About This Lesson
Use Giving a task update to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
¿Cómo va la tarea?
KOH-moh bah lah tah-REH-ah How is the task going?
B
La mayor parte está terminada.
lah mah-YOR PAR-teh ehs-TAH tehr-mee-NAH-dah Most of it is done.
A
¿Qué hay que revisar?
keh eye keh reh-bee-SAR What needs checking?
B
Necesito revisar los números.
neh-seh-SEE-toh reh-bee-SAR lohs NOO-meh-rohs I need to check the numbers.
A
¿Vamos a tiempo?
BAH-mohs ah tee-EM-poh Are we on schedule?
B
Podemos terminar esta tarde.
poh-DEH-mohs tehr-mee-NAR EHS-tah TAR-deh We can finish this afternoon.
A
¿Debemos informar al equipo?
deh-BEH-mohs een-for-MAR ahl eh-KEE-poh Should we update the team?
B
Vamos a informarles después de terminar esta parte.
BAH-mohs ah een-for-MAR-lehs dehs-PWEHS deh tehr-mee-NAR EHS-tah PAR-teh Let's update them after we finish this part.Word by Word
Cómo
In “¿Cómo va la tarea?”, “Cómo” asks how the task is progressing. It is used at the beginning of a question about the manner or state of something; here, the reusable pattern is “¿Cómo va + noun?” for asking about progress.
va
In “¿Cómo va la tarea?”, “va” means “is going” in the sense of how the task is progressing. It is a form of “ir” used with a singular subject such as “la tarea”; “¿Cómo va...?” is useful when asking for a progress update.
la
In “la tarea” and “La mayor parte”, “la” means “the” and accompanies a feminine singular noun or noun phrase. It agrees with “tarea” and “parte”; use it before a known feminine singular item, as in “la tarea”.
tarea
In “¿Cómo va la tarea?”, “tarea” means “task”, the piece of work whose progress is being discussed. The common workplace pattern is “la tarea” when referring to a specific task.
mayor
In “La mayor parte”, “mayor” contributes the idea of the greater or largest portion, so the full expression means “most of it”. A useful pattern is “la mayor parte de + noun or pronoun” when referring to most of something.
parte
In “La mayor parte”, “parte” means “part” or “portion”. Together with “la mayor”, it refers to most of the task; “una parte de + noun” is a common way to refer to one portion of something.
está
In “está terminada”, “está” expresses the current state of the work. With “terminada”, the full phrase means that the work is finished; “está + description” is a reusable pattern for describing a current state.
terminada
In “La mayor parte está terminada”, “terminada” means “finished” and describes the completed state of “parte”. Its feminine singular form agrees with “parte”; use a form of “terminar” with a suitable description when reporting that work is complete.
Qué
In “¿Qué hay que revisar?”, “Qué” asks what item or thing is involved. It introduces a question about an unspecified object; “¿Qué + verb...?” is useful when asking which thing needs attention.
hay
In “hay que revisar”, “hay” is part of the expression used to say that something needs to be done. The whole pattern “hay que + infinitive” expresses necessity in a general way, without naming a person who must do it.
que
In “hay que revisar”, “que” helps form the necessity expression “hay que + infinitive”. The complete expression means that checking is necessary; reuse “hay que + verb” for a general requirement.
revisar
In “¿Qué hay que revisar?” and “Necesito revisar los números”, “revisar” means “to check” or “to review”. It stays in this form after “hay que” and after “necesito”; “necesitar + infinitive” is a useful pattern for saying what you need to do.
Necesito
In “Necesito revisar los números”, “Necesito” means “I need” and introduces an action that the speaker needs to carry out. The reusable pattern is “Necesito + infinitive + object”, as in this line about checking the numbers.
los
In “los números”, “los” means “the” and accompanies a masculine plural noun. It agrees with “números”; use it before a specific group of masculine plural items.
números
In “revisar los números”, “números” means “numbers”, referring to the figures being checked in the task. The workplace pattern “revisar los números” is useful when checking numerical information.
Vamos
“Vamos” appears in “¿Vamos a tiempo?” and “Vamos a informarles...”. With “a tiempo”, it asks whether we are on schedule; before an infinitive, it introduces the proposal “let’s” do that action. These are useful patterns for discussing shared progress or suggesting the next team action.
a
In “¿Vamos a tiempo?”, “a” is part of the expression “a tiempo”, meaning “on schedule”. In “Vamos a informarles”, it comes before the infinitive in the construction for proposing or planning an action; both “a tiempo” and “vamos a + infinitive” are reusable patterns.
tiempo
In “¿Vamos a tiempo?”, “tiempo” is part of “a tiempo”, which means “on schedule” in this workplace context. Use the expression “a tiempo” when checking whether work or an activity is proceeding according to the expected schedule.
Podemos
In “Podemos terminar esta tarde”, “Podemos” means “we can” and expresses that finishing is possible for the people involved. It is followed by an infinitive in the reusable pattern “Podemos + infinitive” when discussing what the group is able or ready to do.
terminar
In “Podemos terminar esta tarde” and “después de terminar esta parte”, “terminar” means “to finish”. It follows “podemos” in one line and “después de” in the other; these patterns are useful for stating a possible completion and describing what happens after finishing something.
esta
In “esta tarde” and “esta parte”, “esta” means “this” and points to a feminine singular noun. It agrees with both “tarde” and “parte”; use “esta + feminine singular noun” for something specific in the current context.
tarde
In “esta tarde”, “tarde” means “afternoon”. The expression identifies when the task can be finished, so it is useful in scheduling conversations about work planned for the current afternoon.
Debemos
In “¿Debemos informar al equipo?”, “Debemos” means “we should” or “we must” and asks whether informing the team is necessary or appropriate. The reusable pattern “Debemos + infinitive” is used when a group discusses an obligation or recommended action.
informar
In “informar al equipo” and “informarles”, “informar” means “to inform” or “to update”. It can be followed by the people receiving the information, as in “informar al equipo”, or by an attached pronoun, as in “informarles”.
al
In “informar al equipo”, “al” means “to the” and is the combined form of “a” and “el”. It introduces the team as the recipient of the update; use “al” before a masculine singular noun when “a + el” is required.
equipo
In “al equipo”, “equipo” means “team”, the group that may receive the task update. The reusable workplace pattern is “informar al equipo” when giving information to the team.
informarles
In “Vamos a informarles”, “informarles” means “to inform them” or “to update them”. The ending “les” identifies the people receiving the information, and an infinitive can carry this pronoun at its end; use it when referring to people already understood from the conversation.
después
In “después de terminar esta parte”, “después” means “after” and places the update later than the finishing action. The reusable pattern “después de + infinitive” describes an action that happens after doing something.
Grammar Points
hay que + infinitivo
Hay que revisar los números a tiempo.
eye keh reh-bee-SAR lohs NOO-meh-rohs ah tee-EM-pohIt is necessary to check the numbers on time.
This impersonal structure expresses necessity or obligation without naming who must do it.
podemos + infinitivo
Podemos terminar esta tarde.
poh-DEH-mohs tehr-mee-NAR EHS-tah TAR-dehWe can finish this afternoon.
The conjugated verb podemos is followed by an infinitive to express ability or possibility.
Spanish Vocabulary
a tiempo
phrase
ah tee-EM-poh
on schedule; on time
¿Vamos a tiempo?
cómo
adv
KOH-moh
how
¿Cómo va la tarea?
hay que
phrase
eye keh
it is necessary to; one has to
¿Qué hay que revisar?
ir
verb
eer
to go; to be going
va
¿Cómo va la tarea?
la mayor parte
phrase
lah mah-YOR PAR-teh
most of it; the greater part
La mayor parte está terminada.
números
noun
NOO-meh-rohs
numbers
Necesito revisar los números.
podemos
verb
poh-DEH-mohs
we can
Podemos terminar esta tarde.
qué
pron
keh
what
¿Qué hay que revisar?
revisar
verb
reh-bee-SAR
to check; to review
Necesito revisar los números.
tarea
noun
tah-REH-ah
task
¿Cómo va la tarea?
terminada
adj
tehr-mee-NAH-dah
finished
La mayor parte está terminada.
terminar
verb
tehr-mee-NAR
to finish
Podemos terminar esta tarde.
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
How is the task going?
Show Answer
¿Cómo va la tarea?Most of it is done.
Show Answer
La mayor parte está terminada.What needs checking?
Show Answer
¿Qué hay que revisar?Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
finished
Show Answer
terminadanumbers
Show Answer
númeroshow
Show Answer
cómoto check; to review