📖LearnModule 11 · Lesson 29 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, first halfUnit 6 · Argumentar con matices
Las expresiones figuradas
Module 11 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C1, first half), lesson 29 of 30: . On this page: 9 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
no tiene nada que ver
that has nothing to do with it
noh TYEH-neh NAH-dah keh behr
irse al agua
to fall through
EER-seh ahl AH-gwah
tener mucha mano
to have influence
teh-NEHR MOO-chah MAH-noh
no es para tanto
it is not that bad
noh ehs PAH-rah TAHN-toh
la expresión figurada
the figurative expression
lah ehks-preh-SYOHN fee-goo-RAH-dah
en sentido literal
literally
ehn sehn-TEE-doh lee-teh-RAHL
en sentido figurado
figuratively
ehn sehn-TEE-doh fee-goo-RAH-doh
caer en la cuenta
to realize (suddenly)
kah-EHR ehn lah KWEHN-tah
nosotros caemos en la cuenta
we realize
noh-SOH-trohs kah-EH-mohs ehn lah KWEHN-tah
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Figurative Spanish is where proficiency shows: no tiene nada que ver (that has nothing to do with it), el proyecto se fue al agua (it fell through), tiene mucha mano (he has influence), no es para tanto (it is not that bad).
Y también · And also
Collect them from what you read and use them sparingly — one well-placed idiom persuades; four in a paragraph read as a phrasebook. And note which are regional: tener enchufe (Spain) is tener palanca in much of Latin America.
Ojo · Watch out
Use one idiom well; four in a paragraph read as a phrasebook. no es para tanto means it is not that serious — the literal reading, not for so much, is the joke. irse al agua is fixed: never irse en el agua.
caer, presente — the table
yo caigo · tú caes · él/ella/usted cae · nosotros caemos · ustedes caen · ellos/ellas caen
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with no tiene nada que ver.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out caer, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.