botar a + Infinitive
Suddenly Starting: Botar a
Botar a + infinitive says that an action starts suddenly: Botou a correr (he broke into a run), Botaron a rir (they burst out laughing).
How It Works
The pattern
Conjugated botar + a + infinitive: boto a, botas a, botou a, botaron a... On its own botar means to throw or to pour, but in this phrase it only marks the start of the action.
A sudden start
- Botou a correr en canto viu o can (he broke into a run as soon as he saw the dog).
- Botaron a rir todos á vez (they all burst out laughing at once).
- De súpeto botou a chover (suddenly it started to rain).
The verbs that follow are usually actions that can burst out: correr, rir, chorar, cantar, chover, andar.
Botarse a. The Real Academia Galega dictionary gives both botar a and botarse a with the same meaning: Botouse a cantar no medio da rúa (he suddenly started singing in the middle of the street).
Compared with comezar a. Comezar a is neutral (it simply started), while botar a stresses that the start was sudden or lively.
Not echar. Spanish uses echar a correr. In Galician the verb is botar; echar in this sense is a Spanish loan to avoid (see common Spanish loans).
Examples (5)
- Botou a correr en canto viu o can.
He broke into a run as soon as he saw the dog.
Word by Word: He-threw to run as-soon-as saw the dog.
Botar a correr is the typical way to say that someone suddenly started running.
- Botaron a rir todos á vez.
They all burst out laughing at once.
Rir is the Galician infinitive for to laugh.
- De súpeto botou a chover.
Suddenly it started to rain.
Weather verbs such as chover also work in this phrase.
- O bebé espertou e botou a chorar.
The baby woke up and started crying.
- Botouse a cantar no medio da rúa.
He suddenly started singing in the middle of the street.
The pronominal form botarse a has the same meaning as botar a.
Common Mistakes
Using the Spanish verb echar.
Echou a correr cara á porta.Botou a correr cara á porta.The Galician verb for this phrase is botar. Echar a correr is Spanish.
Leaving out the preposition a.
Botaron rir cando o viron.Botaron a rir cando o viron.The a is part of the phrase and cannot be dropped.
Using the Spanish form of the infinitive to laugh.
Botamos a reír.Botamos a rir.The Galician infinitive is rir, without the e of Spanish reír.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Botar a introduces the sudden start of an action.
Related Patterns
- dar en + InfinitiveTaking to Doing: Dar En
Another phrase about starting something, used when a new habit starts and keeps going.
Level 6 - chegar a + InfinitiveEven Managing to: Chegar a
A similar verb + a + infinitive phrase that looks at the high point of an action instead of its start.
Level 4 - botar de menos / botar unha manIdioms with Botar
Other common fixed expressions built with botar.
Level 4 - Avoiding Spanish Interference
Using echar instead of botar is one of the common Spanish loans in Galician.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice botar a + Infinitive in Bubblegum
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