Using a Shared Office | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. ¿Puedo trabajar en esta oficina compartida?

   Can I work in this shared office?

   ¿Puedo

   can I

   trabajar

   work

   en

   in

   esta

   this

   oficina

   office

   compartida

   shared

   More detail

   ¿Puedo combines the first-person singular present form puedo of poder (“to be able to”) with the question marks. Here it asks whether the speaker has permission or ability to do something. Puedo is used with yo; for example, ¿Puedo entrar? means “Can I come in?” trabajar is the infinitive “to work.” After puedo, Spanish uses an infinitive for the action that is possible or permitted: Puedo trabajar means “I can work.” en is the preposition “in” here. It introduces the place where the work would happen, as in Trabajo en casa (“I work at home”). esta is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative meaning “this.” It agrees with the feminine singular noun oficina; the masculine singular counterpart is este. The accentless spelling esta is correct here because it modifies a noun. oficina is the feminine noun “office.” Its plural is oficinas. In this sentence, it names the place referred to by esta. compartida is the feminine singular form of compartido, used here with the meaning “shared.” It agrees with oficina. The form is related to the verb compartir (“to share”); for example, una sala compartida means “a shared room.” Together, ¿Puedo + trabajar asks whether the speaker may or can work; en introduces the location; and esta oficina compartida means “this shared office.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Can I work in this shared office?”

2. Elige un escritorio libre.

   Choose an open desk.

   Elige

   choose

   escritorio

   desk

   libre

   available; open

   More detail

   Elige is the affirmative command form of elegir (“to choose”) for tú, one person addressed informally. The infinitive is elegir; useful forms include elijo (“I choose”) and elige (“you choose” or “choose!” for tú, depending on context). Example: Elige una silla. — “Choose a chair.” escritorio means “desk.” Its usual article is masculine singular: el escritorio; the plural is los escritorios. Example: El escritorio está cerca de la puerta. — “The desk is near the door.” libre is an adjective meaning “available” or “open” here: the desk is not occupied. It agrees with escritorio in number, so the phrase is un escritorio libre; the adjective has the same form for masculine and feminine singular. Its plural is libres: escritorios libres — “available desks.” Together, Elige + un escritorio libre gives the direct instruction “Choose an open desk.” The indefinite article un introduces a desk without stating a specific numerical count; libre identifies which kind of desk to choose. In this context, the wording fits selecting a desk in the shared office.

3. Puedo usar el que está cerca de la puerta.

   I can use the one near the door.

   Puedo

   I can

   usar

   use

   el que

   the one that

   está

   is

   cerca de

   near

   puerta

   door

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to”): puedo, puedes, puede. Here it expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility to use something. Puedo abrir la ventana. — “I can open the window.” Usar is the infinitive “to use.” After a conjugated form of poder, the second verb stays in the infinitive: puedo usar, “I can use.” Puedes usar este bolígrafo. — “You can use this pen.” El que is a masculine singular nominal relative construction meaning “the one that/which.” It refers to a masculine singular item without repeating its noun; in the supplied context, the open desk is the supported referent. The article el reflects that singular masculine referent, while que is the relative form and does not change for gender or number. Compare la que for a feminine singular referent and los que or las que for plural referents. Está is the third-person singular present form of estar, used here for location: “is.” The form agrees with the singular item described by el que; it is not the first-person form estoy. El libro está aquí. — “The book is here.” Cerca de is a prepositional expression meaning “near” or “close to.” It introduces the place used for locating the item: cerca de la ventana means “near the window.” Puerta means “door.” It is a feminine singular noun, as shown by la puerta; the noun itself names the object, while la marks the noun phrase as feminine singular. La puerta está abierta. — “The door is open.” Together, el que está cerca de la puerta means “the one that is near the door”: it identifies the desk by its location. The complete sentence combines puedo usar (“I can use”) with that identifying relative clause, giving “I can use the one near the door.”

4. Déjalo limpio cuando termines.

   Leave it clean when you finish.

   Déjalo

   leave it

   limpio

   clean

   termines

   finish

   More detail

   Déjalo is the affirmative command form of dejar for tú: deja plus the direct-object clitic lo. Here it means “leave it,” with lo referring to the thing being left. The written accent in déjalo belongs to this command-plus-clitic form. For a feminine singular object, the corresponding pattern is déjala (“leave it/her,” depending on the identified referent). limpio is the adjective limpio, limpia (“clean”). In this sentence it describes the condition in which the object should remain. Limpio is the masculine singular form; the fixed sentence does not identify the object’s specific referent, so it is safest to learn this as the form used in déjalo limpio. Example: Déjala limpia. — “Leave it clean.” Here limpia agrees with the feminine singular object represented by la. termines comes from terminar (“to finish”). It is the present subjunctive form for tú; after cuando, Spanish uses this form for a future time or condition: cuando termines = “when you finish.” Example: Cuando termines, cierra la puerta. — “When you finish, close the door.” Together, déjalo limpio gives the command to leave the object in a clean state, and cuando termines sets the time for that command: “Leave it clean when you finish.”

5. Necesito un lugar tranquilo.

   I need a quiet place.

   Necesito

   I need

   lugar

   place

   tranquilo

   quiet

   More detail

   Necesito means “I need” here. It is the first-person singular present form of necesitar: yo necesito, tú necesitas, él/ella necesita. The form identifies the speaker as the person with the need; the subject pronoun yo is normally omitted in Spanish. Example: Necesito ayuda. — “I need help.” lugar means “place” or “spot.” It is a masculine noun, so the matching singular forms here are un lugar; the article un does not by itself state a numerical count. The plural is lugares, as in Hay varios lugares. — “There are several places.” tranquilo means “quiet” in this sentence. It is an adjective modifying lugar, so it agrees with that masculine singular noun: un lugar tranquilo. With a feminine singular noun, the form is tranquila, as in una zona tranquila — “a quiet area.” Together, Necesito + un lugar tranquilo gives “I need a quiet place.” The speaker expresses a present need, and tranquilo specifies the desired quality of the place.

6. Prueba el escritorio junto a la pared.

   Try the desk by the wall.

   Prueba

   try

   escritorio

   desk

   junto a

   next to

   pared

   wall

   More detail

   Prueba means “try” here. It is the affirmative command form of probar addressed to one tú (singular informal “you”): prueba. The corresponding formal singular command is pruebe, not prueba. Example: Prueba esta silla. — “Try this chair.” escritorio means “desk.” Its base form is the noun escritorio, a masculine singular noun; the article shows this in el escritorio. For a plural, use los escritorios. Example: El escritorio es grande. — “The desk is large.” junto a is a reusable prepositional construction meaning “next to” or “beside.” It introduces the thing used as the location reference: junto a la pared means “next to the wall.” Example: La silla está junto a la ventana. — “The chair is next to the window.” pared means “wall.” It is a feminine singular noun, as shown by la pared; its plural is paredes, with las paredes. Example: La pared es blanca. — “The wall is white.” Together, Prueba el escritorio gives the command “Try the desk,” and junto a la pared specifies which desk by locating it next to the wall. The complete utterance therefore means “Try the desk by the wall.”

7. Quitaré mis cosas antes de irme.

   I will clear my things before I leave.

   Quitaré

   I will clear/remove

   mis cosas

   my things

   antes de

   before

   irme

   to leave

   More detail

   Quitaré means “I will remove/clear.” It is the first-person singular future form of quitar (“to remove” or “to clear”): quitaré = “I will remove,” quitarás = “you will remove,” and quitará = “he, she, or you formal will remove.” Here it presents the speaker’s future action. mis cosas means “my things.” Cosas is the plural of cosa (“thing”), while mis is the possessive form used with a plural noun. Mis agrees with the possessed noun in number, not with the possessor’s gender. For example, mis libros means “my books,” and mi libro means “my book.” antes de means “before” and introduces the event that occurs later than the main action. The reusable pattern is antes de + infinitive, as in Antes de dormir, leo — “Before sleeping, I read.” irme means “to leave” here. It consists of the infinitive ir (“to go”) with the attached first-person clitic me: ir + me → irme. In this pronominal construction, me marks the speaker as the person leaving. The form without the clitic, ir, simply means “to go”; the construction irse commonly expresses going away or leaving. Together, Quitaré mis cosas means “I will clear my things,” and antes de irme adds “before I leave.” The complete utterance is: “I will clear my things before I leave.”

8. Así el escritorio queda listo para la siguiente persona.

   That keeps the desk ready for the next person.

   Así

   that way

   escritorio

   desk

   queda

   stays

   listo

   ready

   siguiente

   next

   persona

   person

   More detail

   Así means “in this way” or “that way.” Here it links the situation just mentioned with its result: the desk is left ready. It is an adverb, so it does not change form. escritorio means “desk.” It is a masculine noun: el escritorio, los escritorios. In this sentence it is the subject of queda. queda is a form of quedar. With a place, quedar can mean “be located,” but with an adjective it can describe the state or result in which someone or something is left. Here queda listo means “is left ready” or “ends up ready.” The form queda is third-person singular present, matching el escritorio. listo means “ready” here. It is an adjective, and its masculine singular form agrees with escritorio. The useful agreement pattern is listo with a masculine singular noun, lista with a feminine singular noun, and listos/listas with plural nouns. For example: La mesa queda lista. — “The table is left ready.” siguiente means “next” in the sense of coming after the current one in an order or sequence. It appears before persona in la siguiente persona. Unlike many Spanish adjectives, siguiente does not change for masculine or feminine gender: el siguiente turno, la siguiente persona; it does change for number: los siguientes turnos, las siguientes personas. persona means “person.” It is grammatically feminine in Spanish, so the phrase is la persona, even when the person’s actual gender is not specified. Its plural is personas. Together, Así el escritorio queda listo means “That keeps the desk ready” or literally “That way, the desk is left ready.” para introduces the person who will benefit from or use that state, and la siguiente persona means “the next person.” The whole utterance is therefore: “That keeps the desk ready for the next person.”