Meet the 'Volver' Family

Like some other verbs that come from Latin, the Spanish verb volver is the head of a small family of verbs whose meanings can be expanded through the use of prefixes. Although the meanings often aren't what you might expect, the verbs have a familiar ring to them, as they all have English cognates.

Although the most common meaning of volver is "to return," the Latin verb from which it is derived, volvere, typically meant "to roll." The verbs derived it usually carry with them the idea of a return or some kind of repeated motion.

Here are the verbs derived from volver:

Devolver: to give back, to return (something), to refund, to vomit.

• Lo devolví y me dieron otro. I returned it, and they gave me another.
• Si no queda satisfecho, le devolvemos su dinero. If you don't remain satisfied, we give you your money back.
• La mitad de los teléfonos devueltos no son defectuosos. Half the returned telephones aren't defective.

Entrevolver: to wrap up with other things (rarely used).

Envolver: to wrap, to wrap up, to wind, to envelop, to take over, to get somebody involved in.

• El presidente está envuelto en otro escándalo. The president is involved in another scandal.
• Me envolví en una toalla. I wrapped myself in a towel.

Revolver: to stir, to stir up, to make upset, to turn upside down, to rummage through.

• Estos son los huevos revueltos, que sirven para desayunar, almorzar o cenar. These are scrambled eggs, which they serve for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
• Revolvieron toda la casa y no se llevaron ningún objeto de valor. They rummaged through all the house and didn't take any object of value.
• Adam Smith se revolvería en su tumba si viera lo que está pasando en Cuba. Adam Smith would turn over in his grave is he saw what is happening in Cuba.

At least one common English "-volve" verb doesn't have a corresponding -volver verb in Spanish: "evolve," whose Spanish equivalent is evolucionar. Two uncommon "-volve" verbs that also don't have Spanish cognates are "circumvolve" and "convolve."

When using these verbs, keep in mind that they are all conjugated in the same irregular way as volver. When the -o- stem is stressed, it becomes -ue-, and the past participles end in -vuelto.