Solving a phone battery problem | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. La batería de mi teléfono está casi agotada.

   My phone battery is almost dead.

   batería

   battery

   teléfono

   phone

   está

   is

   casi

   almost

   agotada

   dead; depleted

   More detail

   batería means “battery” here. It is a feminine noun: la batería, plural las baterías. The phrase la batería de mi teléfono means “my phone’s battery”; de links the battery to the phone, while mi marks possession. teléfono means “phone” here. It is a masculine noun: el teléfono, plural los teléfonos. In de mi teléfono, it identifies which battery is being discussed. está is the third-person singular present form of estar. Spanish uses estar for a current condition or state, whereas ser is used for identity or more inherent classification. Example: El teléfono está apagado. — “The phone is turned off.” casi means “almost” or “nearly.” It places the condition close to the stated point without saying that the point has fully been reached. Example: La batería está casi llena. — “The battery is almost full.” agotada means “depleted” or, in this context, “dead.” It is the feminine singular form of agotado, agreeing with feminine singular batería. The adjective describes the battery’s state; it does not literally mean that the battery is a living thing. Example: La batería está agotada. — “The battery is depleted.” Together, La batería de mi teléfono identifies the subject, está presents its current state, and casi agotada says that it is very close to being depleted. The complete utterance therefore means “My phone battery is almost dead.”

2. ¿Tienes un cargador o una batería portátil contigo?

   Do you have a charger or power bank with you?

   Tienes

   have

   cargador

   charger

   batería

   battery

   portátil

   portable

   contigo

   with you

   More detail

   Tienes is the present-tense form of tener for tú: “you have.” In this utterance, placing it at the start with rising-question intonation asks whether the listener possesses or has access to something. Other useful forms include tengo (“I have”) and tiene (“you have” with usted, or “he/she has”); the subject is normally understood from the verb form. cargador means “charger.” It is a masculine noun, so the singular article here is un. The related plural form is cargadores. Example: Necesito un cargador. — “I need a charger.” batería means “battery.” It is a feminine noun, which is why it appears with una in this sentence. Example: La batería está baja. — “The battery is low.” The following adjective describes this noun. portátil means “portable” here, specifically describing the battery as a portable power bank. It agrees in number but not in gender: batería portátil is feminine singular, while baterías portátiles is feminine plural; the singular form portátil is the same with masculine and feminine nouns. This word can also describe other portable objects, such as un ordenador portátil (“a laptop computer”), but its meaning here is determined by batería. contigo means “with you” when addressing one person informally. It is a fused form of con plus tú; Spanish uses contigo, not normally con tú, in this role. The form for formal singular “with you” is con usted, and the plural form is con ustedes. The alternatives are joined by o, “or”: the question asks about either a charger or a portable battery. The articles un and una mark the masculine noun cargador and feminine noun batería; they do not by themselves assert that exactly one item exists. Tienes supplies the question’s “do you have,” and contigo adds the condition that the item would be with the listener. Together, the utterance asks whether the addressed person has a charger or a portable battery with them.

3. Dejé los dos en casa.

   I left both at home.

   Dejé

   left

   los dos

   both

   en casa

   at home

   More detail

   Dejé is the first-person singular preterite of dejar (“to leave”): dejar → dejé. The accent marks the final stressed syllable. Here it presents the leaving as a completed past event. Example: Dejé las llaves en la mesa. — “I left the keys on the table.” Los dos means “both” and refers to the two items understood in the exchange. Dos expresses the number two; los is the masculine plural article. Spanish uses masculine plural forms for a mixed-gender pair as well, so los dos can refer to a masculine item and a feminine item together. Example: Los dos están aquí. — “Both are here.” En casa means “at home.” En marks the location, and casa is used without an article in this fixed location expression. Compare en casa (“at home”) with en la casa (“in the house”), which points more specifically to a particular house or building. Together, Dejé + los dos + en casa gives: “I left both at home.” The speaker is the person who left the two items, and the completed action placed both of them at home.

4. Necesito hacer una llamada urgente.

   I need to make an urgent call.

   Necesito

   I need

   hacer

   to do; to make

   llamada

   call

   urgente

   urgent

   More detail

   Necesito is the first-person singular present form of necesitar, “to need.” It states that the speaker has a need. The same pattern works with other subjects: Necesitas descansar = “You need to rest.” hacer is the infinitive “to do” or “to make.” After necesitar, Spanish uses an infinitive for the needed action: Necesito estudiar = “I need to study.” Here, hacer combines with una llamada to mean “to make a call.” llamada is a feminine singular noun meaning “call” here, specifically a phone call. It is related to the verb llamar, “to call,” but llamada names the call itself. The feminine singular article una agrees with it: una llamada. urgente is a singular adjective meaning “urgent.” Its -e ending is used with both masculine and feminine singular nouns; plural forms add -s, as in llamadas urgentes. In this sentence, it describes the call: una llamada urgente. Together, Necesito + infinitive gives “I need to ...”; hacer una llamada gives “make a call”; and urgente says that the call is urgent. The complete meaning is “I need to make an urgent call.”

5. Hay un enchufe junto a la ventana.

   There is an outlet beside the window.

   Hay

   there is / there are

   enchufe

   outlet

   junto a

   beside; next to

   ventana

   window

   More detail

   Hay is the present-tense form used to state that something exists or is located somewhere: hay + noun. It is impersonal, so it does not change to agree with the noun: Hay un enchufe and Hay dos enchufes. Do not confuse it with está, which locates a specific known item. enchufe means an electrical outlet or socket. Its plural is enchufes. The article also shows the noun's gender: un enchufe; with a feminine noun, use una, as in una ventana. junto a is a reusable location pattern meaning “beside” or “next to.” It is followed by the reference point: junto a la ventana = “beside the window.” A related pattern is junto al enchufe, where a + el contracts to al. ventana means “window.” Its plural is ventanas, and its feminine singular article is la: la ventana. Together, Hay un enchufe states that an outlet exists, and junto a la ventana specifies its location. The complete meaning is: “There is an outlet beside the window.”

6. ¿Podría usar tu cable durante unos minutos?

   Could I use your cable for a few minutes?

   Podría

   could I

   usar

   use

   tu

   your

   cable

   cable

   durante unos minutos

   for a few minutes

   More detail

   Podría is the conditional form of poder used here for a courteous possibility/request: “Could I…?” The intended subject is the speaker, as shown by the fixed translation. Podría can also agree with a third-person singular or usted subject in other contexts, so the form alone does not mean only “I.” Compare ¿Podrías ayudarme? — “Could you help me?” usar is the infinitive “to use.” After podría, Spanish uses the infinitive for the action being considered: Podría usar… means “Could I use…?” The infinitive does not itself mark the person; podría carries the finite verb form. tu is the unstressed possessive meaning “your” with a singular possessor. It has no accent here. Do not confuse it with tú, the subject pronoun “you”: tu cable — “your cable”; Tú puedes usarlo — “You can use it.” The possessive agrees with the possessed noun, not with the possessor; tu cable uses the singular form because cable is singular. cable is a noun meaning “cable.” In Spanish it is masculine: el cable, los cables. The possessive and noun together identify the cable as belonging to the addressee, without stating which particular cable beyond the context. durante unos minutos gives the duration, “for a few minutes.” durante introduces a period of time, and minutos is the plural of minuto. Unos is a plural indefinite determiner meaning approximately “some/a few” here; it does not assert an exact count. Compare durante un minuto — “for one minute” and durante varios minutos — “for several minutes.” Together, Podría usar tu cable forms a conditional request about using the addressee’s cable, and durante unos minutos limits that use to a short, nonspecific period. The complete utterance therefore means: “Could I use your cable for a few minutes?”

7. Puedes usarlo el tiempo suficiente para hacer la llamada.

   You can use it long enough to make the call.

   Puedes

   you can

   usarlo

   use it

   tiempo

   time

   suficiente

   enough; sufficient

   hacer

   make; do

   llamada

   call

   More detail

   Puedes is the second-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to/can”): puedo, puedes, puede. Here it addresses one person informally and expresses permission or ability in context. A reusable pattern is puedes + infinitive: Puedes esperar. = “You can wait.” usarlo combines the infinitive usar (“to use”) with the attached direct-object pronoun lo (“it”). Spanish commonly attaches lo to an infinitive: usar + lo → usarlo. Here lo is masculine singular and, with the supplied context, refers to the cable. Compare usarla when “it” replaces a feminine singular noun, such as la llave. tiempo means “time.” In el tiempo, the article marks this noun as masculine singular; the noun itself is not a measure of a specific number of minutes here. suficiente means “sufficient” or “enough.” It describes tiempo in el tiempo suficiente, meaning “enough time.” The form suficiente does not change for masculine versus feminine nouns in the singular: tiempo suficiente, ayuda suficiente. hacer is the infinitive “to do” or “to make.” In this utterance, hacer la llamada means “to make the call.” After para, an infinitive expresses the purpose: Estudio para aprender. = “I study in order to learn.” llamada means “call” here, specifically a phone call. It is a feminine singular noun, shown by la llamada. It is related to the verb llamar (“to call”), but llamada is the noun used for the call itself. Together, usarlo el tiempo suficiente means “use it for enough time,” and para hacer la llamada gives the purpose of that time: “to make the call.” The complete utterance means “You can use it long enough to make the call.”

8. Lo devolveré en cuanto se encienda mi teléfono.

   I will return it as soon as my phone turns on.

   Lo

   it

   devolveré

   I will return

   en cuanto

   as soon as

   se encienda

   turns on

   teléfono

   phone

   More detail

   Lo is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun: here it means “it,” matching the object being returned. Spanish object pronouns can come before a conjugated verb, as in lo devolveré. The form does not identify the object by itself; the fixed translation and context support the intended same object. devolveré comes from devolver, “to return” something. The ending -é marks first-person singular future, so devolveré means “I will return.” The verb stem has the vowel change o → ue in several present-tense forms, such as devuelvo, but the future form is built as devolveré without that change. Example: Lo devolveré mañana. — “I will return it tomorrow.” en cuanto is a time conjunction meaning “as soon as.” It introduces an event that is expected but not yet completed. Example: En cuanto llegue, te llamaré. — “As soon as I arrive, I will call you.” se encienda comes from encenderse, “to turn on” or “to light up.” Here se shows that the phone undergoes the change of state; it is not an object pronoun meaning “it” in this clause. Encienda is third-person singular present subjunctive, from encender, and agrees with the singular subject mi teléfono. The subjunctive is used after en cuanto because the turning-on is a future condition rather than an already completed event. Compare the indicative in Mi teléfono se enciende. — “My phone turns on/is turning on.” teléfono is a masculine singular noun meaning “phone.” In mi teléfono, mi means “my” and agrees in number with the singular noun; teléfono keeps its written accent on é. Together, Lo devolveré states the main action and its object: “I will return it.” en cuanto se encienda mi teléfono sets the time condition: “as soon as my phone turns on.” The complete utterance is: “I will return it as soon as my phone turns on.”

9. Déjalo conectado hasta que tengas suficiente batería.

   Keep it plugged in until you have enough battery.

   Déjalo

   Keep it / leave it

   conectado

   plugged in

   hasta que

   until

   tengas

   you have

   suficiente

   enough

   batería

   battery

   More detail

   Déjalo combines the affirmative tú command deja from dejar with the direct-object clitic lo. Here dejar means to keep something in a state, so the command means “keep it” or “leave it.” lo is the singular masculine or neuter direct-object clitic; the fixed translation supports the meaning “it” but does not identify a more specific object. The exact command form is for one tú listener, not usted or ustedes. Example: Déjalo abierto. — “Leave it open.” conectado describes the state in which the object should remain: connected or plugged in. It is a participle used adjectivally here and agrees in masculine singular with the object represented by lo. Its base verb is conectar; the adjective does not mean that the object itself is the person doing the connecting. Example: El teléfono está conectado. — “The phone is plugged in.” hasta que introduces the time limit: the commanded state continues up to the point when the following event or condition is reached. After this time expression, tengas uses the subjunctive because the endpoint is presented as pending in the command. Example: Espera hasta que llegues. — “Wait until you arrive.” tengas is the tú present subjunctive of tener, whose base form is tener; its irregular stem is teng-. The indicative counterpart is tienes, used for a stated fact, while tengas fits this pending condition after hasta que. Example: Avísame cuando tengas tiempo. — “Let me know when you have time.” suficiente means “enough” in this sentence. It is singular here because it modifies the singular noun batería; it does not change for masculine versus feminine singular nouns, and its plural form is suficientes. It expresses an adequate amount, not a precise quantity. Example: Tenemos suficiente agua. — “We have enough water.” batería is the feminine singular noun “battery.” Its accent mark is part of the spelling. In this sentence, suficiente batería means an adequate amount of battery power, with batería used as a singular mass noun for that power. Together, Déjalo conectado gives the command to maintain “it” in a plugged-in state. hasta que tengas suficiente batería sets the endpoint: do so until the listener has enough battery power. The complete meaning is “Keep it plugged in until you have enough battery.”