A Light Problem | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. La luz no funciona.

   The light does not work.

   luz

   light

   funciona

   works

   More detail

   luz means “light” here. It is a feminine noun, so the article is la: la luz. The plural is las luces; the spelling changes in the plural because z becomes c before -es. Example: La luz está encendida. — “The light is on.” funciona comes from funcionar, “to work” or “to function.” It is the present indicative form for a singular third-person subject: funciona. The subject can be a thing such as la luz, not only a person. Example: El teléfono funciona. — “The phone works.” The separate word no negates funciona, giving “does not work.” La luz is the subject, and no funciona says that it is not operating. Together, La luz no funciona. means “The light does not work.”

2. ¿Revisaste el interruptor?

   Did you check the switch?

   Revisaste

   checked

   interruptor

   switch

   More detail

   Revisaste comes from revisar, “to check” or “to inspect.” The ending -aste marks the completed past (pretérito) for tú: revisaste = “you checked.” Compare revisabas, which presents the checking as ongoing or habitual in the past. Example: ¿Revisaste la puerta? — “Did you check the door?” interruptor means “switch,” specifically the device that controls an electrical circuit. It is a masculine noun: el interruptor; its plural is los interruptores. The article el agrees with this noun. Example: El interruptor está apagado. — “The switch is off.” Together, ¿Revisaste el interruptor? asks whether the listener completed the action of checking the switch. The question marks show that the whole utterance is a question; Spanish does not need an auxiliary equivalent to English “did.”

3. Lo revisé y todavía no funciona.

   I checked it, and it still does not work.

   Lo

   it

   revisé

   checked

   todavía

   still

   funciona

   works

   More detail

   Lo is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun. Here it means “it,” referring to the item that was checked; Spanish places this unstressed object pronoun before the conjugated verb. Its form agrees with the object’s grammatical gender and number, not with the person who checks it. For example: La revisé = “I checked it,” when the object is feminine singular. revisé comes from revisar (“to check, inspect”). The ending -é marks the first-person singular preterite: “I checked.” Compare reviso = “I check / I am checking” in the present and revisé = “I checked” for a completed past action. Lo revisé combines the object pronoun with that past-tense verb. todavía means “still” here: the situation continues up to the relevant moment. It does not mean that the checking is continuing; it modifies the later statement about functioning. Example: Todavía está aquí. = “It is still here.” funciona comes from funcionar (“to work, function”). Its form is third-person singular present indicative, meaning “works” or “is working.” The subject is omitted in Spanish and is understood from context. With no, it becomes no funciona = “does not work / is not working.” Example: La bombilla funciona. = “The bulb works.” The sentence first says Lo revisé: “I checked it.” Y connects that completed action to the result or current state. Todavía no funciona says that, despite the check, it still does not work. Together, the utterance means: “I checked it, and it still does not work.”

4. Tal vez la bombilla es vieja.

   Maybe the bulb is old.

   Tal vez

   maybe

   bombilla

   bulb

   es

   is

   vieja

   old

   More detail

   Tal vez expresses uncertainty: “maybe” or “perhaps.” It introduces a possibility rather than stating the idea as certain. Example: Tal vez llega mañana. — “Maybe he/she arrives tomorrow.” bombilla means “bulb,” specifically the light bulb in this context. Its base form is bombilla; with the definite article, la bombilla is a feminine singular noun phrase. The article and adjective agree with this noun: la, not el, and vieja, not viejo. es is the third-person singular present form of ser (“to be”). Here it links the subject to a lasting or identifying description. The subject is singular, so Spanish uses es; for a plural subject, the corresponding present form is son. vieja means “old” here. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective viejo, agreeing with feminine singular bombilla. For a masculine singular noun, the form is viejo; for feminine plural, viejas. This adjective describes age, not necessarily poor condition. Together, la bombilla is the subject, es vieja says that the bulb is old, and Tal vez makes that description uncertain. The complete utterance means: “Maybe the bulb is old.”

5. La habitación está demasiado oscura ahora.

   The room is too dark now.

   habitación

   room

   está

   is / is located

   demasiado

   too

   oscura

   dark

   ahora

   now

   More detail

   habitación means “room” here. It is a feminine singular noun, so the related adjective is oscura, not oscuro. The plural is habitaciones. está is the present-tense third-person singular form of estar. Here it describes the room’s current state. Estar is commonly used for temporary or changing conditions, while ser is used for identity or more inherent classification. Example: La habitación está limpia. — “The room is clean.” demasiado means “too” in the sense of more than is suitable or wanted. It comes before the adjective it modifies: demasiado oscura — “too dark.” This is different from muy, which means “very” without necessarily expressing excess: muy oscura — “very dark.” oscura is the feminine singular form of the adjective oscuro, “dark.” Its ending agrees with habitación: feminine singular. For a masculine singular noun, the form is oscuro; for plural nouns, oscuros or oscuras, according to gender and number. ahora means “now” and places the situation in the present time. Example: La habitación está clara ahora. — “The room is bright now.” Together, La habitación identifies the subject, está demasiado oscura describes its current state as excessively dark, and ahora specifies that this is true at the present time. The complete meaning is: “The room is too dark now.”

6. Puedo traer una lámpara pequeña.

   I can bring a small lamp.

   Puedo

   I can

   traer

   bring

   lámpara

   lamp

   pequeña

   small

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to; can”). The ending identifies the speaker as “I”; Spanish commonly omits the subject pronoun because the verb form supplies it. Poder is followed by an infinitive to express ability or possibility: Puedo venir = “I can come.” traer is an infinitive meaning “to bring,” used here after puedo. The infinitive does not mark the subject or tense by itself; puedo carries the “I can” meaning. A useful contrast is llevar (“to take/carry” something away from the speaker’s reference point), whereas traer presents the movement as bringing something toward the relevant place or person. lámpara is a feminine singular noun meaning “lamp.” Its plural is lámparas. The indefinite article una before it agrees with its feminine singular form; here it presents an unspecified lamp, without by itself asserting a numeric count. pequeña means “small” here and describes lámpara. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective pequeño, matching the noun in gender and number. Compare un objeto pequeño (“a small object”) and una lámpara pequeña (“a small lamp”); the adjective changes to agree with the noun it describes. Together, Puedo + traer expresses the speaker’s ability to bring something, and una lámpara pequeña identifies what is to be brought: an unspecified small lamp. The complete utterance means “I can bring a small lamp.”

7. Deberíamos cambiar la bombilla más tarde.

   We should change the bulb later.

   Deberíamos

   we should

   cambiar

   to change

   bombilla

   light bulb

   más tarde

   later

   More detail

   Deberíamos is the first-person plural conditional form of deber. Here it expresses a suggestion or recommendation shared by the speaker and others: “we should.” The infinitive after it names the proposed action. Compare deberíamos cambiar (“we should change”) with deberíamos esperar (“we should wait”). cambiar is the infinitive “to change.” After a conjugated form such as deberíamos, the following verb stays in the infinitive: deberíamos cambiar, not a second finite form. Example: Podemos cambiar la bombilla. — “We can change the bulb.” bombilla is a feminine singular noun meaning “light bulb.” In this sentence, la marks the specific singular noun phrase la bombilla; the noun itself is bombilla. Its plural is bombillas, as in dos bombillas — “two light bulbs.” más tarde is a time expression meaning “later,” referring to a later time without specifying exactly when. It modifies the proposed action cambiar, so the sentence proposes changing the bulb later rather than now. Example: Hablamos más tarde. — “We’ll talk later.” Together, Deberíamos cambiar la bombilla means “We should change the bulb,” and adding más tarde places that proposed change later: “We should change the bulb later.”

8. Usa la lámpara hasta que la cambiemos.

   Use the lamp until we replace it.

   Usa

   use

   lámpara

   lamp

   hasta que

   until

   la cambiemos

   replace it

   More detail

   Usa is the affirmative command form of usar for tú (one listener). It tells that listener to use something. The form happens to look like the present-tense tú form, but here its function is a command. Example: Usa este cuaderno. — “Use this notebook.” A command addressed to usted would use use, not usa. lámpara is a feminine singular noun meaning “lamp.” Its article in la lámpara agrees with the noun: la is feminine singular. The noun itself is the useful reusable item here; the preceding article does not express a numeric count. hasta que introduces the point up to which something continues: “until.” When that endpoint is viewed as still pending or expected, Spanish commonly uses the subjunctive in the following clause. la cambiemos means “we replace it.” cambiemos is the first-person plural present subjunctive form of cambiar, so it includes a nosotros/nosotras subject even though that subject is not written separately. In this sentence, the subjunctive is selected because the replacement is the not-yet-completed endpoint introduced by hasta que. Compare the indicative cambiamos, which can mean “we replace” or “we replaced” depending on context, whereas cambiemos here presents the replacement as pending. la is a feminine singular direct-object pronoun. It replaces a feminine singular noun, while lo would replace a masculine singular noun; plural forms are las and los. The supplied texts do not uniquely identify which feminine singular item “it” refers to, so the pronoun’s grammatical form is clear even though its exact referent is not. Together, Usa la lámpara gives the command “Use the lamp,” and hasta que la cambiemos adds the stopping point “until we replace it.” The complete utterance is: “Use the lamp until we replace it.”