Returning to Work with Better Focus | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ahora me siento más descansado.

   I feel more refreshed now.

   Ahora

   now

   me siento

   I feel

   más descansado

   more refreshed

   More detail

   Ahora means “now” and places the feeling in the present moment. It can appear at the beginning or elsewhere in a sentence: Ahora trabajo means “I work now.” me siento is the first-person singular present form of sentirse, “to feel.” The reflexive pronoun me marks the speaker as the person experiencing the feeling, and siento agrees with yo; the base verb is sentir, while sentirse is the form used for a person’s state or feeling. Example: Me siento bien means “I feel well.” más descansado means “more refreshed” here. Más forms a comparison, and descansado is the singular masculine form of the adjective descansado; its base form is descansado, and it is related to descansar, “to rest.” The adjective agrees with the person understood as the subject, so a feminine speaker would use más descansada. The comparison is relative: it says the speaker feels more refreshed than at another relevant time or than before, without stating exactly what the comparison is with. Example: Después de la pausa, me siento más descansado means “After the break, I feel more refreshed.” Together, Ahora me siento más descansado says that, at the present time, the speaker experiences a greater sense of refreshment than before or than at the relevant comparison point. The sentence does not specify the cause of the change.

2. Empecemos por la parte más importante.

   Let's start with the part that matters most.

   Empecemos

   Let's start

   parte

   part

   más importante

   most important

   More detail

   Empecemos comes from empezar (“to start”). Here it is the first-person plural present subjunctive used as an exhortation: “let’s start.” The form includes the speaker and others, rather than addressing only one listener. A useful pattern is Empecemos por + noun: “Let’s start with + noun.” parte means “part” or “section.” It is a feminine singular noun, as shown by la in the full noun phrase. Example: Esta parte es importante. — “This part is important.” más importante means “most important” here. importante is the adjective, with base form importante; más + adjective makes a comparison, and with the definite noun phrase it can express the highest degree in context: la parte más importante, “the most important part.” Importante has the same form for masculine and feminine singular nouns; its plural is importantes. The words combine as Empecemos por la parte más importante: por introduces what the starting point is, la parte identifies that starting point, and más importante specifies that it is the part that matters most. Thus the whole utterance means, “Let’s start with the part that matters most.”

3. ¿Deberíamos continuar con la sección del gráfico?

   Should we continue from the chart section?

   Deberíamos

   should we

   continuar

   continue

   sección

   section

   gráfico

   chart; graph

   More detail

   Deberíamos is the first-person plural conditional of deber: deber → debemos (we must/should, present) → deberíamos (we should/would be expected to). Here it proposes an action for we, so it is a suggestion or question about whether to do it, not a direct command. Example: ¿Deberíamos esperar? — “Should we wait?” continuar is the infinitive “to continue.” After a modal-like form such as deberíamos, Spanish uses the infinitive: deberíamos continuar, “we should continue.” Example: Podemos continuar. — “We can continue.” sección means “section.” It is a feminine noun: la sección; its plural is las secciones. In la sección del gráfico, the article la belongs to sección. The later form del is the contraction of de + el, not of de + la. gráfico means “chart” or “graph” here. As a noun, it is masculine: el gráfico; its plural is los gráficos. Thus del gráfico is de + el gráfico, expressing the relation of the section to the chart. Together, ¿Deberíamos continuar con la sección del gráfico? asks whether the speakers should continue with the section related to the chart: “Should we continue from the chart section?”

4. Esa parte necesita más concentración.

   That part needs the most focus.

   Esa

   that

   parte

   part

   necesita

   needs

   más

   more

   concentración

   focus

   More detail

   Esa is the feminine singular demonstrative meaning “that.” It agrees with parte, which is feminine singular. Demonstratives change for gender and number: ese is masculine singular, while esas is feminine plural. Example: Esa opción funciona. — “That option works.” parte means “part.” It is a feminine noun, so it combines with esa. The same word can refer to a section or portion of something, as it does here. Example: Esta parte es importante. — “This part is important.” necesita means “needs” here. Its base form is necesitar, and necesita is the third-person singular present form, matching esa parte: “that part needs.” Example: La sección necesita tiempo. — “The section needs time.” más indicates a greater amount or degree. With concentración, it means “more focus” in the Spanish sentence. Spanish commonly uses el/la más to form “the most,” as in la parte más difícil — “the most difficult part”; más by itself is not that superlative construction. concentración means “focus” or “concentration.” It is an abstract feminine noun. Here it is what esa parte needs, and the noun phrase presents it as an uncounted amount. Example: Necesito más concentración. — “I need more focus.” Together, Esa parte is the subject, necesita says what it requires, and más concentración gives the greater amount required. The complete utterance literally means: “That part needs more focus.”

5. Abriré el archivo y lo revisaré.

   I'll open the file and check it.

   Abriré

   I'll open

   archivo

   file

   lo

   it

   revisaré

   I'll check

   More detail

   Abriré is the first-person singular future of abrir (“to open”). The ending -é marks “I will”; compare abrirás (“you will open”) and abrirá (“he, she, or you formal will open”). archivo means “file.” It is a masculine singular noun: el archivo. The article and noun together identify the object being opened; archivo can refer to a computer file or another kind of file when context makes that clear. lo is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun. Here it refers to el archivo, so lo means “it.” Spanish object pronouns agree with the noun’s gender and number: lo for a masculine singular object, la for a feminine singular object, and los or las for plural objects. In this sentence, lo avoids repeating el archivo. revisaré is the first-person singular future of revisar (“to check” or “to review”). The same -é ending marks “I will”: revisaré means “I will check/review.” Here it describes checking the file, not opening it. The two future forms are joined by y (“and”). The pattern abriré X y lo revisaré means “I will open X and check it,” with lo referring back to the masculine singular direct object X—here, el archivo. Thus the complete utterance means: “I’ll open the file and check it.”

6. Leeré los comentarios del equipo mientras revisas el gráfico.

   I'll read the team comments while you check the chart.

   Leeré

   I will read

   comentarios

   comments

   equipo

   team

   mientras

   while

   revisas

   you check

   gráfico

   chart

   More detail

   Leeré is the first-person singular future of leer (“to read”): leeré = “I will read.” The ending -é identifies “I” in this future form. Example: Leeré el informe mañana. — “I will read the report tomorrow.” comentarios means “comments” here. Its base form is singular comentario; the plural adds -s: comentario → comentarios. The article los also marks the noun phrase as masculine plural. Example: Los comentarios son útiles. — “The comments are useful.” equipo means “team” here. Its plural is equipos; the singular form in del equipo refers to one team. Del is the contraction of de + el, meaning “of the” or “from the.” Example: El equipo trabaja unido. — “The team works together.” mientras introduces an action happening at the same time as another action; here it means “while.” It connects leeré with revisas, rather than replacing one action with the other. Example: Escucho música mientras trabajo. — “I listen to music while I work.” revisas is the second-person singular present indicative of revisar (“to check” or “to review”). The ending -as identifies the tú form here: tú revisas = “you check.” It is a statement, not an imperative command. Example: Tú revisas el documento. — “You check the document.” gráfico means “chart” here. Its plural is gráficos. The accent mark remains in the singular and plural because it indicates the stressed syllable: gráfico → gráficos. Example: El gráfico muestra los resultados. — “The chart shows the results.” Together, Leeré los comentarios del equipo means “I will read the team’s comments”: del equipo identifies whose comments they are. Mientras revisas el gráfico means “while you check the chart.” The complete utterance therefore means “I’ll read the team comments while you check the chart,” with the speaker’s future action and the other person’s simultaneous checking action expressed in two clauses.

7. Ahora puedo seguir mejor los detalles.

   I can follow the details better now.

   Ahora

   now

   puedo

   can

   seguir

   follow

   mejor

   better

   detalles

   details

   More detail

   Ahora places the situation in the present moment: “now.” It can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence, for example: Ahora entiendo. — “Now I understand.” Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder, “to be able to” or “can.” poder is commonly followed by an infinitive: puedo seguir — “I can follow.” The form puedo identifies the speaker as the person who has the ability; it does not itself identify anyone else. Seguir is an infinitive meaning “to follow” here, in the sense of keeping up with or understanding something. It can also mean “to continue” in other contexts, but the fixed translation supports the “follow” meaning in this sentence. After a form of poder, the second verb remains in the infinitive: Puedo seguir la explicación. — “I can follow the explanation.” Mejor means “better” here and modifies seguir: the speaker can follow the details more successfully than before or than in a relevant comparison. mejor is also the irregular comparative related to bien (“well”); the corresponding superlative is often el mejor, la mejor, los mejores, or las mejores when it agrees with a noun. In this sentence, mejor is an adverb and does not agree with detalles. Detalles is the plural of the noun detalle, “detail.” The plural ending -s shows that there is more than one detail. With the definite article, los detalles means “the details”; los agrees with the masculine plural noun phrase, while detalles itself carries the plural marking. Together, puedo seguir expresses ability, and los detalles is what the speaker can follow. Mejor says that this ability is improved, while ahora places the improved situation in the present: “I can follow the details better now.”

8. El descanso hizo que el trabajo se sintiera más ligero.

   The break made the work feel lighter.

   El descanso

   the break

   hizo que

   made ...

   el trabajo

   the work

   se sintiera

   felt

   más ligero

   lighter

   More detail

   El descanso means “the break.” Descanso is a masculine noun; its base form is descanso, and the article el agrees with it. Example: Necesito un descanso. — “I need a break.” hizo que is a useful causative pattern: hacer que + clause means “to make/cause something to happen.” Here hizo is the third-person singular preterite of hacer (“made”), referring to the break. The clause after que uses the subjunctive because it expresses the result caused by that action. Example: La música hizo que sonriera. — “The music made me smile.” el trabajo means “the work.” Trabajo is a masculine noun, so it takes el here. It can also mean “I work” when used as a verb form, but in this sentence it is a noun. se sintiera means “felt” here. It is the third-person singular imperfect subjunctive of sentirse (“to feel”), used after hizo que. The se belongs to the verb sentirse; the subject of the feeling is el trabajo. Example: La explicación hizo que el tema se sintiera más claro. — “The explanation made the topic feel clearer.” más ligero means “lighter.” Ligero is an adjective whose base form is ligero; it is masculine singular here to agree with el trabajo. Más + adjective forms a comparative: ligero = “light,” más ligero = “lighter.” Example: Este bolso es más ligero. — “This bag is lighter.” Together, El descanso is the cause, hizo que introduces the caused result, and el trabajo se sintiera más ligero says that the work felt lighter. The whole sentence means: “The break made the work feel lighter.”