Borrowing time and renewing a book | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. ¿Cuánto tiempo puedo tener este libro?

   How long can I keep this book?

   ¿Cuánto tiempo

   how long

   puedo

   can

   tener

   keep; have

   este

   this

   libro

   book

   More detail

   ¿Cuánto tiempo asks about duration: “how long.” Cuánto agrees with the masculine singular noun tiempo; here the whole question-word expression asks for the length of the permitted period. Compare ¿Cuántos días...? when asking specifically about a number of days. Example: ¿Cuánto tiempo necesitas? — “How much time do you need?” puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder, “can; be able to.” With yo understood as the speaker, it expresses what the speaker is allowed or able to do in this question. The form puedo is followed by an infinitive: puedo tener — “I can keep/have.” Example: Puedo esperar. — “I can wait.” tener is the infinitive of tener, “to have” or “to hold/keep,” and its meaning here is “keep” in the sense of continuing to have the book. The infinitive stays unchanged after the conjugated modal puedo; the person information is carried by puedo. Example: Quiero tener el recibo. — “I want to keep the receipt.” este is a masculine singular demonstrative meaning “this.” It agrees with the masculine singular noun libro in the noun phrase este libro. Its form expresses proximity in the demonstrative system; it is not itself the noun’s referent. libro is the masculine singular noun “book.” Its plural is libros. In este libro, the noun is the thing the speaker asks to keep. Together, ¿Cuánto tiempo puedo tener este libro? asks for the length of time during which the speaker may keep this book: “How long can I keep this book?” The following context about the return date fits this time-limit reading.

2. El comprobante muestra la fecha de devolución.

   The slip shows the due date.

   comprobante

   slip

   muestra

   shows

   fecha

   date

   devolución

   return

   More detail

   comprobante means “slip” or “receipt.” It is a masculine noun, so it takes forms such as el comprobante in the singular and los comprobantes in the plural. In this sentence, it is the document that displays the relevant information. muestra comes from mostrar, “to show” or “to display.” Muestra is the present-tense third-person singular form: “it shows.” The subject here is el comprobante, so the verb is singular. Compare muestran for a plural subject: Los comprobantes muestran la fecha. — “The slips show the date.” fecha means “date.” It is a feminine noun: la fecha; its plural is las fechas. A useful pattern is la fecha de + noun, meaning “the date of + noun” or, depending on context, “the date for + noun.” devolución means “return” in the sense of giving something back. It is a feminine noun: la devolución. In fecha de devolución, the phrase identifies the date connected with returning the item. In this context, the fixed translation “due date” indicates the date by which the borrowed item is to be returned. The related verb devolver means “to return something,” but devolución is the noun used here. Together, El comprobante is the subject, muestra is the singular verb “shows,” and la fecha de devolución is what it shows. Thus the whole utterance means: “The slip shows the due date.”

3. ¿Qué debo hacer si necesito más tiempo?

   What should I do if I need more time?

   Qué

   what

   debo

   should; must

   hacer

   do; make

   si

   if

   necesito

   need

   más

   more

   tiempo

   time

   More detail

   Qué is the interrogative word for asking about an unspecified thing or action. In this sentence, qué hacer means “what to do.” Compare qué (“what”) with cuál (“which one”): qué asks for the nature or identity of something, while cuál selects from known options. Debo is the first-person singular present form of deber (“to have to; should”). With an infinitive, deber + infinitive expresses obligation or advice: debo hacer can mean “I must do” or, as here, “I should do.” The subject is understood as yo; Spanish commonly leaves this subject unstated because the verb form identifies it. Deber can also express obligation for other subjects, such as debes esperar (“you should wait”). Hacer is the infinitive meaning “to do” or “to make.” After deber, it stays in the infinitive: debo hacer, not a second finite verb. Example: Debo llamar mañana. — “I should call tomorrow.” Si introduces a condition and means “if.” It connects a possible situation with its consequence: si necesito más tiempo (“if I need more time”). Do not confuse this conjunction with accented sí, which means “yes.” Necesito is the first-person singular present form of necesitar (“to need”). It agrees with the understood subject yo: necesito. Example: Necesito ayuda. — “I need help.” In the conditional clause here, the present tense presents the need as a possible condition; it does not by itself say that the speaker already needs more time. Más means “more” and indicates a greater amount or degree. Here it modifies tiempo, so más tiempo means “more time.” Its opposite in this quantity contrast is menos (“less”): menos tiempo means “less time.” Tiempo is the noun meaning “time” in this context. It is masculine, as shown by forms such as mucho tiempo (“a lot of time”) and poco tiempo (“little time”). In other contexts, tiempo can refer to weather or a period, but the fixed translation identifies the intended meaning here as available time. Together, ¿Qué debo hacer asks “What should I do?”, and si necesito más tiempo specifies the condition “if I need more time.” The complete utterance therefore means “What should I do if I need more time?”

4. Puedes ampliar el préstamo por internet si nadie más está esperando el libro.

   You can extend the loan online if no one else is waiting for the book.

   Puedes

   you can

   ampliar

   extend

   préstamo

   loan

   por internet

   online

   nadie más

   no one else

   está esperando

   is waiting

   libro

   book

   More detail

   Puedes is the present-tense form of poder for tú: puedes means “you can” here. It expresses ability or permission, and it is followed by an infinitive: puedes + infinitive. Example: Puedes entrar. — “You can come in.” ampliar is an infinitive meaning “to extend” or “to lengthen.” After puedes, it stays in the infinitive rather than changing for person: puedes ampliar. Here it refers to extending the loan period, not physically enlarging an object. préstamo is a masculine noun meaning “loan.” In el préstamo, the definite article el agrees with this noun in masculine singular form. The accent in préstamo is part of the word. Example: El préstamo termina mañana. — “The loan ends tomorrow.” por internet expresses that an action is done online, through the internet. por can introduce the means or channel used for an action. Example: Puedes reservar por internet. — “You can reserve online.” nadie más means “no one else.” nadie refers to no person, while más adds “else” in this expression. Together they form the subject of the condition. Example: Si nadie más viene, empezamos. — “If no one else comes, we’ll start.” está esperando uses the present form está of estar plus the gerund esperando of esperar. This progressive construction presents the waiting as ongoing: “is waiting.” Está is third-person singular here because nadie más is grammatically singular. Example: Nadie está esperando. — “No one is waiting.” libro means “book.” In el libro, the definite article el agrees with the noun in masculine singular form. Here the full phrase el libro is the object of esperando, so the condition concerns waiting for the book. Example: Estoy esperando el libro. — “I am waiting for the book.” The pattern is puedes + infinitive + object/complement + si + condition. Thus, Puedes ampliar el préstamo por internet says that extending the loan online is possible, and si nadie más está esperando el libro gives the condition. The complete meaning is: “You can extend the loan online if no one else is waiting for the book.”

5. ¿Puedo hacerlo desde casa?

   Can I do that from home?

   Puedo

   can

   hacerlo

   do it

   desde

   from

   casa

   home

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to”): puedo, “I can”; puedes, “you can.” Here it expresses the speaker’s ability or permission to do something. It is followed by an infinitive: Puedo estudiar means “I can study.” hacerlo combines the infinitive hacer (“to do” or “to make”) with the direct-object pronoun lo (“it/that”). With an infinitive, this pronoun is attached to the end: hacer + lo → hacerlo. In this utterance, lo refers to the activity or task meant by “that”; the supplied sentence does not identify it more specifically. Example: Puedo leerlo. — “I can read it.” desde is a preposition meaning “from” when it marks a starting point. It can mark a place, as in desde casa (“from home”), or a time, as in desde ayer (“since yesterday”). casa is a noun meaning “house” or “home.” In desde casa, the phrase naturally means “from home,” referring to the speaker’s home without specifying a particular building in the sentence. Example: Trabajo desde casa. — “I work from home.” Together, Puedo + hacerlo forms “I can do it/that,” and desde casa adds the starting location. The whole utterance therefore means, “Can I do that from home?” It is a question about whether the speaker may or is able to carry out the understood task remotely from home.

6. Inicia sesión en tu cuenta de la biblioteca desde casa.

   Log in to your library account from home.

   Inicia sesión

   Log in

   cuenta

   account

   biblioteca

   library

   desde casa

   from home

   More detail

   Inicia sesión is an affirmative command addressed to one person using tú: inicia is the tú command form of iniciar, and sesión completes the fixed expression iniciar sesión (“to log in”). The command is not the usted form; that would be inicie sesión. Example: Inicia sesión ahora. — “Log in now.” cuenta means “account” here. Its base form is the feminine noun cuenta; the phrase tu cuenta means “your account,” with tu marking possession. Example: Mi cuenta está activa. — “My account is active.” biblioteca means “library.” In la biblioteca, la is the feminine singular article accompanying this noun. The sequence de la biblioteca means “of the library” and identifies which account is meant: the library account. desde casa means “from home.” desde marks the starting point or location from which an action is carried out, while casa is used without an article in this fixed location expression. The same phrase appears in the preceding question, ¿Puedo hacerlo desde casa? (“Can I do that from home?”), so the location is consistent across the exchange. Together, tu cuenta de la biblioteca means “your library account,” and desde casa specifies where the login is to be carried out. The complete utterance is therefore: “Log in to your library account from home.”

7. Entonces debo guardar el comprobante con el libro.

   Then I should keep the slip with the book.

   Entonces

   then

   debo

   should; must

   guardar

   to keep; to store

   comprobante

   receipt; slip

   libro

   book

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here and links this statement to what came before: it marks the action as a consequence or next step. debo is the first-person singular present form of deber. In this sentence, deber + infinitive expresses what the speaker should do: debo guardar = “I should keep.” The same pattern can express stronger obligation in another context: Debo estudiar = “I must study.” guardar is the infinitive “to keep” or “to store.” After a conjugated form of deber, the following verb stays in the infinitive: debo guardar, not a second conjugated verb. Example: Debo guardar la llave. = “I should keep the key.” comprobante is a masculine singular noun for a receipt, slip, or other proof of a transaction or action. The article el agrees with it: el comprobante. Its plural is los comprobantes. libro is a masculine singular noun meaning “book.” The article el agrees with it: el libro; the plural is los libros. In this sentence, con el libro means that the slip is kept together with the book. The preposition con means “with” and does not itself indicate ownership. Putting the parts together, Entonces debo guardar el comprobante con el libro. means “Then I should keep the slip with the book.” The speaker presents keeping the slip together with the book as the next or appropriate action.

8. Te ayudará a devolverlo a tiempo.

   It will help you return it on time.

   Te

   you

   ayudará

   will help

   devolverlo

   return it

   a tiempo

   on time

   More detail

   Te is an unstressed indirect-object pronoun: it marks the person who receives the help, here “you.” It does not show whether that person is masculine or feminine. For example, Te escribiré mañana means “I will write to you tomorrow.” ayudará comes from ayudar (“to help”). The ending -ará marks the simple future, third-person singular: “will help.” The sentence leaves the subject unspoken; the fixed translation presents it as “it.” Compare the present ayuda (“helps/is helping”) with the future ayudará (“will help”). Example: El mapa te ayudará means “The map will help you.” devolverlo combines the infinitive devolver (“to return”) with the attached direct-object pronoun lo (“it”). The infinitive is used after ayudará a: ayudar a + infinitive means “to help someone do something.” Here lo is masculine singular in form, while its specific referent is not named in the supplied sentence. Example: Voy a devolverlo means “I am going to return it.” a tiempo is a fixed time expression meaning “on time,” that is, by the expected or required time. It is different from a la vez, “at the same time.” Example: Llegaron a tiempo means “They arrived on time.” Together, Te ayudará identifies you as the person helped, and a devolverlo states the action that the help makes easier or possible. A tiempo adds the required timing. The whole utterance means: “It will help you return it on time.”