Preparing for a Meeting | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. ¿Están listas las notas de la reunión?

   Are the meeting notes ready?

   Están

   are

   listas

   ready

   notas

   notes

   reunión

   meeting

   More detail

   Están is the present-tense form of estar for third-person plural subjects: “they are.” It agrees in number with notas; the verb form itself does not mark feminine or masculine. Estar is used here for a current state or condition. Example: Los documentos están aquí. — “The documents are here.” listas means “ready” here and is the feminine plural form of listo. It agrees with the feminine plural noun notas: lista (feminine singular), listo (masculine singular), listas (feminine plural), listos (masculine plural). Example: Las sillas están listas. — “The chairs are ready.” notas is the plural of nota, “note.” In this sentence, it refers to the notes as a group. Example: Tengo dos notas. — “I have two notes.” reunión is a feminine noun meaning “meeting”; its plural is reuniones. The phrase de la reunión means “of the meeting” and identifies which notes are meant. Example: La fecha de la reunión cambió. — “The meeting date changed.” Together, ¿Están listas las notas de la reunión? asks whether the meeting notes are ready. Spanish places the predicate están listas before the subject las notas de la reunión here; the feminine plural adjective and the plural verb both agree with notas. The next sentence confirms that these notes are on the speaker’s desk.

2. Están en mi escritorio.

   They are on my desk.

   Están

   are

   en

   on

   mi

   my

   escritorio

   desk

   More detail

   Están is the third-person plural present form of estar. Here it expresses the location of the people or things intended by “they”; it agrees with a plural subject. Compare está for a singular subject: La copia está aquí. — “The copy is here.” en is a preposition meaning “in” or “on” according to the relationship expressed. With escritorio, it indicates location on the desk here. Example: El libro está en la mesa. — “The book is on the table.” mi means “my” before a singular noun. It does not change for masculine or feminine gender: mi escritorio and mi carpeta; its plural form is mis: mis libros. escritorio means “desk” here. It is a masculine noun, so a definite singular phrase would be el escritorio; its plural is escritorios. Together, Están en mi escritorio means “They are on my desk.” The location phrase en mi escritorio tells where the plural subject is, while están supplies the plural form of estar.

3. ¿Hay una copia para mí?

   Is there a copy for me?

   ¿Hay

   is there

   copia

   copy

   para mí

   for me

   More detail

   ¿Hay comes from haber in its impersonal existential use: it asks whether something exists or is available. In the present, hay is used for both singular and plural things; it does not change to agree with the thing mentioned. Compare Hay una copia (“There is a copy”) and Hay dos copias (“There are two copies”). copia is a feminine noun meaning “copy.” Its singular form is copia, and its plural is copias; the plural -s marks more than one. The article una agrees with this noun in feminine singular, but by itself it does not establish a particular numeric count beyond the sentence’s reference to one copy. para mí means “for me.” para introduces the intended recipient or beneficiary, and mí is the stressed first-person pronoun used after a preposition. The accent distinguishes mí (“me”) from mi (“my”), as in mi copia (“my copy”). Together, ¿Hay + una copia asks whether a copy exists or is available, and para mí specifies that it is intended for the speaker: “Is there a copy for me?”

4. Aquí tienes una.

   Here is one.

   Aquí tienes

   here you have; here is

   una

   one

   More detail

   Aquí tienes combines aquí (“here”) with the second-person singular form tienes of tener (“to have”): tener → tienes. In this presentation pattern, it points out or offers something to the listener. The subject is understood as tú; tienes is not the formal usted form. For example: Aquí tienes el libro. — “Here is the book.” una means “one” here. It is the feminine singular form used independently with the noun understood from the context: the preceding question mentions una copia, so una stands for “one [copy].” Its form matches that omitted feminine singular noun; it does not itself state a numeric quantity beyond the intended “one” in this utterance. Together, Aquí tienes una literally presents “here you have one,” producing the natural English meaning “Here is one.”

5. ¿De qué vamos a hablar hoy?

   What are we discussing today?

   ¿De qué

   about what

   vamos a

   are going to

   hablar

   talk; discuss

   hoy

   today

   More detail

   ¿De qué asks for the topic: literally “about what?” The accent in qué marks the interrogative form. This pattern can be reused with a noun or pronoun, such as ¿De qué hablamos? — “What are we talking about?” vamos a contains vamos, the present-tense first-person plural form of ir (“to go”), followed by a. With an infinitive, ir a + infinitive expresses a planned or expected action: vamos a... means “we are going to...” or “we will...” Here, the understood subject corresponds to “we.” hablar is the infinitive “to talk” or “to discuss.” After vamos a, it stays in the infinitive: vamos a hablar — “we are going to talk/discuss.” The choice between “talk” and “discuss” depends on the topic and context; the form itself is the same. hoy means “today” and places the planned discussion in the current day. It is an adverb, so it does not change form for the people involved. Together, ¿De qué asks for the topic, vamos a hablar expresses what the group including the speaker is going to discuss, and hoy specifies when. The whole utterance means “What are we discussing today?” or, more literally, “About what are we going to talk today?”

6. Vamos a hablar del plan nuevo.

   We will discuss the new plan.

   Vamos a

   we are going to

   hablar

   talk; discuss

   del

   of the

   plan

   plan

   nuevo

   new

   More detail

   Vamos a + infinitive is a common Spanish pattern for a planned or imminent action: “we are going to …” Here, vamos is the first-person plural present form of ir (“to go”), and a introduces the action. The subject is “we,” matching the fixed translation. Example: Vamos a estudiar. — “We are going to study.” hablar is the infinitive “to talk” or “to discuss.” After vamos a, the following verb remains in the infinitive: vamos a hablar, not a conjugated form. Spanish uses hablar de for discussing a topic, as in Hablamos de música. — “We talk about music.” del is the contraction of de + el, meaning “of the” or “about the” when introducing a masculine singular noun. It is a fixed contraction, so Spanish normally uses del plan, not de el plan. The de combines with hablar to introduce the topic: hablar del plan means “to discuss the plan.” plan is a masculine singular noun meaning “plan.” Its gender is relevant because the article in del is el, and the adjective agrees with it: el plan nuevo. The plural is planes: los planes nuevos — “the new plans.” nuevo means “new.” In plan nuevo, it is a masculine singular adjective agreeing with the masculine singular noun plan. Its base form is nuevo; feminine singular is nueva, and plural forms include nuevos and nuevas according to the noun’s gender and number. Example: una idea nueva — “a new idea.” Together, Vamos a hablar del plan nuevo means “We are going to discuss the new plan.” The structure is vamos a + infinitive (hablar) + topic phrase (del plan) + agreeing adjective (nuevo).

7. Déjame leer las notas antes de empezar.

   Let me read the notes before we start.

   Déjame

   Let me

   leer

   read

   notas

   notes

   antes de

   before

   empezar

   start / begin

   More detail

   Déjame means “let me” here. It is the affirmative command deja (“let/leave,” addressed to one tú person) plus the object pronoun me, written attached: deja + me → déjame. The accent keeps the intended stress after the pronoun is attached. This form addresses one person; it is not the usted or ustedes command. leer is the infinitive “to read.” After déjame, Spanish uses an infinitive to name the action the speaker is asking permission or allowing for: Déjame leer = “Let me read.” The same pattern is reusable with another infinitive, for example: Déjame descansar. — “Let me rest.” notas is the plural noun “notes.” Its singular form is nota; notas marks more than one note. In the sentence, las notas is the complete noun phrase: las agrees with the feminine plural noun notas. antes de introduces something that happens earlier. Before an infinitive, the pattern is antes de + infinitive: antes de empezar = “before starting” or, with the understood subject supplied by the translation, “before we start.” It is different from antes de que plus a conjugated clause, as in antes de que empecemos — “before we start.” empezar is the infinitive “to start/begin.” In antes de empezar, it names the event that follows the earlier action. The infinitive itself does not show the “we” subject; here, the fixed translation identifies the intended meaning as “we start.” Together, Déjame leer las notas asks one tú listener to allow the speaker to read the notes. antes de empezar places that reading before the shared starting point, so the whole utterance means: “Let me read the notes before we start.”

8. Tómate un minuto antes de empezar.

   Take a minute before we begin.

   Tómate

   take for yourself

   minuto

   minute

   antes de

   before

   empezar

   begin

   More detail

   Tómate is the affirmative tú command of tomar with the pronoun te attached: toma + te → tómate. Here it means “allow yourself” or “take for yourself,” as in taking time. The accent mark preserves the required stress when the pronoun is attached. This form addresses one person informally; it is not the usted or ustedes command. minuto is the masculine noun “minute.” Its plural is minutos. In this sentence, un minuto describes a short amount of time, matching “a minute”; the article does not by itself assert a counted quantity beyond the fixed duration being requested. antes de is the reusable pattern “before.” When it is followed by an infinitive, it introduces an action that has not yet happened: antes de + infinitive. Example: Antes de salir, cierro la puerta. — “Before leaving, I close the door.” empezar is the infinitive “to begin” or “to start.” Its present forms include empiezo (“I begin”), empiezas (“you begin”), and empieza (“he, she, or usted begins”). After antes de, Spanish uses the infinitive rather than a finite verb. Here, the fixed translation identifies the understood subject of beginning as “we”: “before we begin.” Together, Tómate un minuto asks one informal listener to take a minute for themself, and antes de empezar places that pause before the beginning. The complete meaning is: “Take a minute before we begin.”