lo que es peor = what's worse.

* lo que es peor aun = worse still.

* lo que espera a = what is on store for.

* lo que está bien y lo que está mal = rights and wrongs.

* lo que existe (en el mercado) = what's out there.

* lo que haya que de ser, será = que sera sera, what's meant to be, will be, whatever will be, will be.

* lo que hay (en el mercado) = what's out there.

* lo que hay que hacer = do + the right thing, the way to go.

* lo que hay que hacer y lo que hay que evitar = do's and don'ts, rights and wrongs.

* lo que le corresponde = fair share.

* lo que nos espera = things to come.

* lo que quiera que = whatever.

* lo que sea = something or other.

* lo que se gana por un lado se pierde por otro = swings and roundabouts.

* lo que se pierda en una cosa se gana en la otra = what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts.

* lo que + ser = what + be like.

* lo que se suele pagar = going rate, the.

* lo que tenga que pasar, que pase = que sera sera, what's meant to be, will be, whatever will be, will be.

* lo que tenga que ser, será = que sera sera, whatever will be, will be, what's meant to be, will be.

* lo que vale para tí también vale para mí = what's good for the goose is good for the gander, what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

* lo rural = rurality.

* los = the, ye.

* los 365 días del año = year-round.

* los 40 principales = Top 40 singles chart.

* los abajo firmantes = the parties hereto.

* los acontecimientos = the course of events.

* lo sagrado = sacredness.

* los albores de = the dawn of.

* los años cincuenta = fifties.

* los años treinta = thirties.

* los árboles no dejan ver el bosque = lose + sight of the forest for the trees.

* los avatares de la guerra = the tides of war.

* los buenos tiempos = the good old days.

* los comienzos de = the dawn of.

* los constantes cambios de = the changing face of, the changing nature of.

* los de = those for, those in.

* los demás = rest, the, everybody else.

* los detalles de la letra pequeña = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* los días antes de = leading up to.

* los dos = both, both of them, both of which.

* los efectos negativos se están dejando sentir ahora = chickens come home to roost.

* los gobernantes = the powers-that-be.

* los hay para dar y regalar = there's one born every minute.

* los mandamás = the powers-that-be.

* los más necesitados = those most in need.

* los más pobres + Nombre = the poorest + Nombre.

* los menos locuaces = inarticulate, the.

* los motivos de = the reason behind, the thinking behind, the reasoning behind, the idea behind.

* los necesitados = the needy.

* los orígenes de = the dawn of.

* los otros con los que aparece(n) = neighbours [neighbors, -USA].

* los peores + Nombre = the poorest + Nombre.

* los poderes fáticos = the powers-that-be.

* los pormenores de la letra pequeña = the devil (is/lives) in the details.

* Los Principios de París = Paris Principles.

* los que = those who.

* los que detentan el poder = the powers-that-be.

* los que mandan = the powers-that-be.

* los que no han recibido formación específica = uninstructed, the.

* los que + Verbo = those + Participio.

* los tribunales = the Bench.

* lo suficientemente cerca = within range.

* lo suficientemente cerca como para oír = within earshot of.

* lo suficientemente estúpido como para = dumb enough to.

* lo suficientemente grande = large enough, big enough.

* lo suficientemente lejos como para no poder oír = out of earshot.

* los últimos coletazos = fag-end.

* lo sumo = the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the cat's whiskers, the dog's bollocks, the cat's pyjamas.

* los unos a costa de los otros = at each other's expense.

* los viejos tiempos = the good old days.

* lo tomas o lo dejas = take it or leave it.

* lo último = the last word.

* lo uno es tan malo como lo otro = one is as bad as the other.

* lo vanguardista = cutting edge.

* lo yidish = Yiddica.

* parmarlas = kick + the bucket.

* ser lo que nos espera = be the shape of things to come.

* * *

el (pl los), la; (pl las)

art

[ the masculine article el is also used before feminine nouns which begin with accented a or, ha e.g. el agua pura, el hada madrina]

A (con un referente único, conocido o que se define) the

el sol the sun

el lápiz/la goma/los lápices/las gomas que compré the pencil/the eraser/the pencils/the erasers I bought

no, ése no, el que te presté ayer/el de Julio/el rojo no, not that one, the one I lent you yesterday/Julio's/the red one

en la calle Solís in Solís Street

prefiero el mío/los tuyos I prefer mine/yours

me atendió el estúpido del marido that stupid husband of hers served me

yo soy la arquitecta, ella es lexicógrafa I'm the architect, she's a lexicographer

yo fui la que lo rompí or rompió I was the one who broke it

los nacidos entre … those born between …

los que faltamos ayer those of us who weren't here yesterday

¿cuál es Ardiles? — el del sombrero negro which one's Ardiles? — the one with the black hat

un encuentro al que asistieron muchas personalidades a meeting which was attended by many well known people

la obra de la que or de la cual hablábamos the play we were talking about

B

(con sustantivos en sentido genérico): me encanta la ópera I love opera

odio el pescado I hate fish

así es la vida that's life

(nosotros) los mexicanos lo sabemos muy bien we Mexicans know only too well

¿ya vas a la escuela? do you go to school yet?

ya salió del hospital she's out of the hospital ( AmE) o ( BrE) out of hospital

en el mar at sea

viajar por el espacio to travel in space

C

(en expresiones de tiempo): ocurrió el domingo de Pascua/en el verano del 76 it happened on Easter Sunday/in the summer of '76

mi cumpleaños es el 28 de mayo my birthday's on May 28

el mes pasado/que viene last/next month

no trabaja los sábados she doesn't work (on) Saturdays

estudió toda la mañana he studied all morning

a las ocho at eight o'clock, at eight

a eso de las seis around six o'clock

D

(cada): lo venden a $80 el kilo/metro they're selling it at $80 a kilo/a meter o at $80 per kilo/meter

¿cuánto cuesta el paquete de diez? how much does a packet of ten cost?

E

(con fracciones, porcentajes, números): me dio la mitad/la cuarta parte del dinero she gave me half the money/a quarter of the money

el 20% de los peruanos 20% of Peruvians

vivo en el cuarto I live on the fifth floor ( AmE) o ( BrE) fourth floor

F [ Vocabulary notes (Spanish) ]

(refiriéndose a partes del cuerpo, prendas de vestir, artículos personales, etc): con las manos en los bolsillos with my/your/his hands in my/your/his pockets

¡te cortaste el pelo! you've had your hair cut!

tienes la falda sucia your skirt is dirty

tienes el suéter puesto al revés you've got your sweater on inside out

tiene el pelo largo/los ojos azules he has long hair/blue eyes

G (con nombres propios)

1

(con apellidos acompañados de título, adjetivos, etc): llamó el señor Ortiz/la doctora Vidal/el general Santos Mr Ortiz/Doctor Vidal/General Santos phoned

el gran Caruso the Great Caruso

2

(con nombres de mujeres famosas): la última película de la Monroe Monroe's last movie

3

(en plural): los Ortega (matrimonio) the Ortegas, Mr and Mrs Ortega; (familia) the Ortegas, the Ortega family

a los Josés se les suele llamar Pepe people called José are often known as Pepe

4 (fam: en muchas regiones crit)

(con nombres de pila): pregúntale a la Carmen/al Ricardo ask Carmen/Ricardo

5

(con algunos nombres geográficos): en la India in India

en (el) Perú in Peru

ver África, Argentina, el etc

6

(al calificar): la España de Franco Franco's Spain

el Buñuel que todos conocemos the Buñuel we all know

la Italia del siglo pasado Italy in the last century

7

(con algunos equipos deportivos): juegan contra el Juventus/el Barcelona they're playing against Juventus/Barcelona

H el

(con infinitivo): odiaba el tener que pedírselo he hated having to ask her

es cuidadoso y pausado en el hablar he's careful and deliberate in the way he speaks

el frenético girar de los bailarines the frenzied spinning of the dancers

al + INF ver a prep B 2. (↑ a 3)

* * *

Multiple Entries:
el
él
el (pl
◊ los), la (pl las) art the masculine article el is also used before feminine nouns which begin with accented a or ha, e.g. el agua pura, el hada madrina

1
a) ( en general) the;

◊ la Tierra the Earth

b) ( con sustantivos en sentido genérico):

◊ odio el pescado I hate fish;

así es la vida that's life;
(nosotros) los mexicanos we Mexicans;
¿ya vas a la escuela? do you go to school yet?
c) ( refiriéndose a algo que se conoce o se está definiendo):

◊ en la calle Solis in Solis street;

las tuyas yours;
el último the last one;
el estúpido del marido that stupid husband of hers
2
a) el + de:

◊ la del sombrero the one with the hat;

el de las nueve the nine o'clock one;
el de mi hijo my son's
b) el + que:

◊ las que yo ví the ones I saw;

los que estén cansados;
those who are tired, anyone who's tired;
la que te guste whichever you like
3 ( en expresiones de tiempo):
◊ ocurrió el domingo it happened last Sunday;

mi cumpleaños es el 28 de mayo my birthday's on May 28;
el mes pasado last month;
toda la mañana all morning;
a las ocho at eight o'clock
4 ( cada):
◊ $80 el metro/kilo $80 a meter/a kilo, $80 per kilo/meter

5 (con fracciones, porcentajes, números):
◊ la mitad/la cuarta parte del dinero half the money/a quarter of the money;

el 20% de … 20% of …
6 (con partes del cuerpo, prendas de vestir, artículos personales, etc):
◊ tenía las manos en los bolsillos she had her hands in her pockets;

¡te cortaste el pelo! you've had your hair cut!;
tiene los ojos azules he has blue eyes
7
a) (con apellidos acompañados de título, adjetivos, etc):

◊ el señor Ortiz/la doctora Vidal Mr Ortiz/Doctor Vidal;

los Ortega the Ortegas
b) ( con algunos nombres geográficos):

◊ en la India in India;

ver África, Argentina, etc
él pron pers
a) ( como sujeto) he;

◊ ¿quién se lo va a decir? — él who's going to tell her? — he is;

lo hizo él mismo he did it himself;
fue él it was him
b) (en comparaciones, con preposiciones) him;

( refiriéndose a cosas) it;
◊ llegué antes que él I arrived before him o before he did;

con/para él with/for him;
son de él they're his
el art def m
1 the
2 (no se traduce) (ante un tratamiento formal) el sr. Gómez, Mr Gomez
(cuando el sustantivo es general) el hambre/tiempo, hunger/time
3 (se traduce por un posesivo) (con partes del cuerpo) se ha cortado el pelo, she's cut her hair
(prendas) se lo metió en el bolsillo, he put it in his pocket
(pertenencias) guarda el diario en el cajón, put your diary into the drawer
4 (con días de la semana) iré el miércoles, I'll go on Wednesday
5 (cuando el sustantivo está elidido) the one: prefiero el azul, I prefer the blue one
el de las diez, the ten o'clock one
el que está en la mesa, the one that's on the table
el que más nos guste, whichever one we like best
(delante de un posesivo) el de María, Maria's
es el mío, it's mine
él pron pers
1 (sujeto) (persona) he
(animal, cosa) it: fue él, it was him, fue él el que..., it was him that... o it was he who...
2 (complemento) (persona) him
(animal, cosa) it
dáselo a él, give it to him, es para él, it's for him
3 (posesivo) de él, his
4 (oración comparativa) ella es mejor que él, she's better than him o she's better than he is
'él' also found in these entries:
Spanish:
A
- abajo
- abalanzarse
- abaratarse
- abarquillarse
- abarrotar
- abarrotada
- abarrotado
- abastecimiento
- abatir
- abatimiento
- abdicar
- abierta
- abierto
- abismo
- abogada
- abogado
- abominar
- abominable
- abordar
- aborigen
- aborregarse
- abortar
- abotargada
- abotargado
- abrir
- abreviar
- abrirse
- absoluta
- absoluto
- abstención
- abundancia
- acabar
- acabarse
- acabose
- acallar
- acanallar
- accionariado
- acero
- achacosa
- achacoso
- achatamiento
- achicharrarse
- aclarar
- aclarado
- acomodarse
- acompañar
- acondicionar
- acostumbrada
- acostumbrado
English:
A
- abandon
- ABC
- ability
- about
- above
- abroad
- abseil
- absence
- absent
- absolute
- absolve
- absorb
- abstract
- academic
- accelerate
- accommodate
- accomplice
- account
- accurately
- accusation
- accused
- accustom
- aching
- act
- act on
- act up
- actual
- actually
- acute
- address
- adequately
- adjourn
- admission
- admit
- advance
- advanced
- advantage
- advantageous
- advise
- advocate
- affair
- afford
- afloat
- afraid
- after
- against
- age
- agenda
- aggregate

* * *

el (f la, mpl los, fpl las) art determinado el is used instead of la before feminine nouns which are stressed on the first syllable and begin with “a” or “ha” (e.g. el agua, el hacha). Note that el combines with the prepositions a and de to produce the contracted forms al and del.

1. [con valor especificador] the;

el coche the car;

la casa the house;

los niños the children;

el agua/hacha/águila the water/axe/eagle;

fui a recoger a los niños I went to pick up the children

2. [con sustantivo abstracto, valor genérico]
el amor love;

la vida life;

el hombre Man, human beings;

los derechos de la mujer women's rights;

los niños imitan a los adultos children copy adults;

el pan es un alimento básico bread is a basic food;

la mayoría de la gente no la conoce most people don't know her;

vuelve el biquini bikinis are back

3. [indica posesión, pertenencia]
se partió la pierna he broke his leg;

se quitó los zapatos she took her shoes off;

tiene el pelo oscuro he has dark hair;

me han robado la maleta my suitcase has been stolen;

se dieron la mano they shook hands

4. [con días de la semana, fechas, horas]
vuelven el sábado they're coming back on Saturday;

los domingos vamos al cine we go to the movies (on) Sundays;

llegaré el 1 de mayo [escrito] I'll arrive on 1 May;
[hablado] I'll arrive on the first of May;
son las siete it's seven o'clock;

el año pasado/que viene last/next year

5. [con nombres propios geográficos]
el Sena the (River) Seine;

el Everest (Mount) Everest;

la India India;

La Haya The Hague;

El Cairo Cairo;

la España de la posguerra post-war Spain

6. [con apellido]
la señora Márquez Mrs Márquez;

el señor/el doctor Juárez Mr/Doctor Juárez;

los Amaya [matrimonio] Mr and Mrs Amaya, the Amayas;
[familia completa] the Amayas, the Amaya family;
los Austrias the Hapsburgs;

el Hitler español the Spanish Hitler

7. Fam [con nombre propio de persona]
llama a la María call Maria

8. [con numerales, porcentajes, fracciones]
el siete es mi número de la suerte seven's my lucky number;

llegó el tercero he came third;

el tercer piso the third floor;

un aumento del 30 por ciento a 30 percent increase;

la quinta parte (de) a fifth (of);

el 20 por ciento (de) 20 percent (of)

9. [en proporciones, precios]
100 pesos el kilo 100 pesos a o per kilo

10. [con complemento especificativo]
el/la del sombrero the one with the hat;

los/las de azul [cosas] the blue ones;
[personas] the ones in blue;
he perdido el tren, cogeré el de las nueve I've missed the train, I'll get the nine o'clock one;

el de aquí this one here;

¿los del parque son amigos tuyos? were those people in the park friends of yours?;

prefiero las del escaparate I prefer the ones in the window;

los del fondo no se callan the people at the back won't shut up

11. [con complemento posesivo]
mi hermano y el de Juan my brother and Juan's;

el mío mine;

la tuya yours;

los suyos theirs

12. [con adjetivo]
prefiero el rojo al azul I prefer the red one to the blue one;

el/la mejor the best;

es la mejor de la clase she's the best in the class, she's top of the class;

los seleccionados realizarán un examen those chosen will sit an exam;

el tonto de Ignacio se equivocó that idiot Ignacio got it wrong

13. [con infinitivo]
el beber tanto acabó con él all that drinking is what finished him off;

es amante del buen comer she loves good food;

me sienta mal el tener que decírtelo I don't like to have to tell you

14. [con frases subordinadas]
el/la que [cosa] whichever;
[persona] whoever;
los/las que [cosas] whichever;
[personas] whoever;
coge el/los que quieras take whichever you like;

el que más corra whoever runs fastest, the one who runs the fastest;

las que quieran venir que levanten la mano those who want to come o anyone who wants to come should put their hand up;

el que no te guste no quiere decir que sea malo the fact that you don't like him doesn't make him a bad person

15. [con valor enfático]
¡la pena que me dio verlo en ese estado! I felt so sorry for him when I saw him in that state!

* * *

el

I art the

II pron

:

el de … that of …;

el de Juan Juan’s;

el más grande the biggest (one);

el que está … the one that is …

* * *

él pron

: he, him

él es mi amigo: he's my friend

hablaremos con él: we will speak with him

el pron, (referring to masculine nouns)

1) : the one

tengo mi libro y el tuyo: I have my book and yours

de los cantantes me gusta el de México: I prefer the singer from México

2)

el que : he who, whoever, the one that

el que vino ayer: the one who came yesterday

el que trabaja duro estará contento: he who works hard will be happy

el, la art, pl los, las : the

los niños están en la casa: the boys are in the house

me duele el pie: my foot hurts

* * *

el det

1. the

¿qué te pareció el libro? what did you think of the book?

perdimos el tren we missed the train

2. (posesivo) my / your / his / her etcétera

me rompí el brazo I broke my arm

es el hermano de María it's María's brother

¿te has cortado el pelo? have you had your hair cut?

se puso el jersey he put his jumper on

3. (característica) the one

¿cuál prefieres? el azul which one do you prefer? the blue one

el del pelo largo the one with long hair

el de la camisa negra the one in the black shirt

me gusta el de Alejo I like Alejo's

¡Ojo! Algunas veces no se traduce

¿quieres salir el sábado? do you want to go out on Saturday?

el Sr. García Mr. García

me gusta el arroz I like rice

el que (persona) the one who / the one that (cosa) the one which / the one that

el que llegó primero the one who came first

el que me dejaste the one you lent me

el que (quienquiera) whoever

con el que that... with

el chico con el que salgo the boy that I go out with

el cuchillo con el que lo corté the knife that I cut it with

en el que that... in

el cajón en el que lo puse the drawer that I put it in

el coche en el que iban the car that they were in

Spanish-English dictionary > él
8 bajo

adj.

1 low.

2 short, small.

3 low, tawdry, base.

4 low, contemptible, lowly, base.

5 low-lying, low-down.

6 hushed, soft, soft-sounding.

adv.

1 softly, in a low voice, low.

Let's talk low because the baby's sleep Hablemos bajo porque el niño duerme.

2 low, in a low position, near ground level, near the floor.

prep.

1 under, below, beneath, underneath.

2 under.

3 under, under the jurisdiction of.

m.

1 bass.

2 bass, double bass, bass guitar.

3 bass singer, bass voice, bass.

4 hem, turn-up, hemline, turnup.

5 low lying ground.

pres.indicat.

1^st person singular (yo) present indicative of spanish verb: bajar.

* * *

bajo

► adjetivo

1 (gen) low

■ una casa baja a low house

■ precios bajos low prices

■ el río está bajo the river is low

■ pon la música, pero baja put the music on low

2 (persona) short, not tall

■ su padre es muy bajo her father is very short

3 (cabeza) bowed, held low; (ojos) lowered, downcast

■ rezaba con la cabeza baja she prayed with her head bowed

4 (marea) out

■ la marea está baja the tide is out

5 (despreciable) despicable, contemptible, base

6 (territorio, río) lower

■ la baja Navarra lower Navarre

7 (época) later

■ la Baja Edad Media the late Middle Ages

8 (inferior) poor, low

■ es de baja calidad it's poor quality

■ tu rendimiento es muy bajo your performance is very poor

————————

bajo

► nombre masculino

1 (piso) ground floor, US first floor

2 (de prenda) bottoms plural, US cuff

3 MÚSICA (instrumento) bass; (contrabajo) double bass

► nombre masulino o femenino

1 MÚSICA (músico) bass player; (cantante) bass

► adverbio

1 (en el aire) low

■ el avión vuela bajo para evitar el radar the plane flies low to avoid the radar

2 (voz) softly, quietly, in a low voice

■ habla muy bajo she speaks very quietly

► preposición

1 under

■ pasamos la noche bajo las estrellas we spent the night under the stars

■ bajo ningún concepto under no circumstances

■ bajo el yugo del dictador under the yoke of the dictator

2 (temperatura) below

■ 10 grados bajo cero 10 degrees below zero

► nombre masculino plural bajos

1 (planta baja) ground floor; (sótano) basement

\

FRASEOLOGÍA

por lo bajo (disimuladamente) on the sly 2 (en voz baja) in a low voice 3 (sin exagerar) conservatively

bajas pasiones animal passions

bajos fondos underworld sing

* * *
1. prep.
1) under

2) beneath

3) below
2. adv.
1) low

2) softly, quietly
3. (f. - baja)
adj.

1) low

2) short

3) lower

4) soft

5) base, vile
4. noun m.
1) bass

2) first floor

* * *

1. ADJ

1) (=de poca altura) [objeto] low; [persona] short; [parte] lower, bottom; [tierra] low-lying; [agua] shallow

una silla muy baja — a very low chair

mi hermano es muy bajo — my brother is very short

en la parte baja de la ciudad — in the lower part of the town

planta baja — ground floor, first floor (EEUU)

los bajos fondos — the underworld sing

2) (=inclinado)

contestó con la cabeza baja — she answered with her head bowed

con los ojos bajos — with downcast eyes

3) (=reducido, inferior) [precios, temperaturas, frecuencia] low; [calidad] low, poor

de baja calidad — low-quality, poor-quality

de bajo contenido en grasas — low-fat

bajo en calorías — low-calorie

la temporada baja — the low season

• estar bajo de algo, estar bajo de ánimo o de moral — to be in low spirits

estar bajo de forma (física) — to be unfit, be out of shape

4) [sonido] faint, soft; [voz, tono] low

hablar en voz baja — to speak quietly o in a low voice

decir algo por lo bajo — to say sth under one's breath

hacer algo por lo bajo — to do sth secretly

5) [etapa]

en la baja Edad Media — in the late Middle Ages

bajo latín — Low Latin

6) [oro, plata] with a high level of impurities

7) [color] (=apagado) dull; (=pálido) pale

8) (=humilde) low, humble; [clase] lower; [condición] lowly; [barrio] poor; [tarea] menial

9) pey (=vulgar) common, ordinary; (=mezquino) base, mean

10)

por lo bajo — (=a lo menos) at (the) least

2. SM

1) (Cos) [de vestido] hem; [de pantalones] turn-up, cuff (EEUU)

2) [de edificio] (=piso) ground floor, first floor (EEUU)

vivo en un bajo — I live on the ground floor

bajo comercial — ground-floor o (EEUU) first-floor business premises

3) (Mús) (=instrumento) bass; (=voz) bass; (=guitarrista) bass (guitar) player, bassist

Elena toca el bajo en un grupo — Elena plays bass (guitar) in a group

bajo profundo — basso profundo

4) pl bajos [de edificio] ground floor sing, first floor sing (EEUU); [de coche] underside; euf [del cuerpo] private parts

5) (=hondonada) hollow

6) (Náut) = bajío 1)

3.

ADV [volar] low; [tocar, cantar] quietly, softly

el avión volaba muy bajo — the plane was flying very low

hablar bajo — (=en voz baja) to speak quietly, speak softly; (=tener una voz suave) to be softly spoken, be soft spoken

¡más bajo, por favor! — quieter, please!

4. PREP

1) (=debajo de) under

Juan llevaba un libro bajo el brazo — Juan was carrying a book under his arm

• bajo cero — below zero

estamos a dos grados bajo cero — it's two degrees below zero

• bajo la lluvia — in the rain

• bajo tierra — underground

toda la familia está ya bajo tierra — the whole family are dead and buried

2) (=dependiente de, sometido a) under

bajo Napoleón — under Napoleon

bajo los efectos de la droga — under the influence of drugs

bajo el título de... — under the title of...

bajo mi punto de vista — from my point of view

bajo el reinado de — in the reign of

está bajo la tutela de su tío — her uncle is her legal guardian
fianza 1), juramento 1), llave 1)
* * *
I
- ja adjetivo

1) [ser] < persona> short

2) (indicando posición, nivel)

a) [ser] < techo> low; < tierras> low-lying

b) [estar] <lámpara/cuadro/nivel> low

la parte baja de la estantería — the lower shelves of the bookcase

la marea está baja — the tide is out

c) ( bajado)

tener las persianas bajas — to have the blinds down

caminar con la mirada baja — to walk (along) with one's eyes on the ground

3)

a) <calificación/precio/número> low; < temperatura> low

una bebida baja en calorías — a low-calorie drink

tiene la tensión or presión baja — he has low blood pressure

artículos de baja calidad — poor-quality goods

b) <volumen/luz> low

en voz baja — quietly, in a low voice

pon la radio bajita — put the radio on quietly

4)

estar bajo DE algo — ( falto de)

están bajos de moral — their morale is low

está bajo de defensas — his defenses are low

5) ( grave) <tono/voz> deep, low

6) ( vil) <acción/instinto> low, base

caer bajo: qué bajo has caído! — how could you stoop so low!

•

- baja cuna

- baja forma

- baja frecuencia

- bajas presiones

- bajos fondos

- bajo vientre
II
adverbio

a) <volar/pasar> low

b) <hablar/cantar> softly, quietly

habla más bajo! — keep your voice down!
III
masculino

1)

a) ( planta baja) first (AmE) o (BrE) ground floor

b)

los bajos — (CS) the first (AmE) o (BrE) ground floor

2)

a) (de falda, vestido) hem

b) bajos masculino plural (Auto) underside

3) ( contrabajo) (double) bass
IV
preposición

a) ( debajo de) under

bajo techo — under cover, indoors

tres grados bajo cero — three degrees below zero

bajo el cielo estrellado — (liter) beneath the starry sky (liter)

b) (expresando sujeción, dependencia) under

bajo juramento — under oath

bajo los efectos del alcohol — under the influence of alcohol

bajo el título... — under the title...

* * *
I
- ja adjetivo

1) [ser] < persona> short

2) (indicando posición, nivel)

a) [ser] < techo> low; < tierras> low-lying

b) [estar] <lámpara/cuadro/nivel> low

la parte baja de la estantería — the lower shelves of the bookcase

la marea está baja — the tide is out

c) ( bajado)

tener las persianas bajas — to have the blinds down

caminar con la mirada baja — to walk (along) with one's eyes on the ground

3)

a) <calificación/precio/número> low; < temperatura> low

una bebida baja en calorías — a low-calorie drink

tiene la tensión or presión baja — he has low blood pressure

artículos de baja calidad — poor-quality goods

b) <volumen/luz> low

en voz baja — quietly, in a low voice

pon la radio bajita — put the radio on quietly

4)

estar bajo DE algo — ( falto de)

están bajos de moral — their morale is low

está bajo de defensas — his defenses are low

5) ( grave) <tono/voz> deep, low

6) ( vil) <acción/instinto> low, base

caer bajo: qué bajo has caído! — how could you stoop so low!

•

- baja cuna

- baja forma

- baja frecuencia

- bajas presiones

- bajos fondos

- bajo vientre
II
adverbio

a) <volar/pasar> low

b) <hablar/cantar> softly, quietly

habla más bajo! — keep your voice down!
III
masculino

1)

a) ( planta baja) first (AmE) o (BrE) ground floor

b)

los bajos — (CS) the first (AmE) o (BrE) ground floor

2)

a) (de falda, vestido) hem

b) bajos masculino plural (Auto) underside

3) ( contrabajo) (double) bass
IV
preposición

a) ( debajo de) under

bajo techo — under cover, indoors

tres grados bajo cero — three degrees below zero

bajo el cielo estrellado — (liter) beneath the starry sky (liter)

b) (expresando sujeción, dependencia) under

bajo juramento — under oath

bajo los efectos del alcohol — under the influence of alcohol

bajo el título... — under the title...

* * *

bajo¹

¹ = bass.

Nota: Instrumento musical.

Ex: Russian singer Vladimir Ognovenko is one of the most arresting basses on the opera scene today.

bajo²

² = ground floor.

Nota: Piso de un edificio situado al nivel de la calle.

Ex: The ground floor of the library contains a foyer with separate entrance to different departments.

* bajo comercial = commercial premise.

bajo³

³ = low [lower -comp., lowest -sup.], lowly [lowlier -comp., lowliest -sup.], sagging, low-lying.

Ex: Carlton Duncan discussed the difficulties built into the educational processes which led to under-performance at school and the resulting low representation in higher education and low entry into the professions.

Ex: Such a concept came as a great surprise to many information educators who rather dismissively regarded the information qua information field of activity as being too lowly in terms of salary potential.

Ex: It was obvious that Balzac's enthusiasm for the grant lifted his spirits up from their normal sagging state.

Ex: With the introduction of irrigation, low-lying areas are prone to waterlogging and soil salinization.

* a bajas temperaturas = at low temperature.

* a bajo coste = low-cost.

* a bajo costo = low-cost.

* a bajo nivel = low-level.

* a bajo precio = lower-cost, lower-cost, at a low price, on the cheap.

* altibajos = ups and downs.

* altos y bajos = highs and lows, peaks and valleys.

* arma de bajo calibre = small arm.

* baja Edad Media, la = late Middle Ages, the.

* baja resolución = low resolution.

* baja tecnología = low tech [low-tech].

* baja temperatura = low temperature.

* bajo cero = sub-zero, below-freezing.

* bajo consumo = low power consumption.

* bajo coste = low cost.

* bajo en ácido = low-acid.

* bajo en calorías = low cal, low-calorie.

* bajo en carbohidratos = low-carb(ohydrate).

* bajo en grasas = low fat.

* bajo en hidratos de carbono = low-carb(ohydrate).

* bajo precio = low cost.

* bajo presión = under the cosh.

* bajos ingresos = low income.

* bajo vientre = lower abdomen.

* barrio bajo = skid row.

* bebida baja en alcohol = low-alcohol drink.

* cuando la marea está baja = at low tide.

* cultura de la clase baja = low culture.

* de baja calidad = poor in detail, low-grade [lowgrade], low-quality, third rate [third-rate], low-end, trashy [trashier -comp., trashiest -sup.].

* de baja intensidad = low-intensity [low intensity].

* de baja ralea = ignoble.

* de bajo consumo = low energy.

* de bajo contenido en grasas = low fat.

* de bajo crecimiento = low-growing.

* de bajo estatus social = low-status.

* de bajo nivel = lower-level, low-level.

* de bajo precio = low-priced.

* de bajo riesgo = low-risk.

* decir en voz baja = say under + Posesivo + breath, say in + a low voice, say in + a quiet voice.

* de la gama baja = low-end.

* de nivel cultural bajo = lowbrow [low-brow].

* de nivel intelectual bajo = lowbrow [low-brow].

* de tacón bajo = low-heeled.

* dieta baja en carbohidratos = low-carb diet.

* dieta baja en hidratos de carbono = low-carb diet.

* el más bajo = rock-bottom.

* el punto más bajo = rock-bottom.

* en su nivel más bajo = at its lowest ebb.

* en su punto más bajo = at its lowest ebb.

* en un nivel bajo = at a low ebb.

* en un punto bajo = at a low ebb.

* estar muy bajo = be way down.

* familia de bajos ingresos = low-income family.

* fijar precios bajos = price + low.

* frente de bajas presiones = ridge of low pressure.

* hablar en voz baja = whisper, speak + low.

* marea baja = low tide.

* más bien bajo = shortish.

* monte bajo = undergrowth, understorey [understory, -USA], fynbos, shrubland, scrubland.

* Países Bajos, los = Netherlands, the, Low Countries, the.

* período bajo = dry spell.

* período de baja actividad = dry spell.

* persona de nivel cultural bajo = lowbrow [low-brow].

* persona de nivel intelectual bajo = lowbrow [low-brow].

* planta baja = ground floor.

* que habla en voz baja = quietly spoken.

* que vuela bajo = low-flying.

* sistema de bajas presiones = ridge of low pressure, low pressure system.

* temporada baja = low season.

* tirando a bajo = shortish.

* tirar a lo bajo = low-ball.

bajo⁴

= under.

Ex: One of the outcomes of entry under title has been the proliferation of serials titles.

* acoger bajo la representación de Uno = bring under + Posesivo + umbrella.

* acoger bajo la tutela de Uno = bring under + Posesivo + umbrella.

* bajo agua = undersea, underwater.

* bajo amenaza = under threat.

* bajo arresto domiciliario = under house arrest.

* bajo cero = below zero.

* bajo ciertas circunstancias = under certain circumstances.

* bajo ciertas condiciones = under certain conditions.

* bajo coacción = under duress.

* bajo el asesoramiento de = on the advice of.

* bajo el brazo = under + Posesivo + arm.

* bajo el cargo de = on charges of.

* bajo el control de = under the control of.

* bajo el emblema = under the banner.

* bajo el manto de la noche = under the cover of darkness, under the cloak of darkness.

* bajo el patrocinio de = under the aegis of.

* bajo el sol = in the eye of the sun.

* bajo el yugo de = under the yoke of.

* bajo juramento = under oath, sworn.

* bajo la apariencia de = in the guise of, under the guise of.

* bajo la competencia de = under the jurisdiction of.

* bajo la dirección de = under the supervision of.

* bajo las garras de = under the grip of.

* bajo la supervisión de = under the supervision of.

* bajo la tutela = under the auspices of.

* bajo la tutela de = under the aegis of.

* bajo la tutela de Alguien = under + Posesivo + auspices.

* bajo llave = under lock and key.

* bajo los auspicios de = under the aegis of, under the auspices of.

* bajo los auspicios de Alguien = under + Posesivo + auspices.

* bajo los pies = underfoot.

* bajo lupa = under the microscope.

* bajo ninguna circunstancia = under no/any circumstances.

* bajo ningún concepto = on no account, not on any account, under no/any circumstances.

* bajo + Posesivo + custodia = in + Posesivo + safekeeping.

* bajo presión = under pressure.

* bajo reforma = under reform.

* bajo sospecha = under suspicion.

* bajo tierra = underground, below surface.

* bajo un mismo techo = under one roof.

* decretar libertad bajo fianza = remand.

* guardar bajo llave = keep under + lock and key.

* libertad bajo fianza = bail.

* mantener bajo control = keep + a rein on.

* tener Algo bajo el control de Uno = have + Nombre + at + Posesivo + command.

* territorio bajo mandato = mandate.

bajo⁵

⁵ = lowdown, mean [meaner -comp., meanest -sup.].

Ex: The board clearly didn't care if its commissioner was a lowdown, lying, corrupt and untrustworthy creep, likely because that is the nature of the entire organization.

Ex: Whereas in most European countries during this period welfare provision continued to develop, in Australia it languished at a level which, with the exception of Japan, was the meanest of the developed countries.

* * *

bajo¹ -ja

adjective

A [ SER] ‹persona› short

ese chico bajito que trabaja en el bar that short o small guy who works in the bar

B (indicando posición, nivel)

1 [ SER] ‹techo› low; ‹tierras› low-lying

un vestido de talle bajo a low-waisted dress

2 [ ESTAR] ‹lámpara/cuadro› low

las ramas más bajas del árbol the lowest branches of the tree

la parte baja de la estantería the bottom shelf/lower shelves of the bookcase

el nivel de aceite está bajo the oil level is low

¡qué bajo está el río! isn't the river low!

la marea está baja it's low tide, the tide is out

3

(bajado): la casa tenía las persianas bajas the house had the blinds down

caminaba con la mirada baja she walked (along) looking at the ground o with her eyes lowered

C

1 ‹calificación/precio/número› low; ‹temperatura› low

bajo en nicotina y alquitrán low in nicotine and tar

una bebida baja en calorías a low-calorie drink

tiene la tensión or presión baja he has low blood pressure, his blood pressure is low

liquidaban todo a precios bajísimos they were selling everything off really cheap(ly)

artículos de baja calidad poor-quality goods

por lo bajoor ( RPl) por parte baja at least

les va a costar 10.000 tirando or echando por lo bajo ( fam); it's going to cost them at least 10,000, it's going to cost them 10,000 easily o at (the very) least

2 ‹volumen/luz› low

lo dijo en voz baja he said it quietly o in a low voice

pon la radio bajita put the radio on quietly

3 ‹oro› below 14 karats

D estar bajo DE algo

(falto de): están bajos de moral they're in low spirits, their morale is low

está baja de defensas her defenses are low

E (grave) ‹tono/voz› deep, low

F (vil) ‹acción/instinto› low, base

caer bajoor en lo bajo: ha caído en lo más bajo she stooped pretty low

¡qué bajo has caído! how could you stoop so low?, how low can you get!

Compuestos:

● baja cuna

feminine humble origins (pl)

● baja Edad Media

feminine:

la bajoa Edad Media the late Middle Ages (pl)

● baja forma

feminine:

estoy en bajoa forma I'm in bad shape, I'm not on form, I'm feeling below par

la bajoa forma del equipo nacional the poor form of the national team

● baja frecuencia

feminine low frequency

● baja policía

feminine ( Per) garbage ( AmE) o ( BrE) refuse collection and street cleaning service

● bajas pasiones

fpl animal passions (pl)

● bajas presiones

fpl low pressure

● baja tecnología

feminine low technology

de bajoa tecnología low-technology ( before n), low-tech

● bajo Latín

masculine Low Latin

● bajo relieve

masculine bas-relief

● bajos fondos

mpl underworld

● bajo vientre

masculine:

el bajo vientre the lower abdomen

bajo²

adverb

1 ‹volar/pasar› low

2 ‹hablar/cantar› softly, quietly

canta más bajo sing more softly

¡habla más bajo! keep your voice down!

bajo³

masculine

A

1 (planta baja) first ( AmE) o ( BrE) ground floor; (local) commercial premises ( on the first ( AmE) o ( BrE) ground floor of a building)

2 los bajos mpl ( RPl) the first ( AmE) o ( BrE) ground floor

B

1 (de una falda, un vestido) hem; (de un pantalón) cuff ( AmE), turn-up ( BrE)

2 bajos mpl ( Auto) underbody

C (contrabajo) bass, double bass

D

( Chi fam) (fin): darle el bajo a algn to do away with sb ( colloq), to get rid of sb

darle el bajo a algo to polish sth off ( colloq)

bajo⁴

prep

1 (debajo de) under

corrimos a ponernos bajo techo we ran to get under cover

ponte bajo el paraguas get under o underneath the umbrella

tres grados bajo cero three degrees below zero

cuando yo esté bajo tierra when I'm dead and buried

bajo el cielo estrellado ( liter); beneath the starry sky ( liter)

cantando bajo la lluvia singing in the rain

2 (expresando sujeción, dependencia) under

está bajo juramento you are under oath

bajo Alfonso XIII under Alfonso XIII, during the reign of Alfonso XIII

bajo su mando under his command

bajo los efectos del alcohol under the influence of alcohol

bajo ese punto de vista looking at it from that point of view

bajo el título `España hoy' under the title `España hoy'

fianza, garantía, llave² (↑ llave (2)), etc

* * *

Del verbo bajar: ( conjugate bajar)

bajo es:

1ª persona singular (yo) presente indicativo

bajó es:

3ª persona singular (él/ella/usted) pretérito indicativo

Multiple Entries:
bajar
bajo
bajar ( conjugate bajar) verbo intransitivo
1
a) [ascensor/persona] ( alejándose) to go down;

( acercándose) to come down;
◊ bajo por las escaleras to go/come down the stairs;

ya bajo I'll be right down
b) ( apearse) bajo de algo ‹de tren/avión› to get off sth;

‹ de coche› to get out of sth;
‹de caballo/bicicleta› to get off sth
c) (Dep) [ equipo] to go down

2
a) [ marea] to go out

b) [fiebre/tensión] to go down, drop;

[ hinchazón] to go down;
[ temperatura] to fall, drop
c) [precio/valor] to fall, drop;

[ calidad] to deteriorate;
[ popularidad] to diminish;
◊ bajo de precio to go down in price

verbo transitivo
1 ‹escalera/cuesta› to go down
2 ‹brazo/mano› to put down, lower
3
a) bajo algo (de algo) ‹de armario/estante› to get sth down (from sth);

‹ del piso de arriba› ( traer) to bring sth down (from sth);
( llevar) to take sth down (to sth)
b) bajo a algn de algo ‹de mesa/caballo› to get sb off sth

4
a) ‹persiana/telón› to lower;

‹ ventanilla› to open
b) ‹ cremallera› to undo

5 ‹ precio› to lower;
‹ fiebre› to bring down;
‹ volumen› to turn down;
‹ voz› to lower
bajarse verbo pronominal
1 ( apearse) bajose de algo ‹de tren/autobús› to get off sth;
‹ de coche› to get out of sth;
‹de caballo/bicicleta› to get off sth;
‹de pared/árbol› to get down off sth
2 ‹ pantalones› to take down;
‹ falda› to pull down
bajo 1
◊ -ja adjetivo

1 [ser] ‹ persona› short
2
a) [ser] ‹ techo› low;

‹ tierras› low-lying
b) [estar] ‹lámpara/cuadro/nivel› low;

◊ la marea está baja the tide is out;

están bajos de moral their morale is low;
está bajo de defensas his defenses are low
3
a) ‹calificación/precio/temperatura› low;

◊ bajo en nicotina y alquitrán low in nicotine and tar;

bajo en calorías low-calorie;
de baja calidad poor-quality
b) ‹volumen/luz› low;

◊ en voz baja quietly, in a low voice

4 ( grave) ‹tono/voz› deep, low
5 ( vil) ‹acción/instinto› low, base;
◊ los bajos fondos the underworld

bajo 2 adverbio
a) ‹volar/pasar› low

b) ‹hablar/cantar› softly, quietly;

◊ ¡habla más bajo! keep your voice down!

■ sustantivo masculino
1
a) ( planta baja) first (AmE) o (BrE) ground floor

b)

◊ los bajos (CS) the first (AmE) o (BrE) ground floor

2 ( contrabajo) (double) bass
■ preposición
under;
◊ bajo techo under cover, indoors;

tres grados bajo cero three degrees below zero;
bajo juramento under oath
bajar
I verbo transitivo
1 (descender) to come o go down: bajé corriendo la cuesta, I ran downhill ➣ Ver nota en ir 2 (llevar algo abajo) to bring o get o take down: baja los disfraces del trastero, bring the costumes down from the attic
3 (un telón) to lower
(una persiana) to let down
(la cabeza) to bow o lower
4 (reducir el volumen) to turn down
(la voz) to lower
5 (los precios, etc) to reduce, cut
6 (ropa, dobladillo) tengo que bajar el vestido, I've got to let the hem down
7 Mús tienes que bajar un tono, you've got to go down a tone
II verbo intransitivo
1 to go o come down: bajamos al bar, we went down to the bar
2 (apearse de un tren, un autobús) to get off
(de un coche) to get out [de, of]: tienes que bajarte en la siguiente parada, you've got to get off at the next stop
3 (disminuir la temperatura, los precios) to fall, drop: ha bajado su cotización en la bolsa, its share prices have dropped in the stock exchange
bajo,-a
I adjetivo
1 low
2 (de poca estatura) short: es muy bajo para jugar al baloncesto, he's a bit too short to play basketball
3 (poco intenso) faint, soft: en este local la música está baja, the music isn't very loud here
4 (escaso) poor: su nivel es muy bajo, his level is very low
este queso es bajo en calorías, this cheese is low in calories
5 Mús low
6 fig (mezquino, vil, ruin) base, despicable: tiene muy bajos instintos, he's absolutely contemptible
bajos fondos, the underworld
la clase baja, the lower class
II adverbio low: habla bajo, por favor, please speak quietly
por lo b., (a sus espaldas, disimuladamente) on the sly: con Pedro es muy amable, pero por lo bajo echa pestes de él, she's very nice to Pedro, but she's always slagging him off behind his back
(como mínimo) at least: ese libro cuesta cinco mil pesetas tirando por lo bajo, that book costs at least five thousand pesetas
III sustantivo masculino
1 Mús (instrumento, cantante, instrumentista) bass
2 (de un edificio) ground floor
3 (de una prenda) hem
IV mpl Mec underneath: las piedras del camino le rozaron los bajos del coche, we scratched the bottom of the car against the stones on the road
V preposición
1 (lugar) under, underneath
bajo techo, under shelter
bajo tierra, underground
bajo la tormenta, in the storm
2 Pol Hist under
bajo la dictadura, under the dictatorship 3 bajo cero, (temperatura) below zero
4 Jur under
bajo fianza, on bail
bajo juramento, under oath
bajo multa de cien mil pesetas, subject to a fine of one hundred thousand pesetas
bajo ningún concepto, under no circumstances
firmó la declaración bajo presión, she signed the declaration under pressure
La traducción más común del adjetivo es low. Sin embargo, recuerda que cuando quieres describir a una persona debes usar la palabra short: Es muy bajo para su edad. He's very short for his age.

' bajo' also found in these entries:
Spanish:
auspicio
- baja
- caer
- calificar
- caloría
- circunstancia
- concepto
- confiar
- control
- cuerda
- dominación
- fianza
- fiebre
- guardia
- hundida
- hundido
- imperio
- ínfima
- ínfimo
- insolación
- juramento
- libertad
- llave
- manía
- ministerio
- monte
- murmurar
- par
- pretexto
- próxima
- próximo
- rescoldo
- ropa
- sarro
- so
- tapón
- techo
- tierra
- tono
- vigilancia
- a
- abrasar
- anestesia
- arresto
- ático
- bajar
- bajío
- chato
- chico
- coacción
English:
account
- aloud
- auspice
- bail
- bass
- bass guitar
- below
- beneath
- body
- bottom
- clampdown
- complaint
- conceal
- condition
- content
- control
- cover
- cuff
- custody
- depressed
- distraught
- down
- drunk driving
- DUI
- escrow
- feel
- floodlight
- foresight
- freezing
- ground
- gun
- hand
- honour
- hurtle
- in
- keep down
- lock away
- low
- low-alcohol
- low-budget
- low-calorie
- low-cost
- lower
- Lower Egypt
- lowest
- microscope
- minus
- oath
- observation
- off

* * *

bajo, -a

♦ adj

1. [objeto, cifra] low;
[persona, estatura] short;
es más bajo que su amigo he's shorter than his friend;

el pantano está muy bajo the water (level) in the reservoir is very low;

tengo la tensión baja I have low blood pressure;

tener la moral baja, estar bajo de moral to be in low o poor spirits;

estar en baja forma to be off form;

han mostrado una baja forma alarmante they have shown worryingly poor form, they have been worryingly off form;

los precios más bajos de la ciudad the lowest prices in the city;

tirando o [m5] calculando por lo bajo at least, at the minimum;

de baja calidad poor(-quality);

bajo en calorías low-calorie;

bajo en nicotina low in nicotine (content)

Comp
Elec baja frecuencia low frequency; Arte bajo relieve bas-relief; Informát baja resolución low resolution
2. [cabeza] bowed;
[ojos] downcast;
paseaba con la cabeza baja she was walking with her head down

3. [poco audible] low;
[sonido] soft, faint;
en voz baja softly, in a low voice;

pon la música más baja, por favor turn the music down, please;

por lo bajo [en voz baja] in an undertone;
[en secreto] secretly;
reírse por lo bajo to snicker, to snigger

4. [grave] deep

5. Geog lower;

el bajo Amazonas the lower Amazon

6. Hist lower;

la baja Edad Media the late Middle Ages

7. [pobre] lower-class

Comp
los bajos fondos the underworld
8. [vil] base

9. [soez] coarse, vulgar;

se dejó llevar por bajas pasiones he allowed his baser instincts to get the better of him

10. [metal] base

11. Perú baja policía street cleaners

♦ nm

1. [dobladillo] hem;

meter el bajo de una falda to take up a skirt

2. [planta baja] [piso] Br ground floor flat, US first floor apartment;
[local] Br premises on the ground floor, US premises on the first floor;
los bajos Br the ground floor, US the first floor

3. Mús [instrumento, cantante] bass;
[instrumentista] bassist
4. Mús [sonido] bass

5. Aut
bajos [de vehículo] underside

6. [hondonada] hollow

7. [banco de arena] shoal, sandbank

♦ adv

1. [hablar] quietly, softly;

ella habla más bajo que él she speaks more softly than he does;

¡habla más bajo, vas a despertar al bebé! keep your voice down or you'll wake the baby up!

2. [caer] low;
Fig
¡qué bajo has caído! how low you have sunk!

3. [volar] low

♦ prep

1. [debajo de] under;

bajo su apariencia pacífica se escondía un ser agresivo beneath his calm exterior there lay an aggressive nature;

bajo cero below zero;
Fig
bajo cuerda o [m5] mano secretly, in an underhand manner;

le pagó bajo mano para conseguir lo que quería he paid her secretly to get what he wanted;

bajo este ángulo from this angle;

bajo la lluvia in the rain;

bajo techo under cover;

dormir bajo techo to sleep with a roof over one's head o indoors

2. [sometido a]
bajo coacción under duress;

bajo control under control;

bajo el régimen de Franco under Franco's regime;

fue encarcelado bajo la acusación de… he was jailed on charges of…;
Der
bajo fianza on bail;

bajo mando de under the command of;

prohibido aparcar bajo multa de 100 euros no parking – penalty 100 euros;

bajo observación under observation;

bajo palabra on one's word;

el trato se hizo bajo palabra it was a purely verbal o a gentleman's agreement;

bajo pena de muerte on pain of death;

bajo tratamiento médico receiving medical treatment;

bajo la tutela de in the care of

* * *

bajo

I adj

1 low;

bajo en sal low in salt

2 persona short

II m

1 MÚS bass

2 piso first floor, Br

ground floor; de edificio first floor apartment, Br

ground floor flat

3 de vestido, pantalón hem

4

:

por lo bajo at least

III adv

1 cantar, hablar quietly, softly

2 volar low

IV prp under;

tres grados bajo cero three degrees below zero;

bajo juramento o

palabra on o under oath

* * *

bajo adv

1) : down, low

2) : softly, quietly

habla más bajo: speak more softly

bajo, -ja adj

1) : low

2) : short (of stature)

3) : soft, faint, deep (of sounds)

4) : lower

el bajo Amazonas: the lower Amazon

5) : lowered

con la mirada baja: with lowered eyes

6) : base, vile

7)

los bajos fondos : the underworld

bajo nm

1) : bass (musical instrument)

2) : first floor, ground floor

3) : hemline

bajo prep

: under, beneath, below

* * *

bajo¹ adj

1. (persona) short

un hombre bajo a short man

2. (muro, mueble, voz) low

un techo bajo a low ceiling

habla en voz baja she speaks in a low voice / she speaks quietly

3. (nivel, precio, número) low

un motor de bajo consumo an engine with low petrol consumption

todo está a bajo precio everything is cheap

bajo² adv

1. (con poca altura) low

ese avión vuela muy bajo that plane is flying very low

2. (con voz suave) quietly

procura hablar más bajo try and speak more quietly

bajo³ n

1. (planta baja) ground floor

tiene el despacho en el bajo his office is on the ground floor

2. (de una prenda) hem

tenía deshilachados los bajos de los pantalones the hems of his trousers were frayed

3. (instrumento, voz) bass

¿quién toca el bajo? who plays the bass?

4. (músico) bass player

bajo⁴ prep under

los submarinos navegan bajo la superficie del mar submarines sail under the surface of the sea

bajo la lluvia in the rain

Spanish-English dictionary > bajo

См. также в других словарях:

education — /ej oo kay sheuhn/, n. 1. the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. 2. the act or process of… … Universalium
United Kingdom — a kingdom in NW Europe, consisting of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: formerly comprising Great Britain and Ireland 1801 1922. 58,610,182; 94,242 sq. mi. (244,100 sq. km). Cap.: London. Abbr.: U.K. Official name, United Kingdom of Great… … Universalium
social security — 1. (usually caps.) a program of old age, unemployment, health, disability, and survivors insurance maintained by the U.S. federal government through compulsory payments by specific employer and employee groups. 2. the theory or practice of… … Universalium
Russia — /rush euh/, n. 1. Also called Russian Empire. Russian, Rossiya. a former empire in E Europe and N and W Asia: overthrown by the Russian Revolution 1917. Cap.: St. Petersburg (1703 1917). 2. See Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 3. See Russian… … Universalium
Employment Relations Act 2000 — Infobox NZ Legislation short title=Employment Relations Act long title= No long title introduced by= date passed=2000 royal assent= commencement= October 2 2000 amendments= 2001, 2004 related legislation= Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration… … Wikipedia
Sweden — /sweed n/, n. a kingdom in N Europe, in the E part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. 8,946,193; 173,732 sq. mi. (449,964 sq. km). Cap.: Stockholm. Swedish, Sverige. * * * Sweden Introduction Sweden Background: A military power during the 17th… … Universalium
Austrian legislative election, 2008 — Infobox Election election name = Austrian legislative election, 2008 country = Austria type = parliamentary ongoing = no previous election = Austrian legislative election, 2006 previous year = 2006 previous MPs = next election = next year = seats … Wikipedia
international trade — Introduction economic transactions that are made between countries. Among the items commonly traded are consumer goods, such as television sets and clothing; capital goods, such as machinery; and raw materials and food. Other transactions… … Universalium
Fractional reserve banking — Banking A series on Financial services … Wikipedia
ALIYAH AND ABSORPTION — GENERAL SURVEY Introduction Aliyah, ascension or going up, is the coming of Jews as individuals or in groups, from exile or diaspora to live in the Land of Israel. Those who go up for this purpose are known as olim – a term used in the Bible for… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
Gerrymandering — Jerrymander redirects here. Jerrymander may also refer to the arachnid known as Solifugae. For the 2010 documentary film, see Gerrymandering (film). Part of the Politics series … Wikipedia

Словари и энциклопедии на Академике

Перевод: со всех языков на все языки

we have held costs to a minimum

См. также в других словарях:

Поделиться ссылкой на выделенное

Словари и энциклопедии на Академике

Перевод: со всех языков на все языки

we have held costs to a minimum

См. также в других словарях:

Поделиться ссылкой на выделенное

Прямая ссылка: