Wednesday, April 22, 2009

dar un examen/tomar un examen

This is opposite in English.

dar un examen - to take a test
tomar un examen - to give a test

El profesor tomó un examen y los alumnos lo dieron.

The profesor gave an exam and the students took it.

Di un examen hoy y me fue como la corneta. ("como la corneta" is vulgar)

I took a test today and it went poorly.

These expressions are also used in Argentina, but not in Mexico or Spain as far as I know.

3 comments:

Abby said...

I ALWAYS mess this up.

Maeskizzle said...

hahaha. Probably most people don't even have to know this difference. But for teachers, it's important, although I'm sure the students understand anyway. They should be clear that they won't be giving you a test, at least not usually. hahaha.

Real Chile said...

You can always use the more formal version of "to take a test" that I believe works in every country "rendir un examen". Chile is one of the few countries where students "dan" tests and teachers "toman" a test. usually it is the same way as English.