Spilled water | Learn Spanish in English

Spanish lesson set in a contemporary Madrid everyday setting: In a room, two adults notice spilled water on the floor and move a bag before cleaning it up..

EN → ES / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Spilled water to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Hay agua en el suelo.

AI AH-gwah en el SWEH-loh. There is water on the floor.
B

Se está extendiendo hacia la puerta.

seh es-TAH eks-ten-DYEN-doh AH-syah lah PWEHR-tah. It is spreading toward the door.
A

La botella pequeña se rompió.

lah boh-TEH-yah peh-KEH-nyah seh rohm-PYOH. The small bottle broke.
B

Voy a buscar una toalla seca.

boy ah boos-KAR OO-nah toh-AH-yah SEH-kah. I will get a dry towel.
A

¿Puedes mover la bolsa primero?

PWEH-dess moh-BEHR lah BOHL-sah pree-MEH-roh? Can you move the bag first?
B

La pondré en la silla.

lah pohn-DREH en lah SEE-yah. I will put it on the chair.
A

Entonces podemos limpiar el suelo.

en-TOHN-dess poh-DEH-mohss leem-PYAR el SWEH-loh. Then we can clean the floor.
B

La bolsa se quedará seca allí.

lah BOHL-sah seh keh-dah-RAH SEH-kah ah-YEE. The bag will stay dry there.

Word by Word

Hay “Hay” says that something exists or is present; here, water is present on the floor in “Hay agua en el suelo.” A common reuse pattern is hay + a thing or quantity. You would use it when pointing out that something is somewhere or available.
agua “Agua” means water, the substance found on the floor in “Hay agua en el suelo.” It commonly appears with a location, as in agua en + place. You would use it when talking about drinking water, spilled water, or water in a container.
en In “en el suelo,” “en” gives the location and is translated as “on” because the location is the floor. A reliable pattern is en + place. You would use it to say where something is or happens.
el “El” means “the” in “el suelo,” referring to a specific floor. It comes directly before the noun it identifies. You would use it with a specific masculine singular noun such as suelo here.
suelo “Suelo” means floor in “en el suelo.” The location pattern en el suelo is useful for saying that something is on the floor. You would use it when describing where an object, liquid, or person is.
Se In “Se está extendiendo,” “Se” belongs with the verb expression to present the water as spreading. It does not mean the English word “it” by itself. You would use this kind of pronominal verb structure when describing an action happening to or involving the subject.
está “Está” helps describe the action as in progress in “está extendiendo.” It is used with the following gerund form to show what is happening now. A reliable reuse pattern is está + a gerund for an action in progress.
extendiendo “Extendiendo” means spreading here, describing the water moving outward toward the door. It follows está in “está extendiendo” to form an ongoing action. The citation form is extender, and the same estar + gerund pattern can describe another action in progress.
hacia “Hacia” shows the direction of movement in “hacia la puerta,” meaning toward the door. A common pattern is hacia + a destination or direction. You would use it when something is moving in the direction of a place or object.
la In “la puerta,” “la” means “the” before the noun puerta. At the start of “La pondré,” it means “it” and refers to the bag, so its function depends on its position in the sentence. You would use it before a specific feminine noun or before a verb when it represents a feminine object.
puerta “Puerta” means door in “la puerta.” The phrase hacia la puerta identifies the door as the direction toward which the water is spreading. You would use it when talking about entering, closing, or moving toward a door.
botella “Botella” means bottle in “La botella pequeña se rompió.” It is the object that broke in the dialogue. A useful pattern is la botella + an adjective, as in botella pequeña.
pequeña “Pequeña” means small and describes the bottle in “la botella pequeña.” It comes after botella and matches that noun in form. You would use it to identify a small object when distinguishing it from a larger one.
rompió “Rompió” says that the bottle broke in “se rompió.” It refers to a completed past event; the citation form is romper. A common reuse pattern is an object + se rompió when reporting that the object broke.
Voy “Voy” means “I am going” in “Voy a buscar una toalla seca.” Together with a + infinitive, it introduces the speaker’s planned action. The citation form is ir, and you would use voy a + an infinitive when saying what you are going to do.
a In “Voy a buscar,” “a” links voy with the following action in the pattern ir a + infinitive. It helps introduce what the speaker is going to do rather than giving the location of movement. You would use it before an infinitive after forms of ir in this construction.
buscar “Buscar” means to get or look for here, as the speaker plans to obtain a dry towel. It is the infinitive after “Voy a” in “Voy a buscar una toalla seca.” A reliable reuse pattern is buscar + an object or thing being sought.
una “Una” means “a” in “una toalla seca,” introducing one nonspecific towel. It comes before the noun and agrees with the feminine noun toalla. You would use it when mentioning one item that has not been made specific.
toalla “Toalla” means towel in “una toalla seca.” It is the object that the speaker plans to get for cleaning the water. You would use it when talking about drying a person, object, or surface.
seca “Seca” means dry and describes the towel in “una toalla seca.” It comes after toalla and matches that noun in form. You would use it to specify that an object contains no water or is ready for drying.
Puedes “Puedes” asks whether the other person can do something in “¿Puedes mover la bolsa primero?” It is followed by the infinitive mover to form a request about ability or willingness. The citation form is poder, and you would use puedes + an infinitive when asking someone to do an action.
mover “Mover” means move in “mover la bolsa,” referring to changing the bag’s position. It follows puedes as an infinitive and takes la bolsa as its object. You would use mover + an object when asking or telling someone to change its location.
bolsa “Bolsa” means bag in “mover la bolsa.” It is the object that needs to be moved before the floor is cleaned. You would use it when referring to a bag as an object being moved, placed, or kept somewhere.
primero “Primero” means first and shows the order requested in “mover la bolsa primero.” It says that moving the bag should happen before the next cleaning action. You would use it to mark the first step in a sequence.
Pondré “Pondré” means “I will put” in “La pondré en la silla.” It expresses the speaker’s future decision to place the bag on the chair; the citation form is poner. A useful pattern is pondré + an object + en + a place.
silla “Silla” means chair in “en la silla,” the place where the bag will be put. The phrase en la silla gives the destination of placement. You would use it when saying where someone or something is sitting or being placed.
Entonces “Entonces” means “then” and connects the next action to the preceding step in “Entonces podemos limpiar el suelo.” It signals that cleaning can happen after the bag has been moved. You would use it to introduce a consequence or the next step in a sequence.
podemos “Podemos” means “we can” in “podemos limpiar el suelo.” It is followed by the infinitive limpiar and presents the cleaning as an action the speakers are able to do. The citation form is poder, and a reliable pattern is podemos + an infinitive.
limpiar “Limpiar” means clean in “limpiar el suelo.” It is the infinitive after podemos and takes the floor as its object. You would use limpiar + an object when describing the surface or thing that will be cleaned.
quedará “Quedará” says that the bag will stay or remain in a condition or place in “La bolsa se quedará seca allí.” The citation form is quedar, and the form refers to a future result or state. You would use quedar + an adjective or location when saying what something will remain like or where it will remain.
allí “Allí” means “there” and refers to the place where the bag will stay in “se quedará seca allí.” It points to a location already understood from the context, the chair. You would use it after a verb when indicating that something is or remains in that place.

Grammar Points

hay + sustantivo

Hay agua.

AI AH-gwah.

There is water.

Use hay to say that something exists or is present. It works for both “there is” and “there are”.

poder + infinitivo

Puedes mover la bolsa.

PWEH-dess moh-BEHR lah BOHL-sah.

You can move the bag.

A conjugated form of poder is followed by an infinitive to express ability or permission.

Spanish Vocabulary

agua noun
AH-gwah water

Hay agua en el suelo.

botella noun
boh-TEH-yah bottle

La botella pequeña se rompió.

buscar verb
boos-KAR to get; to look for

Voy a buscar una toalla seca.

extendiendo verb
eks-ten-DYEN-doh spreading

Se está extendiendo hacia la puerta.

hacia prep
AH-syah toward

Se está extendiendo hacia la puerta.

hay verb
AI there is; there are

Hay agua en el suelo.

pequeña adj
peh-KEH-nyah small

La botella pequeña se rompió.

puerta noun
PWEHR-tah door

Se está extendiendo hacia la puerta.

rompió verb
rohm-PYOH broke

La botella pequeña se rompió.

seca adj
SEH-kah dry

Voy a buscar una toalla seca.

suelo noun
SWEH-loh floor

Hay agua en el suelo.

toalla noun
toh-AH-yah towel

Voy a buscar una toalla seca.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

There is water on the floor.

Show AnswerHay agua en el suelo.

It is spreading toward the door.

Show AnswerSe está extendiendo hacia la puerta.

The small bottle broke.

Show AnswerLa botella pequeña se rompió.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

bottle

Show Answerbotella

toward

Show Answerhacia

floor

Show Answersuelo

door

Show Answerpuerta