That may lead some English speakers who are studying Spanish to say things like  “Miro la tele” or “Me gusta mirar películas” in Spanish. This is incorrect. In Spanish, use VER when referring to the act of watching TV, movies or sports.

VER

A Juan le encanta ver los dibujos animados. Juan loves to watch cartoons.

Me gusta ver el tenís. I like to watch tennis.

Of course, VER is also used in the general sense of seeing:

¡Nos vemos pronto! See you soon! (Literally: We see each other soon.)

Anoche el niño vio una fantasma. Last night the boy saw a ghost.

MIRAR

…can also can be translated as “to watch” but more in the context of looking at someone or something with intention. Personally, I prefer the translation “to look at,” that way you avoid any confusion with VER.

Este café es un buen lugar para mirar a la gente. This café is a great place to people watch/to look at people.

¡Oye! ¿Qué miras? ¡¿Tengo monos en la cara?! Hey! What are you looking at?!

No, tranquila. Estoy mirando la araña que trepa por tu hombro. No, calm down. I’m looking at (I’m watching) the spider climbing your shoulder.

“Tener monos en la cara” is a very funny expression used in Spain. Literally, it means “Do I have monkeys on my face?” and it is a testy way of  asking somebody what the heck they are looking at when they are staring at you.

Anyway, regarding MIRAR, it is a bit more literary than VER since it a verb that means to observe or to contemplate. For example, there is a difference in meaning between  “ves las estrellas” and “miras las estrellas.” The first phrase (ves las estrellas) references the general act of seeing the stars. You have eyes so you can see the stars. The second phrase (miras las estrellas) suggests viewing with intention or focus or with great interest. You look at the stars….leading you to contemplate the vastness of the universe….

Visit the ReVerb Spanish page on Twitter for more phrases containing VER or MIRAR. Check the June 15 entries.

To tell you the truth, there is a lot I want to share with you about Spanish verbs but some of it really doesn’t warrant a 400+ word blog entry.

That’s where Twitter comes in. Twitter is a web site where people can post very short messages on all sorts of topics. It’s like a blog but with entries that are extremely brief.  There is a 140-character limit per entry, and that includes punctuation marks and spaces!

Twitter is a great platform for ReVerb Spanish because you can get more helpful tips about different Spanish verbs without having to wade through lengthy explanations. In fact, it’s an efficient way for me to address some verbs that are interesting but maybe don’t have enough meat to devote an entire podcast to them.

Wondering what kinds of things I’m putting on Twitter? Here’s a sampling of a few verbs that were the focus in some recent “tweets.” (You’ll have to visit the ReVerb Spanish Twitter page to get the answers to these riddles.)

Armarse un lío vs. Hacerse un lío: They both mean trouble but in different ways.

Estar a cargo de vs. Hacerse cargo de: Who’s the boss between those two phrases?

Alumbrar vs. Deslumbrar: Shine some light on two similar verbs

Callarse la boca vs Cerrarle la boca: It’s the difference between keeping one’s mouth shut or causing someone to shut theirs!

As you can see, it’s a little bit of everything. But the focus is solely on explaining to you the nuances of Spanish verbs and verb phrases that are not only useful for you to know but also a lot of fun to use!

I post items over there more frequently than I do on this blog, so if you ever miss me (si me echas de menos) and wonder what I’ve been up to, you can find me twittering away at Twitter.com/ReVerbSpanish.  If you feel like it, sign up for your own Twitter account and we can also communicate with one another that way.

¡Hasta luego!