{"id":2850,"date":"2011-06-16T16:55:17","date_gmt":"2011-06-16T20:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/?p=2850"},"modified":"2011-07-27T11:14:00","modified_gmt":"2011-07-27T15:14:00","slug":"the-several-uses-of-the-verb-caer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/the-several-uses-of-the-verb-caer\/","title":{"rendered":"The several uses of the verb “caer”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a1Hola! \u00bfC\u00f3mo est\u00e1s?<\/em><\/p>\n

The verb caer <\/em>means to fall or to fall over and it\u2019s widely used in Spanish. Let\u2019s learn some of its uses.<\/p>\n

When it means to fall over, it’s generally used with its reflexive form.<\/p>\n

Te vas a caer.<\/em> \u2013 You\u2019re going to fall.
\nMe ca\u00ed en la escalera.<\/em> \u2013 I fell on the stairs.
\nEst\u00e1 que se cae de cansancio.<\/em> \u2013 He\u2019s dead tired.<\/p>\n

We also use caer <\/em>to express the act of falling down or going down.<\/p>\n

El coche cay\u00f3 por un precipicio. <\/em>\u2013 The car went over a cliff.
\nCay\u00f3 muerta all\u00ed mismo.<\/em> \u2013 She dropped down dead on the spot.
\nEl avi\u00f3n cay\u00f3 en picado. <\/em>\u2013 The plane nosedived.<\/p>\n

Caer <\/em>is also used when we talk about the weather.<\/p>\n

Cay\u00f3 una fuerte nevada. <\/em>\u2013 It snowed heavily.
\nCay\u00f3 una helada.<\/em> – There was a frost.
\nCayeron unas pocas gotas. <\/em>– There were a few drops of rain.
\nEl rayo cay\u00f3 cerca. <\/em>\u2013 The lightning struck nearby.<\/p>\n

It also means to hang, to incur, to understand or to be deceived.<\/p>\n

El pelo le ca\u00eda suelto hasta la cintura.<\/em> \u2013 Her hair hung down to her waist.
\nNo caigas en ese error.<\/em> \u2013 Don’t make that mistake.
\nCay\u00f3 en la tentaci\u00f3n de mirar.<\/em> – She succumbed to the temptation to look.
\nQu\u00e9 bajo has ca\u00eddo.<\/em> \u2013 You’ve really sunk low this time.
\nTodos ca\u00edmos en la trampa.<\/em> – We all fell for it.
\nCayeron como angelitos.<\/em> \u2013 They fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
\n\u00a1Ah, ya caigo!<\/em> – Oh, now I get it!
\nNo caigo.<\/em> – I don’t get it.
\nNo ca\u00ed en que t\u00fa no ten\u00edas llave.<\/em> – I didn’t realize you didn’t have keys.<\/p>\n

Check out some more sentences using caer<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Esa palabra ha ca\u00eddo en desuso. <\/em>\u2013 That word has fallen into disuse.
\nDespu\u00e9s de tanto \u00e9xito, cay\u00f3 en el olvido.<\/em> \u2013 After so much success, he sank into oblivion.
\nSe empap\u00f3 en la lluvia y cay\u00f3 enfermo.<\/em> \u2013 He got soaked in the rain and fell ill.
\nSe har\u00e1 una investigaci\u00f3n, caiga quien caiga.<\/em> – An inquiry will be held, however many heads have to roll.
\nNo sabes la que te va a caer encima.<\/em> \u2013 You don’t know what’s in store for you.
\nAntes de que caiga la noche.<\/em> – Before it gets dark.
\nLe cay\u00f3 una pregunta muy dif\u00edcil.<\/em> – He got a really difficult question.
\nLe cayeron tres a\u00f1os de c\u00e1rcel. <\/em>– He got three years in jail.
\nEl gordo cay\u00f3 en Bilbao.<\/em> – The jackpot was won by someone in Bilbao.
\nEl pescado me cay\u00f3 mal. <\/em>– The fish didn’t agree with me.
\nLe cay\u00f3 muy mal que no la invitaran. <\/em>– She was very upset about not being invited.
\nTu primo me cae muy bien.<\/em> – I really like your cousin.
\nMe cae gordo.<\/em> \u2013 I can’t stand him (colloq).
\nDe vez en cuando cae \/ se deja caer por aqu\u00ed.<\/em> \u2013 She drops by every now and then.
\nLos invitados est\u00e1n al caer.<\/em> – The guests will be here any minute.<\/p>\n

It also means to fall within or to be connected.<\/p>\n

Cae dentro de nuestra jurisdicci\u00f3n.<\/em> – It falls within our jurisdiction.
\nCae dentro de sus obligaciones.<\/em> \u2013 That’s one of her duties.
\nEl 20 cae en (un) domingo.<\/em> \u2013 The 20th falls on a Sunday.
\n\u00bfPor d\u00f3nde cae? <\/em>\u2013 Whereabouts is that?
\nLa llamada no me cay\u00f3.<\/em> \u2013 I couldn’t get through. (on the phone)<\/p>\n

There are several structures with its reflexive use.<\/p>\n

Oye, se te cay\u00f3 un pa\u00f1uelo.<\/em> \u2013 Hey, you dropped your handkerchief.
\nSe me cay\u00f3 de las manos.<\/em> \u2013 It slipped out of my hands.
\nCuidado, no se te vaya a caer. <\/em>\u2013 Be careful, don’t drop it.
\nPor poco se me cae el armario encima. <\/em>\u2013 The wardrobe nearly fell on top of me.
\nSe me est\u00e1n cayendo las medias.<\/em> \u2013 My stockings are riding down.
\nNo tienen donde caerse muertos.<\/em> \u2013 They don\u2019t have a penny to their name.
\nSe cae por su propio peso. <\/em>\u2013 It goes without saying.<\/p>\n

Nos vemos prontito.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a1Hola! \u00bfC\u00f3mo est\u00e1s? The verb caer means to fall or to fall over and it\u2019s widely used in Spanish. Let\u2019s learn some of its uses. When it means to fall over, it’s generally used with its reflexive form. Te vas a caer. \u2013 You\u2019re going to fall. Me ca\u00ed en la escalera. \u2013 I fell…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[66],"class_list":["post-2850","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-vocabulary","tag-expressions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2850"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11835,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850\/revisions\/11835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}