How to Say "pays attention" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “pays attention” is “atiende” — A1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
English → SpanishA1
verbA1
listening or focusing
Examples
El médico atiende a los pacientes ahora mismo.
The doctor is helping the patients right now.
Él no atiende en clase y por eso no entiende.
He doesn't pay attention in class and that's why he doesn't understand.
¡Atiende lo que te digo!
Listen to what I'm telling you!
The 'e' to 'ie' swap
In the present tense, the 'e' in the middle of the word changes to 'ie' whenever you stress it. This happens for everyone except 'we' (nosotros) and 'you all' (vosotros).
The False Friend Trap
Mistake: “Using 'atiende' to mean 'to go to an event'.”
Correction: Use 'asiste' for going to events. 'Atiende' means to help or pay attention.
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