The Spanish Verb Asistir

The Spanish verb asistir (to be present, to attend) has many different meanings depending on the context. Let's learn how to use this interesting verb.

The verb asistir derives from the latin assistĕre, which literally means "to stop next to," and that’s the basic meaning of this verb:

Para asistir a una reunión de trabajo.

To attend a business meeting.

Caption 4, Raquel - La Compra de un Billete de Tren
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This verb is always accompanied by the preposition a. Here's another example using a conjugated form of the verb:

Así que, por primera vez en Animales en familia asistimos a una doble cirugía.

So, for the first time on "Animales en familia" ("Animals in the Family"), we witness a double surgery.

Captions 8-9, Animales en familia - La operación de Yaki
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As you can see in the example above, the verb asistir may have different translations. The following example uses the imperative form of the verb:

Así que, no dejes de formarte. Lee libros, asiste a seminarios.

So, don't stop educating yourself. Read books, go to seminars.

Captions 59-60, Raquel y Marisa - Español Para Negocios - Crear una empresa
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In certain contexts the verb asistir means "to attend to," in which case it's very common to use the passive voice. The passive voice uses the participle asistido and the preposition por(by), as you can see in the following example:

La enfermera asiste al paciente / El paciente es asistido por la enfermera.
The nurse attends to the patient / The patient is attended by the nurse.

Additionally, asistir also means "to give help or assistance":

El principal rol de un asistente quirúrgico es asistir al cirujano durante una operación.
The primary role of a surgical assistant is to assist the surgeon during an operation.

As in English, the verb asistir is also used in sports to describe the act of enabling another player making a good play: