Talking about strong wind outside | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Hace viento afuera.

   It's windy outside.

   Hace viento

   It’s windy

   afuera

   outside

   More detail

   Hace viento is a standard Spanish way to describe windy weather. Here hace is the third-person singular present form of hacer (“to do/make”), but in this weather expression it is impersonal: it does not refer to a person or to a specific subject. The noun viento means “wind.” Spanish uses similar impersonal weather patterns such as Hace frío (“It is cold”) and Hace calor (“It is hot”). afuera means “outside” and indicates the place where the wind is present. It is an adverb, so it does not change form for gender or number. A reusable example is Hay ruido afuera — “There is noise outside.” Together, Hace viento afuera means “It’s windy outside.” The sentence presents windy conditions outdoors; afuera specifies the location, while hace viento supplies the weather description.

2. Sujeta tu sombrero con una mano.

   Hold your hat with one hand.

   Sujeta

   hold

   tu

   your

   sombrero

   hat

   mano

   hand

   More detail

   Sujeta is the affirmative command form of sujetar for singular tú: “hold” or “grip.” The listener is therefore addressed as one familiar or informal person. Example: Sujeta la puerta. — “Hold the door.” The form sujeta can also be a present-tense form in other contexts, but here its command use is clear from the sentence. tu means “your” here. It is the possessive determiner used with one person being addressed as tú. Unlike an adjective, it does not change for masculine or feminine; it changes to tus when the possessed noun is plural. The accented form tú is the subject pronoun “you.” Thus, tu sombrero means “your hat.” sombrero is a masculine singular noun meaning “hat.” Its plural is sombreros; the article and other agreeing forms change with number when needed, as in los sombreros — “the hats.” mano means “hand.” Although it ends in -o, it is feminine: una mano — “one hand,” and dos manos — “two hands.” Here, una is feminine singular because it agrees with mano; the fixed translation explicitly identifies the quantity as one. The phrase con una mano adds the means or body part used: “with one hand.” Together, Sujeta tu sombrero con una mano. means “Hold your hat with one hand.” The command addresses one tú listener and tells that person to hold the hat using one hand.

3. Los árboles se mueven mucho.

   The trees are moving a lot.

   árboles

   trees

   se mueven

   move

   mucho

   a lot

   More detail

   árboles means “trees” here. Its singular base form is árbol; árboles is the plural, formed with -es. The article los also marks masculine plural agreement: el árbol → los árboles. Example: Los árboles son altos. — “The trees are tall.” se mueven expresses “are moving” here. The verb is mover; mueven is the present-tense form for third-person plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes). With se, moverse can describe something moving or changing position without stating a separate agent: Las hojas se mueven. — “The leaves are moving.” The -ue- in mueven is part of the present-tense stem change found in several forms of mover; compare singular se mueve and plural se mueven. mucho is an adverb meaning “a lot” in this sentence. It modifies the movement, not the noun árboles, so it remains mucho rather than agreeing with a noun. Compare Los árboles se mueven poco. — “The trees move little.” Together, Los árboles is the plural subject, se mueven says that they are moving, and mucho indicates a high degree: “The trees are moving a lot.”

4. El viento es más fuerte cerca de la calle.

   The wind is stronger near the street.

   El viento

   the wind

   más fuerte

   stronger

   cerca de

   near

   la calle

   the street

   More detail

   El viento means “the wind” here. viento is a masculine noun, so the definite article is el. The plural is los vientos, although the singular form is the natural choice for the wind as one general phenomenon. más fuerte says that the wind is stronger. fuerte is the adjective “strong”; más fuerte is its comparative form, literally “more strong.” A comparison can name the reference with más fuerte que: El viento es más fuerte que ayer. — “The wind is stronger than yesterday.” The adjective agrees in number, but fuerte has the same form for masculine and feminine singular nouns. cerca de is a reusable prepositional expression meaning “near” or “close to.” It is followed by the place or thing that identifies the location: La estación está cerca de aquí. — “The station is near here.” la calle means “the street.” calle is a feminine noun, which is why it takes la; its plural is las calles. The phrase cerca de la calle therefore means “near the street,” with la calle functioning as the location after cerca de. Together, El viento es más fuerte states a comparison about the wind, and cerca de la calle specifies where this comparison holds. The complete utterance means: “The wind is stronger near the street.”

5. ¿Debemos caminar más despacio?

   Should we walk more slowly?

   Debemos

   should; must

   caminar

   to walk

   más despacio

   more slowly

   More detail

   Debemos comes from deber. It is the present-tense nosotros form: debemos = “we should” or “we must.” Here, the question asks whether walking more slowly is advisable or necessary. Deber is followed by an infinitive: Debemos descansar = “We should rest.” caminar is the infinitive “to walk.” After debemos, it stays in the infinitive because deber expresses the obligation or recommendation and caminar names the action. Example: Debemos esperar = “We should wait.” más despacio means “more slowly.” Despacio describes how an action is performed; más makes the comparison stronger than an understood or previously relevant pace. Example: Habla más despacio = “Speak more slowly.” The adverb despacio does not change for gender or number. Together, debemos caminar means “we should walk,” and más despacio specifies the manner: “more slowly.” The complete utterance ¿Debemos caminar más despacio? therefore means “Should we walk more slowly?” The following Caminemos más despacio uses a different construction: caminemos is a first-person-plural suggestion, “let’s walk,” whereas debemos caminar asks whether walking slowly is advisable or necessary.

6. Caminemos más despacio cerca de la calle.

   Let's slow down near the street.

   Caminemos

   let’s walk

   más despacio

   more slowly

   cerca de

   near

   la calle

   the street

   More detail

   Caminemos comes from caminar and is the affirmative command form for nosotros: “let’s walk.” It includes the speaker and at least one other person. The same form also matches the present subjunctive in other grammatical settings, so its function here comes from the direct request. Example: Caminemos juntos. — “Let’s walk together.” más despacio means “more slowly.” Despacio is an adverb meaning “slowly,” and más makes a comparison: “more slowly.” The phrase does not itself state what the comparison is with; it can mean slower than before or slower than the current pace. Example: Habla más despacio, por favor. — “Speak more slowly, please.” cerca de is a reusable prepositional pattern meaning “near” or “close to.” It is followed by the person, place, or thing whose proximity is being described. Example: El banco está cerca de aquí. — “The bank is near here.” la calle means “the street.” Calle is a feminine singular noun, so it appears with the feminine singular definite article la. Its plural is las calles, “the streets.” Example: La calle está tranquila. — “The street is quiet.” Together, Caminemos más despacio gives the suggestion or command “Let’s walk more slowly,” and cerca de la calle specifies the place: “near the street.” The complete utterance therefore means “Let’s slow down near the street.”

7. También sujetaré mi bolso cerca de mí.

   I'll hold my bag close too.

   También

   also; too

   sujetaré

   I will hold

   mi

   my

   bolso

   bag

   cerca de mí

   close to me

   More detail

   También adds this action to something already mentioned: “also” or “too.” It does not replace the earlier action; it adds another one. A useful pattern is también + verb: También descanso aquí. = “I also rest here.” sujetaré means “I will hold” here. Its base form is sujetar; the ending -é marks the first-person singular future: sujetaré = “I will hold.” Compare sujeto (“I hold”) and sujeté (“I held”). The form identifies the speaker as the person who will hold the object. mi is the singular possessive determiner “my.” It agrees in number with the possessed noun: mi bolso (“my bag”), but mis bolsos (“my bags”). Unlike some Spanish possessives, mi does not change for masculine versus feminine nouns. bolso means “bag,” specifically the noun used here for the item being held. Its plural is bolsos: un bolso = “a bag,” dos bolsos = “two bags.” cerca de mí means “close to me” or “near me.” cerca de introduces the location or distance relation, and mí is the stressed first-person pronoun used after a preposition. Compare cerca de ti (“close to you”). The accent in mí distinguishes this pronoun from mi (“my”): mi bolso but cerca de mí. Together, sujetaré mi bolso says that the speaker will hold the bag, while cerca de mí specifies that the bag will be kept close to the speaker. También adds this plan to the previously mentioned action, giving the complete meaning: “I’ll hold my bag close too.”

8. Así no se abrirá con el viento.

   That should keep it from blowing open.

   Así

   this way; thus

   se abrirá

   will open

   con el viento

   with the wind

   More detail

   Así means “this way” or “that way” and points to the method just mentioned: holding the bag close. It is an adverb, so it does not change for gender or number. A reusable pattern is Así + clause: Así no se caerá. — “This way it won’t fall.” se abrirá expresses “will open” here. Abrirá is the third-person singular future of abrir; the base form is abrir, and the future ending is also used in forms such as abriré “I will open” and abrirán “they will open.” In se abrirá, se is part of the opening construction: the thing is presented as opening, without naming an external opener. In this context, the omitted referent is the bag supported by the preceding sentence. This se is not a direct-object clitic meaning “it.” The form no negates se abrirá, so the meaning is “will not open.” Con el viento means “with the wind” here: the wind is the force that could make it open. Viento is a masculine singular noun, hence el viento. Example: La puerta se abrirá con el viento. — “The door will open with the wind.” Together, Así identifies the method, no se abrirá says that the bag will not open, and con el viento specifies the force being prevented from opening it. The whole utterance therefore means: “That way, it won’t blow open,” or, as fixed in the translation, “That should keep it from blowing open.”