Apologizing for changing plans | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Lo siento, necesito cambiar nuestro plan.

   I'm sorry, I need to change our plan.

   Lo siento

   I'm sorry

   necesito

   I need

   cambiar

   to change

   nuestro

   our

   plan

   plan

   More detail

   Lo siento is the standard Spanish expression for “I’m sorry.” In this expression, lo is part of the fixed expression; do not interpret it here as referring to plan. Siento is the first-person singular present form of sentir (“to feel” or “to be sorry” in this use). A useful related form is lo sentimos, “we’re sorry.” Necesito means “I need” here. It is the first-person singular present form of necesitar. Spanish commonly uses necesitar + infinitive to say that someone needs to do something: Necesito descansar means “I need to rest.” Cambiar is the infinitive “to change.” After necesito, the infinitive names the action that is needed, so the speaker—not an unnamed third person—is the person who needs to change the plan. The same verb can also mean “to exchange” or “to change clothes” in other contexts, but here it means “to change.” Nuestro means “our” and agrees with the noun it modifies. In this sentence it is masculine singular because plan is masculine singular. The corresponding feminine singular form is nuestra; plural forms include nuestros and nuestras, according to the noun’s gender and number. Plan means “plan.” It is a masculine noun: el plan, plural los planes. Here it is the direct object of cambiar, the thing the speaker needs to change. Together, necesito cambiar means “I need to change,” and nuestro plan means “our plan.” The complete utterance is therefore “I’m sorry, I need to change our plan.”

2. Me alegra que me avisaras antes de que me fuera.

   I'm glad you told me before I left.

   Me alegra

   I'm glad

   me avisaras

   you told me

   antes de que

   before

   me fuera

   I left

   More detail

   Me alegra means “I’m glad” here. alegra is the third-person singular present form of alegrar; the grammatical subject is the following que-clause, treated as one singular idea. A useful pattern is Me alegra que + subjunctive: Me alegra que estés aquí = “I’m glad you’re here.” The pronoun me marks the person experiencing the feeling. me avisaras means “you told me” in this sentence. avisaras is the second-person singular imperfect subjunctive of avisar. me is the indirect-object pronoun for the person who received the information; it does not mean “myself” here. The form chain is avisar → avisaste (you told, preterite) and avisaras (you told, imperfect subjunctive). Example: Me alegra que me avisaras. = “I’m glad you told me.” antes de que introduces an event that occurs earlier than another event and is followed by a subordinate clause in the subjunctive. This is a reusable time pattern: antes de que + subjunctive, as in Llámame antes de que salgas = “Call me before you leave.” The subjunctive here is required by this anticipation-before relationship, not simply because the main clause is in the past. me fuera means “I left.” fuera is the first-person singular imperfect subjunctive of ir; with the reflexive pronoun me, the phrase uses irse to express the speaker’s leaving. The form chain for this meaning is me fui (I left, preterite) and me fuera (I left, imperfect subjunctive). Here, me fuera appears inside the antes de que clause and places the speaker’s leaving after the informing event in the sentence’s timeline. Together, Me alegra expresses the speaker’s gladness, que me avisaras identifies the action that caused it, and antes de que me fuera places that action before the speaker’s leaving: “I’m glad you told me before I left.”

3. Surgió algo inesperado.

   Something unexpected came up.

   Surgió

   came up

   algo

   something

   inesperado

   unexpected

   More detail

   Surgió comes from surgir, “to arise” or “to come up.” It is the preterite form for a third-person singular subject: surgir → surgió. The accent mark is part of this form. In this sentence, it presents the unexpected matter as having arisen or come up. Example: Surgió un problema. — “A problem came up.” Algo is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something.” It refers to an unspecified thing; the sentence does not identify exactly what that thing was. A useful contrast is algo “something” versus nada “nothing.” Example: Necesito algo. — “I need something.” Inesperado is the adjective inesperado, “unexpected.” It describes algo here. After algo, Spanish uses the masculine singular form of the adjective: algo inesperado. This grammatical form does not imply that the unspecified thing is male. The opposite adjective is esperado, “expected.” Example: Ocurrió algo inesperado. — “Something unexpected happened.” Together, surgió expresses that something arose or came up, while algo inesperado identifies it only as an unspecified thing with an unexpected quality. The complete meaning is: “Something unexpected came up.”

4. Está bien. Podemos elegir otro día.

   That's all right. We can choose another day.

   Está bien

   That's all right

   Podemos

   we can

   elegir

   choose

   otro

   another

   día

   day

   More detail

   Está bien means “That’s all right” here. The form está comes from estar and is third-person singular present; with bien, it forms a common expression for accepting or reassuring someone. Example: Está bien. — “That’s all right.” Podemos means “we can” in this sentence. It is the first-person plural present form of poder, followed by an infinitive: podemos + elegir = “we can choose.” The subject is included in the verb form, so Spanish does not need a separate word for “we” here. elegir is the infinitive “to choose.” After poder, the next verb remains in the infinitive. Example: Podemos esperar. — “We can wait.” otro means “another” before the singular noun día. It is a masculine singular form; the feminine singular form is otra, as in otra semana (“another week”). It refers to a different day from the one currently under consideration, without by itself specifying which day. día means “day.” It is a masculine singular noun; its plural is días. The adjective-like word otro agrees with it in masculine singular form. Together, Está bien gives acceptance, and Podemos elegir otro día says that the speaker and another participant have the ability or option to select a different day. The complete meaning is: “That’s all right. We can choose another day.”

5. ¿Te viene bien más adelante esta semana?

   Would later this week work for you?

   viene bien

   works well; is convenient

   más adelante

   later

   semana

   week

   More detail

   viene bien is the useful Spanish construction meaning that something is convenient or works for someone. In this sentence, viene is the third-person singular present form of venir; the construction is venir bien a alguien, with te marking the person for whom it works. This is not the ordinary physical sense “comes.” Compare: Me viene bien el martes. — “Tuesday works for me.” más adelante means “later” or “further ahead in time.” más makes a comparison, while adelante supplies the idea of being ahead; together they form a common time expression. Here it refers to a later point, not to a physical direction. Example: Hablamos más adelante. — “We’ll talk later.” semana means “week.” It is a feminine noun, as shown by the accompanying form esta in esta semana; the noun itself does not change in that phrase. Example: Esta semana trabajo mucho. — “I’m working a lot this week.” Together, más adelante esta semana specifies a later time during the current week. The question ¿Te viene bien ...? asks whether that time is convenient for the person addressed. Thus the complete utterance means: “Would later this week work for you?”

6. A mí me viene bien más adelante esta semana.

   Later this week is fine for me.

   A mí

   for me

   me viene bien

   works well for me

   más adelante

   later on

   esta

   this

   semana

   week

   More detail

   A mí is the prepositional form used to identify or emphasize the person affected: “for me.” The shorter pronoun me also appears in the next chunk. Spanish often uses both: A mí me gusta = “I like it,” literally “to me it is pleasing.” me viene bien is a reusable expression meaning that something suits someone or is convenient for them. Here, me marks the person for whom it is convenient, while viene is the third-person singular present form of venir (“to come”); the expression is not translated literally as “comes well.” The thing that suits the person controls the singular form: Esta hora me viene bien = “This time works well for me.” With a plural subject, use vienen: Estas horas me vienen bien = “These times work well for me.” más adelante means “later on” or “at a later point.” más contributes the sense of “more/further,” and adelante refers to a point further ahead in time or progression. For example, Lo hablamos más adelante means “We’ll discuss it later.” esta is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative adjective meaning “this.” It agrees with the noun it modifies, which here is semana, a feminine singular noun. Compare este día (“this day,” masculine) and estas semanas (“these weeks,” feminine plural). The demonstrative identifies something relatively near in the relevant time or context; it does not itself mean “one.” semana means “week.” Its plural is semanas: la semana = “the week,” las semanas = “the weeks.” In this utterance, esta semana forms the time expression “this week.” Together, más adelante esta semana means “later this week.” The full structure A mí me viene bien más adelante esta semana presents that time as convenient for the speaker: “Later this week is fine for me.”

7. Puedo enviarte el nuevo plan.

   I can send you the new plan.

   Puedo

   can; am able to

   enviarte

   send you

   nuevo

   new

   plan

   plan

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to; can”). It expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility here. Poder is commonly followed by an infinitive: puedo enviar = “I can send.” Compare puedes enviar = “you can send.” enviarte combines the infinitive enviar (“to send”) with the attached pronoun te (“you”). After puedo, enviar stays in the infinitive. Here te marks the recipient: the speaker can send something to you. Spanish can also place this pronoun before a conjugated auxiliary-like verb: Te puedo enviar el plan; the meaning is the same. The direct object is expressed separately by el nuevo plan. nuevo means “new” and is an adjective modifying plan. It is masculine singular because plan is masculine singular. Its feminine singular form is nueva, as in una idea nueva; plural forms include nuevos and nuevas. plan means “plan.” It is a masculine noun here, shown by the article el and the adjective form nuevo. The phrase el plan refers to the plan being sent; the sentence does not specify any further details about it. Together, Puedo + enviarte expresses “I can send you,” and el nuevo plan identifies what will be sent. The complete utterance means: “I can send you the new plan.”

8. Eso me ayuda a ajustar mi horario.

   That helps me adjust my schedule.

   Eso

   That

   ayuda

   helps

   ajustar

   adjust

   horario

   schedule

   More detail

   Eso means “that” and functions here as a demonstrative pronoun: it points to an idea, situation, or thing already understood from context rather than naming it. It is singular and neuter; Spanish uses eso for an unspecified or non-noun-like referent. Compare esto “this” and aquello “that over there” when the distance or discourse contrast matters. ayuda is the present-tense third-person singular form of ayudar, “to help.” The singular form agrees with Eso, the subject. A useful pattern is algo ayuda a alguien a + infinitive: “something helps someone to do something.” For example, Este consejo me ayuda a estudiar means “This advice helps me study.” Here, me identifies the person helped; it does not change the form of ayuda. ajustar is the infinitive, “to adjust.” After ayuda a, Spanish uses an infinitive to name the action that the help makes easier or possible. The same form is used regardless of who performs that action; for example, Me ayuda a organizarme means “It helps me organize myself.” horario means “schedule” or “timetable.” It is a masculine singular noun, as shown by forms such as el horario and mi horario. The possessive mi means “my” and agrees in number, not gender: mi horario is singular, while mis horarios is plural. Together, Eso me ayuda a ajustar mi horario means “That helps me adjust my schedule.” The structure is Eso (the thing providing help) + me ayuda (helps me) + a ajustar (to adjust) + mi horario (my schedule).