Trying on shoes | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Estos zapatos parecen cómodos.

   These shoes look comfortable.

   Estos

   these

   zapatos

   shoes

   parecen

   look / seem

   cómodos

   comfortable

   More detail

   Estos means “these” here and is a masculine plural demonstrative, agreeing with zapatos. Its form identifies the noun’s grammatical gender and number; it does not itself state a numerical count. Compare este zapato (“this shoe”) and estos zapatos (“these shoes”). zapatos is the plural of zapato, “shoe.” The ending -s marks plural here, while the noun remains masculine: el zapato / los zapatos. Example: Estos zapatos son nuevos. — “These shoes are new.” parecen comes from parecer, “to seem” or “to look.” It is the present-tense third-person plural form, matching the plural subject estos zapatos. With an adjective, parecer expresses an appearance or impression: Las botas parecen pesadas. — “The boots look heavy.” This is different from son, “are,” which makes a more direct statement rather than describing how something appears. cómodos is the masculine plural form of the adjective cómodo, “comfortable.” It agrees with zapatos: un zapato cómodo, unos zapatos cómodos; with a feminine plural noun, the form is cómodas, as in unas botas cómodas (“comfortable boots”). Together, Estos zapatos identifies the shoes, parecen presents an appearance or impression, and cómodos describes that appearance. The whole utterance means “These shoes look comfortable.”

2. Están hechos para caminar mucho.

   They are made for long walks.

   Están hechos

   are made

   caminar

   to walk

   mucho

   a lot

   More detail

   Están hechos combines están, the third-person plural present form of estar, with hechos, the masculine plural form of the participle hecho (from hacer). In this sentence, the form agrees with the shoes understood from the supplied context and means that they are designed or suitable for the stated purpose. Compare: está hecho = “is made” for a singular masculine referent; están hechas would agree with a feminine plural referent. caminar is the infinitive “to walk.” After para, an infinitive expresses purpose or intended use: para caminar = “for walking” or “to walk.” Example: Compré zapatos para correr. = “I bought shoes for running.” mucho means “a lot” here and modifies caminar, indicating a large amount of walking. In this adverbial use it does not agree with the shoes or with another noun. Compare caminar poco = “to walk little” and caminar mucho = “to walk a lot.” Together, Están hechos para caminar mucho means “They are made for long walks”: the shoes are designed for walking a lot. The structure is reusable as Está/Están hecho(s)/hecha(s) para + infinitive, followed by an optional modifier such as mucho.

3. ¿Puedo probármelos aquí?

   Can I try them on here?

   Puedo

   can; may

   probármelos

   try them on

   aquí

   here

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to; can”). In this question, it asks whether the speaker is allowed to do something: “Can I…?” The same form can also express ability in another context. Example: ¿Puedo entrar? — “May I come in?” probármelos contains the infinitive probar plus two attached pronouns: me and los. Probar can mean “to try” or “to test”; with the reflexive pronoun me, probarme means “to try on” something. Here me refers to the speaker as the person trying the items. Los is a masculine-plural direct-object clitic referring to the items being tried on; the supplied context supports “them” but does not require naming the items. The clitics are attached to the infinitive rather than placed before the conjugated verb. The written accent in probármelos preserves the intended stress after the pronouns are attached. A common alternative order is ¿Me los puedo probar aquí?, with the same meaning. The form probarse is useful for trying on clothing or other wearable items: Quiero probarme esta chaqueta. — “I want to try on this jacket.” The direct-object clitic changes with the object’s gender and number: probarlo, probarla, probarlos, probarlas. In the supplied utterance, los is masculine plural. aquí means “here,” referring to the place where the trying-on would happen. It contrasts with ahí (“there,” near the listener or at a more specific nearby place) and allí (“there,” farther away). Together, Puedo asks for permission, probármelos expresses the speaker’s trying the plural items on, and aquí specifies the location. The whole utterance means: “Can I try them on here?”

4. Usa este banco mientras te los pones.

   Use this bench while you put them on.

   Usa

   use

   este

   this

   banco

   bench

   mientras

   while

   te los pones

   put them on

   More detail

   Usa means “use” here and is the affirmative command form for tú of usar. It addresses one person informally; it is not the usted form use. este means “this.” It is the masculine singular demonstrative, agreeing with banco: este banco. Demonstratives change to match the noun they modify; for example, esta mesa means “this table.” banco means “bench” here. Its plural is bancos. The phrase este banco therefore means “this bench,” with este identifying one nearby or otherwise salient bench. mientras introduces an action happening at the same time: “while.” Example: Lee mientras esperas. — “Read while you wait.” te los pones means “you put them on.” The verb is ponerse, “to put on” an item oneself; its useful present-tense form here is te pones for tú. los is the masculine plural direct-object pronoun, referring here to the items identified as “them” by the fixed translation and context. In te los pones, te marks the person putting the items on, while los marks the items being put on. The form pones is indicative because it appears inside the clause introduced by mientras, not as a second command. Together, Usa este banco gives the command “Use this bench,” and mientras te los pones adds the simultaneous activity “while you put them on.” The complete meaning is: “Use this bench while you put them on.”

5. Me quedan un poco pequeños.

   They feel a little small.

   Me quedan

   fit me

   un poco

   a little

   pequeños

   small

   More detail

   Me quedan: Here quedar means “to fit” or “to suit,” not simply “to remain.” Me is the indirect-object pronoun meaning “to me,” the person experiencing the fit. Quedan is the present-tense third-person plural form of quedar; the plural form agrees with the items being described, not with me. Compare me queda when the item is singular and me quedan when it is plural. Example: Estos zapatos me quedan bien. — “These shoes fit me well.” un poco: This is a degree expression meaning “a little.” It softens the following description: the items are small to a limited degree. It does not mean that there is a small quantity of items. Example: La camisa me queda un poco grande. — “The shirt fits me a little too big.” pequeños: This is the masculine plural form of pequeño, “small.” It agrees in gender and number with the plural items described here. The useful forms are pequeño (masculine singular), pequeña (feminine singular), pequeños (masculine plural), and pequeñas (feminine plural). In the supplied context, the items are referred to with masculine-plural forms. Example: Son pequeños, pero cómodos. — “They are small, but comfortable.” Together, Me quedan un poco pequeños says that the items fit the speaker a little small: “They feel a little small.”

6. Pruébate este par más grande.

   Try this larger pair.

   Pruébate

   try on

   este

   this

   par

   pair

   más grande

   larger

   More detail

   Pruébate is the affirmative tú command of probarse, used here for “try on.” The -te element refers to the person being addressed, and the accent in pruébate preserves the word’s stress when the pronoun is attached. The exact form addresses one person informally. Example: Pruébate esta chaqueta. — “Try on this jacket.” Este means “this” and is a masculine singular demonstrative. It agrees with par, the noun it modifies, rather than identifying the person addressed. Example: Este libro es nuevo. — “This book is new.” Par is a masculine noun meaning “pair,” that is, two items considered together. In this sentence it is singular because the speaker points to one pair. Example: Este par es cómodo. — “This pair is comfortable.” Más grande is a comparative adjective phrase meaning “larger.” Grande is the adjective’s base form; más grande compares the pair with a comparison standard that is understood from the situation. Grande has the same singular form for masculine and feminine nouns, while its plural is grandes; here it is singular because it describes par. Example: Necesito una talla más grande. — “I need a larger size.” Together, Pruébate gives the singular informal command, este par identifies the pair being indicated, and más grande describes it as larger. The whole utterance means: “Try this larger pair.”

7. Este par me queda mejor.

   This pair feels better.

   Este

   this

   par

   pair

   me queda

   fits me / suits me

   mejor

   better

   More detail

   Este means “this” and is the masculine singular demonstrative used with par. Demonstratives agree with the noun they modify: este par is masculine singular; for a feminine singular noun, Spanish uses esta. par is a masculine noun meaning “pair.” In this context, with the supplied translation and surrounding clothing context, it refers to the pair being considered. Its plural is pares. me queda uses quedar in the third-person singular present form queda, agreeing with par, while me identifies the person to whom the pair suits or fits. In this use, quedarle can describe how clothing, footwear, or another item fits or looks on someone: La camisa me queda bien means “The shirt fits me well.” The me form does not make the speaker the grammatical subject. mejor is the comparative form corresponding to bien in this use: bien “well,” mejor “better.” It compares this pair with an understood alternative; the sentence says that this pair suits or feels better for the speaker, without specifying every basis of the comparison. Together, Este par identifies the pair, and me queda mejor says that it suits or fits the speaker better. Thus the whole utterance means “This pair feels better,” with the context supporting the natural clothing-related reading “This pair suits me better.”

8. Esa talla te queda bien.

   That size looks right on you.

   Esa

   that (feminine singular)

   talla

   size

   te queda bien

   fits you well

   More detail

   Esa means “that” here and is the feminine singular demonstrative agreeing with talla. Spanish demonstratives also have masculine and plural forms, such as ese (“that,” masculine singular) and esas (“those,” feminine plural); the choice reflects the noun’s grammatical gender and number, while the exact spatial or discourse distance depends on context. talla means “size,” especially a clothing or footwear size in this sentence. It is a feminine noun: la talla. In other contexts, talla can also refer to a person’s stature, but here the fixed translation identifies a size that looks right on someone. te queda bien is a useful Spanish pattern for saying that something suits or looks right on someone. queda is the third-person singular present form of quedar, and te marks the person affected: “on you” or “for you.” The evaluated thing is the grammatical subject, so the verb is singular with talla. bien describes the favorable result. The preceding sentence uses the same pattern with a different affected person and comparison: me queda mejor means “feels better for me.” me refers to the speaker, while mejor is the comparative form meaning “better.” Together, Esa talla means “that size,” and te queda bien says that this size looks right on you. The complete utterance means “That size looks right on you.”