Snowy streets and bus delays | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Nevó mucho durante la noche.

   It snowed a lot during the night.

   Nevó

   It snowed

   mucho

   a lot

   noche

   night

   More detail

   Nevó is the preterite form of nevar (“to snow”). In this weather use, Spanish normally has no expressed subject: the third-person singular form is impersonal, so it does not identify a person or thing that snowed. Compare the reusable example Ayer nevó. — “It snowed yesterday.” mucho modifies the snowfall as an adverb here, meaning “a lot” or “heavily.” In this use it does not change for gender or number. The same adverb can modify another verb: Trabajó mucho. — “He/She worked a lot.” noche means “night.” It is a feminine noun, so the phrase uses the feminine singular article la: la noche. durante la noche means “during the night”; durante introduces the time period in which the event occurs. The noun noche is distinct from día (“day”). Together, Nevó mucho durante la noche says that a large amount of snow fell during the nighttime period: “It snowed a lot during the night.”

2. Las aceras pueden estar heladas esta mañana.

   The sidewalks may be icy this morning.

   aceras

   sidewalks

   pueden

   may; can

   estar

   be

   heladas

   icy; frozen

   mañana

   morning

   More detail

   aceras means sidewalks here. It is the feminine plural noun acera (“sidewalk”): la acera → las aceras. The plural form is used because the sentence talks about sidewalks in general, without stating a specific number. pueden comes from poder (“to be able to; may/can”). It is the present-tense third-person plural form, matching las aceras. With an infinitive, poder + infinitive expresses possibility or ability: pueden estar = “may be” here. Example: Los caminos pueden estar mojados. — “The roads may be wet.” estar is the infinitive “to be,” used here after pueden. Estar presents a temporary state or condition; it is different from ser, which is commonly used for more inherent identification or description. Example: La puerta puede estar abierta. — “The door may be open.” heladas means icy or frozen here. It is the feminine plural form of the adjective helado, agreeing with aceras: aceras heladas. The adjective describes their condition, not an action performed by the sidewalks. Example: Las calles están heladas. — “The streets are icy.” mañana means “morning” in esta mañana (“this morning”). It is a noun; the demonstrative esta specifies the morning being referred to. In this sentence, the time expression places the possible icy condition in the morning. Together, Las aceras is the subject, pueden estar expresses possibility, and heladas gives the temporary condition. Esta mañana specifies when that condition may hold. The complete meaning is: “The sidewalks may be icy this morning.”

3. Entonces debería llevar botas con mejor agarre.

   Then I should wear boots with better grip.

   Entonces

   then

   debería

   should

   llevar

   wear

   botas

   boots

   mejor

   better

   agarre

   grip

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here and links this choice to what was just established. It can also introduce a conclusion: Entonces, salimos. — “Then, we’re leaving.” debería is the first-person singular conditional form of deber; with the fixed translation, it means “I should.” The conditional presents the action as advisable rather than as a direct command. Deberías descansar. — “You should rest.” This is a different person from deberías, which means “you should.” llevar is the infinitive “to wear” in this sentence. With clothing or footwear, llevar commonly means “to wear”; in other contexts it can mean “to carry” or “to take,” so the surrounding noun identifies the relevant sense here. After debería, the following verb remains in the infinitive: debería llevar — “I should wear.” botas is the plural of bota, “boot.” The plural form refers to boots as footwear; the sentence does not state a numerical count beyond the plural category. Llevo botas. — “I wear boots.” mejor is the irregular comparative form corresponding to bueno: bueno → mejor (“good” → “better”). Here it modifies agarre, so it means that the grip is better, not that the boots themselves are being directly compared as objects. Estas suelas tienen mejor agarre. — “These soles have better grip.” agarre is a noun meaning “grip” or “traction” here: the ability of the boots to hold the ground. In con mejor agarre, con introduces the feature the boots have: “with better grip.” Together, debería llevar expresses the speaker’s recommendation about their own action, and botas con mejor agarre specifies the footwear and its useful feature. Entonces debería llevar botas con mejor agarre. therefore means “Then I should wear boots with better grip.”

4. También deberías caminar con más cuidado de lo normal.

   You should also walk more carefully than usual.

   También

   also

   deberías

   should

   caminar

   walk

   más

   more

   cuidado

   care

   normal

   usual

   More detail

   También means “also” and adds this advice to something already mentioned. It includes the current advice; it does not replace the earlier point. Deberías is a form of deber meaning “you should” here. It is the conditional form used to express advice or recommendation. In Spanish, deberías is used with both informal singular tú and formal singular usted; the form itself does not distinguish those two addressees. Example: Deberías descansar. — “You should rest.” Caminar is the infinitive “to walk.” After deberías, the second verb stays in the infinitive: deberías caminar — “you should walk.” Example: Debemos caminar despacio. — “We should walk slowly.” Más means “more” and marks a greater degree. Here it modifies cuidado in más cuidado, meaning “more care.” Cuidado is the noun “care” here. With con, the phrase con más cuidado means “with more care,” naturally translated as “more carefully.” Example: Conduce con más cuidado. — “Drive more carefully.” Normal means “usual” or “normal” here. In de lo normal, it forms the comparison “than usual,” literally “than what is normal.” The adjective normal does not change for masculine or feminine gender; its plural form is normales. Together, También deberías caminar gives “You should also walk,” con más cuidado gives “more carefully,” and de lo normal supplies the comparison “than usual.” The complete meaning is: “You should also walk more carefully than usual.”

5. ¿Crees que los autobuses se retrasarán?

   Do you think buses will be delayed?

   ¿Crees que

   do you think that

   autobuses

   buses

   se retrasarán

   will be delayed

   More detail

   ¿Crees que contains crees, the present-tense tú form of creer (“to think/believe”). With que, it introduces the thought being asked about: ¿Crees que ...? = “Do you think that ...?” autobuses means “buses.” Its singular base form is autobús; the plural is autobuses. The written accent appears in the singular but is not used in the plural because the plural form follows the normal stress rules. The article los agrees with this masculine plural noun. Example: Los autobuses llegan tarde. — “The buses arrive late.” se retrasarán uses the pronominal verb retrasarse, “to be delayed” or “to run late.” retrasarán is the third-person plural future form of retrasar, and se marks the pronominal construction; together, they express that the plural subject los autobuses will run late. The future ending presents the delay as expected later. Compare retrasar el autobús (“to delay the bus,” with someone or something causing the delay) with el autobús se retrasa (“the bus is delayed/is running late”). Together, ¿Crees que + los autobuses + se retrasarán forms: “Do you think the buses will be delayed?” The question asks for the listener’s view about a possible future delay; it does not itself assert that the delay will happen.

6. Probablemente, porque el tráfico avanza despacio cuando nieva.

   Probably, because traffic moves slowly in snow.

   Probablemente

   probably

   porque

   because

   tráfico

   traffic

   avanza

   moves forward

   despacio

   slowly

   nieva

   it snows

   More detail

   Probablemente means “probably” and marks the statement as likely rather than certain. It is an adverb, so it does not change for person or number. Example: Probablemente llegará mañana. — “He/She will probably arrive tomorrow.” porque introduces the reason for what comes before it: “because.” It is a conjunction, commonly followed by a clause with its own verb. Do not confuse it with the question form ¿por qué?, “why?” tráfico means “traffic” here. Its base form is tráfico, and it is a masculine singular noun: el tráfico. The article and noun together identify the grammatical number and gender; the noun itself does not refer to a particular vehicle or person. Example: El tráfico está pesado. — “The traffic is heavy.” avanza means “moves forward” or, in this context, “moves along.” It is the third-person singular present form of avanzar: avanzar → avanza. The form agrees with the singular subject el tráfico. Example: El tren avanza despacio. — “The train moves slowly.” despacio means “slowly.” It is an adverb modifying how avanza happens, so it does not change to agree with tráfico. Example: El autobús avanza despacio. — “The bus moves slowly.” nieva means “it snows” in this sentence. It is the third-person singular present form of nevar, a weather verb commonly used without an expressed personal subject: nevar → nieva. In cuando nieva, the clause means “when it snows”; cuando supplies the time condition, while nieva states the weather event. Example: Cuando nieva, conduzco con cuidado. — “When it snows, I drive carefully.” Together, Probablemente gives the degree of certainty, and porque introduces the explanation: el tráfico avanza despacio cuando nieva means “traffic moves slowly when it snows.” The complete utterance therefore means “Probably, because traffic moves slowly in snow.”

7. Déjame mirar la aplicación de transporte antes de salir.

   Let me check the transport app before leaving.

   Déjame

   let me

   mirar

   check; look at

   aplicación

   application; app

   transporte

   transport; transportation

   antes de salir

   before leaving

   More detail

   Déjame means “let me.” It combines the affirmative tú command deja from dejar (“to let” or “allow”) with the attached indirect-object clitic me, referring to the speaker: deja + me → déjame. The written accent preserves the command’s stress after the clitic is attached. This is an informal singular request to one listener; it is not the usted form. mirar is the infinitive “to look at” or, here, “to check.” After déjame, it names the action the speaker is asking permission to perform. Example: Déjame revisar el mapa. — “Let me check the map.” aplicación is a feminine noun meaning “application,” commonly shortened in English to “app.” Its plural is aplicaciones. Here it is the thing being checked. transporte is a noun meaning “transport” or “transportation.” In aplicación de transporte, the preposition de links it to aplicación and specifies the app’s subject or purpose: an app for transportation. antes de salir expresses “before leaving.” antes de is followed by an infinitive when the understood subject of that action is the same as the relevant subject in context. salir is the infinitive “to leave” or “to go out”; it is not a present participle here. Example: Lávate las manos antes de comer. — “Wash your hands before eating.” Together, Déjame mirar asks the listener to allow the speaker to check something, la aplicación de transporte identifies that thing, and antes de salir places the checking before the speaker leaves. The complete meaning is: “Let me check the transport app before leaving.”

8. Eso puede ahorrarte tiempo.

   That may save you time.

   Eso

   that

   puede

   may

   ahorrarte

   save you

   tiempo

   time

   More detail

   Eso is the neuter demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” It can point to an understood thing, idea, or situation without identifying a specific noun here. Compare esto “this” and aquello “that over there” when the context calls for a different demonstrative. puede comes from poder “to be able to; can.” It is the present-tense third-person singular form. With an infinitive, poder + infinitive expresses ability or possibility. Here, puede ahorrarte expresses possibility, hence “may save you.” Example: Esto puede ayudarte. — “This may help you.” ahorrarte is the infinitive ahorrar “to save” with the second-person singular object clitic te attached: ahorrar + te. In this sentence, te marks the person who benefits, while tiempo is what is saved. The form te does not itself distinguish familiar tú from formal usted. Example: Esto puede ahorrarte dinero. — “This may save you money.” tiempo is a masculine singular noun meaning “time.” In ahorrar tiempo, it appears without an article in the general expression “to save time.” Example: Tengo tiempo. — “I have time.” Together, Eso identifies the subject, puede marks a possible effect, and ahorrarte tiempo means “save you time.” The complete utterance is: “That may save you time.”