Repairing or replacing a damaged borrowed tool | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Tengo que disculparme por lo que le pasó a la herramienta que tomé prestada.

   I need to apologize for what happened to the tool I borrowed.

   Tengo que

   I have to

   disculparme

   apologize

   por lo que

   for what

   le pasó

   happened to it

   herramienta

   tool

   tomé

   I took

   prestada

   borrowed

   More detail

   Tengo que expresses present obligation: “I have to / need to.” Tengo is the first-person singular present form of tener; with que plus an infinitive, the pattern tener que + infinitive describes something the speaker must do. Example: Tengo que estudiar. — “I have to study.” disculparme means “to apologize” here. It is the infinitive disculpar with the reflexive clitic me attached, showing that the speaker apologizes. The same clitic appears separately before a conjugated verb: Me disculpo. — “I apologize.” por lo que introduces the cause or matter of the apology: “for what.” Here lo que refers to an unspecified event or situation, not to a named masculine noun. The pattern por lo que + clause is reusable: Me preocupa lo que pasó. — “I am worried about what happened.” le pasó means “happened to it” in this sentence. Pasó is the third-person singular preterite of pasar, referring to a completed event. Le is the indirect-object clitic used for the affected participant; the fixed translation identifies that participant as the tool. The useful question pattern ¿Qué le pasó? means “What happened to it?” herramienta means “tool.” It is a feminine singular noun, so a describing adjective can agree with it in feminine singular form: una herramienta útil — “a useful tool.” tomé is the first-person singular preterite of tomar, “I took.” In tomé prestada, it contributes the completed action of taking something on loan. Example: Tomé un libro prestado. — “I borrowed a book.” prestada means “borrowed” here and agrees with the feminine singular noun herramienta: herramienta prestada. It is the feminine singular form of prestado; with a masculine singular noun, the form is prestado, as in un libro prestado — “a borrowed book.” The adjective appears after tomé because the two together express taking the tool on loan. Putting the parts together, Tengo que disculparme states the speaker’s obligation to apologize, por lo que le pasó gives the event that caused the apology, and a la herramienta que tomé prestada identifies the affected item as the tool the speaker borrowed. The complete meaning is: “I need to apologize for what happened to the tool I borrowed.”

2. ¿Qué le pasó?

   What happened to it?

   Qué

   what

   le pasó

   happened to it

   More detail

   Qué is the accented interrogative form meaning “what.” The accent marks its use in a direct question; compare que without an accent, which commonly introduces a clause rather than a question word. In this sentence, qué asks about the event or change that occurred. le pasó uses pasó, the third-person singular preterite of pasar (“to happen” here): pasar → pasó. The preterite presents the event as completed. Le is an indirect-object clitic; in this fixed meaning it marks the thing affected by what happened. Spanish le does not show the gender of that referent, so it can correspond to “to it” when the context identifies an inanimate thing. Here, the fixed translation and context identify that thing as the borrowed tool. Together, ¿Qué + le pasó? asks which completed event affected the tool: “What happened to it?” The question does not itself state what the event was; the surrounding context supplies that the handle cracked while the speaker was using the tool.

3. El mango se agrietó mientras yo la usaba.

   The handle cracked while I was using it.

   El mango

   the handle

   se agrietó

   cracked

   mientras

   while

   yo

   I

   la

   it

   usaba

   was using

   More detail

   El mango means “the handle” here, following the fixed translation. El is the masculine singular definite article, and mango is a masculine singular noun in this use. Spanish nouns and articles must agree in gender and number: el mango is masculine singular. se agrietó comes from agrietarse, “to crack” or “to develop cracks.” Agrietó is the third-person singular preterite, so it presents the cracking as a completed event: El mango se agrietó = “The handle cracked.” The se belongs to this pronominal verb construction; it is not the object pronoun for the later “it.” mientras introduces an action occurring at the same time: “while.” A reusable pattern is mientras + clause, as in Mientras cocinaba, sonó el teléfono. — “While I was cooking, the phone rang.” yo is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” Spanish often leaves this pronoun unstated because the verb ending identifies the subject, but yo makes the subject explicit here. la is a feminine singular direct-object clitic, meaning “her” or “it” when the omitted object is feminine singular. It must agree with the noun it replaces. As written, it does not agree with el mango, which is masculine; the usual clitic for el mango would be lo: mientras yo lo usaba. The fixed translation identifies the intended object as the handle, so the target sentence appears to contain a gender-agreement mismatch rather than a different intended object. usaba comes from usar, “to use.” It is the first-person singular imperfect: “was using” or “used to use.” The imperfect presents the using as ongoing or in progress when the completed cracking occurred. Mientras yo usaba... therefore means “while I was using...” Together, El mango se agrietó states the completed event, and mientras yo la usaba places it during an ongoing act of use. Following the fixed translation, the intended meaning is “The handle cracked while I was using it,” while the observed la should be checked against the intended antecedent because it is feminine singular and does not match el mango.

4. Déjame ver qué tan grave es el daño.

   Let me see how bad the damage is.

   Déjame

   let me

   ver

   see

   qué tan

   how ...?

   grave

   serious; bad

   daño

   damage

   More detail

   Déjame combines the affirmative tú command deja (“let” or “allow”) with the clitic pronoun me (“me”): deja + me becomes déjame, with an accent marking the stressed pronunciation. Here it asks permission for the speaker to perform the following action. Example: Déjame entrar. — “Let me come in.” ver is the infinitive “to see.” After déjame, it names the action the speaker asks permission to perform. The pattern Déjame + infinitive is reusable: Déjame pensar. — “Let me think.” qué tan introduces a degree question, “how ...,” in the indirect question qué tan grave es .... The accent in qué marks its interrogative use. This is not a complete direct question by itself; the whole clause asks about the degree of a quality. Example: No sé qué tan lejos está. — “I don’t know how far away it is.” grave is the adjective “serious” or, for a problem or damage, “bad/severe.” Here it describes the damage through es. Its base form is grave; the plural is graves, while the singular form does not show masculine versus feminine gender. Example: La situación es grave. — “The situation is serious.” daño is the singular noun “damage.” In this clause, el daño is the subject of singular es, although it comes after the adjective: qué tan grave es el daño literally asks how serious the damage is. Its plural is daños, used when referring to multiple harms or instances of damage. Example: El daño es visible. — “The damage is visible.” Together, Déjame ver means “Let me see.” The indirect-question clause qué tan grave es el daño means “how bad the damage is.” The complete utterance is therefore “Let me see how bad the damage is.”

5. Puedo reemplazarla o ayudar a repararla.

   I can replace it or help repair it.

   Puedo

   I can

   reemplazarla

   replace it

   ayudar

   help

   repararla

   repair it

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder, “to be able to/can.” It is followed by an infinitive: puedo + infinitive means “I can …” or “I am able to ….” Example: Puedo esperar. — “I can wait.” reemplazarla combines the infinitive reemplazar, “to replace,” with the attached direct-object clitic la. The -la refers to one feminine singular direct object; the exact object is not identified here, so it is best understood as “it” in the supplied translation. The clitic agrees with the object, not with the speaker. Example: Puedo reemplazar la pieza. — “I can replace the part.” ayudar means “to help.” In ayudar a + infinitive, the a introduces the action being helped with: ayudar a reparar means “to help repair.” Example: Puedo ayudar a limpiar. — “I can help clean.” repararla combines reparar, “to repair,” with the attached feminine singular direct-object clitic la, again meaning “it” for the intended object. In ayudar a repararla, the object clitic is attached to the infinitive reparar; the construction means “help repair it.” Example: Puedo ayudar a repararla. — “I can help repair it.” The sentence has two alternatives joined by o: Puedo reemplazarla (“I can replace it”) or ayudar a repararla (“help repair it”). The same understood object is represented by la in both infinitives, while puedo supplies the speaker’s ability for the alternatives. Overall: “I can replace it or help repair it.”

6. Deberíamos comprobar si la reparación va a durar.

   We should check whether a repair will hold.

   Deberíamos

   we should

   comprobar

   check

   si

   whether

   reparación

   repair

   va a durar

   will last

   More detail

   Deberíamos is the first-person plural conditional form of deber: “we should” or “we ought to.” The ending -íamos identifies “we”; it is not a command to another person. Compare debemos, “we must/should,” which presents the obligation more directly. comprobar means “to check” or “to verify.” It is an infinitive because it follows the conjugated form deberíamos: deberíamos comprobar, “we should check.” Example: Debemos comprobar la dirección. — “We must check the address.” si means “whether” here. It introduces the issue being checked: comprobar si..., “check whether...” In this use it does not express a condition such as “if we check.” la reparación refers here to the repair in question. reparación is a singular feminine noun, so the article is la; the article does not itself state a numeric quantity. The related verb reparar means “to repair.” Example: La reparación está lista. — “The repair is ready.” va a durar uses ir a plus an infinitive to express a future event: va is the third-person singular present form of ir, and durar means “to last.” The singular form matches la reparación: la reparación va a durar, “the repair will last” or “will hold.” Example: La batería va a durar todo el día. — “The battery will last all day.” Together, Deberíamos comprobar means “we should check,” and si la reparación va a durar specifies what to check: whether the repair will continue to work or hold up. The complete utterance is therefore “We should check whether a repair will hold.”

7. Lo siento por causar trabajo extra.

   I am sorry for causing extra work.

   Lo siento

   I’m sorry

   causar

   to cause

   trabajo

   work

   extra

   extra

   More detail

   Lo siento is the standard Spanish expression for “I’m sorry.” In this fixed expression, siento is the first-person singular present form of sentir (“to feel”); the expression is used to apologize, rather than simply to describe a physical feeling. For example: Lo siento mucho. — “I’m very sorry.” causar is the infinitive “to cause.” After por, an infinitive can state the reason for an apology: por causar trabajo extra means “for causing extra work.” The infinitive does not mark a separate subject here; it refers to the person apologizing. trabajo is the masculine singular noun “work.” In this sentence it refers to work or effort imposed by the speaker’s action, not to a specific job. Spanish uses the same noun in expressions such as mucho trabajo — “a lot of work.” extra describes trabajo as additional or beyond what was expected. In trabajo extra, it follows the noun. As a Spanish adjective, extra commonly keeps this form with singular masculine and feminine nouns; a plural form can be extras, as in horas extras — “extra hours.” Together, Lo siento + por + infinitive gives a reusable apology pattern: Lo siento por + [infinitive]. Here, causar trabajo extra identifies what the speaker is apologizing for, so the complete meaning is “I am sorry for causing extra work.”

8. Avísame enseguida la próxima vez.

   Tell me right away next time.

   Avísame

   let me know

   enseguida

   right away

   próxima

   next

   vez

   time

   More detail

   Avísame means “let me know” here. It is the affirmative command form of avisar for tú (one person addressed informally), with the indirect-object pronoun me attached: avisa + me → avísame. The written accent preserves the intended stress after the pronoun is attached. Example: Avísame cuando llegues. — “Let me know when you arrive.” Enseguida is an adverb meaning “right away” or “immediately.” It modifies the command, so the requested notification should happen promptly. Example: Lo hago enseguida. — “I’ll do it right away.” Próxima means “next” in this sentence. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective próximo, agreeing with the noun vez. The masculine form is próximo; the plural feminine form is próximas. Example: La próxima semana viajamos. — “Next week we are traveling.” Vez means “time” in the sense of an occasion or instance. Its plural is veces; it is different from tiempo, which commonly refers to duration or time in a broader sense. Example: Esta vez te aviso antes. — “This time I’ll let you know earlier.” Together, Avísame gives the request “let me know,” enseguida specifies “right away,” and la próxima vez means “next time.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Tell me right away next time.”

9. Podemos solucionarlo.

   We can sort it out.

   Podemos

   we can

   solucionarlo

   sort it out

   More detail

   Podemos is the first-person plural present form of poder, “to be able to” or “can.” Its ending identifies an implicit nosotros (“we”); Spanish often leaves this subject unstated. poder is followed by an infinitive: podemos + infinitive means “we can …” and expresses ability or possibility. solucionarlo combines the infinitive solucionar (“to solve,” “to sort out”) with the direct-object clitic lo (“it”). When a clitic is attached to an infinitive, it is written as one word: solucionar + lo → solucionarlo. Here lo is a masculine-singular direct-object form, while the specific thing or situation it refers to is not identified in the supplied sentence. Example: Podemos arreglarlo. — “We can fix it.” Together, podemos + solucionarlo gives “We can sort it out.” The unstated subject is “we,” poder supplies “can,” and the attached lo marks the thing or situation that can be sorted out.