Verb (Verbo) |
Meaning (significado) |
Example (ejemplo) |
ask someone out |
invite on a date
invitar a salir |
Brian asked Judy out to dinner and a movie. |
ask around |
ask many people the same question
preguntar a mucho la misma cuestión |
I asked around but nobody has seen my wallet. |
add up to something |
equal
ascender a |
Your purchases add up to $205.32. |
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back something up |
reverse
revertir, tirar hacia atrás |
You'll have to back up your car so that I can get out. |
back someone up |
support
apoyar |
My wife backed me up over my decision to quit my
job. |
blow up |
explode
explotar |
The racing car blew up after it crashed into the fence. |
blow something up |
add air
hinchar |
We have to blow 50 balloons up for the party. |
break down |
stop functioning (vehicle, machine)
averiarse |
Our car broke down at the side of the highway in the
snowstorm. |
break down |
get upset
enfadarse |
The woman broke down when the police told her that her
son had died. |
break something down |
divide into smaller parts
dividir en partes más pequeñas |
Our teacher broke the final project down into
three separate parts. |
break in |
force entry to a building
forzar la entrada a un edificio |
Somebody broke in last night and stole our stereo. |
break into something |
enter forcibly
entrar a la fuerza |
The firemen had to break into the room to rescue the
children. |
break something in |
wear something a few times so that it doesn't look/feel new
amoldar |
I need to break these shoes in before we run next
week. |
break in |
interrupt
interrumpir |
The TV station broke in to report the news of the
president's death. |
break up |
end a relationship
cortar una relación |
My boyfriend and I broke up before I moved to America. |
break up |
start laughing (informal)
empezar a reír |
The kids just broke up as soon as the clown started
talking. |
break out |
escape
escapar |
The prisoners broke out of jail when the guards weren't
looking. |
break out in something |
develop a skin condition
salir granos/manchas (etc) en la piel |
I broke out in a rash after our camping trip. |
bring someone down |
make unhappy
hacer infeliz, entristecer |
This sad music is bringing me down. |
bring someone up |
raise a child
educar a un niño |
My grandparents brought me up after my parents
died. |
bring something up |
start talking about a subject
sacar un tema para conversación |
My mother walks out of the room when my father brings up
sports. |
bring something up |
vomit
vomitar |
He drank so much that he brought his dinner up in
the toilet. |
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call around |
phone many different places/people
llamar a diferentes personas/lugares |
We called around but we weren't able to find the car part
we needed. |
call someone back |
return a phone call
devolver una llamada |
I called the company back but the offices were
closed for the weekend. |
call something off |
cancel
cancelar |
Jason called the wedding off because he wasn't in
love with his fiancé. |
call on someone |
ask for an answer or opinion
recurrir, apelar a |
The professor called on me for question. |
call on someone |
visit someone
visitar a alguien |
We called on you last night but you weren't home. |
call someone up |
phone
llamar por teléfono |
Give me your phone number and I will call you up
when we are in town. |
calm down |
relax after being angry
calmarse |
You are still mad. You need to calm down before you drive
the car. |
not care for someone/something |
not like (formal)
no gustar |
I don't care for his behaviour. |
catch up |
get to the same point as someone else
alcanzar, ponerse a la misma altura o nivel |
You'll have to run faster than that if you want to catch up
with Marty. |
check in |
arrive and register at a hotel or airport
registrarse en un hotel |
We will get the hotel keys when we check in. |
check out |
leave a hotel
dejar un hotel / habitación |
You have to check out of the hotel before 11:00 AM. |
check someone/something out |
look at carefully, investigate
comprobar, investigar |
The company checks out all new employees. |
check out someone/something |
look at (informal)
revisar, mirar |
Check out the crazy hair on that guy! |
cheer up |
become happier
alegrarse |
She cheered up when she heard the good news. |
cheer someone up |
make happier
hacer más feliz |
I brought you some flowers to cheer you up. |
chip in |
help
ayudar |
If everyone chips in we can get the kitchen painted by
noon. |
clean something up |
tidy, clean
ordenar, limpiar |
Please clean up your bedroom before you go outside. |
come across something |
find unexpectedly
encontrar por casualidad |
I came across these old photos when I was tidying the
closet. |
come apart |
separate
separar |
The top and bottom come apart if you pull hard enough. |
come down with something |
become sick
enfermar |
My nephew came down with chicken pox this weekend. |
come forward |
volunteer for a task or to give evidence
presentarse/ponerse a disposición de la policía |
The woman came forward with her husband's finger prints. |
come from somewhere |
originate in
originarse en |
The art of origami comes from Asia. |
count on someone/something |
rely on
confiar en |
I am counting on you to make dinner while I am out. |
cross something out |
draw a line through
tachar (texto) |
Please cross out your old address and write your new one. |
cut back on something |
consume less
reducir el consumo |
My doctor wants me to cut back on sweets and fatty foods. |
cut something down |
make something fall to the ground
hacer que algo caiga el suelo cortándolo |
We had to cut the old tree in our yard down after
the storm. |
cut in |
interrupt
interrumpir |
Your father cut in while I was dancing with your uncle. |
cut in |
pull in too closely in front of another vehicle
adelantarse, colarse, interponerse |
The bus driver got angry when that car cut in. |
cut in |
start operating (of an engine or electrical device) |
The air conditioner cuts in when the temperature gets to
22°C. |
cut something off |
remove with something sharp
quitar/eliminar con algo cortante, amputar |
The doctors cut off his leg because it was severely
injured. |
cut something off |
stop providing
dejar de proveer |
The phone company cut off our phone because we didn't pay
the bill. |
cut someone off |
take out of a will
repudiar/distanciarse de algo |
My grandparents cut my father off when he
remarried. |
cut something out |
remove part of something (usually with scissors and paper)
eliminar una parte de algo (generalmente se usa para papel
y tijeras) |
I cut this ad out of the newspaper. |