Idiomatic Verb Phrases for Advanced Speakers | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

At some point, grammar stops being the bottleneck and vocabulary takes over. Specifically, the kind of vocabulary that does not appear in dictionaries one word at a time: multi-word verb phrases whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual parts. Tomar el pelo literally means "to take the hair" — but it means "to pull someone's leg." Meter la pata is "to put in the paw" — but it means "to put your foot in it." This page collects the idiomatic verb phrases that C1 learners encounter most often, organized by theme.

Difficulty and ease

These expressions describe how hard or easy something is. They are extremely common in everyday conversation.

No dar abasto — to not be able to keep up

Literally: "to not supply enough." Used when demand or workload overwhelms capacity.

Con tantos pedidos, no damos abasto.

With so many orders, we can't keep up.

Los hospitales no daban abasto durante la pandemia.

The hospitals couldn't cope during the pandemic.

Costar un ojo de la cara — to cost an arm and a leg

Literally: "to cost an eye from the face." Used for anything absurdly expensive.

Ese departamento me costó un ojo de la cara.

That apartment cost me an arm and a leg.

No tener pies ni cabeza — to make no sense

Literally: "to have neither feet nor head." Used when something is completely incoherent.

Su explicación no tiene pies ni cabeza.

His explanation makes absolutely no sense.

Ser pan comido — to be a piece of cake

Literally: "to be eaten bread." Used for something very easy.

No te preocupes, el examen va a ser pan comido.

Don't worry, the exam is going to be a piece of cake.

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Ser pan comido is the direct equivalent of English "a piece of cake." In some Latin American countries you might also hear ser papaya (Colombia) or ser un boleto (Chile). The concept is universal; the food varies.

Costar trabajo — to be difficult, to take effort

Literally: "to cost work." Less dramatic than costar un ojo de la cara — this is about difficulty, not price.

Me cuesta trabajo concentrarme cuando hay ruido.

I find it hard to concentrate when it's noisy.

Success and failure

These phrases describe triumphs, blunders, and everything in between.

Salirse con la suya — to get one's way

Literally: "to get out with one's own." Often implies stubbornness or cunning.

Al final, mi hermana siempre se sale con la suya.

In the end, my sister always gets her way.

Dar en el clavo — to hit the nail on the head

Literally: "to hit the nail." Used when someone gets something exactly right.

Con ese comentario, diste en el clavo.

With that comment, you hit the nail on the head.

Echar a perder — to ruin, to spoil

Literally: "to throw to lose." Used for food that spoils, plans that fail, or opportunities wasted.

La lluvia echó a perder la fiesta.

The rain ruined the party.

Si no lo guardas en el refrigerador, se va a echar a perder.

If you don't put it in the fridge, it's going to go bad.

Irse al traste — to go down the drain

Literally: "to go to the junk." Used for plans, projects, or relationships that fall apart.

Después de la pelea, todo se fue al traste.

After the fight, everything went down the drain.

Salir adelante — to get ahead, to pull through

Literally: "to go out forward." Used for overcoming difficulties.

A pesar de todo, lograron salir adelante.

Despite everything, they managed to pull through.

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Echar a perder and echarse a perder are both used. The reflexive form (echarse a perder) is more common when talking about food going bad on its own. The non-reflexive form is more common when someone actively ruins something.

Deception and mistakes

These are the phrases for trickery, blunders, and feigning ignorance.

Tomarle el pelo a alguien — to pull someone's leg

Literally: "to take someone's hair." Used for teasing or tricking.

¿Me estás tomando el pelo o es verdad?

Are you pulling my leg or is it true?

Hacerse el tonto — to play dumb

Literally: "to make oneself the fool." Used when someone pretends not to know or understand.

No te hagas el tonto, sé que escuchaste todo.

Don't play dumb, I know you heard everything.

There is also hacerse el loco ("to play crazy") and hacerse el desentendido ("to pretend not to understand"), which carry the same general meaning.

Meter la pata — to put one's foot in it

Literally: "to put in the paw." Used for embarrassing social blunders.

Metí la pata cuando le pregunté por su ex.

I put my foot in it when I asked about her ex.

Dar gato por liebre — to deceive, to swindle

Literally: "to give cat for hare." Used when someone passes off something inferior as something valuable.

En ese mercado te dan gato por liebre si no tienes cuidado.

At that market they'll rip you off if you're not careful.

Emotion

These phrases express feelings — from longing to indifference to embarrassment.

Echar de menos — to miss (someone or something)

Literally: "to throw from less." The origin is obscure, but the meaning is clear: to feel the absence of someone or something.

Echo mucho de menos a mi familia.

I miss my family a lot.

In Spain, echar de menos is standard. In much of Latin America, extrañar is more common: Extraño mucho a mi familia.

Quedarse en blanco — to draw a blank

Literally: "to stay in white." Used when your mind goes empty, especially during exams or presentations.

En el examen me quedé en blanco y no pude responder nada.

On the exam I drew a blank and couldn't answer anything.

Caer bien / caer mal — to like / dislike (a person)

Literally: "to fall well / to fall badly." Used for the impression someone makes on you. Not romantic — this is about general likability.

Tu amigo me cae muy bien.

I really like your friend. (as a person)

Ese profesor me cae mal, no sé por qué.

I don't like that professor, I don't know why.

Dar igual — to not matter, to not care

Literally: "to give equal." Used for indifference.

Me da igual si vamos al cine o nos quedamos en casa.

I don't care whether we go to the movies or stay home.

¿Pizza o sushi? —Me da igual.

Pizza or sushi? —I don't mind.

💡

Caer bien/mal works like gustar: the person who is liked is the subject, and the person who does the liking is the indirect object. Me cae bien tu amigo = "Your friend is pleasing to me" — not "I fall well on your friend."

Surprise and disbelief

These expressions capture shock, astonishment, and the refusal to believe what just happened.

Quedarse de piedra — to be stunned

Literally: "to stay of stone." Used when something shocks you into silence.

Cuando me dijo que se iba del país, me quedé de piedra.

When she told me she was leaving the country, I was stunned.

No dar crédito — to not believe one's eyes/ears

Literally: "to not give credit." Used for disbelief.

No daba crédito a lo que estaba viendo.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Caer de sorpresa — to come as a surprise

La noticia nos cayó de sorpresa a todos.

The news came as a surprise to all of us.

No salir de su asombro — to be unable to get over one's amazement

Ganó la lotería y todavía no sale de su asombro.

She won the lottery and still can't believe it.

Quick reference table

Phrase	Literal meaning	Actual meaning
no dar abasto	to not supply enough	to not be able to keep up
costar un ojo de la cara	to cost an eye from the face	to cost an arm and a leg
no tener pies ni cabeza	to have neither feet nor head	to make no sense at all
ser pan comido	to be eaten bread	to be a piece of cake
salirse con la suya	to get out with one's own	to get one's way
dar en el clavo	to hit the nail	to hit the nail on the head
echar a perder	to throw to lose	to ruin, spoil
irse al traste	to go to the junk	to go down the drain
tomarle el pelo	to take someone's hair	to pull someone's leg
hacerse el tonto	to make oneself the fool	to play dumb
meter la pata	to put in the paw	to put one's foot in it
echar de menos	to throw from less	to miss someone
quedarse en blanco	to stay in white	to draw a blank
caer bien/mal	to fall well/badly	to like/dislike a person
dar igual	to give equal	to not care
quedarse de piedra	to stay of stone	to be stunned
no dar crédito	to not give credit	to not believe one's eyes

Common mistakes

❌ Me tomaron el cabello cuando dijeron que había un examen.

Wrong: *cabello* is not the right word — the fixed phrase uses *pelo*.

✅ Me tomaron el pelo cuando dijeron que había un examen.

Correct: They were pulling my leg when they said there was an exam.

❌ Se fue al basura todo el plan.

Wrong: the fixed expression is *irse al traste*, not *al basura*.

✅ Se fue al traste todo el plan.

Correct: The whole plan went down the drain.

❌ Ella me cae buena.

Wrong: *caer bien/mal* does not change to *bueno/malo*.

✅ Ella me cae bien.

Correct: I like her (as a person).

For collocations that are not idiomatic but still trip up English speakers, see Essential Advanced Collocations. For expressions organized by verb, see Expressions with Hacer, Expressions with Dar, and Expressions with Tener.