Colgar de un clavo: To hang on a nail.
Entrar en una casa: To enter a house.
This, one of the points for which rules cannot be laid, belongs to the idiom of the language, and practice is the only master (see Appendix V for a list of the most conspicuous differences) In reading, together with the meaning of a verb, ascertain its government.
Some peculiarities of Spanish verbs—
Acabar de, followed by an infinitive, translates the English "to have just," followed by a past participle, as—
Acaba de flotarse una sociedad: A company has just been floated.
Acertar á, followed by an infinitive, translates "to happen," as—
Acertaron á pasar cuando ella estaba asomada á la ventana: They happened to pass when she was looking out of the window.
Acertó a ser viernes aquel día: That day happened to be a Friday.
Alegrarse de, Celebrar—"to be glad to," "to rejoice at."