Why Parar Is the Everyday Verb for "To Stop"
Parar is the verb for stopping: an action, a vehicle, a machine, yourself. It is regular, and it appears in chunks that have nothing to do with brakes: nonstop talking, never sitting still, slowing someone down.
Watch out for pararse: it means "to stop" in Spain but also "to stand up" in much of Latin America. The six chunks below show both.
Pattern 1: Parar de… — "To stop doing…"
Use de plus an infinitive for the action that stops. In the negative, no parar de means the action keeps going, which is how Spanish says "it keeps raining." For the opposite idea, see [Seguir] Chunks.
- No para de llover. — It won't stop raining.
- Para de gritar, por favor. — Stop shouting, please.
- No puedo parar de reír. — I can't stop laughing.
Chunk to learn:
Parar de + [infinitivo] / No parar de + [infinitivo]
Pattern 2: Sin parar — "Nonstop"
Place sin parar after the verb to say something goes on without a break. It works for talking, working, raining, crying, anything. For talking, see [Hablar] Chunks.
- Trabajó sin parar toda la semana. — He worked nonstop all week.
- Llovió tres días sin parar. — It rained for three days straight.
- Mi hermana habla sin parar. — My sister talks nonstop.
Chunk to learn:
[Verbo] + sin parar
Pattern 3: ¡Para el carro! — "Hold your horses!"
A colloquial way to tell someone to slow down, whether they are going too fast with a story, a plan or an accusation. It literally says "stop the cart." For the word decir, see [Decir] Chunks.
- ¡Para el carro! No tan rápido. — Hold your horses! Not so fast.
- Para el carro, que no te entiendo. — Slow down, I'm not following you.
- Hay que parar el carro un momento. — We need to hit pause for a moment.
Chunk to learn:
¡Para el carro! / Hay que parar el carro
Pattern 4: Parar un taxi — "To hail a taxi / stop a car"
Use parar with a vehicle or an event you bring to a halt. Parar un taxi is the standard way to say you hail one on the street. For other transport, see [Tomar] Chunks.
- Paré un taxi en la esquina. — I hailed a taxi on the corner.
- Para el coche aquí, por favor. — Stop the car here, please.
- El árbitro paró el partido. — The referee stopped the match.
Chunk to learn:
Parar + [un taxi / el coche / el partido]
Pattern 5: Pararse — "To stop / to stand up"
With se, the meaning depends on where you are. In Spain, pararse means to stop moving. In much of Latin America it also means to stand up. For more on reflexive verbs, see Reflexive Verbs Chunks.
- Párate, que viene el profesor. — Stand up, the teacher is coming. (Latin America)
- Me paré para saludarla. — I stood up to greet her. (Latin America)
- Se paró el reloj. — The clock stopped.
Chunk to learn:
Pararse (= detenerse, or "ponerse de pie" in Latin America)
Pattern 6: No parar quieto / en casa — "To never sit still / to never be home"
A very natural way to describe busy people: no parar means they are always on the go. Add quieto for restless kids and en casa for people who are never home. For going out, see [Salir] Chunks.
- Mi hijo no para quieto. — My son can't sit still.
- No paro en casa los fines de semana. — I'm never home on weekends.
- Mi madre no para: siempre está haciendo algo. — My mom never stops: she's always doing something.
Chunk to learn:
No parar quieto / No parar en casa / No parar
Parar de vs. Dejar de vs. Terminar
Parar de often means a pause or interruption; dejar de means to quit for good; see [Dejar] Chunks. Terminar means to finish; see [Terminar] Chunks. Paré de fumar un rato says you paused; dejé de fumar says you quit.
Start with no para de llover and ¡para el carro!. You will use both in the first week of real conversation.
This post is part of the Spanish Chunk Series — a growing collection of chunk patterns for natural Spanish.