Practicing a Role-Play Together | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. ¿Podemos practicar juntos este juego de roles?

   Can we practice this role-play together?

   ¿Podemos

   Can we

   practicar

   to practice

   juntos

   together

   este

   this

   juego

   game

   roles

   roles

   More detail

   ¿Podemos means “Can we?” here. It is the first-person plural present form of poder (“to be able to”): podemos = “we can.” Spanish commonly uses poder + an infinitive to ask about being able to do something: ¿Podemos entrar? = “Can we come in?” The question marks show that this is a question. practicar is the infinitive “to practice.” After a conjugated form of poder, the following verb stays in the infinitive: podemos practicar = “we can practice.” Example: Puedo practicar mañana. = “I can practice tomorrow.” juntos means “together” in this sentence. It is the masculine plural form of junto, and here it describes the participants represented by “we.” The exact sentence does not identify who those participants are; juntos simply presents them as doing the activity together. The form can agree with a masculine or mixed group; juntas is used for an all-feminine group. Example: Trabajamos juntos. = “We work together.” este means “this.” It is a masculine singular demonstrative, agreeing with the singular masculine noun juego that follows. Its forms include este (masculine singular), esta (feminine singular), estos (masculine plural), and estas (feminine plural). Example: esta actividad = “this activity.” juego means “game” as a noun. It is masculine singular, which is why the phrase uses este juego. In juego de roles, the whole expression means “role-play” or “role-playing activity,” rather than an ordinary game. Example: El juego es breve. = “The game is brief.” roles is the plural of rol, meaning “roles” here. In juego de roles, de links the type of activity to the roles involved: literally, “game of roles.” The plural indicates more than one role within the activity. The following context mentions el otro papel (“the other role”), which supports this role-play meaning. Together, ¿podemos practicar asks whether “we” can practice, juntos says that the participants will do so together, and este juego de roles identifies the activity as this role-play. The complete meaning is: “Can we practice this role-play together?”

2. Puedo hacer el otro papel.

   I can take the other role.

   Puedo

   can

   hacer

   do; take

   otro

   other; another

   papel

   role

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder, “to be able to” or “can.” The subject is understood as “I”; Spanish often leaves this subject pronoun unstated because the verb form identifies it. Example: Puedo practicar. — “I can practice.” hacer is the infinitive “to do” or “to make.” After puedo, it remains in the infinitive: puedo hacer means “I can do/take.” In this sentence, hacer combines with el papel in the expression hacer el papel, meaning “to take/play a role.” Example: Ella puede hacer el papel principal. — “She can take the main role.” otro means “other” or “another.” It is a masculine singular adjective here, agreeing with the masculine singular noun papel: otro papel. Its form changes with the noun it modifies: otra is feminine singular, while otros and otras are plural. Example: Quiero otra opción. — “I want another option.” papel means “role” in this context. It is a masculine singular noun, and in role-play or performance contexts it can refer to the part a person takes. The same word can have other meanings in other contexts, such as “paper,” but “role” is the meaning fixed by the translation here. Together, Puedo hacer el otro papel means “I can take the other role.” Puedo hacer expresses the speaker’s ability to take a role, and el otro papel identifies that role as the other one relevant in the role-play. This is a reusable way to say that the speaker can take a particular alternative role.

3. Haz una pausa después de cada pregunta, por favor.

   Please pause after each question.

   Haz

   make/do

   pausa

   pause

   después de

   after

   cada

   each/every

   pregunta

   question

   por favor

   please

   More detail

   Haz is the affirmative command form of hacer for tú singular: “pause” here is expressed through the construction hacer una pausa. It is not the usted form; that would be haga. Example: Haz una pausa. — “Pause.” pausa is a feminine noun meaning a break or pause. In hacer una pausa, the noun combines with hacer to express stopping briefly. Its plural is pausas: Hacemos dos pausas. — “We take two breaks.” después de introduces what follows in time: “after.” It can be followed by a noun, as here, or by an infinitive: Después de responder, escucha. — “After answering, listen.” cada means “each” or “every” and presents the following noun as one item at a time. It is invariable; the noun after it is normally singular: cada día — “each day,” cada semana — “each week.” pregunta is a feminine noun meaning “question.” Its plural is preguntas: una pregunta — “a question”; dos preguntas — “two questions.” por favor is a polite expression meaning “please.” It can be placed at the end of a request, as here, or elsewhere in the sentence: Por favor, espera. — “Please wait.” Together, Haz una pausa gives the command “pause,” después de cada pregunta specifies that the pause comes after every question, and por favor makes the request polite. The complete utterance means: “Please pause after each question.”

4. Eso te dará tiempo para responder de forma natural.

   That will give you time to answer naturally.

   Eso

   that

   dará

   will give

   tiempo

   time

   responder

   to answer

   natural

   natural

   More detail

   Eso means “that” here and is a neuter demonstrative. Spanish commonly uses eso to point to an idea, action, or situation rather than to a noun with masculine or feminine agreement. In this utterance, it is the subject of dará. dará is the third-person singular future form of dar (“to give”): dar → dará. The future presents the giving of time as something that will happen. Example: Eso dará buenos resultados. — “That will produce good results.” tiempo means “time.” With dar, the reusable pattern is dar tiempo para + infinitive: “to give time to do something.” The noun itself is not marked as a numeric quantity here. responder is the infinitive “to answer” or “to respond.” After para, the infinitive expresses purpose: tiempo para responder means “time to answer.” Example: Tengo tiempo para leer. — “I have time to read.” natural means “natural.” In de forma natural, it describes forma; it is singular, and this adjective has the same form for masculine and feminine singular. The whole expression functions adverbially and means “naturally,” describing how the answering is done. Example: Habla de forma natural. — “He/She speaks naturally.” Together, Eso dará tiempo para responder de forma natural means “That will give you time to answer naturally.” The subject eso is presented as providing tiempo, and para responder de forma natural states the purpose or use of that time.

5. Si cometo un error, repite la frase, por favor.

   If I make a mistake, please repeat the line.

   cometo

   make

   error

   mistake

   repite

   repeat

   frase

   line

   por favor

   please

   More detail

   cometo is the first-person singular present form of cometer, “to make” here in the expression cometer un error, “to make a mistake.” The ending -o identifies the speaker as the subject. In Si cometo..., the present form is used for a possible condition: “If I make...”. error means “mistake” in this sentence. Its plural is errores, as in dos errores (“two mistakes”). The noun is masculine, which is why the phrase has un error; un is the masculine singular indefinite article, not by itself a stated numerical count. repite is the affirmative command for tú singular from repetir, “to repeat.” It addresses one listener informally. The corresponding polite singular command is repita, and the plural command for ustedes is repitan; these are different forms, not interchangeable versions of repite. frase means “line” here, referring to the wording that should be repeated. It is also commonly translated as “phrase” or “sentence,” depending on context. It is feminine singular, as shown by la frase. por favor is the polite expression “please.” It softens the request but does not change the command’s tú form. The pattern Si + present form, affirmative command expresses a condition followed by a request: Si cometo un error = “If I make a mistake,” and repite la frase = “repeat the line.” The object la frase identifies what the listener is asked to repeat; la agrees with feminine singular frase. Together, the utterance means: “If I make a mistake, please repeat the line.”

6. Lo diré despacio y señalaré una corrección importante.

   I will say it slowly and point out one important correction.

   Lo

   it

   diré

   I will say

   despacio

   slowly

   señalaré

   I will point out

   corrección

   correction

   importante

   important

   More detail

   Lo is a direct-object pronoun meaning “it” here. The form can represent a masculine singular or neuter direct object, so it does not by itself identify the specific referent. Compare la for a feminine singular direct object, as in the example la frase (“the sentence”). diré is the first-person singular future of decir (“to say”): decir → diré (“I will say”). The irregular stem dir- is part of this future form. Example: Mañana diré la verdad. — “Tomorrow I will tell the truth.” despacio is an adverb meaning “slowly.” It describes how the saying will happen; it does not change for gender or number. Example: Habla despacio, por favor. — “Speak slowly, please.” señalaré is the first-person singular future of señalar (“to point out” or “to indicate”): señalar → señalaré (“I will point out”). It has the regular future ending -é used for an “I will …” form. Example: Señalaré el problema. — “I will point out the problem.” corrección is a feminine noun meaning “correction.” The phrase una corrección uses the feminine singular indefinite article una; the article agrees with the noun’s grammatical gender and number. Its plural is correcciones. importante means “important” here and describes corrección. In the singular, importante has the same form with masculine and feminine nouns; in the plural it becomes importantes. Example: un cambio importante — “an important change”; una decisión importante — “an important decision.” The first coordinated part, Lo diré despacio, means “I will say it slowly”: lo is the direct object, diré supplies the speaker’s future action, and despacio gives the manner. The second part, y señalaré una corrección importante, adds another future action: the speaker will point out one important correction. Together, the utterance means: “I will say it slowly and point out one important correction.”

7. Eso me ayuda a sentirme menos nervioso.

   That helps me feel less nervous.

   Eso

   That

   ayuda

   helps

   sentirme

   to feel

   menos

   less

   nervioso

   nervous

   More detail

   Eso means “that” here and functions as the subject of ayuda. As a Spanish demonstrative pronoun, it can refer to an already mentioned situation or action; the supplied context does not require identifying one narrower referent. ayuda is the third-person singular present form of ayudar (“to help”). The singular form agrees with Eso: Eso ayuda = “That helps.” Example: La práctica ayuda. — “Practice helps.” sentirme is the infinitive sentir (“to feel”) with the attached object/reflexive pronoun me (“me”). In ayudar a + infinitive, the infinitive names what the help enables: Me ayuda a descansar. — “It helps me rest.” Here, me identifies the person who feels nervous. menos means “less” and forms a comparison with nervioso: menos nervioso = “less nervous.” It does not negate nervousness; it indicates a lower degree. Example: Ahora estoy menos cansado. — “Now I am less tired.” nervioso is the masculine singular form of the adjective nervioso (“nervous”). In this sentence it describes the person represented by me; the form shown is masculine singular. A feminine singular speaker would use nerviosa, as in the example Me siento menos nerviosa. — “I feel less nervous.” Together, Eso me ayuda says “That helps me,” and a sentirme menos nervioso specifies the result or activity that the help supports: “to feel less nervous.” The complete meaning is “That helps me feel less nervous.”

8. Empieza con esta escena.

   Start with this scene.

   Empieza

   start; begin

   esta

   this

   escena

   scene

   More detail

   Empieza is the affirmative command form of empezar for tú (one person addressed informally): “start” or “begin.” Its form is also identical to the third-person singular present form, so the command meaning comes from its use as a direct instruction here. Example: Empieza ahora. — “Start now.” esta means “this” and is a feminine singular demonstrative. It agrees with escena, not with the speaker or listener. The feminine singular forms are esta + feminine singular noun; for comparison, este is used with a masculine singular noun. Example: esta página — “this page.” escena means “scene.” It is a feminine singular noun; its plural is escenas. In this utterance, it identifies the starting material. Example: La escena comienza aquí. — “The scene begins here.” Together, Empieza con gives “Start with,” and esta escena gives “this scene.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Start with this scene.”

9. Seguiré tu ritmo.

   I will follow your pace.

   Seguiré

   I will follow

   tu

   your

   ritmo

   pace; rhythm

   More detail

   Seguiré means “I will follow” here. It is the first-person singular future form of seguir (“to follow”; in other contexts, also “to continue”). The ending -é marks the first-person singular in this future form: seguiré = “I will follow,” while seguirás = “you will follow.” The accent is part of the observed spelling and distinguishes this future form. tu means “your” and is a possessive form placed before the noun it accompanies. It has no accent here because it is not the pronoun tú (“you”). In this form, tu is used with one possessed noun of either grammatical gender; its plural counterpart is tus. Example: tu ritmo = “your pace,” and tus pasos = “your steps.” ritmo means “pace” here; it can also mean “rhythm” in an appropriate context. It is a masculine singular noun. The possessive tu does not itself show masculine or feminine gender; it agrees in number with the possessed noun, not in gender. Example: Mantén tu ritmo. — “Maintain your pace.” Together, Seguiré tu ritmo means “I will follow your pace.” The first-person future form identifies the speaker as the one who will follow, and tu ritmo identifies the pace being followed. This is a reusable way to express that the speaker will follow someone’s pace.