Pay attention
A very common alternative, almost identical in meaning to 'prestar atención'. Use it in the exact same situations.
Means 'to heed' or 'to mind someone'. Use this when you mean paying attention to advice or a command.
A command meaning 'look' or 'notice'. Use 'fíjate' (informal 'tú') or 'fíjese' (formal 'usted') to grab someone's attention quickly for something specific.
Children, please pay attention to the teacher.
You need to pay more attention when you drive the car.
Your mom told you not to run. Why don't you pay attention to her?
Pay attention, the bus is already coming.
If you don't pay attention to me, you aren't going to understand the lesson.
Both 'prestar atención' and 'poner atención' are widely used and understood. 'Hacer caso' is also standard for 'to heed'.
'Poner atención' is extremely common, often preferred over 'prestar atención' in everyday conversation. The command 'fíjate' is used constantly.
In addition to the standard phrases, the very informal slang 'parar bolas' is used to mean 'to pay attention'. Example: 'No me estás parando bolas' (You're not paying attention to me).
The informal expression 'dar bolilla' or 'dar bola' is the equivalent of 'hacer caso'. Example: 'El profesor explica, pero los estudiantes no le dan bolilla' (The professor explains, but the students don't pay attention to him).
'Prestar atención' is the most common and standard phrase. The main difference is the use of 'vosotros' in plural commands, e.g., '¡Prestad atención, por favor!' (Pay attention, please!).
Saying 'pagar atención'. — This is a literal translation. 'Pagar' means to pay with money. In Spanish, you 'lend' (prestar) or 'put' (poner) your attention. Correct: 'prestar atención' or 'poner atención'.
Using the wrong verb for 'to heed advice'. — When you mean 'to listen to/mind someone', 'hacer caso' is the best choice. Saying 'No me prestas atención' is okay, but 'No me haces caso' better captures the idea of ignoring a warning or request. Wrong: 'No me haces atención.' Correct: 'No me haces caso.'
Saying 'presta atención a mí'. — While grammatically understandable, it's much more natural to use an indirect object pronoun. Instead of 'presta atención a mí', say 'préstame atención'. Instead of 'presta atención a nosotros', say 'préstanos atención'.
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how to say look in spanish
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