Surely you've heard the word hecho in Spanish. But did you know that this Spanish word can function as a noun, a verb, or an adjective, as well as being a part of countless fixed expressions? Let's look into the many uses of the word hecho in Spanish!
The masculine noun el hecho in Spanish can mean "the fact," "the incident," or "the event." Let's see some examples:
El hecho es que a mí Vargas me asignó ese caso
The fact is that Vargas assigned me that case
Caption 22, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 2 - Part 3
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el microrrelato tenía que estar basado en un hecho o personajes históricos.
the flash fiction story had to be based on a historical event or figures.
Caption 15, Aprendiendo con Carlos El microrrelato - Part 3
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Hecho is the participle form of the verb hacer, which means "to do" or "to make." Since participles are used with the auxiliary verb haber to form the perfect tenses (the equivalent of English sentences like "I have spoken," "I had eaten," etc.), the translations for hecho in this context would be "done" or "made." Let's listen to two examples where hecho accompanies haber as part of the present perfect tense:
Pero, ya he hecho un montón de cosas.
But, I've already done a ton of things.
Caption 22, Clase Aula Azul La segunda condicional - Part 1
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Han hecho un viaje bastante largo.
They've made quite a long journey.
Caption 6, Amaya Mis burras Lola y Canija
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The Spanish word hecho can also be an adjective that means "done" or "made." Let's take a look:
Pero todo hecho con el material o tejidos andinos.
But all made with Andean material or fabrics.
Caption 31, Otavalo Zapatos andinos
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Remember that adjectives in Spanish must agree with the nouns they modify in terms of number and gender. Therefore, alternative forms of the masculine singular adjective hecho include the singular feminine hecha and the masculine/feminine plural forms hechos and hechas. Let's listen to two of these:
Es una masa redonda, hecha con harina,
It's some round dough made of flour,
Captions 5-6, El Aula Azul Adivinanzas de comidas - Part 3
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Quesos especiales hechos aquí en la región.
Special cheeses made here in the region.
Caption 32, Desayuno Puerto Escondido Frijoles Refritos
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The Spanish word hecho should not be confused with echo, which is the first person singular form of the verb echar (to throw, throw away, put in, etc.), as we hear in the following caption:
Primero echo casi más de la mitad.
First, I put in almost more than half [of the package].
Caption 45, Recetas de cocina Papa a la Huancaína
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Because the "h" in hecho is silent, the identical pronunciation of these two words lead even native Spanish speakers to confuse them. However, bear in mind that as there is no such verb as hechar in Spanish, echo in this context should always be spelled without an "h."
In its various incarnations, the word hecho also appears in too many Spanish fixed expressions to name! Below you will find a smattering of these, with lots of examples from our Yabla Spanish video library. Can you figure out how the word hecho, or one of its variants, is functioning in each of them?
dar por hecho: to presume, to be a given, to take for granted
puesto que se da por hecho que cuando lo comunicamos es porque nos gusta
since it's presumed that when we communicate it it's because we like it
Captions 39-40, Raquel y Marisa Español Para Negocios - Introducción
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de hecho: in fact
De hecho, es un sitio bastante tranquilo y pintoresco que vale la pena visitar.
In fact, it's a quite calm and picturesque place that's worth visiting.
Caption 23, Aprendiendo con Carlos América precolombina - El Dorado
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quiero recalcar el hecho de que todo pasa,
I want to emphasize the fact that everything passes,
Captions 74-75, Soledad Refranes - Part 2
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estar hecho polvo: to be exhausted (literally "to be made into dust")
"yo ya estoy hecho polvo.
"I'm exhausted already.
Caption 24, Pigueldito y Federico El cielo
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hecho a mano: handmade
son todas hechas a mano; bordados hechos a mano,
they're all handmade, handmade embroidery,
Captions 40-41, Málaga Lourdes y la talabartería en Mijas Pueblo
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hechos reales: a true story
basada en hechos reales.
based on a true story.
Caption 12, Aprendiendo con Silvia Nacionalidades y adjetivos - Part 1
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trato hecho: it's a deal, done deal
Trato hecho, ¿sí o no? -¡Trato hecho!
It's a deal, yes or no? -It's a deal!
Caption 60, La Sucursal del Cielo Capítulo 2 - Part 5
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That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped to give you a sense of the many ways that the word hecho can be used in Spanish, as well as the the one way in which it should not be. Don't forget to write us with your questions or comments.
Let's take another look at the quote from our video:
Bueno es una... se puede variar con todo lo que... lo que se le antoje.
Well it's a... you can vary it with everything that... that you wish.
Captions 29-30, Desayuno Puerto Escondido - Frijoles Refritos
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In the same sentence, the second of the two verb constructions is se le antoje. Why se le...? Well, it turns out, antojarse [or, more accurately, antojársele] is a particular verb that only appears in the third person. Antojársele means "to fancy," "to strike one's fancy," "to feel like," "to want" or "to have in mind." This particular construction conveys the sense that the person with the wish isn't completely in control of the situation. Let's dig into a few examples to help clarify: From Collins Spanish Dictionary, we glean:
Se me antoja una cervecita
I could go for a nice beer
No se me antoja ir
I don't feel like going
To conjugate this particular verb, note that only the object changes; the verb itself is always in the impersonal, third person. So it's:
| Se me antoja = I feel like | Se nos antoja = we feel like |
| Se te antoja = you feel like | Se les antoja = you all feel like |
| Se le antoja = he/she/one feels like | Se les antoja = they feel like |
[Remember in past newsletters, we've looked at other verbs that take direct objects. Specifically, we've coverered "gustar" (e.g., "me gusta"; see newsletter #20), "encantar" (see newsletter #48), and "emocionar" (see newsletter #69). Here, we're looking at what happens when you slap a se in front. In fact, one can (se puede) make a lot of generalizations in Spanish using se, like this one.]
Note that there are other verbs in Spanish with the "-sele" construction that express unplanned, even out-of-control, occurrences. Some of the most common examples you might hear:
acabársele a alguien = to run out of
caérsele a alguien = to drop
ocurrírsele a alguien = to dawn on, to get the idea of
olvidársele a alguien = to forget
perdérsele a alguien = to lose
quedársele a alguien = to leave something behind
rompérse le a alguien = to break
For example, Se me perdió la llave might be translated into English as "I lost the key" but a more literal-minded, word-for-word translation is more like "The key was lost on me." It's a great way to reduce culpability, no?
As a final note: Related to the verb antojar is the oft-heard noun antojo, which means "whim." Pregnant women famously have antojos which we'd translated as "cravings" for, say, pickles and ice cream.
From a kitchen in Puerto Escondido (Oaxaca, México), we learn in Spanish about making refried beans -- two useful lessons wrapped up in one video. Note that we're not just talking about refried beans and rice: These onion-y beans can be served with bread, tortillas, cheese, scrambled eggs, sausage, nothing, everything... the sky's the limit. In sum, we hear, as a general rule:
Bueno es una... se puede variar con todo lo que... lo que se le antoje.
Well it's a... you can vary it with everything that... that you wish.
Captions 29-30, Desayuno Puerto Escondido - Frijoles Refritos
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Those of you following the subtitles word for word may wonder why we chose to translate se puede as "you can." Here, "you" is really an impersonal, general subject; it could also be translated as "one can." You see, in Spanish, the construction se + a verb in the third person (singular or plural) is commonly used to deemphasize the subject. Here are a few examples:
Se habla español aquí
"Spanish is spoken here"
Se come bien en esta cuidad
" People eat well in this city"
¿Cómo se dice "Formula One" en español?
"How do you say "Formula One" in Spanish?"
As you can see in the above examples, the "se + verb" construction can be translated into English in a few ways: (1) With a passive construction; (2) using "people" or "one" as the unspecified subject; or (3) using "you" as the subject, but in an impersonal, generalized sense. The third choice -- "you" -- seemed like the most appropriate translation for our refried bean recipe.
Native English speakers, if they directly mirror the English passive voice, can come up with unnatural Spanish phrases. Instead they need to accustom themselves to the Pasiva con "se."
"Cars are repaired in two days."
Los autos son reparados en dos días. [Not natural in Spanish]
Se reparan autos en dos días. [Natural in Spanish]
"This bill is being discussed in the Congress."
Este proyecto de ley está siendo tratado en el Congreso. [Not natural]
Este proyecto de ley se está tratando en el congreso. [Natural]
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