Asking to Move a Deadline | Learn Spanish in English

Spanish lesson set in a contemporary Madrid everyday setting: At work, two adults talk about moving a report deadline because some information is still missing..

EN → ES / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Asking to Move a Deadline to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Necesito más tiempo para el informe.

neh-seh-SEE-toh mahs TYEHM-poh PAH-rah ehl een-FOR-meh I need more time for the report.
B

¿Qué está retrasando las cosas?

keh ehs-TAH reh-trah-SAHN-doh lahs KOH-sahs What's slowing things down?
A

Todavía falta información.

toh-dah-VEE-ah FAHL-tah een-for-mah-SYOHN Some information is still missing.
B

¿Cuánto tiempo más necesitas?

KWAHN-toh TYEHM-poh mahs neh-seh-SEE-tahs How much more time do you need?
A

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

poh-DREE-ah-mohs pah-SAR lah FEH-chah LEE-mee-teh PAH-rah mahs TAR-deh EH-stah seh-MAH-nah Could we move the deadline to later this week?
B

Está bien, pero envía una breve actualización al equipo.

ehs-TAH BYEHN, PEH-roh ehn-BYAH OO-nah BREH-beh ahk-too-ah-lee-sah-SYOHN ahl eh-KEE-poh That works, but send the team a short update.
A

Explicaré qué está listo y qué sigue faltando.

ehks-plee-kah-REH keh ehs-TAH LEE-stoh ee keh SEE-geh fahl-TAHN-doh I'll explain what is ready and what is still missing.
B

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

EH-soh ah-yoo-dah-RAH ah TOH-dohs ah plah-nee-fee-KAR teh-NYEHN-doh ehn KWEHN-tah ehl reh-TRAH-soh That will help everyone plan around the delay.

Word by Word

Necesito ‘Necesito’ means “I need” in ‘Necesito más tiempo para el informe.’ It is the first-person form of necesitar and is used with the thing needed, such as ‘más tiempo’. Use it when explaining a personal need at work or in daily life.
más ‘más’ means “more” here and increases the amount of ‘tiempo’. It comes before the noun in ‘más tiempo’. Use it to ask for or describe an additional amount, such as ‘más información’ in a new example.
tiempo ‘tiempo’ means “time” in ‘Necesito más tiempo’. Here it is the amount needed to finish the report. It commonly follows expressions such as ‘necesito más’ when asking for extra time.
para ‘para’ means “for” in ‘para el informe’, showing what the time is needed for. It is followed here by the noun phrase ‘el informe’. Use ‘para’ to connect something with its purpose or intended task.
el ‘el’ means “the” before ‘informe’ in ‘el informe’. It identifies a specific report. Use it before a specific masculine singular noun when referring to something known in the situation.
informe ‘informe’ means “report” in ‘el informe’. It is the work document for which more time is needed. Use it with ‘el’ when referring to a specific report, as in ‘el informe final’ in a new example.
Qué ‘Qué’ means “what” in the question ‘¿Qué está retrasando las cosas?’. It asks which thing is causing the delay. Use it at the start of a question when asking for information about an unspecified thing.
está ‘está’ means “is” in ‘está retrasando’, describing what is happening now in the situation. It is the form used with the ongoing action ‘retrasando’. Use it with an ongoing action or a current state when describing what is happening.
retrasando ‘retrasando’ means “delaying” or “slowing down” in ‘está retrasando las cosas’. It identifies the action that is holding things back. It follows ‘está’ in this ongoing-action pattern, which can be reused with another action in a new example.
las ‘las’ means “the” before ‘cosas’ in ‘las cosas’. It refers to the specific things or tasks affected by the delay. Use it before a specific feminine plural noun.
cosas ‘cosas’ means “things” in ‘retrasando las cosas’. In this dialogue, it refers generally to the work or tasks being slowed down. Use it when the exact items are not specified or do not need to be named.
Todavía ‘Todavía’ means “still” in ‘Todavía falta información’, showing that the missing information remains missing at this point. It commonly appears with a verb to describe an unfinished or continuing situation. Use it when updating someone about something that has not changed yet.
falta ‘falta’ means “is missing” in ‘falta información’. It says that the needed information is not available. Use it with the missing thing, as in ‘falta tiempo’ in a new example.
información ‘información’ means “information” in ‘falta información’. It is the material that is still needed for the report. Use it after ‘falta’ when saying that information is unavailable or missing.
Cuánto ‘Cuánto’ means “how much” in ‘¿Cuánto tiempo más necesitas?’. It asks about the amount of time required. It comes before ‘tiempo’ in this question and is useful when asking someone to specify an amount.
necesitas ‘necesitas’ means “you need” in ‘¿Cuánto tiempo más necesitas?’. It is the form of necesitar used to ask one person about their need. Use it with the thing needed, such as ‘¿Qué necesitas?’ in a new example.
Podríamos ‘Podríamos’ means “could we” in ‘¿Podríamos pasar la fecha límite…?’. It makes a polite proposal to change the deadline. It is followed here by the action ‘pasar’ and can introduce a suggestion involving another person.
pasar ‘pasar’ means “move” or “shift” in ‘pasar la fecha límite’. Here it means to move the deadline to a later time. It follows ‘Podríamos’ and is used before the thing being moved.
la ‘la’ means “the” before ‘fecha’ in ‘la fecha límite’. It identifies a specific date or deadline. Use it before a specific feminine singular noun.
fecha ‘fecha’ means “date” in ‘la fecha límite’. Together with ‘límite’, it refers to the deadline for the report. Use it in time expressions when referring to a particular calendar date.
límite ‘límite’ means “limit” and contributes to the meaning “deadline” in ‘la fecha límite’. The full expression names the final date for completing something. Use it after ‘fecha’ when discussing a work or delivery deadline.
tarde ‘tarde’ means “later” in ‘para más tarde esta semana’, referring to a later time during the week. It follows ‘más’ to express a later point. Use this pattern when proposing that something happen at a later time.
esta ‘esta’ means “this” in ‘esta semana’, referring to the week that includes the current time. It comes before ‘semana’ and matches that noun in this expression. Use it to identify the current week in a schedule or plan.
semana ‘semana’ means “week” in ‘esta semana’. The phrase places the proposed later deadline within the current week. Use it with a time word or demonstrative to discuss when a task should happen.
bien ‘bien’ means “okay” in ‘Está bien’, showing that the proposed change is acceptable. Here it responds positively before the speaker adds a condition. Use ‘Está bien’ to accept an arrangement or say that something works.
pero ‘pero’ means “but” in ‘Está bien, pero envía…’. It introduces a condition or additional request after accepting the proposal. Use it to connect an agreement with a limitation or follow-up instruction.
envía ‘envía’ means “send” in ‘envía una breve actualización al equipo’. It gives the instruction to send an update. It is followed by the thing being sent and the recipient, ‘al equipo’, so this pattern can be reused for a work request.
una ‘una’ means “a” before ‘breve actualización’ in ‘una breve actualización’. It introduces one non-specific update. Use it before a feminine singular noun when mentioning one item that has not been identified specifically.
breve ‘breve’ means “brief” or “short” in ‘una breve actualización’. It describes the update as limited in length. It comes before ‘actualización’ here and can describe a short message or explanation in a new example.
actualización ‘actualización’ means “update” in ‘una breve actualización’. It is the short report that should be sent to the team. Use it for new information about the progress or status of a task.
al ‘al’ means “to the” in ‘al equipo’. It is the combined form of a and el, marking the team as the recipient. Use it before a masculine singular noun when saying that something is sent or directed to that recipient.
equipo ‘equipo’ means “team” in ‘al equipo’. It is the group that should receive the update. Use it after ‘al’ when sending information to a specific work team.
Explicaré ‘Explicaré’ means “I will explain” in ‘Explicaré qué está listo…’. It presents an explanation the speaker plans to give. It is followed by the information to be explained, so use it when promising to clarify a situation.
listo ‘listo’ means “ready” in ‘qué está listo’. It describes the work or material that is ready at this point. It follows ‘está’ in this current-state pattern and can be used to report that a task is ready.
y ‘y’ means “and” in ‘qué está listo y qué sigue faltando’. It links two parts of the explanation: what is ready and what remains missing. Use it to join related words, phrases, or clauses.
sigue ‘sigue’ means “continues” or “is still” in ‘qué sigue faltando’. It shows that the missing situation continues. It is followed by ‘faltando’ and can be used to describe an unfinished situation that remains active.
faltando ‘faltando’ means “being missing” in ‘sigue faltando’. Together, ‘sigue faltando’ means that something remains unavailable. It follows ‘sigue’ in this continuing-situation pattern and is useful for reporting unfinished work.
Eso ‘Eso’ means “that” in ‘Eso ayudará a todos’. It refers to the action or explanation just mentioned. Use it to point back to an idea, action, or situation that has already been discussed.
ayudará ‘ayudará’ means “will help” in ‘Eso ayudará a todos’. It says that the earlier action is expected to be useful. The verb is followed by the people helped, ‘a todos’, and can be used when describing a future benefit.
a ‘a’ means “to” in ‘ayudará a todos’. It introduces the people who will receive the help. Use it after ayudar when identifying the person or group that benefits.
todos ‘todos’ means “everyone” or “all” in ‘a todos’. It refers to all the people involved in planning around the delay. Use it after ‘a’ when saying that an action affects or benefits everyone in a group.
planificar ‘planificar’ means “to plan” in ‘ayudará a todos a planificar’. It names the action that everyone will be helped to do. It follows ‘ayudará a todos a’ and can be reused with a different planning task.
teniendo en cuenta ‘teniendo en cuenta el retraso’ means “taking the delay into account” and explains how everyone should plan. ‘teniendo’ contributes the idea of taking or keeping something in consideration, ‘en’ means “in”, and ‘cuenta’ means “account”; together they form the expression ‘teniendo en cuenta’. Use it when planning or deciding with a relevant fact in mind.
retraso In ‘teniendo en cuenta el retraso’, ‘retraso’ means “delay” and is the situation that must be considered. The whole expression means planning while taking the delay into account; ‘teniendo’, ‘en’, and ‘cuenta’ work together to express that consideration. Use this pattern when explaining that a plan must reflect a delay or another relevant circumstance.

Grammar Points

Futuro: infinitivo + -é / -á

Explicaré la fecha límite más tarde.

ehks-plee-kah-REH lah FEH-chah LEE-mee-teh mahs TAR-deh

I will explain the deadline later.

Spanish forms the future by adding an ending to the infinitive: explicar + é = explicaré.

teniendo en cuenta + sustantivo

Teniendo en cuenta el retraso, necesitas tiempo.

teh-NYEHN-doh ehn KWEHN-tah ehl reh-TRAH-soh, neh-seh-SEE-tahs TYEHM-poh

Taking the delay into account, you need time.

This fixed expression introduces something considered when making a judgment or plan.

Spanish Vocabulary

cosas noun
KOH-sahs things
falta verb
FAHL-tah is missing
fecha límite phrase
FEH-chah LEE-mee-teh deadline
información noun
een-for-mah-SYOHN information
informe noun
een-FOR-meh report
más tarde adv
mahs TAR-deh later
necesitas verb
neh-seh-SEE-tahs need
necesito verb
neh-seh-SEE-toh need
retrasando verb
reh-trah-SAHN-doh slowing down
semana noun
seh-MAH-nah week
tiempo noun
TYEHM-poh time
todavía adv
toh-dah-VEE-ah still

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I need more time for the report.

Show AnswerNecesito más tiempo para el informe.

What's slowing things down?

Show Answer¿Qué está retrasando las cosas?

Some information is still missing.

Show AnswerTodavía falta información.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

time

Show Answertiempo

is missing

Show Answerfalta

things

Show Answercosas

information

Show Answerinformación