The four takes
Llevar – To take, to take away, to carry, to transport, to direct, to last (time), to wear
This nice regular AR verb is used when referring to taking or carrying anything or anyone anywhere. You see it commonly in restaurants advertising food to take away or “para llevar”.
Confusingly it can also mean to wear, for example the commonly used “llevo gafas” which means I wear glasses.
Examples:
Llevo a los niños al colegio – I take the children to school
Llevamos las bolsas a la casa – We take the bags home
Quiero una pizza para llevar – I’d like a pizza to take away
¿Llevas gafas? – Do you wear glasses?
Llevo 3 horas aquí esperando – I´ve been waiting here for 3 hours
Other phrases with llevar:
Llevar una vida sana – To lead a healthy life
Llevar a cabo – To carry out/accomplish
Dejarse llevar – To go with the flow
Tomar – to take, to ingest, to drink, to eat
Another nice regular AR verb it is used repeatedly in relation to food and drink. A Spanish person simply would not say “do you want to drink a coffee?” or “¿quieres beber un cafe?”, they would say “¿quieres tomar un cafe?”
It is also used to say that you are going to sunbathe, or “take the sun”.
Examples:
¿Tomamos una pizza? – Shall we have a pizza?
Me gusta tomar el sol – I like sunbathing
Quiero tomar la guagua – I want to take the bus
¿Tomas medicina? – Do you take medicine?
¿Quieres tomar algo? – Do you want (to drink/eat) anything?
Other phrases with tomar:
Tomar en cuenta – To take into account
Tomar un examen – To take an exam
Tomar medidas – To take action
Sacar – to take, to take out, to withdraw, to get
I tend to associate this with medical terminology because it´s used in phrases like “take blood” or “stick your tongue out” but it’s also used in other ways. One of the most useful is “to take a photo”. If you want to use this phrase then you need to use “sacar una foto”. In the present tense it’s a nice regular AR verb.
Examples:
¿Puedo sacar una foto? – Can I take a photo?
Quiero sacar dinero – I would like to withdraw some money
Debes sacar la basura – You should take the rubbish
Other phrases with sacar:
Sacar buenas notas – to get good grades
Sacar malas notas – to get bad grades
Sacar el perro – to take the dog out
Quitar – to take, to take off, to remove, to move
Another regular AR verb, you frequently see it on household products. A quick browse around your local Mercadona you will find “quita mancha” spray (stain remover), “quita grasa” spray (grease remover). It can also be used to remove your shoes or your could.
Examples:
¿Puedes quitar la silla? – Can you move (remove) the chair?
Quitas las gafas – Take off your glasses
Necesito quitar el polvo – I need to dust
Other phrases with quitar:
Quitar las espinas – To bone fish
Quitar las ganas – to put off
Exercise:
- Can you take off your shoes please?
- Can you take a photo of your car?
- Can you carry the suitcase?
- I would like to have a coffee
- Tomorrow we need to take some blood
- He doesn’t like to sunbathe
- First, you have to remove the paint
- Can you move the trolley please?
- Can you take the plates out of the dishwasher
- Can you take me to the airport please?