Lesson 5 Usage

Tocar, Pito, Agudo, Grave

Tocar means “to touch” and also “to play” when referring to something that makes noise.

Louis Armstrong tocaba la trompeta. Louis Armstrong used to play the

trumpet. El maestro toca la campana.

The teacher rings the bell. Alguien toca la puerta.

Somebody is knocking at the door.

Agudo and Grave have multiple meanings also.

Agudo means “sharp” when referring to an object, but “high-pitched” when referring to a sound. El silbato hace un sonido agudo.

The whistle makes a high-pitched noise. Grave means “serious” when referring

to a situation, but “deep” when referring to a sound. La campana hace un sonido grave.

The bell makes a deep noise.

Do not use pito to refer to a whistle.

Among Mexicans, it is a penis reference. Soplo el pito—does not mean “I blow

the whistle.” To refer to a whistle, we say

“silbato.”