Reviewing Homework Mistakes | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. ¿Podemos repasar los errores de mi tarea?

   Could we review my homework mistakes?

   Podemos

   could we / can we

   repasar

   review; go over

   errores

   mistakes; errors

   mi

   my

   tarea

   homework; assignment

   More detail

   Podemos comes from poder, “to be able to” or “can.” Here it is the first-person plural present form: podemos = “we can/are able to.” In this question, ¿Podemos ...? is a polite proposal meaning “Could we ...?” The form itself does not mark past time; the English “could” reflects the request-like use. repasar is the infinitive “to review” or “to go over.” After a conjugated form of poder, Spanish uses an infinitive: podemos repasar = “we can/could review.” Example: ¿Podemos repasar la lección? means “Could we review the lesson?” errores is the plural of error, “mistake” or “error.” The final -es marks plural because the singular ends in a consonant: un error → varios errores. Here, it is the direct object of repasar: the things being reviewed. mi is the singular possessive form meaning “my.” It agrees with the possessed noun in number, not with the possessor, and it does not change for the possessed noun’s gender: mi tarea and mi libro, but mis tareas and mis libros when the possessed noun is plural. Here it identifies whose homework is meant. tarea is a feminine singular noun meaning “task” or “assignment”; in this context, mi tarea means “my homework.” Spanish can use singular tarea for a homework assignment or task, while the exact English rendering depends on context. The following context mentions errors in sentences, which is compatible with reviewing errors in this assignment. Together, los errores de mi tarea means “the mistakes in my homework” or “my homework mistakes”: de links the errors to the homework. The whole question ¿Podemos repasar los errores de mi tarea? asks whether the speaker and listener can review those mistakes together, naturally translated as “Could we review my homework mistakes?”

2. Marqué algunos pequeños errores en las oraciones.

   I marked a few small sentence errors.

   Marqué

   I marked

   pequeños

   small

   errores

   errors

   oraciones

   sentences

   More detail

   Marqué is the first-person singular preterite of marcar (“to mark”). It presents a completed past action by the speaker: marqué = “I marked.” Compare the imperfect marcaba, “I was marking” or “I used to mark,” which presents the action as ongoing or habitual. pequeños is the masculine plural form of the adjective pequeño, “small.” It agrees with the plural masculine noun errores; the adjective is not the noun’s base form. The feminine forms are pequeña and pequeñas, as in una tarea pequeña (“a small task”) and unas tareas pequeñas (“some small tasks”). errores is the plural of the noun error, “error” or “mistake.” The plural ending -es is used because error ends in a consonant. Here it refers to the mistakes being marked. Example: Hay un error. — “There is one mistake.” oraciones is the plural of oración, “sentence.” The singular has an accent mark, oración, while the plural is oraciones; the plural does not retain that accent because the stress pattern changes. In en las oraciones, this noun phrase is introduced by en and identifies where the errors occur: “in the sentences.” Together, Marqué supplies the completed “I marked” action, algunos pequeños errores means “a few small errors,” and en las oraciones identifies the sentences in which those errors occur. The whole utterance therefore means: “I marked a few small sentence errors.”

3. ¿Por qué hiciste esta corrección?

   Why did you make this correction?

   ¿Por qué

   why

   hiciste

   made

   esta

   this

   corrección

   correction

   More detail

   ¿Por qué asks for a reason. In a direct question, por qué is written as two words and has an accent on qué; do not confuse it with porque (“because”), which introduces an answer or explanation. hiciste is the second-person singular preterite of hacer, “to do/make”: hacer → hiciste. This form addresses one tú-referent and places the completed action in the past. For example: ¿Qué hiciste? — “What did you do?” esta is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative meaning “this.” Here it modifies corrección, so it agrees with that noun in gender and number: esta corrección. The corresponding masculine singular form is este, as in este cambio (“this change”). corrección is a feminine noun meaning “correction.” The accent on the final ó is part of the spelling. A related useful contrast is error (“error”), while corrección names the act or result of correcting something. Together, ¿Por qué + hiciste asks for the reason, and esta corrección identifies the correction being discussed. The complete utterance therefore means: “Why did you make this correction?”

4. Aquí, el sustantivo necesita un artículo.

   The noun needs an article here.

   Aquí

   here

   sustantivo

   noun

   necesita

   needs

   artículo

   article

   More detail

   Aquí means “here” and indicates the relevant place or point in the current context. It commonly appears at the beginning or end of a sentence. Example: El ejemplo está aquí. — “The example is here.” el sustantivo means “the noun.” sustantivo is the base form for “noun”; its plural is sustantivos. The masculine singular article el agrees with this noun. The phrase refers to the noun being discussed, without identifying a particular noun by name. necesita means “needs.” It is the third-person singular present form of necesitar (“to need”): él/ella necesita, ellos/ellas necesitan. Example: La palabra necesita contexto. — “The word needs context.” un artículo means “an article.” artículo is a masculine singular noun, so it appears with un here. In Spanish, articles agree with the noun: un artículo is singular masculine, while una palabra is singular feminine. Here un presents an article as something required, not as a stated numerical count. Together, el sustantivo necesita un artículo means “the noun needs an article.” Aquí specifies that this need applies here, in the point or example under discussion. The complete utterance is therefore: “The noun needs an article here.”

5. No me di cuenta de eso en algunas respuestas.

   I missed that in a few answers.

   No me di cuenta de

   I didn’t notice / I missed

   eso

   that

   algunas

   some / a few

   respuestas

   answers

   More detail

   No me di cuenta de is the fixed Spanish construction darse cuenta de, meaning “to realize” or “to notice.” Here di is the first-person singular preterite form of dar, used within this construction, and me marks the speaker as the person who noticed or failed to notice. No makes the construction negative. The pattern is No me di cuenta de + [thing]. Example: No me di cuenta del error. — “I didn’t notice the mistake.” Before a masculine singular noun, de and el combine as del; before the pronoun eso, they remain separate: de eso. eso is a neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” It refers here to the point identified as “that” in the fixed translation and discussion, without naming the point again. Unlike a noun-modifying demonstrative, it stands on its own. algunas means “some” or, in this context, “a few.” It is the feminine plural form and agrees with respuestas, not with the speaker. It does not give an exact number. A useful contrast is alguna for feminine singular and algunas for feminine plural. respuestas means “answers.” Its singular base form is respuesta; the final -s marks the plural here. Example: Hay varias respuestas. — “There are several answers.” The preposition en connects the missed point with the answers: en algunas respuestas means “in a few answers.” Combining the parts, No me di cuenta de eso en algunas respuestas. means “I missed that in a few answers.” The sentence says that the speaker failed to notice the point in some answers; it does not specify an exact number of answers.

6. Añadirlo aquí hace que la oración esté completa.

   Adding it here makes the sentence complete.

   Añadirlo

   adding it

   aquí

   here

   hace que

   makes it so that

   oración

   sentence

   esté

   is / be

   completa

   complete

   More detail

   Añadirlo is the infinitive añadir (“to add”) with the direct-object clitic lo attached to it: añadir + lo. Here, lo means “it,” referring to the item being added without identifying that item further. Spanish commonly attaches a clitic to an infinitive: Quiero añadirlo = “I want to add it.” aquí means “here” and specifies the place of the adding. It is an adverb, so it does not change for gender or number. Example: Escribe aquí. = “Write here.” hace que is the third-person singular present form of hacer (“to make/do”) followed by que. In this pattern, hacer que means “to cause or make something happen,” and the verb after que is normally in the subjunctive. The subject of hace is the preceding action, Añadirlo aquí, so the literal structure is “Adding it here makes [it so] that …”. oración is a feminine singular noun meaning “sentence.” Its plural is oraciones. The feminine article in la oración and the adjective completa later in the sentence agree with it. esté is the third-person singular present subjunctive form of estar, “to be.” It appears after hace que because the sentence presents the sentence’s being complete as the result caused by the preceding action. The base form is estar; esté is not an adjective. Example: Es importante que esté lista. = “It is important that it be ready.” completa is the feminine singular form of the adjective completo, “complete.” It agrees with the feminine singular noun oración: la oración completa. The masculine singular form is completo, and plural forms are completos and completas according to the noun they describe. Together, Añadirlo aquí names the action, hace que presents that action as causing a result, and la oración esté completa states the result. The whole utterance therefore means: “Adding it here makes the sentence complete.”

7. Ahora voy a reescribir esa parte.

   I will rewrite that part now.

   Ahora

   now

   voy a

   I am going to

   reescribir

   rewrite

   esa

   that

   parte

   part

   More detail

   Ahora means “now” here and places the action in the present moment. It can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence: Ahora trabajo. = “I’m working now.” voy a is the first-person singular present form voy of ir followed by a. With an infinitive, ir a + infinitive expresses a planned or imminent action: Voy a estudiar. = “I’m going to study.” The subject is “I,” supplied by voy; the following verb remains in the infinitive. reescribir means “to rewrite.” It is an infinitive, so it does not itself show who will perform the action. Its prefix re- contributes the idea of doing something again; escribir means “to write,” while reescribir means “to write again or in a new form.” Example: Voy a reescribir el informe. = “I’m going to rewrite the report.” esa is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative meaning “that.” It agrees with the feminine singular noun it modifies. Here, esa parte means “that part”; the sentence identifies the part as “that” one, without needing to name a more specific referent. parte is a feminine noun meaning “part” or “section.” Its plural is partes: esas partes = “those parts.” In this sentence it is the direct object of reescribir: it is the thing that will be rewritten. Together, Ahora voy a reescribir esa parte. means “I will rewrite that part now.” The structure is ahora + ir a + infinitive + object: “now” + “I am going to” + “rewrite” + “that part.”

8. Eso te ayudará a recordar la regla.

   That will help you remember the rule.

   Eso

   That

   ayudará

   will help

   recordar

   remember

   regla

   rule

   More detail

   Eso means “that” here. It is a Spanish demonstrative pronoun: it points to something already understood from context, without naming that referent in the sentence. The form eso is neuter and singular; it is not the masculine form of a specific noun. ayudará is the future form of ayudar for a third-person singular subject: ayudar → ayudará (“will help”). The subject here is Eso. Spanish commonly uses ayudar a + infinitive to express helping someone do something. In this sentence, te means “you” as the person helped, and a recordar introduces the action that will be easier for you. recordar is an infinitive meaning “to remember.” After ayudar a, the following verb remains in the infinitive rather than being conjugated. Example: Esto me ayudará a estudiar. — “This will help me study.” regla means “rule.” It is a feminine singular noun, as shown by the article la in la regla. The article is part of the noun phrase, while regla is the noun itself. Together, Eso te ayudará a recordar la regla. means “That will help you remember the rule.” The structure is Eso (subject) + te ayudará (will help you) + a recordar (to remember) + la regla (the rule).