Using the Spanish Verb Tocar

The core meaning of the Spanish verb tocar is to touch. In fact, both words come from the Latin verb toccare. Common Meaning of Tocar Probably the most common meaning of both tocar and touch is to refer to physical contact between things or persons. Some examples of the word used this way in Spanish: Tocà ³ los dedos de su esposa, flojos y calientes. (He touched his wifes weak and warm fingers.)Cuando el avià ³n tocà ³ tierra los pasajeros aplaudieron. (When the plane touched ground, the passengers applauded.)No tocaron el està ©reo. (They didnt touch the stereo.) This meaning is sometimes figurative: Los ciudadanos son mà ¡s pobres y aà ºn no han tocado fondo. (The citizens are poorer, and they still havent hit bottom.)Espera con paciencia su momento para tocar el cielo. (She is waiting patiently for her time to touch to the sky.) As with the English touch, tocar can be used as a euphemism to refer to sexual contact: Él me decà ­a que lo nuestro era platà ³nico, y no me tocaba. (He would tell me that our relationship was platonic, and he didnt touch me.)Desde nià ±a me tocaba, y el repulsivo me ofrecà ­a dinero para que me acostara con à ©l. (Since I was a girl he touched me, and the creep would offer me money to sleep with him.) Using Tocar With Indirect Objects When tocar is used with an indirect object, it can refer to the turn or responsibility of the person who is the indirect object. The exact translation depends on the context:  ¿A quià ©n le toca? (Whose turn is it? Whose job is it?)El mià ©rcoles de esa semana me toca trabajar. (On Wednesday of that week its my responsibility to work.)Nos toca pagar. (Its our turn to pay. Its up to us to pay.) The same can be done when tocar means to affect a person emotionally. In this way, tocar can behave much like the verb gustar. El blues es la mà ºsica que mà ¡s me toca el corazà ³n. (Blues is the music that most touches my heart. In this sentence, the direct object is el corazà ³n, while me is functioning as an indirect object.)La actriz digo que la realizacià ³n de este film le tocà ³ emocionalmente. (The actress said that the making of this film touched her emotionally.)Le tocaba el alma la cancià ³n de Navidad. (The Christmas song touched his soul.) Other Meanings of Tocar The other meaning of tocar that is extremely common in Spanish is to play a musical instrument or similar item. For example: La guitarra es uno de los instrumentos mà ¡s fà ¡ciles de aprender a tocar. (The guitar is one of the easiest instruments to learn to play.)Voy a darme un baà ±o y luego tocarà © el piano. (Im going to take a bath and later Ill play the piano.)A la muerte de Susana, se tocaron las campanas de todas las iglesias. (When Susana died, they rang the bells of all the churches.) When referring to someones speaking or writing, tocar can mean to touch on. El presidente no tocà ³ el tema de Irak. (The president didnt touch on the subject of Iraq.)Los Monty Python tocaron todos los gà ©neros del humor. (Monty Python touches on all types of humor.) Tocar can be used so that its subject represents something that is given to someone: Le tocà ³ la loterà ­a. (He won the lottery.)Le ha tocado un tiempo muy difà ­cil. (He had been given a very rough time.) Tocar also is used in some set phrases or idioms: Por lo que a mà ­ me toca (as far as Im concerned) ¡Toca madera! (Touch wood!)Tocar de cerca (to have a close relationship with someone, or to be very familiar with a subject)Tocarle a alguien bailar con la mà ¡s fea (to be expected to do something very difficult or disagreeable) Conjugation of Tocar Tocar is conjugated irregularly in spelling but not pronunciation. The c is changed to qu when followed by the e. For example, the first-person preterite form is toquà © (meaning I touched), and the present subjunctive forms follow the pattern of toque, toques, toquemos, etc. Key Takeaways The Spanish verb tocar comes from the same source as the English verb touch and often has that meaning. Among many other meanings, it is also used for to play a musical instrument.When it means to be emotionally touching or to refer to taking turns, tocar is used with an indirect-object pronoun.Tocar is conjugated regularly in terms of pronunciation, but the c of the stem changes to qu when it comes before an e in conjugated forms.