As you know, an idiom cannot be predicted from the individual meaning of its words. They are used in everyday conversations, so learning them will help you improve your Spanish.
Let’s start learning these four idioms with
Hacer caso (to pay attention)
Probably one of the most popular and useful Spanish idioms with
Nunca me haces caso y ahora no entiendes la lección.
You never pay attention to me and now you don’t understand the lesson.
Roberto no me hizo ningún caso. Ni siquiera me saludó ayer.
Roberto didn’t pay any attention to me. Yesterday he didn’t even say hello to me.
Deberías hacer caso a lo que dice tu madre. Siempre tiene razón.
You should pay attention to what your mother says. She is always right.
Antonio, te están hablando. ¿Por qué no les estás haciendo caso?
Antonio, they are talking to you. Why don’t you pay attention to them?
Hacer frente (to face)
Mi padre hizo frente a su miedo a volar y vino en avión.
My father faced his fear of flying and came by plane.
Han publicado tres medidas para hacer frente a la crisis.
They have published three measures to deal with the crisis.
Han aprobado estas estrategias para hacer frente al problema.
These strategies have been adopted to deal with the problem.
Escucha los retos a los que haremos frente durante el próximo año.
Listen to the challenges we are facing during the next year.
Hacer historia (to make history)
El equipo ha llegado a la final y ha hecho historia.
The team has reached the final and it has made history.
Estoy seguro de que tus iniciativas van a hacer historia.
I am sure that your initiatives are going to make history.
Pronunció el discurso sin saber que estaba haciendo historia.
He gave a speech without knowing that he was making history.
Hubo un número récord de atletas este año. Hemos hecho historia.
There was a record number of athletes this year. We’ve made history.
Hacer sombra (to outshine, to overshadow)
Let’s finish learning today’s idioms with
No le ascendieron porque Isabel le hacía continuamente sombra.
He wasn’t promoted because Isabel continually overshadowed him.
Está acostumbrado a que su hermano pequeño siempre le haga sombra.
She is used to her younger brother always overshadowing her.
Nadie se da cuenta de Laura porque Elena es mucho mejor y le hace sombra.
Nobody notices Laura because Elena is much better and she outshines her.
No queremos que Carlos venga. Es muy divertido y nos hará sombra a todos.
We don’t want Carlos to come. He really funny and he will outshine all of us.
Exercises
Today we’ve covered four idioms with