“Echar” is a very tricky but I’m here to help! 🙂
If you look for the meanings of “echar” in the RAE (Royal Spanish Academy Dictionary) you will find about 48 meanings and as many expressions that use this verb.
But despite all this abundance of meanings, the idea of “echar” implies movement from inside to outside or put away. Some of the meanings are ‘to throw’, ‘to expel, fire’, ‘to pour’, amongst many others…
Let’s see with detail some of the most used and useful meanings of “echar”
MEANINGS
1. ‘To throw, throw away’ – ‘Hacer que algo vaya a parar a alguna parte, dándole impulso’ (rae) ( to put (something) in a particular place in a careless or forceful way, to cause to move suddenly or forcefully to or away from a particular place) (merriam-webster).
– No deberíamos echar desperdicios al mar.
– We shouldn’t throw waste into the sea.
– ¡Échalo a la basura ahora mismo!
– Throw it away right now!
2. ”To throw out, to fire, to expel’ – ‘Hacer salir a alguien de algún lugar, apartarle con violencia, por desprecio, castigo, etc. // Deponer a alguien de su empleo o dignidad, impidiéndole el ejercicio de ella’ (rae). ‘To remove from a place, office, or employment usually in a sudden or unexpected manner (merriam-webster).
– La profesora me ha echado de clase esta mañana.
– The teacher threw me out of class this morning.
– Tengo que aceptar todos los proyectos que me dan si no quiero que me echen del trabajo.
– I have to take on all the projects they give me if I don’t want to get fired.
3. ‘To move, to lean, to push’ – ‘Inclinar, reclinar o recostar’ (rae). ‘To incline, deviate, or bend from a vertical position’ (merriam-webster).
– Can you tilt the head because I can’t see properly?
– I post the letter. It will arrive in three days.
– How old do you reckon he is?
– How long will it take you to arrive? -Let’s say two hours.
7. ‘To show‘ – ‘Representar o ejecutar comedias u otros espectáculos’ (rae). ‘To give a theatrical performance, to be staged or presented’ (merriam-webster).
– Echan una peli de Julia Roberts en la tele esta noche. No me la pierdo.
– There’s a Julia Roberts movie on TV tonight. I won’t miss it.
EXPRESSIONS
• echar a perder: ‘to spoil, to go off’.
– Con este calor la carne se echa a perder enseguida.
– With this heat, the meat goes off immediately.
• echar de menos: ‘to miss someone’.
– Juan está tan triste porque echa de menos a su amiga Marta que está de viaje.
– Juan is so sad because he misses his friend Marta who is traveling.
• echarse atrás: ‘to cry off’.
– Estaba todo organizado para la compra del piso pero se echaron atrás en el último minuto.
– It was all organized for the purchase of the house but they cried off at the last minute.
• echar un cable: ‘give a hand’.
– No te preocupes, te echaré un cable hasta que encuentres otro trabajo.
– Don’t worry, I’ll give you a hand until you find another job.
• echarse encima de alguien: ‘pounce on’.
– Los alumnos se me echaron encima cuando les mandé más tarea para el lunes.
– The students pounced on me when I gave them more homework for Monday.
• echar un vistazo: ‘have a look, take a look, take a glance’.
– He echado un vistazo al examen y no parece difícil.
– I have taken a look at the exam and it doesn’t seem difficult.
• echar en cara: ‘throw something is someone’s face’.
– No aguanto más que Pedro me eche cosas en cara constantemente.
– I can’t stand anymore Pedro throwing things at my face constantly.
- Theory explanation [pdf]: http://mariaortegagarcia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/echar_sdos.pdf
