Basic routines and family | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Me voy a la cama.

   I am going to bed.

   Me voy

   I’m going

   cama

   bed

   More detail

   Me voy means “I’m going” here. Voy is the first-person singular present form of ir (“to go”). Together with me, the form me voy is the first-person singular present of the pronominal verb irse, commonly used for leaving or going. Example: Me voy ahora. — “I’m leaving now.” Cama means “bed.” It is a feminine singular noun; its plural is camas. In the phrase la cama, the feminine singular article la agrees with cama. Example: La cama está aquí. — “The bed is here.” In a la cama, a introduces the destination and la cama means “the bed.” Spanish uses ir a and irse a to express going to a destination; irse can also emphasize leaving. The whole utterance Me voy a la cama means “I am going to bed.”

2. Me despierto temprano.

   I wake up early.

   Me despierto

   I wake up

   temprano

   early

   More detail

   Me despierto means “I wake up” here. The verb is despertarse, “to wake up,” and this form is present tense, first-person singular: yo me despierto. Me is the reflexive pronoun matching the speaker; it shows that the person waking is also the person referred to by the verb. Compare me despierto (“I wake up”) with despierto a mi hermano (“I wake my brother”), where despierto is used transitively and the person being woken is someone else. The useful present-tense pattern is me despierto, te despiertas, se despierta, with the pronoun changing to match the person. Example: Me despierto a las siete. — “I wake up at seven.” Temprano is an adverb meaning “early.” It describes when the waking happens. It is related to the adjective temprano/temprana, but as an adverb here it does not change to agree with a noun. Its opposite is tarde, “late.” Example: Llegamos temprano. — “We arrive early.” Together, Me despierto temprano means “I wake up early.” The reflexive verb gives the action “I wake up,” and temprano adds the time of that action.

3. Voy al trabajo.

   I go to work.

   Voy

   I go

   al

   to the

   trabajo

   work

   More detail

   Voy is the first-person singular present form of ir (“to go”): yo voy. It describes the speaker’s going in the present context. A useful pattern is voy a + destination, as in Voy a la escuela — “I go to school.” al is the contraction of a (“to”) and el (“the”): a + el = al. It is used before a masculine singular noun; before a feminine singular noun, use a la, as in Voy a la escuela — “I go to school.” trabajo means “work” here and is a masculine singular noun. With el, it forms el trabajo. The same word can also mean “job” in other contexts, but here the fixed translation supports the meaning “work” as the destination. Together, Voy + al trabajo gives Voy al trabajo. — “I go to work.”

4. Voy a la escuela.

   I go to school.

   Voy

   I go

   escuela

   school

   More detail

   Voy is the first-person singular present form of ir (“to go”): voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van. In this sentence it expresses the speaker’s movement to a destination. Example: Voy al trabajo. — “I go to work.” escuela means “school.” It is a feminine noun, so the definite article is la in la escuela. The preposition a marks the destination: a la escuela means “to school.” Spanish contracts a + el to al, as in al trabajo, but a + la remains a la. Together, Voy + a la escuela gives “I go to school.” The sentence uses the present form of ir for the speaker and identifies school as the destination.

5. Estoy con mi familia.

   I am with my family.

   Estoy

   I am

   con

   with

   mi

   my

   familia

   family

   More detail

   Estoy is the first-person singular present form of estar: estoy = “I am.” Spanish uses estar here for a current state or situation, including being in someone’s company or at a place. Compare soy, the first-person singular present form of ser, which is used for identity or characteristic descriptions. Example: Estoy en casa. — “I am at home.” con is a preposition meaning “with.” It links estoy to the people accompanying the speaker. Example: Estoy con Ana. — “I am with Ana.” mi is a singular possessive adjective meaning “my.” It does not change for masculine versus feminine nouns; it changes to mis before a plural noun. Example: mi hermano — “my brother”; mis hermanos — “my brothers.” familia is a feminine singular noun meaning “family.” Its plural is familias. Here, the possessive mi and the noun’s singular form together express “my family.” Together, Estoy con mi familia. means “I am with my family.” The pattern Estoy con + [person or group] is reusable for saying who is accompanying you: Estoy con mis amigos. — “I am with my friends.”

6. Este es mi amigo.

   This is my friend.

   Este

   this

   es

   is

   mi

   my

   amigo

   friend

   More detail

   Este means “this” and is a masculine singular demonstrative. Here it points to the person identified as the speaker’s friend. The related feminine singular form is esta, and the plural forms are estos and estas; the choice depends on the grammatical gender and number of the noun or person referred to. es is the third-person singular present form of ser (“to be”). The form agrees with the singular subject este: este es means “this is.” Other useful present-tense forms are soy (“I am”) and son (“they are” or “you are,” formal plural). mi is the singular possessive adjective meaning “my.” It does not change for masculine or feminine nouns: mi amigo and mi amiga. Its plural form is mis, as in mis amigos (“my friends”). amigo means “friend” and is a masculine singular noun here. The feminine counterpart is amiga; plural forms include amigos and amigas. Example: Ella es mi amiga. — “She is my friend.” Together, Este es mi amigo forms a simple identification sentence: “This is my friend.” Este identifies one person, es links that person to the description, and mi amigo specifies the relationship to the speaker.