If you want to say "Let's get to the point" in Spanish, you might say, "Vamos al grano." While the literal translation of this colloquial Spanish expression is "Let's get to the grain," ir al grano is used to convey the idea of getting to the substance of something, pushing aside all superfluous niceties.
The noun grano in Spanish has a plethora of meanings, including "grain" (e.g., of cereal or sand), "kernel," "seed," "bean" (as in coffee), or "pimple" (a blemish on the skin). Let's take a look at some examples of these various uses:
Un grano de arena hace un ladrillo y un ladrillo hace un castillo
A grain of sand makes a brick and a brick makes a castle
Caption 32, Rivera Tras la tormenta
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Vamos a separar todos los granos que tienen imperfecciones.
We are going to separate all the beans that have imperfections.
Captions 9-10, Cacao - Leyenda de Quito, Ecuador Cómo se hace el chocolate.
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Note that the expression en grano, which means in its grain form, is also used for some common food items:
un poco de elote en grano, acelgas,
a bit of whole kernel corn, Swiss chard,
Caption 7, Osos en la cocina Venado y ensalada asada
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y lo que, eh... nos ayudó a... a dar el sabor también es achiote y, eh... sal en grano.
and what, um... also helped us to... to give [it] the flavor is achiote and, um... sea salt.
Captions 49-50, Otavalo Proyecto familiar Kawsaymi - Part 2
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However, beyond these traditional uses, the Spanish word grano appears in many idiomatic expressions, which, like in English, express ideas beyond their literal meanings. Let's first take a look at a couple of examples of the aformentioned expression: ir al grano (to get to the point):
Algo en tus labios color carmín
Something in your carmine lips
Sugiere que vayamos al grano
Suggests we get to the point
Captions 16-17, Babasónicos - Risa
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Sobre Alicia hablaremos en un momento, pero ahora vamos al grano.
We'll talk about Alicia in a minute, but now let's get to the point.
Caption 35, Negocios Problemas laborales - Part 3
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Note that alternative translations for this idiom in English might include: "Let's cut to the chase" and "Let's not beat around the bush."
Now, let's take a look at some other interesting idioms containing the word grano or its diminutive, granito:
Spanish expression: apartar el grano de la paja
Literal translation: to separate the seed head from the straw
English equivalent: to separate the wheat from the chaff
Meaning: to separate out what’s good or valuable from what isn’t
Spanish expression: hacer una montaña de un grano de arena
Literal translation: to make a mountain out of a grain of sand
English equivalent: to make a mountain out of a molehill
Meaning: to make a big deal out of nothing
Spanish expression: poner su granito de arena
Literal translation: to put in one's little grain of sand
English equivalents: to do one's bit/offer one's two cents/plant the seed
Meaning: to contribute, offer one's opinion, or inspire something to begin
Let's take a look at some Yabla clips with this latter expression:
Desde que mis padres pusieron el primer granito de arena en mi formación musical, yo he seguido preocupándome en cultivarla.
Ever since my parents planted the first seed in my musical training, I've kept being concerned with cultivating it.
Captions 2-4, Club de las ideas Antonio J. Calvillo, musicólogo
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o sea, tengo la intención de... de hacerlo, o poner mi granito de arena,
I mean, I have the intention to... to do it, or to do my part,
Caption 16, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Manuel Orozco Sánchez - Part 2
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As an interesting side note, the Spanish equivalent of the English idiom "to take with a grain of salt," which entails having skepticism about something, does not include the word grano. Instead, tomar con pinzas (to handle with tweezers), or the more literal tomar con reservas (take with reservations/have reservations about), are used to express this concept.
That's all for now. We hope you have learned a lot about some literal and figurative uses of the word grano in Spanish and hope to bring you more interesting Spanish idioms and their English eqivalents in the future. In the meantime, don't forget to put in your granito de arena (suggestions and comments).
The short film Con ánimo de lucro starts with a series of commands reminiscent of the John Lennon song "Imagine":
Imagina acabar con el hambre y la pobreza.
Imagine putting an end to hunger and poverty.
Caption 1, Con ánimo de lucro - Cortometraje
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So, what's that word after Imagina (the familiar command form of imaginar, or "to imagine")? It's the Spanish verb acabar, which most commonly means "to end" or "finish." Although we could "end" our discussion right there, we won't because, as we see in this example, the verb acabar can mean different things in combination with different words and in different contexts. But before moving on to those, let's take a look at a couple of "classic" examples of this common Spanish verb:
Al final...
In the end...
Nuestro caso no es distinto de otros casos que acabaron mal
Our case is not different from other cases that ended badly
Captions 13-14, Victor & Leo - Recuerdos de amor
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Vale, hemos acabado.
OK, we've finished.
Caption 69, Animales en familia Un día en Bioparc: Cachorro de leopardo - Part 2
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Now, let's move on to some more nuanced uses of the verb acabar. Although all of them entail some kind of "ending," these variations can help us to express a multitude of English idiomatic expressions in Spanish.
We can use the Spanish verb acabar to talk about the idea of "ending up," or where something or someone ultimately arrives, perhaps unexpectedly:
y seguro que iba a acabar en la basura, ¿no?
and for sure it was going to end up in the trash, right?
Caption 49, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 5
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al final el congelador acaba quemando los alimentos.
in the end, the freezer ends up burning the food.
Caption 4, Cómetelo Crema de brócoli - Part 7
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As we saw in the opening quote, acabar con (literally "to finish with") can have the more specific meaning "to put an end to," perhaps some unpleasant phenomenon:
Para nosotros, para el santuario de burros en España, es muy importante acabar con el maltrato animal,
For us, for the donkey sanctuary in Spain, it's very important to put an end to animal abuse,
Captions 38-39, Amaya El Refugio del Burrito
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3. Acabar con (alguien): "to break up with" (someone)
When speaking about a person, however, acabar con can mean "to break up" in the sense of ending a relationship:
Pienso acabar con mi novio.
I'm planning to break up with my boyfriend.
Of course, without context, someone could definitely misunderstand our previous example, as acabar con alguien can also mean to kill them!
acaben con él y lo entierran por allí en el llano.
finish him off and bury him somewhere in the plains.
Caption 19, El Ausente Acto 2 - Part 8
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The very important verb acabar de plus the infinitive form of a verb allows us to express the idea of having "just" completed some action:
Isabel Zavala acaba de salir del edificio.
Isabel Zavala just left the building.
Caption 3, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 15
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Acabo de ver a ese chico moreno, alto y de ojos azules,
I just saw that brown-haired, tall guy with blue eyes,
Caption 19, Fundamentos del Español 3 - Le Estructura de las Frases
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Acabé por decirle la verdad.
I finally told him the truth.
Depending upon the context, an alternative translation might be "I ended up telling him the truth. "
The reflexive verb acabarse can also mean "to run out," of something literal or figurative:
Cuando llegan cosas como que se acabó la leche, los pañales,
When things come like, that the milk ran out, the diapers,
Caption 8, La Sub30 Familias - Part 6
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In this context, you will frequently encounter the verb acabarse in the form of a "no fault"/involuntary se construction. You will note that although acabarse is conjugated in the third person singular in accordance with the subject (el tiempo/the time), the indirect object pronoun nos lets us know to whom the action of the sentence is occurring (to us). Let's take a look:
Eh... Se nos acabó el tiempo, entonces espero que practiquen en su casa
Um... We ran out of time, so I hope you practice at home
Caption 59, Lecciones de guitarra Con Cristhian - Part 3
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Although this sentence was translated as "We ran out of time," the literal translation would be "Time ran out on us." For more information on the se involuntario, check out this series from El Aula Azul.
Acabarse is also a synonym for agotarse, which can mean "to sell out" in Spanish:
Quería ir al concierto pero las entradas ya se habían acabado.
I wanted to go to the concert, but the tickets had already sold out.
9. Acabarse (to be over)
The reflexive form of acabar can also mean "to be over." In fact, you will often see this verb in quite dramatic contexts, most often in the preterite tense:
Anda, ¡para! ¡ya! ¡Ya está, se acabó!
Come on, stop! Now! That's it, it's over!
Captions 28-29, Carolina - Acentos
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Other colloquial translations for the expression ¡Se acabó! might include "That's it!" or "That's that!"
Se acabó, yo no voy a insistir.
That's it, I'm not going to insist.
Caption 1, Muñeca Brava 48 - Soluciones - Part 5
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So, speaking of "being over":
Y colorín colorado, este cuento se ha acabado.
And snip, snap, snout, this tale's told out" [Literally: Red, red-colored, this tale has ended"].
Caption 65, Cleer La princesa y el guisante
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This common expression, the equivalent of the English, "And snip, snout, this tale's told out," often appears at the end of children's stories to say something like, "And that's all, folks!" On that note, we hope you've enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.
Outside a Spanish classroom, say, on the streets or on the radio, it's very common to hear pa in place of para (for, towards, to a destination, etc.), as we hear in the captions below:
pa todas las funciones, pa todos los públicos.
for every show, for every audience.
Caption 40, Circo Berlín Fran - Part 1
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Él va pa Chicago.
He goes to Chicago.
Caption 32, Cerro de Ancón Entrenamiento
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Interviewing young Taimur in a middle class neighborhood in Coro, Venezuela, a whole series of the word pa is heard to drive home this point, but this time in the form of contractions with other Spanish words as well. In the captions below, we see that Vine p'acá is the shortened form of Vine para acá and means "I came here," whereas Voy p'allá (Voy para allá) means "I'll go there." In both cases, pa indicates the destination.
y como yo no soy de este país, me vine p'acá.
and since I'm not from this country, I came here.
Caption 11, Taimur Taimur habla
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Ya yo voy p'allá y me voy pa mi país otra vez.
I'm going there soon, and I'm going to my country again.
Caption 23, Taimur Taimur habla
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Looking for more examples? In the intro to Shakira's ubiquitous song La Tortura (Torture), one can hear that pa ti is the fast way to say "for you," and if you search for p'acá, p'allá or pa'l on the internet, you'll be inundated with letras (lyrics) from the Spanish-speaking parts of the Caribbean down to the tip of Chile and even Spain! Let's hear a couple of song excerpts:
Todo este dinero que yo tengo es pa' ti
All this money that I have is for you
Caption 9, Karamelo Santo Vivo en una isla
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Echa pa' un lado que traigo dinamita
Move aside 'cause I'm bringing dynamite
Caption 2, Javier García EPK - Part 2
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Note that, while you might run across pa written as pa' (with an apostrophe) as it was penned in the official versions of the song lyrics above, this is incorrect since pa on its own is an apocope, or shortened word form, unlike the previous contractions that combine two or more words. You might also find it written with an accent as pá, but this is also incorrect since, according to the Spanish accent rules, with the exception of the diacritical accent, monosyllabic words should never have a written accent.
In conclusion, keep in mind that the Spanish word pa and its related contractions are used in informal or artistic writing and speech and should generally not be employed in formal situations. With this in mind, we hope you have enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to write us with your questions and comments.