Asking to Move a Deadline | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Necesito más tiempo para el informe.

   I need more time for the report.

   Necesito

   I need

   más

   more

   tiempo

   time

   para

   for

   informe

   report

   More detail

   Necesito is the first-person singular present form of necesitar: “I need.” The subject yo is built into the verb, so Spanish normally leaves the subject pronoun unstated. The same form can be reused with another object: Necesito ayuda. — “I need help.” más means “more” and keeps the same form before singular and plural nouns: más tiempo — “more time”; más informes — “more reports.” Its accent mark distinguishes it from mas, a formal conjunction meaning “but.” tiempo is the masculine noun “time.” In this sentence it refers to an amount of time, not a particular time of day. Its gender is reflected in forms such as el tiempo; the noun itself does not change form here. Example: Tengo poco tiempo. — “I have little time.” para introduces the purpose or intended relation of what is needed: tiempo para el informe means “time for the report.” A reusable pattern is Necesito tiempo para + noun/verb: Necesito tiempo para estudiar. — “I need time to study.” informe is a masculine noun meaning “report.” In el informe, the definite article el marks “the report,” referring here to the specific report identified in the translation. Its plural is informes: los informes — “the reports.” Together, Necesito + más tiempo expresses a need for an additional or greater amount of time, and para el informe identifies the report as the task or purpose connected with that time. The complete meaning is: “I need more time for the report.”

2. ¿Qué está retrasando las cosas?

   What's slowing things down?

   Qué

   what

   está retrasando

   is slowing down

   cosas

   things

   More detail

   Qué is the interrogative word “what.” With an accent, qué is used in a direct question or another interrogative use; the unaccented que has different functions. Here it asks which thing or factor is causing the delay. está retrasando combines estar with the gerund retrasando. Está is the third-person singular present form of estar, and retrasando is the gerund of the verb retrasar (“to delay” or “to slow down”). This pattern, estar + gerund, presents an action as currently in progress. For example: El tráfico está retrasando el autobús. — “Traffic is delaying the bus.” Cosas is the plural noun cosa (“thing”). The plural ending marks more than one thing; the feminine form is also reflected by the accompanying article las. In this utterance, las cosas means “things” in the broad sense, rather than naming specific objects. For example: Las cosas están cambiando. — “Things are changing.” Together, Qué asks for the cause, está retrasando describes an ongoing slowing or delay, and las cosas is what is being slowed down. The whole question therefore means “What’s slowing things down?” or, more literally, “What is delaying things?”

3. Todavía falta información.

   Some information is still missing.

   Todavía

   still

   falta

   is missing

   información

   information

   More detail

   Todavía means “still” here: the situation remains true at the present time. It commonly appears with a present-tense verb to show that something continues or has not yet changed. Example: Todavía trabajo aquí. — “I still work here.” falta is the present indicative, third-person singular form of faltar (“to be lacking” or “to be missing”). In this sentence, información is what is lacking, so Spanish uses singular falta. The verb agrees with its subject: Falta información. — “Information is missing.” With a plural subject, the form is plural: Faltan documentos. — “Documents are missing.” información means “information.” It is a feminine noun, but its grammatical gender does not make the verb singular; the singular verb here agrees with the noun’s number. The noun is often used without an article when referring generally to information, as in Necesito información. — “I need information.” Together, Todavía + falta + información says that information remains unavailable or has not yet been provided: “Some information is still missing.” The word order places the continuing-time adverb first, followed by falta, with the thing that is lacking after the verb. This is a neutral, practical way to describe an incomplete situation.

4. ¿Cuánto tiempo más necesitas?

   How much more time do you need?

   ¿Cuánto

   how much

   tiempo

   time

   más

   more

   necesitas

   need

   More detail

   ¿Cuánto asks for an amount. Before a masculine singular noun, it appears as cuánto; related forms include cuánta, cuántos, and cuántas, which agree with the noun being counted or measured. Here it asks about the amount of time, not about a number of separate objects. tiempo means “time.” It is a masculine singular noun, which is why the question uses cuánto tiempo. The same phrase is a reusable way to ask about the duration or amount of time needed: ¿Cuánto tiempo tienes? means “How much time do you have?” más adds “more” to the noun phrase: más tiempo means an additional amount of time. It does not replace tiempo; together, cuánto tiempo más asks for the additional time needed. Compare más tiempo (“more time”) with menos tiempo (“less time”). necesitas means “you need” here. Its base form is necesitar; necesitas is the present-tense form for tú, the informal singular “you.” For example, ¿Qué necesitas? means “What do you need?” Together, ¿Cuánto tiempo más necesitas? asks the listener to state the additional duration they need: “How much more time do you need?” The pattern ¿Cuánto tiempo más + necesitas? can be reused with the same meaning by changing the verb or subject when appropriate.

5. ¿Podríamos pasar la fecha límite para más tarde esta semana?

   Could we move the deadline to later this week?

   Podríamos

   could we

   pasar

   move

   fecha

   date

   límite

   limit

   más tarde

   later

   semana

   week

   More detail

   Podríamos is the first-person plural conditional of poder: podemos = “we can,” while podríamos = “we could.” Here it forms a tentative request with the subject “we”: “Could we …?” The conditional makes the proposal less direct than ¿Podemos pasar…?. Pasar is an infinitive. In this sentence, with la fecha límite, it means “to move” or “to postpone” a scheduled date, not simply “to pass” from one place to another. The reusable pattern is pasar + [an event or deadline] + para + [a later time]. Fecha is a feminine noun meaning “date.” Its plural is fechas. In fecha límite, it names the scheduled date that marks the limit: together, the two nouns mean “deadline.” Límite means “limit” or “boundary.” It is a noun here and modifies fecha in the compound fecha límite; the complete noun phrase, rather than límite alone, is “deadline.” Más tarde means “later.” Tarde means “late” or “late in the day,” and más tarde is its comparative form, literally “later.” It can refer to a later time without specifying an exact hour. Semana is a feminine noun meaning “week”; its plural is semanas. In the full phrase esta semana, it refers to the current week: más tarde esta semana means “later this week.” Together, podríamos pasar la fecha límite asks whether “we” can move the deadline, and para más tarde esta semana specifies the new time as later in the current week. The complete meaning is: “Could we move the deadline to later this week?”

6. Está bien, pero envía una breve actualización al equipo.

   That works, but send the team a short update.

   Está bien

   That’s fine

   envía

   send

   breve

   short

   actualización

   update

   equipo

   team

   More detail

   Está bien is a common way to accept or approve something: “That’s fine” or “That works.” Here está is the third-person singular present form of estar, used with bien to describe a satisfactory state. Example: Todo está bien. — “Everything is fine.” envía means “send” here and is an affirmative command addressed to one person using tú. The exact form envía is the tú singular command of enviar; it is not the usted form (envíe) or the ustedes form (envíen). Example: Envía el archivo hoy. — “Send the file today.” breve means “short” or “brief.” It is an adjective describing actualización, so it is feminine singular in this sentence. The adjective has the same written form with masculine and feminine singular nouns: un mensaje breve, una actualización breve. actualización means “update” here, specifically a short piece of new information. It is a feminine noun, which is why the phrase uses una and the adjective form breve. Example: Necesito una actualización. — “I need an update.” equipo means “team.” In al equipo, al is the contraction of a + el, marking the team as the recipient of the sending. Example: Envía el informe al equipo. — “Send the report to the team.” Together, envía una breve actualización al equipo means “send the team a short update”: the listener is instructed to send a brief update to the team. The opening Está bien, pero first accepts the preceding idea and then introduces this contrasting request. The complete utterance is therefore: “That works, but send the team a short update.”

7. Explicaré qué está listo y qué sigue faltando.

   I'll explain what is ready and what is still missing.

   Explicaré

   I’ll explain

   qué

   what

   listo

   ready

   sigue faltando

   is still missing

   More detail

   Explicaré is the first-person singular future of explicar (“to explain”): explicar → explicaré (“I will explain”). The ending -é identifies “I” in this future form. Example: Mañana explicaré el proceso. — “Tomorrow I will explain the process.” qué means “what” here. Its accent marks it as the interrogative word used inside an indirect question or content clause; it does not make the sentence a direct question. The same word appears again before sigue faltando, introducing a second item to be explained. Spanish qué is invariable: it does not change for gender or number. listo means “ready” in this sentence. It is the adjective listo, used with estar in está listo to describe a state. The observed form is masculine singular, while the sentence does not name the specific thing referred to by qué. Listo can have other meanings in other contexts, such as “clever,” but “ready” is the meaning supported here. Example: El informe está listo. — “The report is ready.” Sigue faltando combines third-person singular sigue, from seguir (“to continue”), with the gerund faltando, from faltar (“to be missing” or “to be lacking”). Together they express that something continues to be missing: “is still missing.” The subject is the unspecified item introduced by the second qué; the sentence does not identify it. Example: Sigue faltando una firma. — “A signature is still missing.” The structure qué está listo y qué sigue faltando sets out two things to report: what is ready and what remains missing. With Explicaré, the complete utterance means: “I’ll explain what is ready and what is still missing.”

8. Eso ayudará a todos a planificar teniendo en cuenta el retraso.

   That will help everyone plan around the delay.

   Eso

   that

   ayudará

   will help

   todos

   everyone

   planificar

   to plan

   teniendo en cuenta

   taking into account

   retraso

   delay

   More detail

   Eso means “that” here and functions as the subject. It is a demonstrative pronoun, so it stands on its own rather than modifying a noun. The fixed translation identifies it as “that,” but does not specify exactly what it refers to. ayudará is the future form of ayudar (“to help”) for a third-person singular subject: ayudaré, ayudarás, ayudará, ayudaremos, ayudarán. The ending and written accent mark this form; the subject here is Eso. Example: La información ayudará. — “The information will help.” todos means “everyone” in this sentence. It is a plural form referring to the people being helped; the preposition a before it is part of the Spanish marking used with a personal object. The useful pattern is ayudar a alguien — “to help someone.” planificar is the infinitive “to plan.” After ayudar a plus a person, Spanish commonly uses a plus an infinitive: ayudar a alguien a planificar — “to help someone plan.” Example: El mapa me ayuda a planificar. — “The map helps me plan.” teniendo en cuenta is a fixed, reusable expression meaning “taking into account” or “considering.” Teniendo is the gerund of tener, and en cuenta completes the expression; do not interpret it as a literal physical act of holding something. Example: Decidimos teniendo en cuenta el tiempo. — “We decide while taking the time into account.” retraso is the noun “delay.” Its base form is retraso, and it is masculine singular, as shown by el in the full sentence: el retraso. Example: El retraso continúa. — “The delay continues.” Together, Eso ayudará a todos a planificar means “That will help everyone plan.” The following teniendo en cuenta el retraso adds that the planning takes the delay into account. Thus the complete utterance means “That will help everyone plan around the delay.”