Getting ready for a walking event | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Terminé el formulario.

   I finished the form.

   Terminé

   I finished

   formulario

   form

   More detail

   Terminé means “I finished” here. It is the first-person singular preterite (simple past) of terminar, “to finish” or “to end.” The final accent mark is part of this form: terminé. Compare termino (“I finish” / “I am finishing,” depending on context) with terminé (“I finished”). Example: Terminé la tarea. — “I finished the homework.” formulario means “form.” It is a masculine noun, so the definite article is el: el formulario. Its plural is formularios; the article and noun both show plural agreement: los formularios. Example: El formulario está completo. — “The form is complete.” Together, Terminé el formulario means “I finished the form.” The subject “I” is expressed by the verb ending in -é, while el formulario is the direct object: the thing that was finished. The sentence states a completed past action.

2. ¿Podemos participar en el próximo evento de caminata?

   Can we join the next walking event?

   Podemos

   we can

   participar

   participate; take part

   próximo

   next; upcoming

   evento

   event

   caminata

   walk; walking activity

   More detail

   Podemos is the first-person plural present form of poder: “we can” or “are we able to.” It refers to the speaker together with at least one other person. In this question, the question form asks about their ability or permission to take part. Compare puedo “I can” and pueden “they/you plural can.” Example: Podemos entrar. — “We can enter.” Participar is an infinitive meaning “to participate” or “to take part.” After a conjugated form of poder, Spanish uses the infinitive: podemos participar means “we can participate.” The preposition en identifies the event or activity in which someone takes part. Example: Quiero participar en la reunión. — “I want to participate in the meeting.” Próximo means “next” or “upcoming” here. It is masculine singular because it describes evento, a masculine singular noun. Its feminine singular form is próxima, as in la próxima reunión — “the next meeting.” It points to the one coming next in the relevant sequence or schedule. Evento is a masculine noun meaning “event.” Its plural is eventos. In el próximo evento, the article and adjective also show masculine singular agreement. Example: El evento empieza mañana. — “The event starts tomorrow.” Caminata is a feminine noun for a walk or walking activity. In evento de caminata, de links the event with its type or activity, so the phrase means “walking event.” Caminata names the walk or walking activity itself. Example: La caminata dura una hora. — “The walk lasts an hour.” Together, podemos participar en asks whether the speaker and others can take part in something. el próximo evento de caminata specifies that something as the next walking event. Thus the complete question means, “Can we join the next walking event?”

3. Sí, pueden participar en el próximo evento de caminata.

   Yes, you can join the next walking event.

   Sí

   yes

   pueden

   can

   participar

   take part

   próximo

   next

   evento

   event

   caminata

   walking

   More detail

   Sí confirms the preceding question: it means “yes” here and signals that the answer is affirmative. pueden is the present-tense form of poder for a third-person plural subject. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies the subject as the people being addressed: “you can.” Spanish uses this same form for ustedes and for ellos/ellas, so the form itself does not distinguish those subjects. Poder + infinitive expresses ability or permission: Pueden entrar means “You can enter.” participar is the infinitive “to participate” or “to take part.” It stays in the infinitive after pueden; pueden participar means “can participate.” Example: Quiero participar — “I want to participate.” próximo means “next” or “upcoming” here. It is the masculine singular form of próximo, agreeing with the masculine singular noun evento. The feminine form is próxima, as in la próxima reunión — “the next meeting.” evento is a masculine singular noun meaning “event.” With its modifiers, el próximo evento means “the next event.” Example: El evento empieza mañana — “The event starts tomorrow.” caminata is a feminine singular noun for a walk or walking outing. In evento de caminata, de connects the event with its type: “walking event.” Example: La caminata dura una hora — “The walk lasts one hour.” Together, pueden participar gives “can take part,” while el próximo evento de caminata identifies the event. The complete utterance means: “Yes, you can join the next walking event.”

4. ¿Debemos llevar algo?

   Should we bring anything?

   Debemos

   should we

   llevar

   bring / take

   algo

   anything / something

   More detail

   Debemos is the first-person plural present form of deber, so it refers to “we.” In this question, deber expresses what we ought to do: “should we?” Compare debemos (“we should / we must”) with deben (“they or you plural should / must”). llevar is the infinitive meaning “to bring” or “to take.” Here, the translation and context support “bring”: the speakers are asking whether they should bring something. The infinitive follows debemos, giving the reusable pattern ¿Debemos + infinitive ...? (“Should we ...?”). For example: ¿Debemos esperar? — “Should we wait?” algo is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something.” In this question, ¿... algo? naturally corresponds to “anything,” as in “Should we bring anything?” It does not itself specify what the item is. Together, ¿Debemos llevar algo? asks whether the speakers should bring any item. The question contains debemos (“should we”), llevar (“bring”), and algo (“anything” in this question), yielding “Should we bring anything?”

5. Por favor, traigan una botella de agua.

   Please bring a water bottle.

   Por favor

   please

   traigan

   bring

   botella

   bottle

   agua

   water

   More detail

   Por favor is the standard polite expression meaning “please.” It can accompany a request without changing who is being addressed. Traigan is the affirmative command form of traer for ustedes, so it addresses several people. The command means “bring.” Compare trae for tú and traiga for usted; these are different addressee forms, not interchangeable politeness options. Example: Traigan los documentos. — “Bring the documents.” Botella means “bottle” and is a feminine noun: una botella. It is useful in the pattern una botella de + substance, meaning “a bottle of + substance.” Example: una botella de leche — “a bottle of milk.” Agua means “water.” Although it is grammatically feminine, singular agua normally takes el or un rather than la or una when the article is directly before it, because its stressed first syllable begins with /a/: el agua, un agua fría. This does not change its feminine agreement elsewhere: agua fría. Together, traigan gives the plural command, and una botella de agua identifies what should be brought: “Please bring a water bottle.”

6. Pueden dejar una bolsa grande en el mostrador.

   You can leave a large bag at the desk.

   Pueden

   can

   dejar

   leave

   bolsa

   bag

   grande

   large

   mostrador

   desk

   More detail

   Pueden is the present-tense form of poder for third-person plural. In this utterance, the fixed translation uses it for “you can,” expressing ability or permission; the form itself is also used for “they can,” so the intended addressee comes from context. Poder is followed by an infinitive: pueden dejar = “can leave.” Compare puedo (“I can”) and pueden (“they/you plural can”). dejar is the infinitive meaning “to leave” here. After a conjugated form of poder, it stays in the infinitive rather than taking a personal ending. Example: Pueden esperar aquí. — “You can wait here.” bolsa is a feminine singular noun meaning “bag.” The article una agrees with it: una bolsa. Una marks an indefinite item; it does not by itself state a numerical count. Example: Necesito una bolsa. — “I need a bag.” grande means “large” in this sentence and describes bolsa. It is singular because bolsa is singular, but grande has the same form with masculine and feminine singular nouns: un libro grande, una bolsa grande. Its plural is grandes. mostrador means “desk” here, specifically the counter or service desk where the bag can be left. It is a masculine singular noun, as shown by el: el mostrador. Example: El paquete está en el mostrador. — “The package is on the desk.” The construction en el mostrador means “at/on the desk”: en introduces the location, and el mostrador identifies it. Together, pueden dejar una bolsa grande en el mostrador means “can leave a large bag at the desk.” With the subject understood from Pueden and the fixed translation, the complete utterance is: “You can leave a large bag at the desk.”

7. Tengo una botella pequeña de agua conmigo.

   I have a small water bottle with me.

   Tengo

   I have

   botella

   bottle

   pequeña

   small

   agua

   water

   conmigo

   with me

   More detail

   Tengo is the first-person singular present form of tener (“to have”): yo tengo. In this sentence it expresses possession or what the speaker has available. Compare tienes (“you have”) and tiene (“he, she, or you formal have”). botella means “bottle.” It is a feminine singular noun, so the indefinite article and adjective referring to it are feminine singular: una botella pequeña. The useful plural is botellas (“bottles”). pequeña means “small” here and describes botella, not agua. It is the feminine singular form of pequeño; the masculine singular form is pequeño, and the plural forms are pequeños and pequeñas. Example: un vaso pequeño — “a small glass.” agua means “water.” Although it is grammatically feminine, singular agua commonly takes el or un immediately before it because its stressed first syllable begins with a: el agua, un agua. Adjectives still agree with its feminine gender when they describe it: agua fría — “cold water.” Here, however, pequeña agrees with botella, while de agua specifies what the bottle contains. conmigo means “with me.” It is the fused form of con + mí, used for the first-person singular: Ven conmigo — “Come with me.” It refers to being together with the speaker, not to possession by itself. Together, Tengo una botella pequeña de agua means “I have a small water bottle,” and conmigo adds “with me.” The full utterance therefore means “I have a small water bottle with me.”

8. Voy a dejar mi bolsa aquí antes de empezar.

   I will leave my bag here before we start.

   Voy a

   I am going to

   dejar

   leave

   bolsa

   bag

   aquí

   here

   antes de

   before

   empezar

   start

   More detail

   Voy a is a common Spanish pattern for a planned or imminent action: ir in the present + a + an infinitive. Here voy is the first-person singular form of ir, so the speaker is the person who will act. For example: Voy a estudiar. — “I am going to study.” dejar means “to leave” or “to put something somewhere and not take it with you.” It is an infinitive here because it follows a in the ir a + infinitive pattern. In this sentence, the thing being left is introduced by mi bolsa; mi means “my” and agrees in number with the singular noun, while bolsa is feminine in grammatical gender. Example: Voy a dejar las llaves aquí. — “I am going to leave the keys here.” bolsa means “bag.” Its plural is bolsas. The possessive mi identifies it as belonging to the speaker; mi has the same form with singular masculine and feminine nouns, while its plural is mis. aquí means “here,” referring to a location understood in the situation. It is a location adverb and does not change for number or gender. Example: La dejo aquí. — “I leave it here.” antes de means “before.” When the following action is expressed with an infinitive, Spanish uses antes de + infinitive, as in antes de empezar. With a full clause, Spanish uses antes de que followed by a finite verb: antes de que empecemos — “before we start.” empezar means “to start” or “to begin.” It is an infinitive here because it follows antes de; it does not itself show who will start. The translation identifies the subject of this later action as “we,” which would be expressed in a finite form as empecemos: antes de que empecemos — “before we start.” Together, Voy a dejar mi bolsa aquí says “I am going to leave my bag here.” antes de empezar adds that this will happen before the starting action. The complete utterance is therefore: “I will leave my bag here before we start.”

9. Tengo muchas ganas.

   I am looking forward to it.

   Tengo

   I have

   muchas

   many / a lot of

   ganas

   desire / enthusiasm

   More detail

   Tengo is the first-person singular present form of tener (“to have”): yo tengo. In this expression, it is part of the reusable pattern tener ganas de + noun/infinitive, meaning “to feel eager to” or “to look forward to.” For example, Tengo ganas de viajar. means “I feel like traveling” or “I’m looking forward to traveling.” Muchas means “a lot of” here and modifies ganas. It is feminine plural because ganas is feminine plural. This is agreement with the noun, not a separate statement about a count of objects. Ganas is a plural noun used in the expression tener ganas. In tener muchas ganas, it conveys strong desire, eagerness, or enthusiasm. With a following de phrase, the desired activity or thing is stated explicitly: Tengo muchas ganas de verte. means “I’m really looking forward to seeing you.” Together, Tengo muchas ganas. literally uses the pattern “I have a lot of eagerness,” but its natural meaning is “I am really looking forward to it.” The thing anticipated is left implicit in the fixed sentence; the translation supplies that intended meaning without identifying the specific thing.