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| Mi primo… ¿A qué hora dijo que iba a regresar mi primo? |
| Tu primo dijo que iba a volver a las ocho de la noche. |
| Wait, why did you say “volver” when I said “regresar”? |
| Ah, well, because they are synonyms, you can say one or the other. |
| Oh, so, entonces puedo decir “Voy a regresar este collar porque no me gustó”? |
| Yeah, you can say that. |
| And also I can say “Voy a volver este collar porque no me gustó.” |
| Well, no, in that case you should just say “regresar este collar.” |
| Why? Aren’t they synonyms? |
| Yeah, but no, and that’s actually something that we’re going to explain in this video. |
| So, today, guys, we’re going to tell you the basic differences between regresar and volver. So, I’m Efraín. |
| And I’m Diego and enjoy this video! |
| So, friends of SpanishPod101.com, this lesson we’ll, we are going to split this lesson into three parts and a key point at the end. |
| So, the first one is that volver and regresar are actually synonyms. But, just when they mean to go back, to come back, and to return. So, when you go to a place, and you want to go back, you can use either regresar or volver. For example: |
| Debemos regresar a Japón. |
| Or, you can say: Debemos volver a Japón. |
| Yeah, in this case, we haven’t actually been there, but in this case, hypothetically, we went to Japan, and then we’re in Mexico, and we want to go back to Japan or to come back to Japan, okay? Or to return to Japan. So, yeah, in this case, they’re synonyms. Do you have any other example? |
| Yeah, for example: Regresa pronto. Or, you can say: Vuelve pronto. |
| Good, I like that, because that’s when you go to a restaurant normally and at the end they tell you “Hey, regresa pronto” or “Hey, vuelve pronto.” Yeah, I like it, very good, it’s like come back soon. |
| Yeah. |
| Or, return soon. |
| Return soon. |
| Very good. |
| Okay, guys, so, as we said regresar could be translated as “to return,” however, when return you want to say it in the sense of “to take back something” you can use regresar but not volver. As in the example that Efraín said. So, he said at the beginning, “Tengo que regresar este collar.” That’s correct. But he then tried to say, “Tengo que volver este collar.” That doesn’t work in Spanish. However, there is a very similar word that you can use instead, and that word is “devolver.” |
| Devolver. |
| Exactly! So, he can say “Tengo que devolver ese collar” or “Tengo que regresar ese collar” and it means to take back something, to return something. So, remember, in this sense, you cannot use volver. |
| Volver, okay. |
| Very good. |
| So, another example. |
| Yeah, let’s see another example. |
| Oye, devuélveme mi celular. Or: Regrésame mi celular. |
| Another example could be: Yo fui a la biblioteca y pedí prestado un libro y mañana tengo que regresarlo. |
| Or, you can say: Mañana tengo que devolver este libro. |
| So, do you remember that volver and regresar could mean to return? But, when you want to express the idea of to start again or to resume, or even to return to, you can only use “volver.” You cannot use “regresar.” |
| Okay, good. |
| So, when you use volver to express “to start again,” you have to use the preposition “a.” Okay? And it could also include a verb. So, for example, by the way, we have a video on SpanishPod101.com where we explain the different uses of “volver.” |
| Very useful topic for you guys, so just go and search for it, you will truly like it. |
| Yep, so let’s go for the first example: Yo tengo que volver a hacer el examen porque reprobé. |
| Okay, so you are saying that you need to start again your exam because you failed the last one. Okay, you guys, just as a note here, as a side note. In this case “volver a” could also have a synonym, and this synonym is “de nuevo.” However, if you want to say “de nuevo,” this adverb goes at the end of the sentence. So, in this case, Efraín could have said “Yo tengo que hacer el examen de nuevo.” Meaning exactly the same as “Tengo que volver a hacer el examen.” Good, give us another example. |
| Okay, another one: Esther volverá a ver a Ricardo porque se gustan mucho. |
| Exactly, exactly. So, in this case “volverá a ver a Ricardo.” He could also have said “Esther verá a Ricardo de nuevo.” De nuevo. Porque se gustan mucho. |
| Because they have already seen each other before. |
| Yeah, exactly. |
| They did it again. |
| They will do it again. |
| The next example: Nosotros volvimos a hacer videos de terror. |
| Very interesting. And yeah, that’s actually true, so, in this case, he could also have said: Nosotros hicimos videos de terror de nuevo. |
| Okay. |
| In the past, so once again, “volver a” or “de nuevo” are synonyms. In this case, you cannot use “regesar.” Take that into account. Very good. |
| And finally we want to just stress a key point in all of this: remember that context is always king. Context is king. Just repeat after me, Efraín. |
| Context is king. |
| Why? Because, for example, if I say: Mila y Fernando regresaron. Or: Mila y Fernando volvieron. Is it clear for you what I’m trying to say? |
| Uh, yeah, they came back together, right? |
| Because back together, well yeah, that could be one possibility, of course, because, as in a relationship, they got back together. Ellos regresaron. However, what I’m trying to say is that they came back from Spain, because they went to travel. |
| Oh, yeah, yeah. |
| So, remember, context is always king and all by itself the sentence “Mila y Fernando volvieron” doesn’t mean anything unless you have some context attached to it. |
| That’s it for today, my beautiful friends of SpanishPod101.com, we hope you’ve enjoyed this video, so please give it your thumbs up and share it with other learners who also might want to know the difference between volver and regresar. And, also, guys, please, if you have any comment or opinion, put it in the comment section down below because we do read them and reply to them and we will hopefully see you in our upcoming video. |
| ¡Hasta luego! |
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