Finding the Correct Platform After a Change | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. ¿Escuchaste el anuncio hace un momento?

   Did you hear the announcement just now?

   Escuchaste

   did you hear

   anuncio

   announcement

   hace un momento

   just now

   More detail

   Escuchaste means “you heard” here. It is the preterite form of escuchar for tú (second-person singular): escuchar → escuchaste. The preterite presents the hearing as a completed event. Example: ¿Escuchaste la noticia? — “Did you hear the news?” anuncio means “announcement.” Its base form is the noun anuncio; the definite article el marks it as masculine singular. The article identifies the noun as a specific announcement in this context; it does not itself state a numerical count. hace un momento is a reusable time expression meaning “just now” or “a moment ago.” In this expression, hace is the third-person singular present form of hacer, used impersonally to measure time elapsed, and un momento is the time interval. Compare hace dos días — “two days ago.” Together, ¿Escuchaste el anuncio hace un momento? asks whether the listener completed hearing the announcement a moment ago: “Did you hear the announcement just now?”

2. El tren sale de otro andén.

   The train is leaving from a different platform.

   tren

   train

   sale

   leaves; departs

   de

   from

   otro

   another; different

   andén

   platform

   More detail

   tren means “train.” It is a masculine singular noun; its plural is trenes. The article in el tren agrees with this noun. Example: El tren llega. — “The train arrives.” sale is the third-person singular present form of salir, “to leave” or “to go out.” Here it describes the train’s departure. The useful present-tense pattern is sale for “he/she/it leaves”; for example, El autobús sale a las ocho. — “The bus leaves at eight.” de introduces the place or point from which something leaves: salir de + lugar means “to leave from a place.” It is a preposition and does not change form. Example: Salimos de la estación. — “We leave from the station.” otro means “another” or, in this context, “a different/other.” It is a masculine singular form agreeing with andén. Its related forms include feminine singular otra and plural otros/otras; the choice follows the noun, not the train. Example: Necesitamos otra entrada. — “We need another entrance.” andén means “platform,” especially a train platform. It is a masculine singular noun; its plural is andenes, with the stress pattern reflected in the spelling. Example: Esperamos en el andén. — “We wait on the platform.” Together, El tren identifies the departing train, sale states its departure, and de otro andén specifies the departure point. The complete utterance means: “The train is leaving from a different platform.”

3. El panel dice que debemos usar el otro andén.

   The board says we should use the other platform instead.

   panel

   board; panel

   dice

   says

   debemos

   should; must

   usar

   use

   otro

   other; different

   andén

   platform

   More detail

   panel is a masculine noun meaning “board” or “panel.” Here, El panel is the grammatical subject: el is the masculine singular definite article, and panel names the information display. dice comes from decir, “to say.” It is the present-tense third-person singular form: decir → dice. The form agrees with El panel, not with the people who receive the message. Example: La señal dice “Salida”. — “The sign says ‘Exit’.” debemos comes from deber, “to have to” or “should.” It is the present-tense first-person plural form, used with nosotros or nosotras: debemos. With an infinitive, deber + infinitive expresses what we should or must do. In this sentence, debemos usar means “we should use.” Example: Debemos esperar. — “We should wait.” usar is the infinitive “to use.” After debemos, it stays in the infinitive rather than taking a personal ending. The subject of the action is understood as first-person plural from debemos: “we should use.” otro means “other” or, in this context, “different.” It is an adjective modifying andén, so it is masculine singular: otro andén. Its feminine singular form is otra, and plural forms include otros and otras, agreeing with the noun they modify. Example: Necesitamos otra entrada. — “We need another entrance.” andén is a masculine noun meaning “platform,” especially a train platform. The accent mark is part of the spelling. In el otro andén, el marks the definite noun phrase, while otro identifies the platform as the other/different one intended here. The structure is El panel dice que [debemos usar el otro andén]: “The board says that we should use the other platform.” que introduces the content of what the board says. Inside that clause, debemos usar expresses the recommendation or obligation, and el otro andén is the platform to be used. Together, the utterance says that the board gives the information that we should use the other platform instead.

4. Entonces, debemos seguir las señales ahora.

   Then we should follow the signs now.

   Entonces

   Then

   debemos

   should; must

   seguir

   follow

   señales

   signs

   ahora

   now

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here, linking the sentence to what has just been established. It can also introduce a conclusion: Entonces, vamos = “Then, let’s go.” debemos is the first-person plural present form of deber, “to have to” or “should.” The ending -emos identifies “we”; the subject pronoun is normally omitted because the verb form already supplies it. With an infinitive, deber + infinitive expresses obligation or advice: Debemos esperar = “We should wait.” In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the advice-like meaning “should,” not a separate claim about a strict obligation. seguir is the infinitive “to follow.” After debemos, Spanish uses the infinitive directly: debemos seguir = “we should follow.” Its present-tense forms include sigo (“I follow”) and siguen (“they follow”); the change in the stem vowel in some forms is part of this verb’s conjugation. señales means “signs” in this sentence. Its singular base form is señal, and señales is its feminine plural form. The plural is shown by -es; the noun refers here to the signs that should be followed, without specifying their individual content. ahora means “now,” locating the action in the present time. For example, Lo hacemos ahora means “We are doing it now.” Together, Entonces, debemos seguir gives “Then, we should follow,” las señales identifies what should be followed, and ahora places the action now. The complete meaning is: “Then we should follow the signs now.”

5. ¿Tenemos suficiente tiempo para llegar allí?

   Do we have enough time to get there?

   Tenemos

   we have

   suficiente

   enough

   tiempo

   time

   llegar

   to get there / arrive

   allí

   there

   More detail

   Tenemos is the present-tense first-person plural form of tener (“to have”): tenemos = “we have.” The subject is “we,” understood from the verb ending; it is not a command. Example: Tenemos un mapa. — “We have a map.” suficiente means “enough” here. It describes tiempo and is singular because tiempo is singular; the form is the same for masculine and feminine singular nouns. Compare suficiente tiempo (“enough time”) with suficientes horas (“enough hours”). tiempo means “time” in this sentence. It is a masculine singular noun, so the phrase uses suficiente tiempo. Example: No tenemos tiempo. — “We do not have time.” llegar is the infinitive “to arrive” or “to get there.” After para, Spanish commonly uses an infinitive when the understood subject is the same as in the main clause: Tenemos tiempo para llegar. — “We have time to arrive / get there.” allí is the adverb “there,” referring to a place understood from the situation. Unlike a pronoun, it does not show person, number, or gender. llegar allí means “to get there,” with allí specifying the destination. Together, tener suficiente tiempo para + infinitive expresses having enough time to do something. The question ¿Tenemos suficiente tiempo para llegar allí? asks whether we have enough time to get there. The following si salimos ahora confirms that leaving now is the relevant condition, while the earlier sentence supplies the surrounding plan to follow the signs.

6. Sí, si salimos ahora.

   We do if we leave now.

   Sí

   yes

   si

   if

   salimos

   we leave

   ahora

   now

   More detail

   Sí is the accented affirmative word “yes.” It confirms the answer to the preceding question about having enough time; do not confuse it with si without an accent, the conjunction “if.” si introduces a condition. The reusable pattern is si + clause: “if …”. It does not mean that the first part is being replaced by the condition; it connects the condition to the result understood from the conversation. salimos comes from salir, “to leave” or “to go out.” Here it is the first-person plural present form, meaning “we leave.” The same spelling can also be a first-person plural preterite form (“we left”) in other contexts, but si salimos ahora and the fixed translation support the present, future-oriented reading “if we leave now.” The subject is included in the verb form: salgo = “I leave,” sales = “you leave,” and salimos = “we leave.” ahora means “now” and places the leaving at the present moment. It can be reused with other verbs, for example: Empezamos ahora. — “We start now.” Together, Sí, si salimos ahora. means “Yes, if we leave now.” Sí answers affirmatively, while si salimos ahora states the condition under which the affirmative answer applies. The result is understood from the question in the supplied context: leaving now provides enough time to get there.

7. Tendré mi billete listo.

   I'll keep my ticket ready.

   Tendré

   I’ll keep / I’ll have

   mi

   my

   billete

   ticket

   listo

   ready

   More detail

   Tendré is the first-person singular future form of tener (“to have”): tener → tendré (“I will have”). Here, with listo, it describes a future state: having the ticket ready. The pattern tener + object + adjective is useful for describing an object's state, as in Tengo la puerta abierta (“I have the door open”). mi is the singular possessive determiner meaning “my.” It agrees in number with the possessed noun: mi billete is singular, while mis billetes is plural. It does not itself state how many tickets there are; the singular form comes from billete. billete is a masculine singular noun meaning “ticket.” In this context it is the ticket the speaker will have ready. The plural is billetes: Necesito dos billetes means “I need two tickets.” listo is a descriptive adjective meaning “ready” here. It is masculine singular to agree with billete; its feminine singular form is lista, as in la entrada lista (“the ticket/admission pass ready,” depending on context). The same adjective can have other context-dependent meanings, but “ready” is the intended meaning here. Together, mi billete listo means “my ticket ready,” and tendré mi billete listo uses the pattern tener + object + adjective: “I will have my ticket ready.” Thus the complete utterance means “I’ll keep my ticket ready,” or more literally, “I’ll have my ticket ready.”

8. Tenlo a mano; el personal puede revisarlo antes de que subamos al tren.

   Keep it handy; staff may check it before we board.

   Tenlo

   keep it

   a mano

   handy; at hand

   el personal

   staff

   puede

   may; can

   revisarlo

   check it

   antes de que

   before

   subamos

   we board; we go up

   al tren

   onto the train

   More detail

   Tenlo is an affirmative tú command: ten is the command form of tener, and lo is an attached direct-object pronoun. Here lo refers to the item identified in context as the ticket. The pattern tenlo means “keep it / have it.” a mano literally refers to something being at hand, and here means “handy” or readily available. The reusable pattern tener algo a mano means to keep something within easy reach. el personal means “the staff.” Personal is a collective noun treated as singular here, which is why the following verb is singular: puede, not a plural form. It refers to the staff as a group, without specifying individual members. puede is the third-person singular present form of poder. In this sentence, poder + infinitive expresses possibility or permission in context: “may check.” The same form can also mean “can,” depending on the situation. revisarlo combines the infinitive revisar (“to check” or “inspect”) with attached lo (“it”). The pronoun is masculine singular because it replaces the masculine singular item understood here, the ticket. In Spanish, object pronouns attach to an infinitive: revisar + lo → revisarlo. Example: Voy a revisarlo. — “I’m going to check it.” antes de que introduces an event that occurs earlier than another event. It is followed here by subamos, rather than an infinitive, because the clause has its own subject: “we.” subamos is the first-person plural present subjunctive of subir. After antes de que, the subjunctive presents the boarding event as pending or viewed in relation to the other event. With al tren, subir means “board” rather than simply “go upward.” al tren is a + el, contracted to al, followed by tren (“train”). In subir al tren, a marks movement onto or into the train. The contraction is obligatory in standard Spanish when a comes directly before the masculine singular article el. Together, Tenlo a mano means “Keep it handy.” El personal puede revisarlo means “staff may check it,” and antes de que subamos al tren places that check before the speaker and others board the train. The whole utterance is therefore: “Keep it handy; staff may check it before we board.”