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Sentence explanations

1. Ahora entiendo.

   I understand now.

   Ahora

   now

   entiendo

   I understand

   More detail

   Ahora means “now” and places the understanding at the present moment. It can move in the sentence without changing its basic meaning: Ahora entiendo. = “I understand now.” Entiendo is the first-person singular present form of entender, “to understand”: yo entiendo. The ending -o identifies the speaker as the subject here; Spanish commonly leaves the subject pronoun yo unstated because the verb form already shows it. The related negative form in the supplied context is No entiendo. = “I do not understand.” Here no reverses the polarity of entiendo; it does not change the person or tense. Together, Ahora + entiendo expresses that the speaker understands at this point: “I understand now.”

2. No entiendo.

   I do not understand.

   No

   not

   entiendo

   I understand

   More detail

   No is the negation word used here to make the statement negative. In Spanish it normally comes before the conjugated verb: no entiendo = “I do not understand.” entiendo is the first-person singular present form of entender (“to understand”). The ending -o identifies the speaker as “I”; the base form is entender, while entiende means “he/she/you formal understand(s)” in the present. Example: Entiendo la pregunta. — “I understand the question.” Together, No + entiendo produces the complete meaning “I do not understand.” This is a direct, ordinary way for the speaker to say that they do not understand something.

3. No sé.

   I do not know.

   No

   not

   sé

   I know

   More detail

   No is the Spanish negator placed before the word or phrase it negates. Here it makes the statement negative: “not” or “do not.” It is also used in No entiendo (“I do not understand”), as in the supplied context. sé means “I know” here. It is the first-person singular present form of saber (“to know,” especially to know a fact or information). The accent mark is part of the written form: sé is different from se, which has other grammatical uses. For example: Sé la respuesta. — “I know the answer.” Together, No sé means “I do not know.” The subject “I” is expressed by the verb form sé; Spanish commonly leaves the subject pronoun unstated. The complete utterance is a short present-tense statement of not knowing the relevant information.

4. ¿Qué quieres decir?

   What do you mean?

   Qué

   what

   quieres

   want

   decir

   mean; say

   More detail

   Qué is the accented question word “what.” In a direct question, the accent marks its interrogative use; compare que without an accent, which commonly introduces a statement or clause rather than a direct question. Example: ¿Qué necesitas? — “What do you need?” quieres is the present-tense form of querer for tú (you, singular and informal): yo quiero, tú quieres. Here it combines with an infinitive. The pattern querer + infinitive commonly means “to want to”: ¿Quieres venir? — “Do you want to come?” decir is the infinitive “to say” or “to mean.” In this utterance, with qué quieres, it asks for the meaning the other person intends, so the natural translation is “What do you mean?” In other contexts, decir can refer more directly to saying words: ¿Qué quieres decir? can also literally be understood as “What do you want to say?” Together, ¿Qué quieres decir? uses qué to ask for the content or meaning, quieres to address one person with tú, and decir as the infinitive after querer. In this context, the complete utterance means “What do you mean?”

5. ¿Me entiendes?

   Do you understand me?

   Me

   me

   entiendes

   understand

   More detail

   Me is a first-person singular object pronoun: it refers to the speaker as the person understood. It is an unstressed clitic, so it normally appears next to the verb. Example: ¿Me ves? — “Do you see me?” Entiendes is the present indicative form of entender (“to understand”) for tú, the singular informal “you.” The ending -es identifies this second-person singular form. Entender has the useful present-tense pattern entiendo, entiendes, entiende, entendemos, entendéis, entienden; the stem changes from e to ie in several forms, including entiendes, but not in entendemos or entendéis. Example: ¿Entiendes la pregunta? — “Do you understand the question?” The opening ¿ and closing ? mark a question. Spanish places the object clitic before the conjugated verb here: me + entiendes. Together, ¿Me entiendes? asks whether the listener understands the speaker, producing the fixed meaning “Do you understand me?”

6. ¿Lo conoces?

   Do you know him?

   Lo

   him

   conoces

   know someone

   More detail

   Lo is a direct-object pronoun meaning “him” here. It is masculine singular, matching the person identified in the fixed translation. Spanish direct-object forms include lo for a masculine singular object, la for a feminine singular object, and los/las for plural objects. Example: ¿La conoces? — “Do you know her?” Conoces comes from conocer, “to know” or “to be acquainted with.” It is the present indicative form for tú (singular informal “you”): tú conoces. This verb is used for knowing or being familiar with a person or place; knowledge of a fact is commonly expressed with saber. Example: ¿Conoces Madrid? — “Are you familiar with Madrid?” Together, Lo + conoces forms ¿Lo conoces?: literally, “Do you know him?” The pronoun lo is the person known, and conoces asks whether the listener has that acquaintance. The question marks show the complete sentence as a question.