A weekly cleaning schedule at home | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Necesitamos un horario de limpieza mejor para el apartamento.

   We need a better cleaning schedule for the apartment.

   Necesitamos

   we need

   horario

   schedule

   limpieza

   cleaning

   mejor

   better

   apartamento

   apartment

   More detail

   Necesitamos comes from necesitar (“to need”). It is the present-tense first-person plural form: “we need.” The ending -amos here identifies “we”; the subject is understood from the verb, so Spanish does not require a separate subject pronoun. Example: Necesitamos ayuda. — “We need help.” horario means a schedule or timetable. It is a masculine noun, so a singular article would be un horario; the plural is horarios. Example: El horario cambia. — “The schedule changes.” limpieza is a feminine noun meaning cleaning or cleanliness. In horario de limpieza, de links the schedule to the activity it is for: “a cleaning schedule.” Example: La limpieza empieza temprano. — “The cleaning starts early.” mejor is the comparative form meaning “better.” It is related to the base adjective bueno (“good”), but Spanish uses the irregular comparative mejor, not a form built from bueno. It does not change for masculine or feminine gender; for plural nouns, the form is mejores. Example: Este plan es mejor. — “This plan is better.” apartamento means apartment. It is a masculine noun: el apartamento in the singular and los apartamentos in the plural. Here, el apartamento is the place connected with the cleaning schedule through para: “for the apartment.” Example: El apartamento es pequeño. — “The apartment is small.” The chunks combine as Necesitamos + un horario de limpieza + mejor + para el apartamento: “We need a better cleaning schedule for the apartment.” Un presents the schedule as non-specific; the article alone does not assert a numerical count. Mejor compares it favorably with an understood alternative, but the sentence does not specify what that alternative is.

2. No hemos repartido las tareas por igual.

   We have not been dividing the chores evenly.

   No

   not

   hemos repartido

   have divided

   las tareas

   the chores

   por igual

   evenly

   More detail

   No negates the verb phrase that follows it. In this sentence, it makes the statement negative: the speakers say that the dividing has not happened evenly. hemos repartido comes from repartir, “to divide up” or “to distribute.” hemos is the first-person plural present form of haber, used here as an auxiliary, and repartido is the past participle of repartir. Together they form the present perfect: hemos repartido = “we have divided/distributed.” The form identifies “we”; it does not by itself specify whether the speakers are male or female. Example: Hemos repartido el trabajo. — “We have divided up the work.” las tareas means “the chores” here. tareas is the plural of the feminine noun tarea, “task” or “chore,” and las agrees with it in feminine plural form. Example: Las tareas son sencillas. — “The chores are simple.” por igual is a reusable expression meaning “evenly” or “equally.” It describes how something is distributed, rather than naming the thing being distributed. Example: Repartimos el trabajo por igual. — “We divide the work evenly.” Assembled, No hemos repartido las tareas por igual means “We have not been dividing the chores evenly.” The structure is no + present perfect verb phrase + the thing distributed + por igual, so it states that the speakers have not shared the chores equally.

3. Puedo quitar el polvo de los estantes el sábado por la mañana.

   I can dust the shelves on Saturday morning.

   Puedo

   I can

   quitar el polvo

   dust

   estantes

   shelves

   sábado

   Saturday

   por la mañana

   in the morning

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to”): puedo, “I can.” It expresses the speaker’s ability or availability here, followed by an infinitive. For example: Puedo cocinar hoy. — “I can cook today.” quitar el polvo is the reusable Spanish expression for “to dust,” literally “to remove the dust.” Quitar is the infinitive “to remove,” and polvo means “dust.” The article el belongs with the masculine singular noun polvo in this expression. For example: Voy a quitar el polvo mañana. — “I’m going to dust tomorrow.” estantes is the plural of the masculine noun estante, “shelf.” The plural ending marks more than one shelf; the phrase los estantes means “the shelves.” For example: Los estantes están limpios. — “The shelves are clean.” sábado means “Saturday.” Spanish normally uses the definite article with days when referring to a regular or specific day: el sábado, “on Saturday.” The noun remains singular here because the sentence refers to one Saturday. por la mañana means “in the morning.” This is a common time expression: por plus a time period identifies when something happens. La mañana is feminine singular, so the phrase uses la. For example: Trabajo por la mañana. — “I work in the morning.” Together, Puedo quitar el polvo says “I can dust,” de los estantes specifies what will be dusted—“the shelves”—and el sábado por la mañana gives the time—“on Saturday morning.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I can dust the shelves on Saturday morning.”

4. Entonces limpiaré el suelo de la cocina después de comer.

   Then I'll mop the kitchen after lunch.

   limpiaré

   I’ll clean / I’ll mop

   suelo

   floor

   cocina

   kitchen

   después de

   after

   comer

   eat

   More detail

   limpiaré is the first-person singular future form of limpiar (“to clean”). The ending -é says that the speaker will do the action later: limpiaré = “I will clean.” In this sentence, cleaning the floor naturally means mopping it, which is why the fixed translation uses “mop.” Compare the present limpio (“I clean / I am cleaning”) with the future limpiaré (“I will clean”). suelo means “floor.” It is a masculine singular noun, so the article is el: el suelo. The phrase el suelo de la cocina means “the kitchen floor”; de links the floor with the place it belongs to or is associated with. cocina means “kitchen.” In la cocina, the feminine singular article la agrees with this noun. The noun can also be used independently, for example: La cocina está limpia. — “The kitchen is clean.” después de means “after.” When it is followed by an infinitive, the construction después de + infinitive means “after doing something.” It does not itself say who performs the later action; the surrounding sentence supplies that information. comer is the infinitive “to eat.” Here, después de comer literally means “after eating,” with the subject understood from context rather than marked on the infinitive. The fixed translation renders this naturally as “after lunch,” but the Spanish wording focuses on the act of eating. Together, Entonces limpiaré el suelo de la cocina después de comer means “Then I’ll mop the kitchen after lunch.” Entonces connects this sentence to what comes before and means “then”; limpiaré identifies the speaker as the person who will clean; el suelo de la cocina specifies what will be cleaned; and después de comer places the action after eating. The pattern Después de + infinitive, ... is reusable: Después de cenar, descansaré. — “After dinner, I will rest.”

5. ¿Deberíamos limpiar el baño todos los domingos?

   Should we clean the bathroom every Sunday?

   Deberíamos

   should we

   limpiar

   clean

   baño

   bathroom

   todos los domingos

   every Sunday

   More detail

   Deberíamos means “we should” here. It is the first-person plural conditional form of deber (“to have to; should”): debería = “I/he/she/you formal should,” while deberíamos = “we should.” In this question, the form presents cleaning as a suggestion or obligation for the speaker and others together, not as a statement that they already clean. limpiar means “to clean.” It is an infinitive, so it does not itself show who performs the action or when. After a conjugated form such as deberíamos, Spanish uses the infinitive for the recommended action: Deberíamos descansar = “We should rest.” baño means “bathroom” in this sentence. It is a masculine noun: el baño, plural los baños. The noun is the direct object of limpiar, identifying what should be cleaned. todos los domingos means “every Sunday.” domingos is the plural of domingo (“Sunday”); todos and los are also masculine plural to agree with it. Compare cada domingo, another common way to express “every Sunday.” Together, deberíamos limpiar expresses “we should clean,” el baño specifies the object, and todos los domingos gives the recurring time. The complete question is: “Should we clean the bathroom every Sunday?”

6. El domingo tiene sentido porque se ensucia rápido.

   Sunday makes sense because it gets dirty quickly.

   domingo

   Sunday

   tiene sentido

   makes sense

   se ensucia

   gets dirty

   rápido

   quickly

   More detail

   domingo means “Sunday” here. It is a singular masculine noun, so it appears with el: el domingo = “Sunday” or “on Sunday,” depending on the sentence. The plural is domingos, as in todos los domingos (“every Sunday”) in the preceding question. tiene sentido uses tener (“to have”) in the third-person singular present, tiene, with sentido (“sense”). Together, tener sentido is the reusable expression “to make sense.” The subject here is El domingo, so the singular form tiene agrees with it. Example: Esta explicación tiene sentido. — “This explanation makes sense.” se ensucia comes from ensuciarse, “to get dirty.” ensucia is the third-person singular present form, and se marks the change affecting the subject: “it gets dirty.” In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies the subject as the relevant thing associated with Sunday, without specifying a separate noun for it. Compare Lavo el coche. (“I wash the car.”) with El coche se ensucia. (“The car gets dirty.”) rápido means “quickly” here because it modifies the verb phrase se ensucia. Although rápido can also be an adjective meaning “quick” or “fast,” its role in this sentence is adverbial. Its form does not change for this use. Example: El suelo se seca rápido. — “The floor dries quickly.” Together, El domingo supplies the topic, tiene sentido says that it makes sense, and porque introduces the reason. The reason is se ensucia rápido: the relevant thing gets dirty quickly. Thus the whole utterance means “Sunday makes sense because it gets dirty quickly.”

7. Pondré el horario en la nevera.

   I'll put the schedule on the fridge.

   Pondré

   I’ll put

   horario

   schedule

   nevera

   fridge

   More detail

   Pondré is the first-person singular future form of poner (“to put”): poner → pondré, “I will put.” The stem changes to pondr- in the future, and the ending -é marks “I.” Example: Pondré las llaves en la mesa. — “I’ll put the keys on the table.” horario is a masculine noun meaning “schedule” or “timetable.” In this sentence, el horario is the thing being put somewhere. Its plural is horarios; the article changes accordingly: el horario / los horarios. Example: Necesito consultar el horario. — “I need to check the schedule.” nevera is a feminine noun meaning “fridge” or “refrigerator.” The phrase la nevera identifies the location where something will be put. A useful regional alternative is frigorífico, also masculine: el frigorífico. Example: La leche está en la nevera. — “The milk is in the fridge.” Together, Pondré expresses the speaker’s future action, el horario is the object, and en la nevera gives its destination or location. The complete meaning is: “I’ll put the schedule on the fridge.”

8. Eso debería ayudarnos a recordar cada tarea.

   That should help us remember each task.

   Eso

   that

   debería

   should

   ayudarnos

   help us

   recordar

   remember

   cada

   each; every

   tarea

   task

   More detail

   Eso means “that” here. It is a neuter demonstrative pronoun, so it refers to an already understood situation, fact, or thing rather than showing masculine or feminine agreement. Its exact referent is not specified in the supplied sentence. debería is the conditional form of deber for “should” in this sentence. The conditional ending gives a projected or expected result: “should help,” rather than stating that the help is already certain. Deber can also mean “must” in other forms and contexts, but the fixed translation supports “should” here. ayudarnos combines the infinitive ayudar (“to help”) with the attached pronoun nos (“us”). In Spanish, an object pronoun can attach to an infinitive: ayudar + nos → ayudarnos. The pronoun identifies the people receiving the help; it does not change the infinitive into a person-marked finite verb. Example: Quiero ayudarnos means “I want to help us.” recordar is an infinitive meaning “to remember.” After debería, it forms the action expected to be helped: debería ayudarnos a recordar means “should help us remember.” With ayudar, the action being helped is introduced by a before the infinitive. cada means “each” or “every” when distributing attention over members individually. It is invariable, while the noun after it is normally singular: cada tarea, “each task.” Compare todas las tareas, “all the tasks,” where the noun is plural and the determiner agrees in number. tarea is a feminine noun meaning “task.” Its singular form appears here after cada; its plural is tareas. The feminine form is relevant to agreement with words that show gender, but cada itself does not change to mark feminine gender. Together, Eso debería ayudarnos a recordar cada tarea means “That should help us remember each task.” The structure is demonstrative + conditional of deber + ayudar + nos + a + infinitive + cada + singular noun: an understood “that” is expected to help “us” carry out the action of remembering tasks individually.