Drying and replacing coffee-stained pages | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Derramé café sobre estos documentos.

   I spilled coffee on these documents.

   Derramé

   I spilled

   café

   coffee

   sobre

   on

   estos

   these

   documentos

   documents

   More detail

   Derramé is the first-person singular preterite of derramar, “to spill.” The ending and accent mark show a completed past action by “I”: derramar → derramé. Example: Derramé agua. — “I spilled water.” café is the noun “coffee.” It can refer to the drink or, in other contexts, to a coffee-colored shade. Here it is the liquid that was spilled. Example: El café está caliente. — “The coffee is hot.” Sobre is a preposition meaning “on” here, introducing the surface or thing affected by the spill. It can also mean “about” in other contexts, so its meaning comes from the relationship expressed in the sentence. Example: El libro está sobre la mesa. — “The book is on the table.” Estos means “these.” It is the masculine plural demonstrative form, agreeing with the plural masculine noun documentos. The demonstrative marks the documents as relatively near or currently identifiable; este is masculine singular, esta feminine singular, and estos masculine plural. Example: Estos libros son nuevos. — “These books are new.” Documentos means “documents.” It is the plural of documento; the final -s marks more than one document. Example: Necesito los documentos. — “I need the documents.” Together, derramé states that the speaker completed the action of spilling, café identifies what was spilled, and sobre estos documentos identifies what the coffee landed on. The whole utterance therefore means that the speaker spilled coffee on these documents.

2. Aléjalos de la taza antes de que se extienda la mancha.

   Move them away from the cup before the stain spreads.

   Aléjalos

   move them away

   taza

   cup

   antes de que

   before

   se extienda

   spreads

   mancha

   stain

   More detail

   Aléjalos is an affirmative command addressed to one tú person: “move them away.” It is built from alejar (“to move away”) in the tú imperative, aleja, plus the attached direct-object clitic los. The accent in aléjalos preserves the word’s stress after the clitic is attached. Los is masculine plural here, matching the “documents” identified in the preceding context. Compare aléjala for one feminine object and aléjalas for multiple feminine objects. taza means “cup.” It is a feminine noun, as shown by la taza; its plural is tazas. Example: La taza está aquí. — “The cup is here.” Antes de que introduces an event that must happen first: “before.” It is a reusable time pattern, normally followed by a subjunctive clause because that event is viewed as pending or not yet realized. Example: Cierra la puerta antes de que llueva. — “Close the door before it rains.” Se extienda means “spreads” in this sentence. The base verb is extender; se extienda is its third-person singular present subjunctive form in the pronominal use extenderse, “to spread.” The form agrees with the singular subject la mancha. This se is part of the verb construction here, not a replacement for the direct object. The present indicative form is se extiende (“it spreads” or “it is spreading”), while se extienda is selected after antes de que. Mancha means “stain” here. It is a feminine noun: la mancha; its plural is las manchas. Example: La mancha se extiende. — “The stain spreads.” Together, Aléjalos de la taza means “Move them away from the cup”: de marks the point or object from which they should be moved away. Antes de que se extienda la mancha means “before the stain spreads.” The complete utterance is therefore “Move them away from the cup before the stain spreads.”

3. La página de arriba ya está empapada.

   The top page is already soaked.

   página

   page

   de arriba

   top; upper

   ya

   already

   empapada

   soaked

   More detail

   página means “page.” It is a feminine singular noun, which is why the form describing it is feminine singular. A useful contrast is páginas for “pages.” Example: La página está limpia. — “The page is clean.” de arriba identifies the page as the upper or top one. Here de links arriba to página in a descriptive phrase. This is different from simply saying arriba as an adverb meaning “up” or “above.” Example: La caja de arriba es pequeña. — “The top box is small.” ya means “already” and marks a state that has been reached by the relevant time. It normally appears before the verb or verbal group it modifies. Example: Ya está seca. — “It is already dry.” empapada means “soaked” here. Its base verb is empapar, “to soak” or “to drench.” The form empapada is a past participle used adjectivally: it is feminine singular to agree with página. The masculine singular form is empapado, and plural forms include empapadas and empapados when agreement requires them. With estar, this form describes a resulting state: La página está empapada. — “The page is soaked.” The full pattern is La + [noun] + de arriba + ya está + [matching descriptive form]: La página de arriba ya está empapada. The article and noun give “the top page,” ya está adds that the state has already been reached, and empapada describes that page as soaked. Together, the utterance means “The top page is already soaked.”

4. Déjala secar extendida antes de tocarla.

   Let it dry flat before you handle it.

   Déjala

   Leave it

   secar

   dry

   extendida

   flat; spread out

   antes de

   before

   tocarla

   handle it

   More detail

   Déjala combines the affirmative tú command deja (“leave” or “let”) with the attached direct-object pronoun la (“it”). Here la refers to the feminine singular item identified in context, the page. In an affirmative command, Spanish attaches the pronoun to the verb and writes an accent to preserve the stress: deja → déjala. The form is specifically the tú singular command; it is not the usted or ustedes form. secar is the infinitive “to dry.” After dejar, the pattern dejar + object + infinitive can mean “let something do something”: Déjala secar = “Let it dry.” The object pronoun is already in Déjala; secar names the action allowed to happen. extendida means “spread out” or “laid flat” here. It is a feminine singular form agreeing with the feminine singular object understood from la; it is not the base form of the verb. Its base adjective/participle form is extendido, with forms such as extendida, extendidos, and extendidas changing for gender and number. Together, secar extendida describes the page drying while it is laid flat. antes de is the reusable pattern “before.” With an infinitive, antes de + infinitive means “before doing something”: antes de tocarla = “before handling it.” tocarla combines the infinitive tocar (“touch” or, in this context, “handle”) with the attached feminine singular direct-object pronoun la. The pronoun refers to the same item as the la in Déjala; it is not a new participant. Compare the agreement pattern: tocar la página → tocarla, while a masculine singular object would give tocarlo. Assembled in order, Déjala secar extendida antes de tocarla means “Let it dry flat before you handle it.” The command tells one tú listener to leave the feminine singular item spread out while it dries, and to handle that same item only afterward.

5. ¿Debería imprimir una copia limpia de esa página?

   Should I print a clean copy of that page?

   Debería

   should I

   imprimir

   to print

   copia

   copy

   limpia

   clean

   esa

   that

   página

   page

   More detail

   Debería is a form of deber, used here to ask whether the speaker ought to do something: “Should I…?” It is the conditional form for yo, and it can express a tentative suggestion or request for guidance. After it, Spanish uses an infinitive: debería + infinitive. Imprimir means “to print.” It is an infinitive, so it does not show a subject or tense by itself; debería supplies the conditional meaning and the speaker is the understood subject. Example: Debería guardar el archivo. — “I should save the file.” Copia is a feminine singular noun meaning “copy.” Its gender is shown by the article una, and the adjective limpia agrees with it. Example: una copia digital — “a digital copy.” Limpia means “clean” here, describing the copy as clean rather than dirty or marked. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective limpio, matching feminine singular copia: un documento limpio, but una copia limpia. Example: Necesito una hoja limpia. — “I need a clean sheet of paper.” Esa is a feminine singular demonstrative meaning “that.” It agrees with the noun it modifies, página, but the demonstrative itself does not identify a more specific referent beyond the page indicated in context. The corresponding masculine singular form is ese; plural feminine is esas. Página means “page.” It is a feminine singular noun, as shown here by esa and by the adjective agreement in the larger noun phrase. The accent on á is part of the spelling: página. Together, debería imprimir forms “should I print,” una copia limpia means “a clean copy,” and de esa página means “of that page.” The complete utterance therefore asks, “Should I print a clean copy of that page?” It is a question about whether printing is advisable, not a direct command to print.

6. Eso sería más seguro porque el texto puede quedar borroso.

   That would be safer because the text may blur.

   Eso

   That

   sería

   would be

   más seguro

   safer

   texto

   text

   puede

   may

   quedar

   become or remain

   borroso

   blurry

   More detail

   Eso means “that” and is a neuter demonstrative pronoun. Here it points to the proposed action or situation understood from the exchange, rather than identifying a specific masculine or feminine noun. Spanish also has este/esta and ese/esa for nouns with grammatical gender and number; eso itself does not change to agree with a masculine or feminine noun. sería is the third-person singular conditional of ser (“to be”): ser → sería. The conditional presents the assessment as “would be,” fitting the translation “That would be safer.” más seguro is a comparative adjective phrase: seguro means “safe,” and más seguro means “safer” or “more safe.” The adjective is seguro, not más; its feminine form is segura, and its plural forms are seguros and seguras. A comparison can be completed with que, as in Esto es más seguro que aquello (“This is safer than that”). texto is a masculine singular noun meaning “text.” Its plural is textos; the definite article shows the gender and number in el texto (“the text”). puede is the third-person singular present form of poder (“can; may; be able to”). With an infinitive, poder expresses possibility or ability. Here puede expresses possibility: the text may become blurry. For example, La imagen puede cambiar means “The image may change.” quedar is an infinitive meaning “to become,” “to end up,” or “to remain,” depending on context. After puede, it stays in the infinitive: puede quedar. With an adjective, quedar describes the resulting state, as in La puerta puede quedar abierta (“The door may remain open”). borroso means “blurry” here and is the masculine singular form of the adjective borroso. It agrees with texto, which is masculine singular; borrosa would agree with a feminine singular noun, and borrosos/borrosas with plural nouns. The connector porque means “because.” The structure porque el texto puede quedar borroso gives the reason for the assessment. Together, Eso sería más seguro porque el texto puede quedar borroso means “That would be safer because the text may blur.”

7. Separaré las páginas secas mientras esta se seca.

   I will separate the dry pages while this one dries.

   Separaré

   I will separate

   páginas

   pages

   secas

   dry

   mientras

   while

   esta

   this one

   se seca

   dries

   More detail

   Separaré is the first-person singular future of separar, “to separate”: separar → separaré (“I will separate”). The ending -é marks “I” in this future form. Example: Separaré los documentos. — “I will separate the documents.” páginas means “pages.” It is the plural of feminine página; the plural ending is -s. In this sentence, it is the direct object of separaré, the things being separated. secas means “dry” here. It is the feminine plural form of the adjective seco, and it agrees with páginas: página seca / páginas secas. The adjective describes the pages that are already dry in the stated situation. Example: Las toallas están secas. — “The towels are dry.” mientras introduces an event occurring at the same time as another event: “while.” It connects the separating action with the drying action. Example: Leo mientras espero. — “I read while I wait.” esta means “this one” here. It is a feminine singular demonstrative pronoun, so it refers to a singular feminine item understood from the situation; the supplied sentence does not identify that item by name. As a pronoun, it is the subject of se seca. se seca means “dries” here. Seca is the third-person singular present form of secar, “to dry,” and se makes the form reflexive/intransitive in this use: the subject undergoes the drying process. Thus, esta se seca means “this one dries,” not “this one dries something.” Compare Esta seca la página. — “This one dries the page,” where seca is transitive and la página is what gets dried. Together, separaré las páginas secas means “I will separate the dry pages.” Mientras esta se seca adds the simultaneous event “while this one dries.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I will separate the dry pages while this one dries.”

8. La próxima vez, deja las bebidas en otra mesa.

   Keep the drinks on another table next time.

   próxima

   next

   vez

   time; occasion

   deja

   leave; put

   bebidas

   drinks; beverages

   otra

   another; different

   mesa

   table

   More detail

   próxima means “next” here and is the feminine singular form matching vez. Its base adjective is próximo; the masculine form is próximo, while feminine forms use próxima. siguiente is another common way to say “next,” often without this same adjective-form contrast in the phrase la siguiente vez. vez means an occasion or instance. The useful plural is veces, with the spelling change from z to c before -es: una vez, dos veces. The pattern la próxima vez means “next time.” deja is the affirmative command for tú singular from dejar, “to leave” or “to put.” In this sentence, it tells one person to put or leave something somewhere. Do not confuse it with deje, the corresponding formal singular command for usted, or dejen, the command for ustedes. Example: Deja el libro aquí. — “Leave the book here.” bebidas means “drinks” or “beverages.” It is the plural of the feminine noun bebida; the singular is una bebida, and the plural marker is -s. The article las also marks this noun phrase as feminine plural. Example: Las bebidas están frías. — “The drinks are cold.” otra means “another” or “a different one” here. It is the feminine singular form agreeing with mesa: otro is masculine singular, otras feminine plural, and otros masculine plural. Example: Ponlo en otra caja. — “Put it in another box.” mesa means “table.” It is a feminine noun, so this phrase uses otra mesa; its plural is mesas. The preposition en places the drinks at or in the indicated location: en otra mesa means “on/at another table” in this context. Together, deja las bebidas gives the command “leave/put the drinks,” and en otra mesa specifies the destination or location. La próxima vez sets the time for the command. The whole utterance is therefore: “Keep the drinks on another table next time.”