What to bring for an outing | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. ¿Qué debo llevar conmigo?

   What should I bring with me?

   Qué

   what

   debo

   should / must

   llevar

   bring

   conmigo

   with me

   More detail

   Qué is the accented interrogative form meaning “what.” The accent marks its use in a direct question; compare the unaccented relative/conjunction form que, which does not ask a question. Example: ¿Qué necesitas? — “What do you need?” debo is the first-person singular present form of deber: deber → debo. With an infinitive, deber + infinitive expresses what the speaker should or must do. Here, the speaker asks which action or item is required or advisable for the speaker. Example: Debo salir ahora. — “I must leave now.” llevar is the infinitive meaning “to take” or “to bring/carry,” with the intended direction understood from the situation. After debo, it remains in the infinitive rather than changing for person: debo llevar means “I should/must bring.” Example: Debo llevar agua. — “I must bring water.” conmigo means “with me.” It is the fused form of con plus the first-person pronoun mí; Spanish uses conmigo, not the ordinary standalone form mí, after con. Compare contigo (“with you,” singular) and con él (“with him”). Example: Ven conmigo. — “Come with me.” Together, Qué asks for the item or action, debo llevar asks what the speaker should or must bring, and conmigo specifies that the item is to be brought along with the speaker. The complete utterance therefore asks what the speaker should bring with them.

2. Por favor, trae una manta pequeña.

   Please bring a small blanket.

   Por favor

   please

   trae

   bring

   manta

   blanket

   pequeña

   small

   More detail

   Por favor is a polite request marker meaning “please.” It does not change who performs the action. A reusable pattern is Por favor, + command. trae is the affirmative command form of traer for tú singular: “bring.” The base form is traer; its present-tense form for tú is also traes, but the command is trae. For example: Trae agua. — “Bring water.” una manta means “a blanket.” manta is a feminine noun, so the article and adjective referring to it are feminine: una and pequeña. The indefinite article introduces an unspecified item here; it does not by itself state a numerical count as a teaching point. pequeña means “small” and is the feminine singular form of pequeño, agreeing with feminine singular manta. The masculine singular form is pequeño, as in un bolso pequeño — “a small bag.” Together, Por favor politely marks the request, trae tells one person addressed as tú to bring something, and una manta pequeña identifies the item as an unspecified small blanket. The whole utterance means: “Please bring a small blanket.”

3. ¿También necesitamos bebidas?

   Do we need drinks too?

   También

   also; too

   necesitamos

   we need

   bebidas

   drinks; beverages

   More detail

   También means “also” or “too.” It adds this need to something already mentioned, rather than replacing the earlier request. A useful inclusive pattern is también + verb phrase: También quiero agua. — “I also want water.” necesitamos is the present-tense first-person plural form of necesitar, “to need”: necesito (I need), necesitamos (we need). The ending identifies the subject as “we,” even though Spanish commonly leaves the subject pronoun unstated. The question form ¿Necesitamos...? asks whether we need something. Example: ¿Necesitamos más tiempo? — “Do we need more time?” bebidas is the plural of the feminine noun bebida, “drink” or “beverage.” The singular is una bebida; the plural is bebidas. In this sentence, the plural refers to drinks in general, without stating a particular number. Example: Las bebidas están frías. — “The drinks are cold.” Together, También necesitamos bebidas means “We also need drinks.” Spanish places the question marks around the complete question: ¿También necesitamos bebidas? The question asks whether drinks are additionally needed, consistent with the fixed translation “Do we need drinks too?”

4. Una bebida fría estaría bien.

   A cold drink would be nice.

   bebida

   drink

   fría

   cold

   estaría bien

   would be nice

   More detail

   bebida means “drink” here. It is a feminine singular noun; the plural is bebidas. The indefinite article una and the adjective fría match this noun in feminine singular form. Example: Quiero una bebida. — “I want a drink.” fría means “cold” here and describes bebida. The adjective changes for gender and number: frío (masculine singular), fría (feminine singular), fríos (masculine plural), and frías (feminine plural). Example: Dos bebidas frías, por favor. — “Two cold drinks, please.” estaría bien means “would be nice” or “would be fine.” Estaría is the third-person singular conditional form of estar; the conditional presents the situation as a possible or suitable option rather than a plain present fact. Bien is an adverb meaning “well” or, in this evaluation, “fine/nice.” Example: Un poco de agua estaría bien. — “A little water would be nice.” Together, una bebida fría identifies the suggested option, and estaría bien evaluates that option positively but tentatively. The complete utterance means: “A cold drink would be nice.”

5. Puedo traer unos vasos.

   I can bring some cups.

   Puedo

   I can

   traer

   bring

   vasos

   cups

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to” or “can”). Here it expresses the speaker’s ability or willingness to bring something. The useful pattern is puedo + infinitive: Puedo ayudar. — “I can help.” Other present forms include puedes (“you can”) and puede (“he, she, or you formal can”); the ending identifies the subject. Traer is the infinitive meaning “to bring,” used after puedo. The person and time are carried by puedo, so traer remains in the infinitive rather than changing form. Traer describes bringing something toward the relevant place or people; its commonly contrasted motion verb is llevar, “to take/carry away.” Example: Puedo traer agua. — “I can bring water.” Vasos is the plural of the masculine noun vaso, meaning “cup” or “glass” in this context. The plural ending -s shows more than one. With the indefinite determiner unos, the phrase unos vasos means “some cups,” without specifying an exact number. Example: Hay dos vasos. — “There are two cups.” Together, Puedo traer unos vasos follows the reusable pattern subject expressed by the verb + poder + infinitive + object: “I can bring some cups.” The speaker presents bringing the cups as something they are able or willing to do; puedo marks “I can,” traer supplies the action, and unos vasos is what will be brought.

6. Eso ayudaría, gracias. Podemos compartirlos.

   That would help, thanks. We can share them.

   Eso

   That

   ayudaría

   would help

   gracias

   thanks

   Podemos

   we can

   compartirlos

   share them

   More detail

   Eso means “that” here as a demonstrative pronoun referring to an already mentioned situation or idea. Unlike este and aquel, eso does not identify a masculine or feminine noun; it commonly points to something understood from context. Example: Eso es útil. — “That is useful.” ayudaría is the conditional form of ayudar (“to help”). Its ending shows a third-person singular conditional form, matching eso: “would help.” The conditional presents the help as a possible or hypothetical result, rather than as a present fact. Example: Una explicación ayudaría. — “An explanation would help.” gracias is the standard expression “thanks” or “thank you.” It is commonly used after accepting or acknowledging help, as in this utterance. Podemos is the first-person plural present form of poder (“to be able to; can”), so its subject is we. poder combines with an infinitive to express ability or possibility: podemos compartir means “we can share.” Example: Podemos esperar. — “We can wait.” compartirlos consists of the infinitive compartir (“to share”) plus the attached direct-object clitic los (“them”). los is masculine plural; in the supplied context, it refers to the cups mentioned in Puedo traer unos vasos, and the following sentence confirms that the same items can fit in the bag. With a feminine plural object, the clitic would be las, as in Podemos compartirlas. — “We can share them.” Together, Eso ayudaría says “That would help,” with eso as the thing or situation that would help. gracias adds “thanks.” Then Podemos compartirlos says “We can share them”: podemos supplies the ability, while compartirlos names the action and its masculine-plural object. The complete utterance is therefore: “That would help, thanks. We can share them.”

7. Pueden caber en mi bolsa.

   They can fit in my bag.

   Pueden

   can; are able to

   caber

   to fit

   mi

   my

   bolsa

   bag

   More detail

   Pueden is the third-person plural present form of poder, “to be able to” or “can.” Here the understood subject is “they,” as confirmed by the translation. Poder is followed by an infinitive to express ability or possibility: pueden caber = “they can fit.” Compare puede for one third-person subject and pueden for more than one. Caber is an irregular infinitive meaning “to fit” or “to have enough space.” It stays in the infinitive after poder; the conjugated verb carries the person and number. Example: No puede caber aquí. — “It cannot fit here.” Mi is the singular possessive adjective “my.” It agrees in number with the possessed noun, not with the possessor, and it does not change for grammatical gender: mi bolsa and mi libro. Its plural form is mis: mis bolsas — “my bags.” Bolsa is a feminine noun meaning “bag.” Its plural is bolsas. In this sentence, it is the thing that has space for the items represented by “they.” Together, Pueden caber expresses ability to fit, and en mi bolsa identifies the location or container. The whole utterance means: “They can fit in my bag.”

8. Entonces estamos listos.

   Then we're ready.

   Entonces

   then

   estamos

   we are

   listos

   ready

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here, linking this conclusion to what was just established. It can also introduce a result in a sequence: Entonces, empezamos. — “Then, we’ll start.” estamos is the first-person plural present form of estar, “to be”: estar → estoy (I am), estás (you are), está (he/she/you formal is), estamos (we are). With a following adjective, estar describes a current state or condition: Estamos cansados. — “We are tired.” listos means “ready” in this sentence. It is the masculine plural form of listo; the adjective agrees with the people described. An all-feminine group would use listas: Estamos listas. — “We are ready.” The form listos itself does not identify who the members of “we” are; the translation supports the first-person plural reading. Together, estamos listos means “we are ready”: estamos supplies the first-person plural subject and present state, while listos describes that state. Entonces connects it to the preceding context, giving the complete meaning “Then we’re ready.”