Obviously I canât include every single additional use of tomar but Iâm going to tell yâall how to use tomar more like a native speaker.
I would say tomar is one of the most essential verbs in Spanish. Itâs obviously less important than the irregular verbs like ser, estar, ir, venir, decir and so on, but as far as regular verbs go, tomar is one of the invaluable ones that you use in everyday Spanish.
In its most basic form tomar is âto takeâ; and if weâre being pedantic and overly analytical, this is the kind of âtakeâ that means âto bring closer to oneselfâ. This is not the same âtakeâ as you would use for âto transportâ [thatâs either llevar or transportar, usually]. This is a kind of âtakeâ thatâs personal and indicates closeness or bringing closer.
(Side Note: Thatâs a rough approximation and not 100% true 100% of the time but you get it)
And because of itâs commonplace, tomar is heavily influenced by how many other languages use âto takeâ. By that I mean there are some languages - English primarily - that has definitely shaped some of the usage of tomar
But first, the basics of the basics; tomar is simplyâŠÂ âto takeâ.
You could say tomo el libro âIâm taking the bookâ and it could have some different meanings depending on contexts. That could mean âIâm taking it with meâ, like you picked it up off a shelf. It might also be âIâm grabbing the bookâ, as tomar can have the same kind of usage as agarrar, aferrar, or when in Spain coger. A third possible meaning is just how it sounds in English, âtakeâ could imply âIâm stealing the bookâ which could synonymous with robar
Similarly as a command, toma as in âtake (it)â is used when youâre giving something to someone, whether itâs physically an object youâre handing to someone, or whether youâre gloating and you say ÂĄToma esto! or ÂĄToma ya! which is like âtake that!â
The other most common use of tomar in my experience is that you use it as âto drinkâ or âto take medicineâ.
Of course, beber âto drinkâ exists, but tomar has this kind of side-meaning where it could be understood as âto consumeâ or âto ingestâ.
If you wanted to say âitâs important to drink waterâ you could decide between es importante beber agua or es importante tomar agua. Both make sense, though to my mind, tomar kind of sounds more everyday. Again, nothing wrong with beber feel free to use it, just be aware that tomar can be used this way
Also going along with this is tomar medicina âto take medicineâ or tomar drogas âto take drugsâ [drugs or medicine; depends], or tomar pastillas âto take pillsâ⊠same general idea. Here, tomar makes more sense than either comer âto eatâ or beber âto drinkâ because it encompasses the feeling of both. There are some medicines that you could definitely use beber with, but tomar is a general term
Back onto the topics of beverages, tomar is frequently used with el cafĂ©Â âcoffeeâ, el tĂ©Â âteaâ, and above all, any kind of alcohol.
The act of drinking is often beber. But the feeling behind something like âIâm going to have a nice cup of coffee/teaâ is usually tomar
So you might consider the idea of quiero tomar mi cafĂ© en paz as âI want to have my coffee in peaceâ, rather than just the idea of simply drinking it. Again, you could use beber here and it totally works.
You donât always see tomar used with solid food, but you can see it as tomar una comida âto have a mealâ or âto eat a mealâ, or tomar el desayuno âto have breakfastâ, or things like that. Again, itâs the mood of âto haveâ vs. âto eatâ
As for alcohol, tomar is much more commonly used than beber in a casual setting. Although! It is very common to use beber as âto drinkâ as in âthe act of drinkingâ, like es importante no beber demasiado âitâs important not to drink so muchâ
Whether itâs tomar cerveza âto drink beerâ, tomar vino âto drink wineâ, tomar tragos âto do shots / to drink shotsâ, itâs sort of the same idea as above⊠itâs kind of a mood. You could use beber to describe the act of drinking it, or whether itâs something you can or should do⊠but if youâre inviting someone out for a drink youâd see something like tomemos un trago âletâs grab a drinkâ [or possibly âletâs take a shotâ, depending on the context]. And an invitation to coffee is usually something like ir a tomar cafĂ©Â âto go out to have coffeeâ
We get into some strange interlinguistic translation issues where tomar is sometimes used as âto haveâ and not just âto takeâ for English, but I digress
There are other expressions where tomar is also used in the sense of âto take inâ. It translates a bit differently but the expressions in particular that Iâm thinking of are: tomar el sol and tomar (el) aire
tomar el sol is âto sunbatheâ or âto get some sunâ, while tomar (el) aire is usually translated as âto get some airâ or âto get some fresh airâ, or used in contexts of like âI need airâ
And then you get to the more idiomatic expressions which donât always translate totally literally, and theyâre not always the same in different countries or time periods.
The most important one is tomar una decisiĂłn which for an American speaker might sound weird since itâs âto make a decisionâ for us, but someone in the UK might be more understanding as itâs literally âto take a decisionâ.
Second one you might want to know is tomar el pelo a alguien is understood as âto pull someoneâs legâ, or âto get someoneâs goatâ or âto tease/trick someoneâ, not in a mean way usually but kidding around with someone or âyanking their chainâ. Literally itâs âto pull someoneâs hairâ.
Growing up, I was taught that âto take picturesâ was sacar fotos which is more literally âto take out photosâ. That makes more sense in the context of older cameras where sometimes the picture would print and youâd pull it out of the camera itself.
Otherwise I was taught hacer fotos âto take photosâ which is literally âto make photosâ. But another common expression is tomar fotos just like in English âto take photosâ
Another one is dar Ă©xamenes which is what I was taught as âto take testsâ{ in some fancy contexts it was rendir âto renderâ or âto give inâ. The idea was literally âto giveâ so you would sit for an exam and then hand it in, thus dar. But in some places itâs tomar Ă©xamenes just like it is for tomar clasesÂ
There are also other expressions that use tomar kind of literally as far as what youâd expect for English, but not always:
tomar a la ligera = to take (something) lightly
tomar a pecho = to take to heart [lit. âto take to chestâ]
tomar (un) asiento = to take a seat
tomar el lugar = to take the place of
tomar en cuenta = to keep in mind / to take into account
tomar a alguien de la mano = to hold someoneâs hand / to take someone by the hand
tomar en serio = to take seriously
tomar una siesta = to take a nap [in some places this might be dormir la siesta or echar una siesta]
tomar algo al pie de la letra = âto take at face valueâ [lit. âto take something to the foot of the letterâ; el pie de la letra is used in other expressions like seguir al pie de la letra is âto follow to a Tâ; kind of just means âstrictlyâ or âbased off what something saysâ]
tomar por ___ = to take for ___
[As in tomar por idiota âto take for a foolâ]
And there are many others, but these are some of the most important expressions with tomar that youâll see and hear and can now work into your daily Spanish.
