Headword
Language Spanish · commercial temporary transfer · formal near-synonym arrendar noted, not a page
Lessor, Lessee, Thing, Price · duration open · one Spanish lemma · working claim, revisable
Voice[Lessor ∨ Lessee] + other partya · le/les + ThemethingACC + por-MeasurePPrice ⟨Amount, Denomination⟩ · en unprinted · duration unranked
A commercial rental, on this reading, has a Lessor, a Lessee, the Thing, and a Price. A duration may be named in the same clause. They are not four or five equal sisters of alquilar. Voice adds one party as subject. The other party is an indirect object: an a-phrase, and the dative clitic that doubles an indirect object of that shape is le or les. The root’s object is the Thing, accusative. Where a sum is written, the working cloth puts it in one MeasureP under por. en plus a sum is a second price cloth and is unprinted in the lines read. The Price is not a second accusative. Whether a duration is an argument or only an adjunct is open: the definitions name a time and do not rank it.
What is different from the English gloss and from German. English rent is direction-neutral. The subject can be either party, and the direction sits in the preposition: rent the flat to Chris (the subject lets it) and rent the flat from Chris (the subject takes it). English let is the lessor-only verb. German splits the same direction onto two lemmas. On vermieten the subject is the lessor. mieten has the lessee as subject and is not a page. Spanish keeps both directions on alquilar. The Diccionario de la lengua española prints them as two transitive senses: dar a alguien and tomar de alguien. The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas prints them as one gloss, ceder, o adquirir. The a-phrase does not choose which party it names. arrendar, from renda ‘renta’, is the formal near-synonym and packs both directions into one definition, ceder o adquirir. This page does not open an arrendar entry.
DLE, DPD, and the Nueva gramática (§35.5h) print the thing and the other person. They do not print lessor, lessee, thing, and a numeral sum in one clause. DLE’s payment wording is definition prose: mediante el pago de la cantidad convenida, and por el tiempo y precio convenidos. DPD’s gloss has por un precio convenido. No line read here prints por or en plus a numeral.
Printed other-party frame · a · accusative thing · the party is not chosen · no price in this line
✓ Pedro alquiló el piso a su hermano DPD · alquilar · fuera de contexto, ambigua
Pedro · rented · the flat · to/from his brother
Printed other-party line · a · accusative thing · no clitic · no price
✓ El director de cine había alquilado el chalet a un hombre y una mujer cuya identidad no ha sido facilitada NGLE §35.5h · the citation is the grammar’s · Mundo [Esp.] 26/1/1994
the film director · had rented · the chalet · to/from a man and a woman
| Place | Introduced by (working) | Spanish marking | Case status | English and German |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lessor | Spec,Voice on the dar sense · or the a-phrase on the tomar sense | subject of sense 1 · a + DP, doubled by le/les, when the subject takes the thing · DLE’s source prose is de alguien | the subject is structural on either sense · the a-phrase is the indirect object either way · de is definition prose and, in the DPD paraphrase, sits inside the theme | subject of rent … to and of let · vermieten subject · source of rent … from and the unprinted von of mieten |
| Lessee | Spec,Voice on the tomar sense · or the a-phrase on the dar sense | subject of sense 2 · a + DP, doubled by le/les, when the subject lets the thing · DLE’s goal prose is a alguien | same indirect-object cloth as the lessor · the clitic copies the a-phrase · it does not choose the party · the two senses are two readings, not two lessees | to when the English subject is the lessor · subject of rent … from · dative or an+accusative of vermieten · subject of mieten |
| Thing | complement of √RENT- (Theme) | accusative (el piso, el chalet, algo, habitaciones under passive se) | structural · the object the passive se promotes | direct object · accusative of vermieten and of mieten |
| Price | por selects one MeasureP ⟨n, U⟩ where a sum is written · en is the unprinted alternate | definition prose por un precio convenido · mediante el pago de la cantidad convenida · por precio on arrendar · no numeral in these lines | oblique when a sum is written · one phrase · the definition’s precio is not a second theme · en + a sum is unprinted and is not filed as a second price | for + MeasureP · für + MeasureP where a German source prints the sum |
| Duration | unranked | por el tiempo que se determine · por el tiempo y precio convenidos · temporal inside the arrendar definition | printed as definition prose · argument versus adjunct unprinted · sense 2 puts time and price under one por · not given a seat as a fifth sister | for a period · German period unranked on vermieten |
Marking map. One letter can belong to either party. Read the head, then the marker.
Each row lines up one English slot with its Spanish slot. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same status), shift (structural ↔ oblique), or one lemma whose subject and whose a-phrase can each be either party. Printed dictionary and grammar lines come first. Every other Spanish sentence is constructed, modelled on a printed line. They show the working alignment, not frequency, and not a bilingual corpus.
| Slot | EN form | ES form | Align | EN example | ES example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lessor as subject | SUBJ of rent … to · SUBJ of let | subject of DLE sense 1 dar | = for this direction · the lemma also has the other | Pedro rented the flat out to his brother. constructed EN gloss of one DPD reading | dar a alguien algo … mediante el pago de la cantidad convenida DLE sense 1 |
| Lessee as subject | SUBJ of rent … from · not a subject of let | subject of DLE sense 2 tomar · same lemma | one Spanish verb · English rent matches · English let does not · German uses mieten | Pedro rented the flat from his brother. constructed EN gloss of the other DPD reading | tomar de alguien algo … por el tiempo y precio convenidos DLE sense 2 |
| Thing | OBJ | accusative | = | rent the flat constructed gloss | el piso DPD · el chalet NGLE §35.5h |
| Other party (a) | to or from | a + DP | shift · two English prepositions → one Spanish indirect object | to his brother / from his brother the two glosses of one string | a su hermano DPD · ambiguous · a un hombre y una mujer NGLE §35.5h |
| Clitic | no dative clitic | le / les doubles the a-phrase | the clitic is the indirect object’s double · unprinted on the ambiguous lines | — English has no le | Le alquilé el piso a Juan. constructed · le copies a Juan · the party stays open |
| Source de | from + DP | de alguien in sense 2 · de su hermano inside the theme in the paraphrase | definition and paraphrase · not a printed test that forces the lessee subject | from his brother gloss | el piso de su hermano DPD paraphrase of the lessee-subject reading |
| Price | for + MeasureP | por + a price in the gloss · numeral MeasureP unprinted · en unprinted | = oblique where a sum is written · the printed por has no numeral | for an agreed price gloss of the DPD wording | por un precio convenido DPD · por 800 euros constructed · numeral not in the lines read |
| Duration | time expression · status open | por el tiempo que se determine | printed in the definition · argument vs adjunct open | for the time determined gloss | por el tiempo que se determine DLE sense 1 |
| Passive of the thing | the thing as subject | passive se · thing as subject | = promotion of the accusative · this se is not a lessee subject | Rooms are rented. constructed gloss | Se alquilan habitaciones NGLE · Buen uso · passive se |
| Pronominal sense 3 | no property frame | alquilarse · a person enters service | a different event · no thing-theme in the definition | — | Ponerse a servir a otra por cierto estipendio DLE sense 3 · prnl. · no example clause |
The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and Spanish under it. The subject chip is the one that can be either party. The a-card keeps both readings of one phrase. The price card stays inside for / por where a sum is written, and the printed gloss has no numeral.
EN · ES · printed a
Pedro rented the flat to his brother / from his brother.
Pedro alquiló el piso a su hermano
ES · DPD · one string, two directions · no price · no le · EN glosses constructed from the two readings the entry names
Move English to / from → one a
EN · ES · one lemma
to let something out / to take something on rent
ceder, o adquirir, temporalmente el uso
ES · DPD gloss · DLE splits the same pair as sense 1 and sense 2 · German splits the pair onto vermieten and mieten
Move English rent is one verb · Spanish alquilar is one verb · German chooses the lemma
EN · ES · printed por
for an agreed price
por un precio convenido
ES · DPD · the price is named · no numeral · a MeasureP under por or en is constructed
= for ↔ por · one phrase · the inner MeasureP is unprinted
EN · ES · passive se
Rooms are rented.
Se alquilan habitaciones
ES · NGLE · Buen uso · the rooms are the subject · DLE sense 3 alquilarse is a person in service, a different event
= passive se promotes the thing · it does not force a lessee subject
Argument difference. English rent the flat to Chris and rent the flat from Chris keep one verb and put the direction in to or from. English let has the lessor as subject. German does not keep the choice inside one lemma: vermieten fixes the lessor, mieten fixes the lessee. Spanish alquilar keeps the choice inside one lemma, and the cited a-phrase does not fix it. DPD’s reading of Pedro alquiló el piso a su hermano is that Pedro took his brother’s flat, or that Pedro let a flat of his own to his brother. NGLE §35.5h says the same of the indirect object, with the chalet line as the citation. le or les doubles that indirect object. The doubled string is constructed. Passive se promotes the thing. Neighbouring lemmas, one line only: DLE lists arrendar, realquilar, and subarrendar among the synonyms of alquilar, and desalquilar as the antonym. arrendar is the formal near-synonym. None of the others is given a frame, and none is given a page.
Dictionary and grammar lines · checked · quoted as printed
Dar a alguien algo, especialmente una finca urbana, un animal o un mueble, para que use de ello por el tiempo que se determine y mediante el pago de la cantidad convenida. DLE · alquilar sense 1 · tr. · por el tiempo and the payment are inside the definition · synonyms arrendar, realquilar, subarrendar · antonym desalquilar
Tomar de alguien algo para usarlo por el tiempo y precio convenidos. DLE · sense 2 · tr. · de alguien is the source in the definition · one por covers el tiempo y precio · synonyms add tomar, coger
Dicho de una persona: Ponerse a servir a otra por cierto estipendio. DLE · sense 3 · prnl. · a person, not a thing-theme · no example clause
Ceder, o adquirir, temporalmente el uso [de algo] por un precio convenido. · Pedro alquiló el piso a su hermano DPD · the subject can be either party · the sentence is ambiguous out of context · the two readings the entry gives are that Pedro took his brother’s flat, and that Pedro let a flat of his own to his brother
✓ El director de cine había alquilado el chalet a un hombre y una mujer cuya identidad no ha sido facilitada. NGLE §35.5h · Mundo [Esp.] 26/1/1994 · the indirect object can be the people who let the chalet or the people who occupied it · no le · no price
✓ Se alquilan habitaciones. NGLE · Buen uso · passive se · the rooms are the subject · the impersonal Se alquila habitaciones is the form the same note prints and does not recommend
Grammar line: infinitive alquilar, gerund alquilando, participle alquilado; present alquilo, preterite alquilé, compound he alquilado. DLE paradigm Regular. arrendar in the rental sense is marked c. acertar: arriendo, participle arrendado. DLE
Ceder o adquirir por precio el goce o aprovechamiento temporal de cosas, obras o servicios. DLE · arrendar from renda · one definition, both directions · synonyms alquilar, rentar, subarrendar, realquilar · no a-phrase example
Strings below that are not in the block above are constructed, modelled on the printed lines. They are not spontaneous-speech citations and not dictionary lines. Pat / Chris / piso continue the named-participant series on vender. 800 euros is a constructed MeasureP. No source read here prints that sum. Stacking a person with that sum is not one printed line. Le alquilé el piso a Juan is the same ambiguity as the DPD sentence, with the clitic added.
✓ Pedro alquiló el piso a su hermano.
DPD · ambiguous · no le · no price
✓ Le alquilé el piso a Juan.
constructed · le doubles a Juan on the DPD cloth · the clitic does not choose rent-to or rent-from
✓ Pat le alquiló el piso a Chris por 800 euros.
constructed · the person is the DPD a-cloth · the sum is a MeasureP under the gloss’s por · the numeral is not in DLE, DPD, or NGLE · the party of Chris stays open
✓ Pat alquiló el piso de Chris.
constructed · the de is the shape of the DPD paraphrase el piso de su hermano · de names whose flat it is in that paraphrase · it is not printed as a phrase that forces Pat to be the lessee
✓ Se alquilan habitaciones.
NGLE · Buen uso · passive se promotes the thing
✓ Pat alquiló el piso en 800 euros.
constructed · en + a sum is unprinted in the lines read · not ranked against por · the numeral is not a source figure
✓ Pat alquiló el piso por un mes.
constructed · por un mes is a filled duration on the definition’s por el tiempo · argument versus adjunct unranked · the subject’s direction stays open
* Pat alquiló Chris el piso.
constructed · two bare objects · the printed other party is a su hermano
* Pat alquiló 800 euros el piso.
constructed · a sum, where one is written, sits under por · it is not a second accusative
The clitic and the passive are operations on the same places. They do not add a participant, and they do not choose the direction.
le doubles a. The indirect object is an a-phrase that a dative clitic replaces. Singular is le. Plural is les. DPD and NGLE §35.5h print the a-phrase of alquilar without the clitic. The constructed Le alquilé el piso a Juan puts le on the DPD sentence. Juan remains either the lessee or the lessor, because that is what the a-phrase already is. Before an accusative clitic of the thing, the dative clitic has the form se (se lo). That shape is the general clitic rule. It is unprinted on alquilar in the lines read. It is not a further argument, and it is not DLE sense 3.
Passive se promotes the thing. Se alquilan habitaciones. The subject is the rooms. The advertising line Se alquila habitaciones leaves a plural thing beside a singular verb; the grammar prints it and recommends the agreeing passive instead. A passive that makes the a-party the subject and leaves the thing accusative is unprinted. It is not starred. A periphrastic ser passive of alquilar is unprinted in the entries read. None is constructed.
Pronominal sense 3 is another event. DLE: a person puts themselves into service for a stipend. The definition has no thing-theme. It does not decide the rental clause.
A reflexive dative on the rental is unprinted. The constructed Me alquilé el piso is not in DLE, DPD, or the NGLE paragraph read. This page does not treat it as a test that forces the subject to be the lessee. The question stays open. See open items.
de inside the theme. DPD paraphrases one reading as taking el piso de su hermano. DLE sense 2 writes the source as de alguien. A constructed Pat alquiló el piso de Chris follows the paraphrase. It shows de inside the accusative. It does not show a source phrase that has cancelled the a-ambiguity.
por cuánto. It is not in the dictionary entries read. The constructed question resumes the whole por-MeasureP, as wofür does on vermieten. It does not resume euros minus 800, and it does not resume the flat.
Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The point of the drawing is one accusative (the thing), one a-phrase that can be either the lessor or the lessee, and a price inside por where a sum is written. The subject is not fixed to the lessor. Open one sketch at a time. Which theta role is the object in this low domain is the revisable note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.
Two external arguments of one lemma · the other party is not in Voice
[VoiceP Pedro Voice ← Lessor, DLE sense 1 dar … a su hermano … el piso …] [VoiceP Pedro Voice ← Lessee, DLE sense 2 tomar … a su hermano … el piso …]
✓ Pedro alquiló el piso a su hermano. DPD · one clause · the entry gives both external arguments
On vermieten the external argument is the lessor only. On mieten it is the lessee only. English rent allows either external argument and puts the direction in to or from. English let keeps the lessor. Spanish alquilar allows either external argument and does not move the direction into a second preposition.
The indirect object is not stably the lessee · working
[VoiceP Pat Voice ← either party
[ApplP [a Chris]_a Appl ← the other party · le/les doubles this DP
[VP √alquil-
[Theme el piso ]_ACC ] ← Thing · one accusative
[PP por [ MeasureP 800 euros ]]]] ← Price · where a sum is written
When the subject is the lessor, the a-phrase is the lessee and comes to have the use of the thing. When the subject is the lessee, the same a-phrase is the lessor, the source the definition writes as de alguien. NGLE §35.5h states both and keeps comprar and vender fixed the other way. The tree adds a por-sum. That addition is constructed. It is not one dictionary line. le is not in the printed alquilar sentences. It is the double of the a-phrase, not a second person.
✓ a un hombre y una mujer NGLE §35.5h · one indirect object · either party · no clitic in the citation
* Pat alquiló Chris el piso. constructed · the other party is not a second accusative
The printed price has no numeral · the duration is not ranked inside the price
por [ un precio convenido ] ← DPD · no numeral por [ MeasureP [ Amount 800 ] [ N euros ] ] ← constructed en [ MeasureP 800 euros ] ← unprinted · not ranked against por por el tiempo que se determine ← DLE sense 1 · argument vs adjunct open
✓ por un precio convenido DPD · one phrase · no numeral
✓ por precio DLE · arrendar · no numeral
[TP [Theme habitaciones ]_2
[ se alquilan
[VoiceP_PASS
[VP t_2 alquil- ]]]]
✓ Se alquilan habitaciones NGLE · Buen uso · the promotee is the thing · no price in the line
800 euros = one MeasureP, when the sum is written. n and U compose inside that phrase. Orthography is not extra arity. There is no further argument “currency name.” Composition in this cloth is por(MeasureP), not V(n)(U). The numeral is constructed. en plus the same MeasureP is unprinted. por el tiempo is printed in the definition and is not given a second MeasureP.
Three ways of writing the same two directions · working · no English rent page
[VoiceP Pat Voice ← Lessor
[ApplP Chris Appl ← Lessee · to
[VP √RENT [Theme the flat ]
[PP for [ MeasureP … ]]]]] ← rent the flat to Chris
· let the flat to Chris
[VoiceP Chris Voice ← Lessee
[VP √RENT [Theme the flat ]
[PP from Pat ]]] ← rent the flat from Chris
· German: mieten
· Spanish: alquilar, same a
English rent keeps both directions and writes them as to and from. English let keeps the lessor. German prints the split as vermieten and mieten. Spanish prints both directions on alquilar and, in the sentences cited, writes both parties as a. The Price, when a sum is written, stays inside for / por / für.
| Layer | rent (EN) · no page | let (EN) · no page | alquilar | vermieten | mieten · no page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spec,Voice | lessor or lessee | Lessor | Lessor or Lessee · both printed as senses | Lessor | Lessee |
| other party | to or from | to the lessee | a · le/les doubles it · either party | dative, or an+ACC | von+DAT expected · unprinted |
| accusative | the thing | the thing | the thing · printed | the property | the property · printed |
| Price | for · MeasureP | for · MeasureP | por in the gloss · numeral unprinted · en unprinted | für · MeasureP where a sum is printed | unprinted as a sum in the lines read on that page |
| Passive | the thing can be the subject | unopened | passive se promotes the thing · a-party as subject unprinted | werden promotes the property | unopened |
On the lessor reading of alquilar, the other person comes to have the use of the flat, and a sum under por measures the price where that sum is written. On the lessee reading, the subject is the one who takes the use, and the a-phrase can be the person who lets it. On pagar, the accusative is the money and por is Consideration. On vender, the accusative is the goods, the a-phrase is the buyer, and the transfer is not this temporary letting. Same por-cloth, different Theme. The indirect object of vender is not the ambiguous indirect object of alquilar.
Working paper · October 2026 · Spanish micro-entry · Beyond Index 2
Commercial temporary transfer in Spanish: one lemma, both directions. Lessor or Lessee (Voice), the other party (a, doubled by le/les), Thing (accusative Theme), and Price (por plus one MeasureP where a sum is written; en unprinted). A duration is in the definition and is not ranked as an argument or as an adjunct. The a-phrase does not choose the party. de is the definition’s source and sits inside the theme in the DPD paraphrase. Passive se promotes the thing. arrendar is the formal near-synonym and is not a page.
Not a flat grid of four sisters. A flat grid would give the verb two accusatives, or a price that is a second object, or an a-phrase that has already chosen its party. alquilar shows one accusative, the thing, one indirect object, and a price in por where a sum is written. The two directions are two readings of that geometry.
A written sum is one MeasureP. See the MeasureP sketch. DPD’s por un precio convenido is the printed price phrase, and it has no numeral. A constructed por 800 euros is that one phrase with the inner MeasureP filled. por el tiempo sits in the definition. It is not a second price.
What Spanish changes, against the English gloss, is the preposition of the other party: to and from are one a. What Spanish changes against German is the lemma: vermieten and mieten are one alquilar. What the printed cloth shares with vender is one accusative Theme, an a-phrase doubled by le, and por on a price. The Theme here is the thing let for a time. The Theme there is the goods. The a-phrase there is the buyer.
In the constructed Pat le alquiló el piso a Chris por 800 euros, one party comes to have the use of the flat and the other is the source of that use. Which of Pat and Chris is which is what the a-phrase leaves open. The price measures that letting. It is not the object that is transferred.
Dictionary frames: DLE alquilar and arrendar (the entry from renda); DPD alquilar. Grammar: NGLE §35.5h on the indirect object of the exchange verbs, and the passive-se line Se alquilan habitaciones in the NGLE and in the Buen uso note. The indirect-object clitic cloth is the general replacement of an a-phrase by le/les. Constructed clauses add that clitic to the DPD sentence, or they put a numeral MeasureP under por or under en, or they fill por el tiempo as por un mes. Index 2 does not list alquilar. Spanish Transfer in Index 2 is intercambiar, cambiar, dar.
Records both directions on alquilar, the accusative thing, and the a-phrase that does not choose the party. Records por as the printed price wording, without a numeral. Does not open arrendar.