Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Hacer / llevar a cabo un servicio (un fontanero): to perform a service (a plumber)
No mostrar interés por: not to show any/sho no interest in sth.
Acercarse el día: That day is approaching.
Celebrar la llegada del verano: to celebrate the arrival of summer.
Provocar un incendio (intencionado): to carry out an arson attack.
Crear alarma entre...: To raise the alarm among..Ponerse en su situación: To put oneself
in sb's else shoes.
Atender a razones: To listen to reason (to yield to a reasonable argument)
Tomar precauciones si: To take precautions if....
Saber de qué va, conocer el paño: to know the score.
tener los días contados: one's days are num,bered
Impreso en las dos caras/por las dos caras: printed on both sides of the paper sheet
Corer a hacer algo, darse prisa por hacer algo: rushed to buy expensive meats like steak,
roast, or turkey.
Con las prisas: in my/his/her/one's haste (In my haste I didn't lock the door behind me)
¿Cómo recauda UD. dinero?: How do you raise money'
Subir de precio: to go in price (Life insurance goes up in price every year you get older)
when prices plunge
De tu propio bolsillo: out of your own pockets.
Nos mudamos a un pueblo vecino: we moved to a neighboring town
compulsory military service
Poner bajo control, ser puesto bajo control : to bring sth under control, to be sth brough
under control of
Poner (a alguien) muy nervioso: to make sb nervous/upset.
Facturar a alguien: to invoice sb for (a service)
1

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Hacer una factura detallando: to make an invoice detailing.
Responder a la instancia/solicitud: to responde to the request.
Llamar al despacho, ofina para algo..: to summon sb to one's office do sth/ for sth
Ser declarado exento del servicio militar: Be declared exempt from military service.
Poner a alguien bajo vigilancia: to put sb under surveillance.
Compensar a alguien por algo: to compensate sb for sth (required by investors to
compensate them for the risk of default)
Todo se reduce a: It all boils down to.
Tráeme la botella esa: Bring me that botle.
Me creyó ser (creía que yo era) el: He/she thought me the.........
Escribir en la pizarra: to write on the whiteboard/blackboard.
Escribir en ese papel lo que diga: to write down on the paper what I say.
Copiar un archivo en un disco: to copy a file to a disk.
Fijarlos (con chinchetas)/fijar a la pared: to pin them/pin sth to the wall
Suena a muy rebuscado: It sounds very far-fetched.
Recurrir a esos trucos: to resort to such tricks.
Hacer la vida más llevadera: to make life more bearable.
Hacer la lectura más divertida/agradable: to make reading more enjoyable.
Mi corazón da un salto cada vez que...: My heart leaps every time I hear your name.
No debería ser puesto en duda: It should not be questioned.
Mantener un estricto control / atar de corto a alguien: to keep a tight rein on sb
Se dejó llevar por la situación: He let himself be carried away by the situation.
Dejar pasar por alto: To neglect (I cannot neglect that according to physics there are
objects which are waves and corpuscles at the same time)

2

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Tomar las riendas del negocio: to take up the reins of a business (He took up the reins of
the business in 2005)
Estar alerta: To be on alert for/as/because
Piorizar el uso de: Schools need to prioritize the use of ongoing progress monitoring
En cuanto a si hay...: As to if there is....
Declara una huelga: to go on (a) strike.
La violencia es el último recurso: Violence is the last resort.
Discrepar del resto: to dissent from the rest.
Salir adelante (un negocio): to forge ahead (The business is forging ahead in what are
difficult times for the construction industry)
Gustar algo: To have a liking for sth (be fond of sth)
Por algo tan tonto: Over something so silly.
Tener clase (en el cole): To have class (We won't have class tomorrow)
Acariciar la idea, jugar con la idea de: Toy with the idea of doing sth.
Estar al tanto: to be up to date about sth.
Recabar fondos: to raise funds.
Recabar información (de): to manage to get (from)
Ser interpretado como..: to be interpreted (construed) as...........
Poner fin a una situación/problema: To put an end to a situation/problem.
Eludir, evitar, burlar leyes, reglas: to circumvent a law, rules, etc.
En beneficio de, para ayudar a, en apoyo de: in the aid of the (?)
Ayuda a prevenir, ayuda en la prevención de: (it) to aid in the prevention of (a disease)
Dar algo a los necesitados: To give sth to those in need
Dedicado a: sth giver over to; to devote to a specified activity: The day was given over to
relaxing.
3

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Romper una promesa, retractarse de un acuerdo: to go back on a promise/an agreement
(to withdraw from a promise/an agreement)
Gustar a alguien (gente, por ejemplo) algo: to have a liking for sth (some people have a
liking for this type of activity)
Hacer una copia de seguridad: to make a backup copy.
Pasar una mala noche: to have a bad night (She really had a bad night)
Pasar lista: to call the roll (We called the roll and all were present)
Vivir de gorra, vivir de sablazos, vivir a costa de otros, vivir de la sopa boba: to live at
other people's expense, live off other people.
Vivir al día: to survive on limited means one day at a time with no plans or possibilities
for the future. (The Simpsons just live from day to day.)
Vivir confortablemente: to live comfortably (My father lives comfortably in a little house
in the country)
Tomar a la ligera: to make light of (to treat sth as if it were unimportant or humorous. I
wish you wouldn't make light of his problems. They're quite serious)
Tomar cartas en un asunto: to take matters into own hands (to deal with a problem
yourself because the people who should have dealt with it have failed to do so <> The
police haven't done anything about the vandalism, so local residents have taken matters
into their own hands.)
Tener al corriente de la situación, etc): to keep sb informed/posted about (the situation,
etc.)
Presentar al cobro (un cheque, etc.): to submit (a check) for payment.
Sentir la necesidad de: to feel the need to do sth (I feel the need to travel but i am
confused and undecided)
Terminar loco: to end up nuts (That was a good way for him to end up nuts to)
Estar loco por. to be nuts for (he's nuts abot her/opera, etc.)
Estar/sentirse indeciso: to be/feel undecided (Trump says he is undecided about
renominating Yellen)

4

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Acudir en ayuda de: to go to the aid/rescue of (We must go to the aid of Pakistan....)
Acuerdo amistoso: out-of-court settlement (It's a resolution of a dispute prior to the
rendering of a final decision by the trial court)
Ser acusado indebidamente de: to be wrongly accused of (We represented a client that
was wrongly accused of shoplifting and was unlawfully detained in a supermarket)
La verdad salir a la luz: when truth comes to light
Tocar la fibra sensible: to strike a chord with (create an emotional response; "The music
struck a chord with the listeners")
Llevadero: bearable, livable, supportable, tolerable.
Formar grupos de (4 ó 5 estudiantes, etc).: to form groups of (4 or 5 students)
Seguir la hoja de ruta: to follow the roadmap (road map) (A manager can follow the
roadmap and check if his company ...)
Cada uno de los cuales: Each of which, each one of which (A bag contains some marbles,
each of which is one of four colors)
Coger manía a alguien: to take a dislike to sb (to regard sb with aversion
Tener por norma/sistema (hacer algo): to make it a rule to do sth
No importar una mierda/un carajo/un pito: I/you/them, etc don't give a fuck/shit for
sth.
Dar la falsa impresión: to give the false impression (that) (Thus, he gave the false
impression that he was a reformed character, but in fact......)
Tomarse la justicia por la mano: to take justice into one's hands
Resolver disputas: to resolve disputes.
Declarar insolvente: to be declared bankrupt/insolvent
Eludir/evitar responsibilities : to evade responsibilities.
Asumir la responsabilidasd de: to take over/assume the responsibility of
Tomar la forma de: to take the form of (Zeus took the form of a swan and seduced Leda)

5

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Cambiar de manos: to change hands ([for something] to be sold or passed from owner to
owner: We built this house in 1970, and it has never changed hands)
Comprometerse a algo/hacer algo: to commit oneself to sth/doing sth (I commit myself
to doing what it takes)
Dejar mucho que desear: to leave a lot to be desired (to be much worse than you would
like: Apparently, Megg's cooking leaves a lot to be desired)
Dejar huella (histórica): to go down in history.
Dentro de mucho tiempo: in a very long time.
Meterse en líos/problemas: to get into trouble with sb (To get into a bad or dangerous
situation: we can do about it without getting into trouble with the Senate ...)
Exento del servicio militar: Exempt from military service.
Ser retirado de la circulación en: The book was removed from circulation in.......
Porque hubo muchas protestas/quejas debido a su contenido criminal: because there
were many complaints because of its criminal content.
Retroceder en la historia: to go back in history.
Aprovechar cada ocasión para: to seize every (Natives who seize every occasion to
perpetrate murders)
Aprobar una ley: to sign a proposed into law /pass a bill (a statute in draft before it
becomes law) into law
Tratar con guante blanco: to treat/handle sb with kid gloves (to deal with someone very
gently or carefully While he treated writers with kid gloves, he was unpleasant to
everyone else. )
A mis 20/25/30/etc. años de edad: at my 20/etc. years of age....
En ausencia de..: in the absence of (In the absence of love nothing else matters)
Pensar detenidamente en: to think through about sth (Pakistani policy makers have to
think through about what to do next)
A continuación, después (de una situación): Next (afterwards, then, later, following,
subsequently, thereafter, from that time on: I don't know what to do next.)
6

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Pensar en voz alta: to think aloud (to verbalize one's thoughts)
Aparte de todo lo demás: Apart from everything else.
Hacer arrestos, arrestar: to make arrests, arrest (Police made arrests on Tuesday after
protesters refused to leave the lobby of a TD Bank)
Correr a cuenta de: to be paid by, be covered by, be met (to meet an onligation, expense,
etc)
En proyecto, en fase de proyecto: in draft, to be in draft.
Llevar a alguien al huerto: to take sb for a ride (to deceive someone. You really took
those people for a ride. They really believed you. I was taken for a ride on this matter.)
Meter la pata: to put one's foot in it (to say something by accident which embarrasses or
upsets someone I really put my foot in it with Julie. I didn't realise she was a vegetarian.)
Dar miedo: to give sb the chills (it can be used to describe a feeling of fear)
Sacar buenas notas: to get good marks (A number or letter indicating quality; especially
of a student's performance)
Estudiar la carrera de (ingeniería, biología): to study engineering/biology, etc. course.
Meterle prisa a alguien: to hurry sb (up) (No one hurried us to make our choices.)
Llegar al poder (un partido, dictator): to come into power (the Nazi Party came into
power in 1933)
Estar ausente/fuera: to be away (he was going to be away for a few days)
Nos vamos a quedar sin nada: we're going to be left with nothing.
Expresas su preocupación: to express their concern.
Considerar responsable de: to hold sb accountable for sth (to consider someone
responsible for something; to blame something on someone: I must hold you
accountable/responsible for the missing money.
Demostrar superioridad en algo: to demonstrate superiority in/over (All four record
demonstrated superiority in reducing total venous thromboembolism compared with
enoxaparin / Cisplatin demonstrated superiority over carboplatin in terms of response
rate)
7

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Se llamado para formar parte de un jurado: to be called to serve on a jury.
Testificar como testigo: to testify as a witness (to be a witness against someone or
something. Who will testify against him in court? I cannot testify against the company I
work for. She testified as a witness on behalf of the General Counsel)
Bajar la tapa/el asiento del inodoro/váter: to close the toliet lid; put the toilet lid/seat
down.
Subir el asiento del inodoro/water: to lift the toilet seat.
Ir a mear/hacer un pipí: to go to have a pee, go to pee (to urinate, eliminate urine: James
Bond looks over your shoulder as you have a pee. I was going to pee in my pants if I
didn't pee soon.)
Enseñar a usar el inodoro/urinal infantil: to potty-train (to teach a small child to use a
potty or toilet; give sb potty training <> potty seat)
Cambiar pañales: to change diapers.
Limpiarse el ano: to wipe oneself the anus (after defecation)
No estar bien visto: to be not well seen (It is not very well seen to see leftovers going to
the bin)
Hacer constar en acta: to put on record.
Prestar servicios en: to serve (to provide services for/to: The department has 109
firefighters and serves the city of Bessemer through five fire stations. Basildon University
Hospital opened in July 2007 and serves the county of Essex)
Poner (a aguien) enfermo (de mala baba): to make sb sick (to disgust someone: I am
really tired of your vile talk. You make me sick)
Hacer que se vaya/marche/que se quede: to make sb leave/stay with sb.
Hacer que alguien vuelva/regrese: to make sb come back (How can I stop this and make
her come back to me.)
Concertar una cita: to make an appointment (to schedule a meeting with someone: I
made an appointment with the doctor for late today. The professor wouldn't see me
unless I made an appointment)

8

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Necesitar un poco de tiempo libre: to need some time off (I need some time off to run
important errands)
Hacer (unos) encargos: run an errand, do an errand; go on an errand (The next day Sam
ran an errand for Zeke. They told her that unless she did 'an errand' for them, they would
arrest her for theft. I went on an errand for my mother.)
Acobardarse/rajarse: to chicken out (to manage to get out of something, usually because
of fear or cowardice. Come on! Don't chicken out now! Freddy chickened out of the plan
at the last minute.)
Caer enfermo de/enfermar de: to come down with (to become or be sick with some
illness. Susan came down with a bad cold and had to cancel her trip. I didn't go to work
because I came down with the flu.)
Quitar un peso de encima: to take a load off (of) one's mind (to relieve one's mind of a
problem or a worry <> "of" is usually retained before pronouns: I'm glad to hear that. It
sure takes a load off of my mind. This will take a load off her mind.)
Hacer un llamamiento a: to make an appeal to (The police made an appeal to the public
to remain calm)
Volver atrás en la historia: to go back in history (If we go back in history to the time of
Hitler, we can discover a time when I think it could be said accurately that Hitler was no
Hitler.)
Aprovechar la oportunidad para: to seize the occasion to (A number of authors seized
the occasion to provide a review of work in a particular area)
Hacerse pasar por: pass yourself off as somebody (to pretend that you are someone else:
Maurice is trying to pass himself off as a journalist to get admitted to the press
conference.)
Hacer pasar una cosa por otra: pass something off as something, pass off something as
something (to pretend that something is different from what it really is: Mother would
never try to pass off supermarket cookies as homemade, would she?)
Hacer pasar pasar vergüena, avergonzar: to embarrass sb (to make someone feel bad or
ashamed about someone or something: Please don't embarrass me by mentioning my
mistake again. There is no need to embarrass her about her unfortunate sister.)

9

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Hacer frente a gastos imprevisto: to dealing with unforeseen expenses / face unexpected
expenses
Dispararse los preciosto skyrocket (To rise or cause to rise rapidly and suddenly: Wheat
prices skyrocketed. Discovery of oil here has skyrocketed land values. Housing prices
have skyrocketed in recent months)
Al lado de: on the side of (Jesus was consistently on the side of the poor.)
Dar un ejemplo: to give an example (Air Canada recently gave us an example of the
importance of knowing how to communicate policies and procedures to staff, as the
airline.)
Dar ejemplo a (bueno o malo), ser un buen/mal ejemplo para: to set a good/bad example
for sb (A parent must set a good example for the children. But in doing so, we've
sometimes set a bad example for the rest of the world.)
Dar permiso a alguien: to give sb permission to do sth (And he gave him permission to
enter.)
Tener miedo de, vivir con el miedo de: to live in fear of sth/doing sth (Do you live in fear
of losing your job?)
Todavía le queda mucha mecha/gasolina, no está todavía acabada: to be far from
finished (The debate is far from finished. The work is far from finished.)
Cumplir con las normas/estándares, etc: to comply with standards (to conform to
something; to obey guidelines or regulations; to agree to something. I hope you decide to
comply with our rules. I am happy to comply with your request.)
Pasar por un filtro: to pass through a filter (Wait until all the water has passed through
the filter and the filter appears dry.)
Dejar al azar: leave sth to chance (to allow something to be settled by chance. Plan your
day. Don't leave anything to chance. It is not a good idea to leave any of this to chance.)
Terminar con (una relación): to be through (to have ended, or to desire to end, a
relationship or engagement with someone or something: She said she was through with
me and walked out the door. I am through with this awful job.)
Ser innegable: to be undeniable, it cannot be gainsaid.
Llevar la contraria: to be contrary (why do you always have to be so contrary?)
10

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Atreverse a dar el primer paso: to dare to take the first step. (Peter gave up the security
of the boat and dared to take the first step across the water.)
Pagar el pato: to carry the can (to take the blame or responsibility for something that is
wrong or has not succeeded (often + for ) She suspected that she'd be left to carry the
can for her boss's mistakes.)
Estar en juego: to be at stake (ready to be won or lost; at risk; hanging in the balance.
That's a very risky investment. How much money is at stake? I have everything at stake
on this wager.)
Llevar la voz cantante: to take the lead role (In December of 2015 he took the lead role
for both programs)
Dar por muerto: to take for dead (to assume that someone who is still alive is dead.
When we found her, we took her for dead, but the paramedics were able to revive her.)
Mantener a raya: to keep at bay (keep sth or sb at bay: to prevent something or someone
unpleasant from coming too near you or harming you: If we can keep the rabbits at bay,
we should have a good crop of vegetables in the garden. For me, overeating is a way of
keeping my feelings at bay. )
Encontrar/tener problemas con/en: to have (any) trouble in sth/doing sth (Did you have
any trouble in figuring out the above patterns?)
Salir impune: to go unpunish (However, he has gone unpunished, for the money he paid
to her was of no great consequence to him, given his wealth.)
Anteponer a (inereses, etc): to put sth before sth, place sth in front of sth (even the
biggest brokerages in the world place their interests in front of their clients; Why
because they put their interests before the majority of the British people.) (183)
Hacer que alguien confíe en alguien: to make sb trust sb (Get them interested, make them
trust you, )
Hacer que alguien se interese en algo: to make sb interested in sth. (This will make them
interested in your site because they are anticipating more good information from you
with little effort on their part.)
Responder a un email: to respond to an email (message): (The following code example
shows how to use the Reply method to respond to an email message.)

11

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
¿Por qué llama/cuál es la razón de su llamada/a qué se debe su llamada?: what is your
call about? I want to know what your call is about.
Cueste lo que cueste: at all costs, at any cost (regardless of the difficulty or cost; no
matter what. I intend to have that car at all costs. Mary was going to get that job at any
cost.)
Tener un hijo con...: to have a child with sb (He married a girl he met while we were still
together and had a child with her)
No descartar ninguna posibilidad: to keep one's options open
No perder a calma: to keep one's temper (to hold back an expression of anger. <>The
opposite of lose one's temper.: She should have learned to keep her temper when she
was a child. Sally got thrown off the team because she couldn't hold her temper.)
Aguantar el peso de: to support the weight of sth <> also to support a man's weight (In
traditional masonry construction, walls supported the weight of floors and roofs)
Infectarse de : to become infected (Ryan White was a young boy who had hemophilia and
became infected with HIV through blood transfusions)
No tener margen de maniobra: to have no room for maneuver: I have no room for
maneuver, no freedom of speech or thought or action. My human rights have been
breached)
Permitirser correr riesgos: to afford to take any risks (You can't afford to take any risks,'
urged Graf, thinking of his investment)
Tiempo transcurrido: elapsed time (The measured duration of an event)
Inventarse una historia: to invent/fabricate a story (I began to question whether or not
he fabricated the story that he told me.)
Convertir los deseos en realidad: to turn one's wishes into reality (Becoming an Au-pair
is one of the best way to turn my wishes into reality.)
Poner un pie en (un país): to set foot in (a country (Kafka had never set foot in America
in the entirety of his life.)
Seguir/obedecer las órdenes dadas por..: to follow the orders given by...(Students are
obliged to follow the orders given by lecturers.)

12

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Tener barra libre para hacer lo que le dé la gana: to have all the powers to do anything (A
couple of governors just came together and believed they had all the powers to do
anything.)
Hacer chantaje: to blackmail (to subject to blackmail. To exert pressure on someone
through threats; obtain through threats)
El negocio de la hosteleria y la restauración: The hotel and restaurant business
Poner en práctica: to put into practice (we put into practice a series of experiential and
action learning activities for a team of first line managers.)
Un remanso de bienestar: A haven of well-being.
Ponerse en la situación de alguien: one has to put oneself in sb's shoes.
Baremo económico: gauge value
Derecho a una vivienda digna: The right to decent housing.
Ante (la amenaza de algo): against (Primitive man, unprotected against the forces of
nature and at the mercy of every foe)
A costa de: at the expense of (to the detriment of someone or something; to the harm of
someone or something. He had a good laugh at the expense of his brother. He took a job
in a better place at the expense of a larger income.)
Tener una sonrisa para: to have smile for (Have a smile for everyone you meet, and they
will have a smile for you.)
Ley laboral: labor law.
Contratar trabajadores por horas: to hire worker by the hour.
Conceder deseos a cambio de: to grante favors in exchange for (Isn't it that there are
favors granted in exchange for sex.)
Empresas de servicios: utility companies (Companies that provide services. mirar mejor)
Mirar a otro lado: to turn a blind eye to (Deliberately overlook, ignore, as in She decided
to turn a blind eye to her roommate's goings-on)
Cifrar en (calcular coste, precio): to calculate at (But then you look at the contract and
find that the dealer actually calculated the price at $25,000.)
13

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Ser una verdad a medias: to be a half truth (This is a half truth, since most humans think
our harpy females are women since it is only the males that have wings.)
Ser el pan de cada día: to be very common, be a daily reality (On the other hand, health
and safety are threatened in poor working conditions, which are a daily reality for many
workers around the world)
A pesar de no ser: despite no being (All she does is edit your book (despite not being an
editor), proofread (despite not being a proofreader)
Ser un claro ejemplo de algo: (Verónica and her family are a clear example of it.)
Estar harto(s) de: to be fed up with (Many people are starting to be fed up with the
comfortable lies of liberalism)
Subida de precios continuada: continued rise of prices .
Encender la mecha de : to ignite the fuse of.
Dar alas a: to encourage, spur, raise sb's hopes for sth.
Inscrito en el registro de la propiedad: registered in the property registry.
Copias en papel/escritas en papel: hard copies.
Edificios de partamentos: apartment building .
Vaciar los apartamentos de sus inquilinos: to empty the apartments/flats of its tenats
Dar ideas a: to give ideas to sb,etc.
Sembrar el pánico entre: to spread panic among
Hacer un favor a, hacer favores a: to do a favor to, do favors to.
Contratos de trabajo a tiempo completo: full-time work contracts.
Ser más propio de (una época, momento, situación, etc.): to be mor typical from...than...
(It is more typical of a national anthem than a story of a man who takes a sheep and then
jumps in a lake.)
Fue un fuego provocado: It was an arson.
Apagar un fuego: to put out a fire

14

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Tomar medidas: to take action (to do sth: if no action is taken to limit greenhouse gas
emissions over the next century, sea level is predicted to rise by approximately 1meter)
Dar una idea de: to give an insight of (We may contact you about the pilot which will give
us an insight of your experience.)
Nada de eso: nothing of that sort
Subinspector: deputy inspector
Cuerpo militar (de caballería): military corps (cavalry corps)
Desfilar: to parade (To take part in a parade; march in a public procession: The circus
performers and animals paraded down Main Street.)
Hacer uso de su posición como: to make use of one's position as
Enchufar a alguien: to pull strings to
Destinar a alguien a: to post sb to swh
Hacer pasar hambre: to make sb go hungry (They make people go hungry and making
people go hungry is a violence against those people.)
Sentise despojado de: to feel stripped of (mirar mejor)
Ser sólo uno más en: to be just one more in
Decir/contar mentidas: to tell lies (He killed his brother Danny, and the lies he has told
to cover it up have eaten him alive.) (mirar mejor) (248)
Por favor, no dude en cotactar/ponerse en contacto conmigo para: feel free to contact me
to/for sth/in order to (G)
Poner énfasis en: to put emphasis on (We have put emphasis on the system of land
tenure at the expense of land use. )
Transmitir ideas: to convey ideas (To save time and convey ideas about how you feel
about something.)
De otra manera, en otras palabras: in other words (in other words - otherwise stated; "in
other words, we are broke" put differently.)
Hoy por hoy: at the present time, right now.
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Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
Subir el listón de: to raise the bar (To raise the standards of quality that are expected of
or required for something. Since higher education became available to a greater number
of people, businesses have increasingly been raising the bar for entry-level employees.)
Desocupar el piso, por propia voluntad o por desahucio : to vacate the apartment/flat
(voluntarily or by eviction
Guardar el coche en el garaje: to keep the car in the garage (It's money saving to keep a
car in a garage where it's not exposed to the elements and where you don't have to waste
fuel and deicer defrosting
Sacar a alguien del cargo: to remove sb from Office (a presidents of US)
Tomar el poder, coger las riendas del poder: to seize the power (you have to be voted
into the position and seize the power slowly.)
Por falta de pago: for lack of payment (If your water service is temporarily discontinued
for lack of payment....)
Prenda de vestir: item of clothing (Cross-dressing is the act of wearing items of clothing)
En sutotalidad o en parte: in whle or in part
Estar más dispuesto a hacer algo: to be more willing to do sth
Los que tienen y los que no tienen: the haves and the have nots.
Hacer trampas en elos negocios/inversiones: to cheat/cheating on business/investment
No funcionar bien: to be not in working order (The brakes of the car are not in working
order)
Pasar la/una inspección: to pass the/an inspection
Atraer/llamar la atención: to attract attention: to attract attention <> draw attention
(mirar mejor)
Tomar el poder, coger las riendas del poder: to seize the power (you have to be voted
into the position and seize the power slowly.)
Por falta de pago: for lack of payment (If your water service is temporarily discontinued
for lack of payment....)
Prenda de vestir: item of clothing (Cross-dressing is the act of wearing items of clothing)
16

Idiomatic sentences Spanish-English. Charlie, your teacher of English # 1
En sutotalidad o en parte: in whle or in part
Estar más dispuesto a hacer algo: to be more willing to do sth
Los que tienen y los que no tienen: the haves and the have nots.
Hacer trampas en elos negocios/inversiones: to cheat/cheating on business/investment
No funcionar bien: to be not in working order (The brakes of the car are not in working
order)
Pasar la/una inspección: to pass the/an inspection
Atraer/llamar la atención: to attract attention: to attract attentio <> draw attention
(mirar mejor)

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