Finding and saving a missing screw | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Perdí un tornillo pequeño.

   I lost a small screw.

   Perdí

   I lost

   tornillo

   screw

   pequeño

   small

   More detail

   Perdí is the first-person singular preterite of perder (“to lose”). The ending and accent show a completed past event by “I”: perdí = “I lost.” In the present, the same verb has the irregular first-person form pierdo (“I lose” / “I am losing”). tornillo is a masculine singular noun meaning “screw.” Its plural is tornillos. The article un before it is an indefinite article; here it presents one unspecified screw, without adding a separate numerical emphasis. pequeño is an adjective meaning “small.” It is masculine singular here because it describes tornillo, a masculine singular noun. The related forms are pequeña for feminine singular, pequeños for masculine plural, and pequeñas for feminine plural. For example, una caja pequeña means “a small box”; the adjective changes to agree with the feminine singular noun caja. Together, un tornillo pequeño means “a small screw.” With Perdí, the complete utterance means “I lost a small screw.”

2. Mira debajo de la silla.

   Check under the chair.

   Mira

   check; look

   debajo de

   under

   la silla

   the chair

   More detail

   Mira is the affirmative command form of mirar for tú singular: “look” or, in this context, “check.” The subject is understood as the person being addressed. For a formal singular command, Spanish uses mire; for a plural ustedes command, miren. Example: Mira aquí. — “Look here.” debajo de is a location pattern meaning “under” or “below.” The preposition de connects the location word to the thing that serves as its reference point. Example: El libro está debajo de la mesa. — “The book is under the table.” In la silla, silla is the noun “chair.” Its base form is silla, and it is feminine singular, so the definite article is la. The article presents the chair as an identifiable referent in this context; its singular form reflects grammatical number rather than independently asserting a numerical count. Example: La silla está aquí. — “The chair is here.” Together, Mira gives the instruction, and debajo de la silla specifies where to look: “Check under the chair.”

3. Estaba junto a la pata de la silla.

   It was by the chair leg.

   Estaba

   was

   junto a

   next to; by

   pata

   leg

   silla

   chair

   More detail

   Estaba is the imperfect form of estar for third-person singular. Here it means “was” for the unspecified thing referred to by “it.” The imperfect presents its location as an ongoing or background state. Other useful forms include estoy (“I am”) and está (“he/she/it is”). junto a is a reusable location pattern meaning “next to” or “by.” The following noun names the reference point: junto a la puerta means “by the door.” In this sentence, junto a introduces the chair leg as the location reference. pata is a feminine noun meaning “leg” when referring to an animal or the supporting leg of furniture. In la pata, the feminine singular article la agrees with it. The noun pierna usually refers to a person’s or animal’s leg as a body part, so it is not the usual choice for a furniture leg. silla is a feminine noun meaning “chair.” The form la silla is singular, with the feminine singular article la. For example, La silla está junto a la mesa means “The chair is next to the table.” The phrase de la silla means “of the chair” or, naturally here, “the chair’s.” The preposition de links pata to its reference point, and la silla identifies the chair. Together, la pata de la silla means “the chair leg.” As a whole, Estaba junto a la pata de la silla means “It was by the chair leg.” The imperfect estaba describes the thing’s location, while junto a la pata de la silla specifies where it was.

4. Recógelo con cuidado.

   Pick it up carefully.

   Recógelo

   pick it up

   con cuidado

   carefully

   More detail

   Recógelo comes from recoger, here meaning “to pick up.” Its affirmative imperative form recoge addresses one person informally (tú). The direct-object pronoun lo is attached to the command: recoge + lo → recógelo. The written accent preserves the stress pattern after the pronoun is attached. Here lo is the masculine-singular or neuter direct-object form; the supplied texts do not uniquely identify the pronoun’s specific referent. Example: Recoge el libro → Recógelo. — “Pick up the book” → “Pick it up.” With a feminine singular object, Spanish uses la: Recoge la llave → Recógela. Con cuidado is the prepositional phrase “with care,” used here to describe how the picking up should be done. It functions like an adverb meaning “carefully.” The pattern con + noun can express manner: Camina con cuidado. — “Walk carefully.” Together, Recógelo con cuidado means “Pick it up carefully”: an informal singular command to pick something up carefully. The attached lo supplies the direct-object meaning, while its exact referent is not uniquely established by the supplied texts.

5. Es muy pequeño.

   It is tiny.

   Es

   is

   muy

   very

   pequeño

   tiny; small

   More detail

   Es is the third-person singular present form of ser (“to be”): es = “is.” Spanish verbs change for person and number, not for gender. The subject is omitted here because Spanish can leave it understood from context; es itself does not identify what “it” refers to. Example: La caja es grande. — “The box is big.” Muy means “very” and intensifies the word that follows it. It does not change for gender or number. Pattern: muy + adjective, as in muy útil — “very useful.” Pequeño means “small” or, in this sentence, “tiny.” It is the masculine singular form of the adjective; the feminine singular is pequeña, and the plural forms are pequeños and pequeñas. The adjective’s form reflects the grammatical features of the noun or referent it describes, but the supplied English pronoun “it” does not identify those features. Example: El botón es pequeño. — “The button is small.” Together, Es + muy + pequeño means “It is very small,” with tiny conveying the stronger degree intended by the fixed translation. The sentence describes the subject as extremely small without explicitly naming that subject.

6. Sujétalo en la palma de tu mano para que no vuelva a rodar.

   Hold it in your palm so it does not roll away again.

   Sujétalo

   Hold it

   palma

   palm

   mano

   hand

   para que

   so that

   vuelva a rodar

   rolls again

   More detail

   Sujétalo is an affirmative command meaning “hold it.” The form sujeta is the affirmative command for tú of sujetar; the attached lo is a masculine singular direct-object clitic, referring here to the small object identified by the fixed translation and context. The written accent in sujétalo preserves the word’s stress after the clitic is attached. Compare sujétala when the direct object is feminine singular, and sujétalos or sujétalas with plural objects. Example: Sujétala con cuidado. — “Hold it carefully,” with la referring to a feminine singular object. palma means “palm,” here the inside surface of the hand. It is a feminine noun: la palma. Example: La moneda está en la palma. — “The coin is in the palm.” mano means “hand.” Although it ends in -o, it is feminine: la mano. In la palma de tu mano, de links the palm to the hand it belongs to, and tu means “your” for one person. Example: Me duele la mano. — “My hand hurts.” para que introduces a purpose clause, “so that.” It presents the intended result of holding the object, rather than replacing or excluding the holding action. Spanish normally uses the subjunctive after para que because the result is intended or prospective. Example: Cierra la puerta para que no entre el frío. — “Close the door so that the cold does not come in.” vuelva a rodar means “roll again.” vuelva is the third-person singular present subjunctive of volver, used here because of para que; rodar is the infinitive “to roll.” The pattern volver a + infinitive means “to do something again.” The negative no makes the intended result that the object does not roll again. Example: Espero que vuelva a funcionar. — “I hope it works again.” Putting the parts together: Sujétalo gives the command to hold the object, en la palma de tu mano specifies where to hold it, and para que no vuelva a rodar gives the purpose: “Hold it in your palm so it does not roll away again.”

7. Lo necesitamos para arreglar el estante.

   We need it to fix the shelf.

   Lo

   it

   necesitamos

   we need

   arreglar

   to fix

   estante

   shelf

   More detail

   Lo is a masculine-singular direct-object clitic. Here it means “it,” referring to the object already established by the fixed context. It appears before the conjugated verb: Lo necesitamos = “We need it.” For a feminine-singular direct object, Spanish uses la; plural objects use los or las according to grammatical gender. necesitamos is the first-person plural present form of necesitar (“to need”): necesito = “I need,” necesitamos = “we need.” The ending identifies a “we” subject, which is normally left unstated in Spanish. The lo is the object of this verb. arreglar is the infinitive “to fix” or “to repair.” After para, an infinitive commonly expresses purpose: para arreglar = “to fix” or “in order to fix.” In this sentence, the understood people carrying out the fixing are the same people expressed by necesitamos: “we need it in order to fix…”. estante is a masculine singular noun meaning “shelf.” With a definite article, it is el estante (“the shelf”). The noun is the direct object of arreglar, so arreglar el estante means “to fix the shelf.” Together, Lo necesitamos gives “We need it,” and para arreglar el estante gives the purpose “to fix the shelf.” The complete utterance is: “We need it to fix the shelf.”

8. Entonces podemos terminar de arreglarlo.

   Then we can finish fixing it.

   Entonces

   then

   podemos

   we can

   terminar de

   finish doing

   arreglarlo

   fix it

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here, linking this statement to what came before. It can also introduce a consequence: Entonces, empezamos. = “Then, we’ll start.” podemos is the present-tense first-person plural form of poder (“can, be able to”): podemos = “we can.” The subject is “we,” and the following infinitive names what we can do. For example, Podemos esperar. means “We can wait.” terminar de is a reusable construction meaning “to finish doing something.” terminar is the infinitive “to finish”; de connects it to another infinitive. The completed activity follows: terminar de leer = “finish reading.” arreglarlo combines the infinitive arreglar (“to fix, repair”) with the attached direct-object pronoun lo (“it”): arreglarlo = “to fix it.” In Spanish, an object pronoun can attach to an infinitive. lo is masculine singular in form; the fixed translation identifies its intended meaning here as “it,” without requiring a named referent. Compare arreglarla when the object is a feminine singular noun. Together, podemos terminar de arreglarlo means “we can finish fixing it”: podemos expresses ability or possibility, terminar de marks the completion of an activity, and arreglarlo supplies that activity and its object. With Entonces, the whole utterance is “Then we can finish fixing it.”