Talking about jogging as a hobby | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Empecé a hacer jogging después del trabajo.

   I started jogging after work.

   Empecé

   I started

   hacer

   to do; to make

   jogging

   jogging

   después del

   after the

   trabajo

   work

   More detail

   Empecé means “I started” here. It is the first-person singular preterite of empezar (“to start”): empezar → empecé. The spelling z changes to c before the é in this form. Use empecé a before an infinitive to say that you began doing something. Example: Empecé a leer. — “I started reading.” hacer means “to do” or “to make”; here it is the infinitive after empecé a, so empecé a hacer means “I started doing.” In this sentence, hacer introduces the activity named next. Example: Quiero hacer ejercicio. — “I want to exercise.” jogging is an English loanword used in Spanish for the activity of jogging. After hacer, the chunk hacer jogging names that activity. This sentence could also use the Spanish expression salir a correr, but that is a different wording, not a correction of the supplied sentence. después del is part of the construction después de (“after”), with del formed by combining de and el. Here it introduces the time reference for the activity. Example: Después de comer, camino. — “After eating, I walk.” trabajo means “work” here. It is the noun trabajo. In después del trabajo, del trabajo means “the work” inside the larger construction, while después de supplies the meaning “after.” Together, Empecé a hacer jogging says “I started jogging,” and después del trabajo specifies when: “after work.” The complete utterance is therefore “I started jogging after work.”

2. ¿Cómo va hasta ahora?

   How is it going so far?

   ¿Cómo

   How

   va

   is going

   hasta ahora

   so far

   More detail

   ¿Cómo asks about the manner or state of something: “how?”. In this question it asks about the current progress of an activity, not about a person’s identity or a specific object. Compare ¿Qué? (“What?”), which asks for a thing or information. va is the third-person singular present form of ir (“to go”). In ¿Cómo va...?, Spanish uses ir to ask how a situation or activity is progressing; the natural English equivalent here is “How is it going?”. The form is present because the question concerns the situation at the current point. For example: ¿Cómo va el proyecto? — “How is the project going?” hasta ahora means “so far” or “up to now”. It limits the question to the progress made up to the present moment. For example: Hasta ahora, todo va bien. — “So far, everything is going well.” Together, ¿Cómo + va + hasta ahora forms a reusable question about current progress: ¿Cómo va hasta ahora? — “How is it going so far?” Here the activity being discussed is understood from the surrounding conversation, while the question itself does not specify it.

3. Mi ritmo es lento, pero estoy mejorando.

   My pace is slow, but I am improving.

   ritmo

   pace; rhythm

   lento

   slow

   pero

   but

   estoy

   I am

   mejorando

   improving

   More detail

   ritmo means “pace” here: the speed at which the speaker is moving or progressing. Its other common sense is “rhythm,” as in el ritmo de la música (“the rhythm of the music”). The noun is masculine: el ritmo, plural los ritmos. In mi ritmo, mi means “my” and agrees in number, not gender: mi ritmo but mis ritmos. lento describes ritmo, so it is masculine singular, matching that noun: un ritmo lento (“a slow pace”). The base adjective is lento; its forms include lenta, lentos, and lentas when the described noun is feminine or plural. Example: La recuperación es lenta. — “The recovery is slow.” pero connects two contrasting statements and means “but.” It does not cancel the first statement: the pace is slow, and the speaker is also improving. estoy is the first-person singular present form of estar, “to be.” Here it agrees with the unspoken subject “I.” Estoy is also used in progressive constructions, such as Estoy aprendiendo. — “I am learning.” mejorando is the gerund of mejorar, “to improve.” With estoy, the pattern estar + gerund presents an action as ongoing: estoy mejorando means “I am improving.” The gerund itself does not show the subject; estoy supplies the first-person singular information. Example: Estamos mejorando. — “We are improving.” Together, Mi ritmo es lento says “My pace is slow,” while pero estoy mejorando adds the contrasting ongoing development “but I am improving.” The complete utterance is therefore: “My pace is slow, but I am improving.”

4. ¿Tienes una ruta habitual?

   Do you have a regular route?

   Tienes

   do you have

   ruta

   route

   habitual

   regular; usual

   More detail

   Tienes is the second-person singular present form of tener, “to have.” In this question, the form addresses one person informally with tú; Spanish does not use a separate word equivalent to English “do” here. Compare tengo (“I have”) and tiene (“he/she has” or formal “you have”). Example: ¿Tienes tiempo? — “Do you have time?” ruta means “route” or “path.” It is a feminine singular noun, as shown by una and by the adjective form habitual, which is compatible with a feminine singular noun. Example: La ruta es larga. — “The route is long.” habitual means “regular” or “usual” here: a route used regularly, not necessarily one that is happening at this exact moment. The form habitual is the same for masculine and feminine singular nouns; its plural is habituales. Example: Este es mi camino habitual. — “This is my usual path.” Together, ¿Tienes una ruta habitual? asks one person informally whether they have a regular route. Una introduces the route as an unspecified instance; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. The fixed translation is “Do you have a regular route?”

5. Normalmente corro alrededor del parque.

   I usually run around the park.

   Normalmente

   usually

   corro

   I run

   alrededor del

   around the

   parque

   park

   More detail

   Normalmente is an adverb meaning “usually” or “normally.” It describes the regularity of the action; it does not say that the action happens every time. It can be reused with other actions: Normalmente camino al trabajo. — “I usually walk to work.” corro is the first-person singular present form of correr, “to run.” The ending identifies the speaker as the person who runs: yo corro; the subject pronoun yo is normally omitted because the verb form already shows it. The present form can describe a habit, as it does here. For example, Corro los domingos. — “I run on Sundays.” alrededor del expresses movement or location around something. It combines alrededor de (“around”) with el; de + el contracts to del. The contraction belongs to the prepositional expression, not to the noun. A similar pattern is alrededor de la casa — “around the house,” where de la does not contract. parque is a masculine noun meaning “park.” In this sentence, del parque means “of the park” after alrededor de, producing “around the park.” The noun can also appear with other articles: un parque — “a park,” and los parques — “the parks.” Together, Normalmente marks the action as habitual, corro states that the speaker runs, and alrededor del parque specifies the route or area around the park. The complete utterance means: “I usually run around the park.”

6. ¿Qué meta quieres alcanzar?

   What goal are you working toward?

   Qué

   what

   meta

   goal

   quieres

   you want

   alcanzar

   to reach or achieve

   More detail

   Qué asks for the identity or content of something: “what.” The accent marks its interrogative use. In this question, it asks which goal is meant. Compare qué in a question with unaccented que, which commonly introduces a clause or connects ideas. Meta means “goal” or “objective.” It is a feminine noun, as shown by forms such as la meta and una meta. A useful related contrast is objetivo, which can also mean “objective” or “goal,” but is grammatically masculine: el objetivo. Quieres is the present-tense form of querer for tú: “you want.” The infinitive is querer; other present forms include quiero (“I want”) and quiere (“he, she, or usted wants”). In the supplied next sentence, Quiero uses the same verb for “I want.” Alcanzar is an infinitive meaning “to reach” or “to achieve.” After querer, Spanish uses an infinitive for the desired action: quieres alcanzar means “you want to reach/achieve.” For a physical example, Quiero alcanzar la puerta means “I want to reach the door”; for an objective, Quiero alcanzar mi meta means “I want to achieve my goal.” Together, Qué meta asks which goal, quieres identifies the addressee’s desire, and alcanzar names the goal-directed action. The whole utterance therefore means “What goal are you working toward?” More literally, it asks, “What goal do you want to achieve?”

7. Quiero hacer jogging sin parar.

   I want to jog without stopping.

   Quiero

   I want

   hacer

   to do; to make

   jogging

   jogging

   parar

   to stop

   More detail

   Quiero es la forma de primera persona singular del presente de querer: “quiero”. Aquí expresa deseo o intención del hablante. Querer + infinitivo es un patrón muy reutilizable: Quiero descansar = “I want to rest.” hacer aparece en infinitivo después de quiero. Hacer significa “to do” o “to make”, pero en hacer jogging forma una expresión para realizar esa actividad; no significa literalmente “make jogging”. El infinitivo no marca por sí mismo la persona: Quiero hacer... identifica al hablante mediante quiero. jogging es un préstamo usado como nombre de la actividad de trotar. En esta oración aparece después de hacer, como en hacer ejercicio (“to exercise”) o hacer yoga (“to do yoga”). parar significa “to stop” y está en infinitivo. La secuencia sin + infinitivo expresa que algo se hace sin realizar esa acción: sin parar = “without stopping”. Por ejemplo, Camina sin parar significa “He/She walks without stopping”; el sujeto se entiende por el verbo, el contexto o la situación. En conjunto, Quiero hacer jogging expresa “I want to jog”, y sin parar añade la manera o condición: la actividad se realiza sin detenerse. Por eso la oración completa significa “I want to jog without stopping.”

8. Es una meta realista si progresas poco a poco.

   That is realistic if you build up slowly.

   Es

   is

   meta

   goal

   realista

   realistic

   si

   if

   progresas

   you make progress

   poco a poco

   little by little

   More detail

   Es is the present-tense form of ser for a third-person singular subject. Here it links the understood subject of “That” with a description; Spanish does not need to repeat the subject pronoun. The form es is different from son, used with a plural subject. meta means “goal” or “objective.” It is a singular feminine noun, shown by una; its plural is metas. The combination una meta introduces a goal without asserting a numerical count beyond the grammar of the article. realista describes meta as realistic. It has the same singular form with masculine and feminine nouns; in the plural it becomes realistas. The adjective agrees in number here, but not in gender: una meta realista and un plan realista both use realista. si introduces a condition: “if.” It has no accent in this use. Do not confuse it with accented sí, which means “yes.” The pattern si + a clause presents the condition under which the main statement applies. progresas comes from progresar, “to make progress” or “to progress.” It is the present indicative form for tú: tú progresas. The ending identifies the action as performed by the person addressed; progreso means “I progress,” while progresan means “they progress” or “you all progress.” poco a poco is a reusable adverbial expression meaning “gradually” or “little by little.” It presents progress as happening in small stages. For example, Progresas poco a poco means “You make progress little by little.” Together, Es una meta realista means “That is a realistic goal.” The conditional clause si progresas poco a poco adds “if you build up slowly” or, more literally, “if you make progress little by little.” Thus the complete utterance says that the goal is realistic provided that the addressee advances gradually.