Finding the main entrance | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Disculpe, ¿por dónde se llega a la entrada principal?

   Excuse me, which way leads to the main entrance?

   Disculpe

   Excuse me

   por dónde

   which way

   se llega

   one gets / reaches

   entrada

   entrance

   principal

   main

   More detail

   Disculpe is the formal singular way to say “excuse me” when addressing one person with usted. It is an affirmative command form of disculpar; the listener form matters, so it is not the informal singular disculpa or the plural disculpen. por dónde asks about the route or direction: “which way” or “where through.” Compare por dónde se llega al museo? — “Which way do you get to the museum?” The question asks for a route, not for the entrance’s identity. se llega uses llegar in a construction without a stated personal subject. Here it means “one gets/reaches,” as in a general question about how to arrive. llegar means “to arrive” or “to reach,” and its form changes with a stated subject: llego = “I arrive,” llegan = “they arrive.” In this sentence, se presents the route generally rather than identifying who arrives. entrada means “entrance.” It is a feminine singular noun; its plural is entradas. The destination is introduced by a in a la entrada, literally “to the entrance.” principal means “main” here. It describes entrada, so it is feminine singular in agreement with that noun. The form is the same for masculine and feminine singular nouns, while the plural form is principales: for example, el acceso principal — “the main access,” and las entradas principales — “the main entrances.” Together, the reusable pattern ¿por dónde se llega a ...? asks which route leads to a destination. With la entrada principal as the destination, the utterance means “Excuse me, which way leads to the main entrance?”

2. Siga las señales amarillas hacia el vestíbulo principal.

   Follow the yellow signs toward the main hall.

   Siga

   follow

   señales

   signs

   amarillas

   yellow

   hacia

   toward

   vestíbulo

   hall

   principal

   main

   More detail

   Siga is the affirmative command form of seguir for usted singular: “follow.” It addresses one person formally or politely. The command for tú is sigue, while sigan addresses ustedes plural. Example: Siga recto. — “Go straight.” señales means “signs” here, specifically signs that give directions. Its singular base form is señal; señales is plural. The feminine plural article and adjective in the sentence also agree with this noun: las señales amarillas. amarillas means “yellow” and describes señales. Its base form is the adjective amarillo; amarillas is feminine plural to agree with the feminine plural noun señales. Compare el cartel amarillo — “the yellow sign/poster” and las señales amarillas — “the yellow signs.” hacia means “toward” and introduces the direction or destination. It does not by itself mean that the destination has been reached. Example: Camina hacia la salida. — “Walk toward the exit.” vestíbulo means “hall” or “lobby” here. It is a masculine singular noun, so the phrase uses el vestíbulo. Its plural is vestíbulos. The written accent remains in the singular and plural forms. principal means “main” in el vestíbulo principal. The adjective describes vestíbulo; principal has the same singular form with masculine and feminine nouns, while its plural is principales: la entrada principal, “the main entrance,” and los vestíbulos principales, “the main halls.” Together, Siga las señales amarillas gives the polite singular instruction “Follow the yellow signs.” hacia el vestíbulo principal adds the direction, “toward the main hall.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Follow the yellow signs toward the main hall.”

3. ¿Debo tomar las escaleras mecánicas después de pasar el control de billetes?

   Should I take the escalator after the ticket gate?

   Debo

   should I; must I

   tomar

   take

   escaleras

   stairs; staircase

   mecánicas

   mechanical

   después de

   after

   pasar

   pass; go through

   control

   control; checkpoint

   billetes

   tickets

   More detail

   Debo is the first-person singular present form of deber: deber → debo. In this question, it asks whether the speaker ought to or is expected to do something: “Should I…?” The same form can also express “I must” in a stronger statement, depending on context. With an infinitive, deber + infinitive is a reusable way to ask about or express obligation: ¿Debo esperar? = “Should I wait?” Tomar is the infinitive “to take.” Here it introduces the action the speaker is considering after debo. In transport directions, tomar can refer to choosing or using a route or means of transport, not only physically picking something up: tomar el autobús = “take the bus.” Escaleras is the plural of the feminine noun escalera. In escaleras mecánicas, the full noun phrase means “escalator(s).” The singular counterpart is escalera mecánica; the plural is formed on both words: escaleras mecánicas. The nearby context and fixed translation identify these as the escalators used to go upstairs, rather than ordinary stairs. Mecánicas is the feminine plural form of the adjective mecánico, agreeing with escaleras in gender and number: mecánico → mecánica → mecánicas. In this established expression, it helps distinguish an escalator from an ordinary escalera. Después de means “after” and introduces what happens later. When it is followed by an infinitive, the understood subject is normally the same as the subject of the main clause here: después de pasar = “after passing.” A noun can also follow it, as in después de la reunión = “after the meeting.” Pasar is the infinitive “to pass” or “to go through.” Here it describes going through the ticket checkpoint, not merely walking past an unspecified object. The same verb is also used in patterns such as pasar por la puerta = “go through the door.” Control is a masculine noun meaning “check” or “checkpoint” in this setting. Its plural is controles. In control de billetes, the preposition de links the checkpoint with what is checked, giving “ticket checkpoint” or, naturally here, “ticket gate.” Billetes is the plural of the masculine noun billete, meaning “ticket” in this context. The singular/plural contrast is billete / billetes. The phrase control de billetes refers to a checkpoint for tickets; it does not assert a particular number of tickets held by the speaker. The structure is ¿Debo + infinitive ... después de + infinitive ...?: ¿Debo tomar ... después de pasar ...? The speaker asks whether taking the escalators is the appropriate action after going through the ticket gate. The complete meaning is: “Should I take the escalator after the ticket gate?”

4. Suba por las escaleras mecánicas y luego gire a la derecha.

   Take it upstairs, then turn right.

   Suba

   go up

   escaleras mecánicas

   escalators

   luego

   then

   gire

   turn

   a la derecha

   to the right

   More detail

   Suba is the affirmative command form of subir for usted singular. It means “go up” here; the person being addressed is understood rather than written. Compare sube for an affirmative tú command and suban for an affirmative ustedes command. Example: Suba con cuidado. — “Go up carefully.” escaleras mecánicas means “escalators.” Escalera is feminine, and mecánica describes it; both are plural here: escaleras mecánicas. The phrase identifies the route for going up. Example: Las escaleras mecánicas están a la izquierda. — “The escalators are on the left.” luego means “then” and orders the next action after the first one. Example: Primero compre el billete y luego pase. — “First buy the ticket and then go through.” gire is the affirmative command form of girar for usted singular: “turn.” As with Suba, the command is directed to one person addressed as usted. Example: Gire aquí. — “Turn here.” a la derecha means “to the right.” The preposition a combines with the feminine noun phrase la derecha; this expression indicates the direction of the turn. Example: Gire a la derecha en la esquina. — “Turn right at the corner.” Together, Suba por las escaleras mecánicas tells one usted-addressed person to go up using the escalators, and luego gire a la derecha tells that person to turn right afterward. The complete instruction is therefore: “Take it upstairs, then turn right.”

5. ¿Está lejos de aquí la entrada principal?

   Is the main entrance far from here?

   Está

   is / is located

   lejos

   far

   de aquí

   from here

   entrada

   entrance

   principal

   main

   More detail

   Está is the third-person singular present form of estar, used here for location or state: “is / is located.” Its base form is estar; do not confuse it with es, the third-person singular of ser, which is used for identity or more inherent description. Here está agrees with the singular noun phrase la entrada principal. Lejos means “far” and describes distance. It is an invariable adverb, so it does not change for gender or number. A useful contrast is cerca, “near.” Example: La estación está lejos. — “The station is far away.” De aquí means “from here.” Aquí means “here,” and de marks the point from which distance is measured. Example: El museo está cerca de aquí. — “The museum is near here.” Entrada means “entrance” in this sentence. It is a feminine noun: la entrada. Its plural is las entradas. The same word can refer to an entrance or, in other contexts, an admission ticket, so the surrounding words determine the intended sense here. Principal means “main” or “primary.” It is an adjective modifying entrada, and it follows the noun in this phrase. Its feminine singular form is principal; this adjective has the same form for masculine and feminine singular nouns. For example, el acceso principal means “the main access point,” while las entradas principales means “the main entrances.” Together, está lejos de aquí asks about distance from the current location indicated by aquí, and la entrada principal identifies what is being located. Spanish places the subject noun phrase after the descriptive predicate in this question: ¿Está lejos de aquí la entrada principal? The complete meaning is “Is the main entrance far from here?”

6. Está a poca distancia caminando desde allí.

   It is a short walk from there.

   Está

   is located

   poca

   little; short

   distancia

   distance

   caminando

   walking

   desde allí

   from there

   More detail

   Está is the third-person singular present form of estar. Here it describes a location or distance relation, rather than an inherent identity or definition. The sentence’s English “it is” supplies the intended meaning; Spanish does not need an overt subject here. poca is the feminine singular form of poco, agreeing with distancia. It means “little” in this measurement expression. Compare poco tiempo (little time) with poca distancia (little distance); the ending follows the noun’s grammatical gender and number. distancia means “distance.” The reusable pattern a poca distancia means “at a short distance” or, with a route expressed afterward, “a short walk away.” The preposition a is part of this distance expression; it does not by itself assert a numeric count. caminando is the gerund of caminar (“to walk”). Here it describes the way the distance can be covered: literally, the place is at a small distance when walking. The gerund is not being used to say that someone is currently walking. desde allí means “from there.” allí is a demonstrative adverb referring to a place understood from the context; the supplied translation confirms that the starting point is “there.” The related expression desde aquí means “from here,” as in the preceding question. Together, Está a poca distancia says that the destination is nearby, caminando specifies that this is measured as walking distance, and desde allí identifies the starting point. The complete utterance therefore means: “It is a short walk from there.”

7. Esta estación es un poco confusa.

   This station is a little confusing.

   Esta

   this

   estación

   station

   es

   is

   un poco

   a little

   confusa

   confusing

   More detail

   Esta means “this” and is the feminine singular form used with a feminine singular noun such as estación. The masculine counterpart is este; plural forms include estas and estos. The form here identifies the station as the nearby or contextually relevant one, without by itself specifying exactly which physical station it is. estación means “station.” It is a feminine noun, so the agreeing forms here are esta and confusa. In other contexts, estación can also mean a season or a station of a service, but the fixed translation identifies the intended meaning as “station.” es is the third-person singular present form of ser, “to be.” The form agrees with the singular subject esta estación. A useful contrast is son, the third-person plural present form, as in Las señales son... (“The signs are...”); the next sentence provides that plural example. un poco means “a little” or “somewhat.” It softens the degree of the description that follows; it does not replace the adjective or state a precise measurement. A reusable pattern is ser un poco + adjective, for example: El mapa es un poco confuso. — “The map is a little confusing.” confusa means “confusing” here. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective confuso, agreeing with estación; the adjective, not the noun, carries this gender and number marking. The masculine singular form is confuso, and plural forms are confusos or confusas according to the noun they describe. For example, Las instrucciones son confusas. means “The instructions are confusing.” Together, Esta estación identifies the subject, es links it to a description, un poco lowers the degree, and confusa describes the station. The complete meaning is: “This station is a little confusing.”

8. Las señales son más fáciles de seguir arriba.

   The signs are easier to follow upstairs.

   señales

   signs

   son

   are

   más fáciles

   easier

   seguir

   to follow

   arriba

   upstairs

   More detail

   señales means “signs” here. Its singular base form is señal; the plural is formed with -es, and this noun is feminine: la señal, las señales. Example: Las señales son claras. — “The signs are clear.” son is the present-tense form of ser for ellos/ellas/ustedes. Here it links the signs with their description. Ser is the base form; compare es for a singular subject with son for a plural subject. más fáciles means “easier.” The adjective is fácil, and fáciles is its plural form agreeing with feminine plural señales; más marks the comparative. The comparison is with an understood alternative or situation, so Spanish does not need to state the comparison explicitly here. Example: Estas instrucciones son más fáciles. — “These instructions are easier.” seguir is the infinitive “to follow.” In fáciles de seguir, the pattern ser + adjective + de + infinitive describes something as easy to do: literally, the signs are easy to follow. The infinitive does not show a separate subject here; the signs are what can be followed. Example: El camino es fácil de seguir. — “The path is easy to follow.” arriba is an adverb meaning “upstairs” or “up above.” In this sentence it locates the signs and the act of following them upstairs. It does not change for number or gender. Example: La oficina está arriba. — “The office is upstairs.” Together, Las señales son más fáciles de seguir says “The signs are easier to follow,” and arriba specifies the location: “upstairs.” The complete utterance therefore means “The signs are easier to follow upstairs.”