Practicing pronunciation with audio | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. ¿Puedo escuchar el audio?

   Can I listen to the audio?

   Puedo

   I can

   escuchar

   listen

   el audio

   the audio

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder, “to be able to” or “can.” Here it asks whether the speaker may or is able to do the action that follows. Useful forms include puedo (I can), puedes (you can, tú), and puede (he, she, or usted can). Example: ¿Puedo entrar? — “Can I come in?” escuchar is an infinitive meaning “to listen to” or “to hear.” After a form of poder, Spanish uses the infinitive directly: puedo escuchar means “I can listen.” The infinitive does not itself show the subject here; puedo supplies the first-person singular subject. Example: Quiero escuchar música. — “I want to listen to music.” el audio means “the audio.” Audio is a masculine singular noun, so it appears with the masculine singular definite article el. The article presents the audio as a particular, identifiable item in this context; it does not by itself state a numerical count. Example: El audio es claro. — “The audio is clear.” Together, Puedo escuchar forms a first-person question about ability or permission, and el audio identifies what the speaker would listen to. The pattern ¿Puedo + infinitive + ...? gives “Can I ...?”; therefore the whole utterance means “Can I listen to the audio?”

2. Escuchemos juntos.

   Let's listen together.

   Escuchemos

   let's listen

   juntos

   together

   More detail

   Escuchemos comes from escuchar (“to listen”). Here it is the first-person plural form used to make a suggestion or invitation: “let’s listen.” The ending -emos identifies “we” in this use. Compare escuchamos, which normally states “we listen” or “we listened” rather than directly making this suggestion. Example: Escuchemos la grabación. — “Let’s listen to the recording.” Juntos means “together,” emphasizing that the listening is done jointly. It is an adjective in the masculine plural form, agreeing with the implied group of “we”; for an all-feminine group, the corresponding form is juntas. Example: Trabajemos juntos. — “Let’s work together.” Together, Escuchemos juntos. means “Let’s listen together.” Escuchemos supplies the shared invitation, and juntos adds that the participants should do it jointly.

3. Es demasiado rápido para mí.

   It's too fast for me.

   demasiado

   too; excessively

   rápido

   fast

   para mí

   for me

   More detail

   demasiado means “too” here: it marks an excessive degree, not merely a high degree. It commonly comes before an adjective: demasiado + adjective. For example, Es demasiado caro. means “It is too expensive.” rápido means “fast” in this sentence. It is the masculine singular form of the adjective rápido. The feminine singular form is rápida, and the plural forms are rápidos and rápidas; the ending agrees with the noun or subject that the adjective describes. Here, the subject is not named, so rápido does not identify a specific referent. In Es demasiado rápido, it follows es and describes the subject as too fast. This differs from the adverbial use in Corre rápido, “He/she runs fast,” where rápido describes how the action is performed rather than agreeing with a noun. para mí means “for me.” mí is the stressed pronoun used after a preposition such as para, and its accent distinguishes it from mi, the possessive word meaning “my”: para mí means “for me,” while mi libro means “my book.” For comparison, para ti means “for you.” Here, para mí identifies the speaker’s assessment. Es means “is,” the third-person singular present form of ser. Together, Es (“is”), demasiado rápido (“too fast”), and para mí (“for me”) produce the meaning “It’s too fast for me.” The sentence says that the unnamed subject has excessive speed from the speaker’s perspective; it does not specify the exact speed or identify the subject.

4. Voy a ponerlo más despacio.

   I'll slow it down.

   Voy a

   I'm going to

   ponerlo

   slow it down

   más despacio

   more slowly

   More detail

   Voy a combines voy, the first-person singular present form of ir, with a and an infinitive. The reusable pattern voy a + infinitive expresses an action the speaker is about to do or intends to do. The infinitive after a does not change for the speaker. Example: Voy a leerlo. — “I’m going to read it.” ponerlo is poner plus the direct-object clitic lo, written together after the infinitive. In this utterance, the whole form means “slow it down,” as supported by the fixed translation. Lo is a masculine-singular or neuter direct-object form; the sentence does not specify the object's exact noun. Poner is irregular in the first-person present (pongo), but after voy a it stays in the infinitive: poner. Example: Voy a explicarlo. — “I’m going to explain it.” más despacio means “more slowly.” Despacio is an adverb meaning “slowly,” and más marks a greater degree compared with the current speed. Together, they specify the slower manner in which the action is to be carried out. Example: Habla más despacio, por favor. — “Speak more slowly, please.” Together, Voy a ponerlo más despacio means “I’ll slow it down.” The voy a + infinitive construction presents the slowing as the speaker’s upcoming action, and más despacio indicates that the resulting pace will be slower than the current or previously understood pace.

5. ¿Cómo pronuncio esta frase?

   How do I pronounce this sentence?

   ¿Cómo

   how

   pronuncio

   I pronounce

   esta

   this

   frase

   sentence

   More detail

   ¿Cómo asks about the manner or method: “how”. It is a question adverb and does not change for the person or thing being discussed. Compare ¿Cómo lo haces? — “How do you do it?” pronuncio means “I pronounce” here. It is the first-person singular present form of pronunciar: pronunciar → pronuncio. The ending -o identifies the speaker as the subject, so Spanish commonly omits the subject pronoun: ¿Cómo pronuncio...? means “How do I pronounce...?” esta means “this” and is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative. It agrees with the noun it modifies, frase, rather than with the speaker. The related masculine singular form is este; plural forms include estas and estos. frase means “sentence” in this context. It is a feminine singular noun, which is why the accompanying demonstrative is esta. Spanish also uses frase for a phrase or wording, depending on context; the fixed translation identifies the intended sense here as “sentence.” Together, ¿Cómo + pronuncio asks for the method of pronunciation, and esta frase identifies what is being pronounced: “How do I pronounce this sentence?”

6. Escucha una vez y luego repite después de mí.

   Listen once, then repeat after me.

   Escucha

   Listen

   una vez

   once

   luego

   then

   repite

   repeat

   después de mí

   after me

   More detail

   Escucha means “listen” here. It is the affirmative tú command of escuchar, so it addresses one person informally. Compare escuche, the usted command, and escuchen, the ustedes command. Example: Escucha con atención. — “Listen carefully.” una vez means “once” in this sentence: the action is to happen one time. Vuelve una vez. — “Come back once.” Here una is part of the expression that gives the frequency, not a claim about a particular object. luego means “then” and places the next action after the first one. It is an adverb and does not change form. Example: Primero lee y luego escribe. — “First read and then write.” repite means “repeat” here. It is the affirmative tú command of repetir; repite is also the third-person singular present form in other contexts, but the command interpretation is clear here from its use as an instruction. Compare repita for usted and repitan for ustedes. Example: Repite la palabra. — “Repeat the word.” después de mí means “after me.” después de introduces what comes later, and mí is the stressed first-person singular pronoun used after a preposition. The accent distinguishes mí (“me”) from mi (“my”). Example: Camina después de mí. — “Walk after me.” Together, Escucha una vez gives the first instruction, “Listen once.” y luego repite después de mí adds the next instruction, “and then repeat after me.” The whole utterance is therefore: “Listen once, then repeat after me.”

7. Déjame intentarlo otra vez.

   Let me try again.

   Déjame

   Let me

   intentarlo

   try it

   otra vez

   again

   More detail

   Déjame is deja plus the attached pronoun me. Deja is the affirmative command form of dejar for tú; here dejar means “to let,” so déjame means “let me.” In an affirmative Spanish command, an object pronoun can attach to the end: Déjame entrar. — “Let me in.” intentarlo combines the infinitive intentar (“to try”) with the attached direct-object pronoun lo (“it”). The pronoun refers to an understood thing or action, but the fixed sentence does not identify exactly what that thing is. The infinitive remains intentar; attaching lo produces intentarlo. For comparison, intentarlo de nuevo means “to try it again.” otra vez is a reusable expression meaning “again” or “once more.” Otra is the feminine singular form of otro, agreeing with the noun vez; vez means “time” in the sense of an occurrence. The phrase is not a literal count of a particular number here; it requests another attempt. Together, Déjame intentarlo otra vez means “Let me try again.” The command Déjame asks for permission or opportunity for the speaker, intentarlo names the speaker’s trying of the understood object or action, and otra vez adds that the attempt will be repeated.

8. Ahora suena más claro.

   That sounds clearer now.

   Ahora

   now

   suena

   sounds

   más claro

   clearer

   More detail

   Ahora means “now” and places the evaluation in the present moment. It is a time adverb and does not change form. suena comes from sonar, “to sound.” It is the present indicative, third-person singular form: sonar → suena. Spanish uses sonar with an adjective to describe how something is perceived: La música suena bien. — “The music sounds good.” más claro is a comparative adjective phrase: más + claro means “clearer.” Claro is the masculine singular form of the adjective; in this sentence it appears with the singular subject understood from context. The adjective changes when it agrees with a different noun: La explicación suena más clara. — “The explanation sounds clearer.” A comparison can be made explicit with más claro que... — “clearer than...” Together, Ahora suena más claro means “That sounds clearer now.” Ahora sets the time, suena says how the relevant thing is perceived, and más claro compares its clarity with an earlier state. It evaluates the sound or clarity at the present moment without adding a separate statement about the speaker’s intention.