As a beginner Spanish student, the word bajo may well be among the first words one learns, typically as an adjective meaning “short.” However, like many words in Spanish, this word has a whole plethora of meanings and can additionally function as a preposition, adverb, noun, and even a verb!
Let’s start by examining the use of the word bajo as a preposition. Although its translation is almost always “under” or “below,” like its English equivalent, this could refer not only to physical location, but also to the state of being subject to some influence. Let’s take a look at the following examples from our Yabla Spanish library.
One possible meaning of the preposition bajo is "in a position below something else":
Pero no entiendo qué hace mi amiga un día de semana bajo este árbol tan maravilloso.
But I don't understand what is my friend doing on a weekday under this wonderful tree.
Captions 4-5, Escribiendo un libro - Algunos consejos sobre cómo comenzar
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Another, similar meaning of “bajo,” which also involves location, suggests that something is beneath the surface or covered by something:
Tengo aquí bajo mi almohada tu fotografía
I have your picture here under my pillow
Caption 20, La Oreja de Van Gogh - Inmortal
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Moving on to uses of the preposition bajo not involving location, like “under” in English, bajo could also express the concept of being less than:
Congelando lo que es la punta de la botella en una solución que está a diez o quince grados bajo cero.
Freezing the tip of the bottle in a solution that is ten or fifteen degrees below zero.
Captions 33-34, Europa Abierta - Champagne en Andalucía
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The Spanish preposition bajo could additionally mean "in accordance with" or "subject to the terms of," for example, some agreement:
Algunos clientes bajo contrato, le pre-maduramos la fruta.
[For] some customers under contract, we pre-ripen the fruit.
Caption 99, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa
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And finally, although we have only touched on some of its many nuanced meanings, we’ll take a look at an example in which the preposition bajo entails being managed or governed by something:
Para su información, todo el personal de servicio está bajo mi mando, ¿sí?
For your information, all the service staff is under my authority, right?
Caption 49, Muñeca Brava - 3 Nueva Casa
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Now, let’s look at bajo as an adjective. Its most common translations are “short” or “low,” both in terms of height or level and in reference to intensity or morality. Here are some examples from the Yabla Spanish video library:
Y es muy gracioso porque Pedro es todo lo contrario de Carolina.
And it's very funny because Pedro is totally the opposite of Carolina.
Es bajo, es gordo...
He's short, he's fat...
Captions 32-33, El Aula Azul - Mis Primos
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Desde chiquito el bajo mundo conocía
Since he was a child, he knew the underworld
Caption 4, La Secta - Consejo
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Se manifestaban porque el sueldo era muy bajo.
They were on strike because their salary was very low.
Caption 33, Con ánimo de lucro - Cortometraje
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As an adverb, bajo could also be translated as “low” in some cases (for example, when describing a helicopter flying “low”) or “softly” or “quietly” when referring to one’s speech:
¡Que le quede claro! -¡Shhhhh, habla bajo!
Let that be clear to you! -Shhhhh, speak quietly!
Caption 42, Yago - 7 Encuentros
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Much more straightforwardly, as a noun, the word bajo refers to the musical instrument, the bass:
Entonces yo dije: "Yo... yo puedo tocar... Yo puedo tocar el bajo."
So, I said, "I... I can play... I can play the bass."
Caption 50, Carli Muñoz - Niñez
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And finally, it is worth noting that bajo is the first person singular, present tense conjugation of the verb “bajar” (to go or come down or get off or out).
Ya está, la comida... -Sí, sí, sí, ya, yo ya bajo.
It's ready, the food... -Yes, yes, yes, now, I'm coming down now.
Caption 72, Muñeca Brava - 44 El encuentro
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We hope that this lesson has shed light on some of the ways the word bajo can function as a preposition - in addition to a noun, verb, adjective or adverb! If you would like to see many additional examples in context, simply enter the word bajo in the search bar at the top of the Videos page to find matches in the transcripts of the Yabla Spanish library. And don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.
The Spanish verb llevar has many different meanings. It's also used in many idiomatic phrases. Let's study some examples since this is a very popular and useful verb.
The basic meanings of llevar is "to carry " or "to take":
Tengo que llevar a mi hijo al doctor - I have to take my kid to the doctor.
Ella lleva una carga muy pesada - She carries a very heavy burden.
Sometimes the verb llevar translates as "to bring":
No [te] olvides [de] llevar un regalo a la fiesta de Lucía / Don't forget to bring a gift to Lucia's party.
This can be a little confusing for English speakers, since traer and llevar actually mean opposite things in Spanish. The verb traer involves carrying something to the speaker's location, while llevar means to carry something from the speaker's location to a different place. So, to use the same example, if you are already at Lucía's party or, let's say, she is your roomie, you must say: No [te] olvides [de] traer un regalo a la fiesta de Lucía (Don't forget to bring a gift to Lucia's party).
But the verb llevar has many other interesting uses. For example, it's used to express the idea of having been doing something for a period of time. In this case, it's very common to combine llevar with the preposition ya (already):
Yo ya llevo veintitrés años aquí ya.
I have already been here for twenty-three years now.
Caption 65, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 18
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Llevar can also be used to express duration. This is easy to learn since English also uses "to take" for the same purpose:
tenemos que teñirlo, esto pues, nos lleva un ratito,
we have to dye it, this well, it takes us a little while,
Caption 68, Animales en familia - Un día en Bioparc: Microchip para Nacahué - Part 1
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As you can see, this use of llevar frequently involves using reflexive pronouns. But you don't always need them. Compare, for example:
Hacer la tarea lleva mucho tiempo / Doing homework takes a lot of time.
Hacer la tarea me lleva mucho tiempo / Doing homework takes me a lot of time.
Llevar also means"to wear":
¿Por qué lleváis guantes?
Why do you wear gloves?
Caption 46, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 5
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By the way, the verb traer (to bring) is sometimes used the same way:
por eso... traen pantalones
that's why... they wear pants
Captions 47-48, El Ausente - Acto 2 - Part 3
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And the verb llevar also means "to lead." For example: ¿Llevas una vida saludable? (Do you lead a healthy life?).
Finally, there's an expression used in Mexico that derives from this last meaning: ahí la llevas. It literally means something like "there, you are leading it" but it means that the person speaking is telling you that you are doing your work well. It's very common to use this expression as an ironic remark that means exactly the opposite, so be careful:
No te rindas, hijo. Ahí la llevas. / Don't give up, son. You are doing well.
¿Otra vez borracho? Bueno, tú síguele. Ahí la llevas. / Drunk again? Well, keep going. You are on the right track... not.
Articles are used before nouns to indicate a subject's number or gender. Sometimes, however, the use of an article before a noun is not required. This happens with both indefinite and definite articles, in Spanish, in English and in many other languages as well. In fact, generally speaking, articles are used the same way in Spanish and English. There are many cases in which the same rules apply for both languages. For example, you don't use definite articles before days of the week or months following the verb ser (to be):
Hoy es viernes. Son las siete de la tarde.
Today is Friday. It's seven in the evening.
Caption 4, Los Reporteros - Crecen los robos en tiendas
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or following the preposition de (from):
Trabajo de lunes a sábado.
I work from Monday to Saturday.
Caption 28, Fonda Mi Lupita - Encargado
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It's not very common, and even unnecessary, but you could use indefinite articles in both cases. The meaning is slightly different and this happens both in Spanish and English:
Hoy es un miércoles / Hoy es miércoles.
Today is a Wednesday / Today is Wednesday.
Es la misma rutina de un lunes a un viernes / Es la misma rutina de lunes a viernes.
It's the same routine from a Monday to a Friday / It's the same routine from Monday to Friday.
However, there are a few cases in which we wouldn't use "a" or "an" in English, but we would in Spanish and vice versa. For example, in Spanish you can use a definite article before days and say Los lunes no trabajo (I don't work on Mondays) or Estoy esperando desde el lunes (I've been waiting since Monday). These you need to learn, so let's explore some examples.
In Spanish, you can drop indefinite articles when the noun is preceded by words like tal[es] (such), otro/a (other), and qué (what). Compare with the English translation in the following examples:
Qué lástima que no llegaste al partido; estuvo joya.
What a pity that you didn't come to the game; it was awesome.
Caption 36, Muñeca Brava - 33 El partido
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...de cierta manera... con ciertos defectos, ¿no?
...in a certain way... with certain defects, right?
Caption 35, Nortec Collective - Bostich+Fussible
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In the previous example English drops the article when using the plural only, while Spanish drops it in both singular and plural. And yet, saying de una cierta manera in Spanish is also correct.
Spanish doesn't use definite articles before numerals that express titles of rulers:
El edificio data del siglo dieciocho,
The building dates from the eighteenth century,
en tiempos de Felipe Quinto.
during the time period of Philip the Fifth.
Caption 22, Madrid - Un recorrido por la capital de España
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In Spanish you usually drop definite and indefinite articles before nouns in apposition (when a noun explains another). But you don't necessary want to do it every single time. For example, in Spanish you can say Ankara, capital de Turquía, es una bella ciudad (Ankara, the capital of Turkey, is a beautiful city.) However, it's still correct to say Ankara, la capital del Turquía, es una bella ciudad. Obviously, in this case you can't use the definite article. You can't say Ankara, una capital de Turquía—that doesn't make sense either in Spanish or English since cities have, by definition, only one capital.
But check out this example: Juanita, una tía de Raquel, vino de visita (Juanita, one of Raquel's aunts, came to visit). Saying Juanita, tía de Raquel, vino de visita (Juanita, Raquel's aunt, came to visit) is also correct. And Juanita, la tía de Raquel, vino de visita is correct too. The translation in English is the same: Juanita, Raquel's aunt, came to visit. The only difference is that the definite article la (the) confers some sense of specificity to the expression. Maybe it means that Juanita is the only aunt Raquel has, or that she is particularly close or somehow special, she is not just any aunt but la tía (the aunt).
In Spanish you usually drop indefinite articles before unmodified nouns when stating nationality, profession, and religious or political affiliation. You can't always do the same in English. For example:
El Señor Chong es mexicano. Es burócrata. Es Secretario de Gobernación. Es católico. Es priísta.
Mr. Chong is Mexican. He is a bureaucrat. He is Secretary of State. He is a Catholic. He's an affiliate of the PRI party.
Here is another example from our catalog:
Y ¿tu marido es agricultor o algo?
And your husband is a farmer or something?
Caption 55, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa
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That doesn't mean that saying mi marido es un agricultor (my husband is a farmer) is wrong. It's just not the way you usually state professions. On the other hand, when the noun is modified (usually by an adjective or a subordinate clause), you have to use an article. For example, you must say: mi marido es el agricultor famoso (my husband is the famous farmer) or mi marido es un agricultor que se preocupa por el medio ambiente (my husband is a farmer who cares about the environment).
What is really incorrect is not using articles before the names of languages. When talking about languages, English usually drops the articles, but Spanish doesn't:
El español es un idioma muy bonito.
Spanish is a very nice language.
Caption 57, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana - Crista Pérez
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There's an exception. You can drop the article when the language is used directly after a verb as its complement:
Como... como yo hablo árabe.
Since... since I speak Arabic.
Caption 8, Taimur - Taimur habla
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Finally, don't drop the article when telling the time in Spanish. You will always use the feminine definite article la or its plural las, since it refers to la hora (the hour) or las horas (the hours).
Salí a las siete y media... y voy llegando a la una.
I went out at seven thirty... and I'm arriving at one.
Captions 77-78, Calle 13 - La Perla
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Let's continue our lesson on llevar (to take, to carry) and traer (to bring).
We have said that the verb llevar (to bring) expresses that something or someone has (or contains) something:
¿Quién es el que ha hecho el arroz?
Who is the one who has made the rice?
¿Qué lleva el arroz, Manolo?
What does the rice have in it, Manolo?
Captions 21-22, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 12
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The previous example could have used the verb haber (to have): ¿Qué hay en el arroz, Manolo?, or the verb tener (to have, to be): ¿Qué tiene el arroz, Manolo?
This is not the only way llevar can be used instead of haber or tener. For example, it can replace tener when it's used to express the duration of time:
Yo ya llevo veintitrés años aquí ya.
I have already been here for twenty-three years now.
Caption 65, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 18
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Compare to: Yo ya he estado veintitrés años aquí and yo ya tengo veintitrés años (which mean exactly the same).
The construction llevar + gerund is also very popular in Spanish. It's used to indicate how much time you are 'carrying' under your belt (so to speak) performing a given action:
¿Cuánto tiempo llevan intentando vender el piso?
How long have you been trying to sell the apartment?
Caption 51, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 12
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Compare to: ¿Cuánto tiempo han estado intentando vender el piso? and ¿Cuánto tiempo tienen intentando vender el piso? (which mean exactly the same).
El caso es que llevo esperando
The issue is that I have been waiting
un rato en la puerta de embarque B siete.
for a while at the boarding gate B seven.
Caption 37, Raquel - Avisos de Megafonía
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Equivalent expressions are: He estado esperando un rato, and Tengo esperando un rato.
Llevar is also used in the expression para llevar, which means "to go" or "takeout":
¿Y aquí, antes qué había?
And here, what was there before?
Aquí había unas comidas para llevar.
There were some takeout places here.
Captions 7-8, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 10
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The expression llevarse con alguien means to get along with someone, either badly or well:
Mi amiga María se lleva muy bien con mi amigo Alberto.
My friend Maria gets along very well with my friend Alberto.
Caption 10, El Aula Azul - Mis Amigos
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No se lleva muy bien con Aldo, Lucio.
Lucio doesn't get along very well with Aldo.
Caption 7, Yago - 6 Mentiras
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Check out too: Me llevo mal con mi jefe | I get along badly with my boss.
In Mexico, the expression llevarse con alguien, means to treat someone in a overfamiliar, playful, usually disrespectful way. There is even a saying that goes, El que se lleva se aguanta. Literally, it means something like "One who plays the game must endure it," similar to the English expressions "If you play with fire, you will get burned," and "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen."
Curiously, the verb traer (to bring) is used in a similar expression: traerla con alguien, or traerla contra alguien, which means to "hold a grudge," or "to have a certain animosity toward somebody:"
¿Por qué la trae con nosotros?
Why does he hold a grudge against us?
Caption 23, El Ausente - Acto 3
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The expression ¿Qué te traes? (What's up with you?) could be used in different situations with different purposes:
He notado tu tristeza estos días. ¿Qué te traes?
I've noticed your sadness these days. What's up with you?
¿Tú qué te traes? ¿Quieres pelea?
What's up with you? Do you want a fight?
¿Qué se traen ustedes dos? ¿ Qué están tramado?
What are you two up to? What are you planning?
Tengo un trato, lo mío pa' mi saco...
I have a deal, what's mine is mine...
Caption 3, La Mala Rodriguez - Entrevista
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In her rap, María Rodríguez tells us Tengo un trato, "I have a deal," and lo mío pa' mi saco, which literally means "mine for my bag," but which is a figurative way to say "what's mine is mine."
Por eso te quiero ofrecer un trato.
That's why I want to offer you a deal.
Caption 31, Muñeca Brava - 43 La reunión - Part 5
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¡Es un trato hecho! Te paso a buscar a las ocho.
It´s a done deal! I'll pick you up at eight.
Hagamos un trato: tú vas a la reunión y yo cuido a los chicos.
Let´s make a deal: you'll go to the meeting and I'll look after the children.
As in English, a deal, un trato, is related to but not exactly the same as un contrato, a contract, which usually implies a more formal, legal agreement, usually written.
We can informally make a deal, un trato, but whenever we are talking about more serious and legal matters, we´ll use contrato, contract.
Algunos clientes bajo contrato, le pre-maduramos la fruta para que llegue apta para comer.
[For] some customers under contract, we pre-ripen the fruit so that it arrives ready to eat.
Captions 99-100, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 18
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El abogado está redactando el contrato de mantenimiento.
The lawyer is drawing up the maintenance contract.
El contrato que firmé me obliga a trabajar dos sábados al mes.
The contract that I signed requires me to work two saturdays a month.
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