Waiting time and deciding whether to stay | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Disculpe, ¿cuál es el tiempo de espera estimado?

   Excuse me, what is the estimated waiting time?

   Disculpe

   Excuse me

   cuál

   what / which

   tiempo

   time

   espera

   waiting

   estimado

   estimated

   More detail

   Disculpe is a polite way to get someone’s attention or say “excuse me.” It is the affirmative command form for usted singular, from disculpar; it is not the tú form. Example: Disculpe, ¿me puede ayudar? — “Excuse me, can you help me?” cuál is the singular interrogative form meaning “what/which” when asking for one item or piece of information. The accent marks it as an interrogative. Its plural form is cuáles, used when asking about more than one item. Here it introduces the requested information rather than identifying a specific person or object. tiempo means “time.” In this sentence it refers to a duration. Example: Tengo poco tiempo. — “I have little time.” espera is the noun “waiting” or “wait,” from the verb esperar (“to wait”); it is not the verb form in this sentence. The pattern tiempo de espera means “waiting time”: de links the type of time to the activity. estimado means “estimated” here. It is the masculine singular form of the adjective estimado, agreeing with masculine singular tiempo. The related verb is estimar (“to estimate”); this adjective does not take its form from espera. Together, el tiempo de espera estimado means “the estimated waiting time.” The question ¿cuál es ...? asks what that duration is, and Disculpe makes the request polite: “Excuse me, what is the estimated waiting time?”

2. Unos diez minutos, quizá un poco más.

   About ten minutes, maybe a little longer.

   Unos diez

   about ten

   minutos

   minutes

   quizá

   maybe

   un poco más

   a little more

   More detail

   Unos diez gives an approximate number: “about ten.” Unos is the plural masculine form of the indefinite determiner uno; here it marks an estimate, not an exact count. It agrees with the masculine plural noun minutos, while diez is an invariable numeral. Compare unos cinco minutos — “about five minutes.” Minutos is the plural of minuto, “minute.” The plural is required here because the numeral diez refers to multiple minutes. A reusable pattern is unos + number + minutos: unos veinte minutos means “about twenty minutes.” Quizá is an adverb meaning “maybe” or “perhaps.” Here it introduces uncertainty about the additional duration. For example, Quizá llegue tarde means “Maybe I will arrive late.” Un poco más means “a little longer” here. Poco expresses a small amount, and más expresses “more” or an additional amount. In this context, más refers to additional time, with the duration understood from minutos. The phrase un poco más de tiempo makes that reference explicit and means “a little more time.” Together, unos diez minutos states an approximate waiting duration, and quizá un poco más adds the possibility that the duration will exceed that estimate slightly. The complete meaning is: “About ten minutes, maybe a little longer.”

3. Tengo otra cita después de esto.

   I have another appointment after this.

   Tengo

   I have

   otra

   another

   cita

   appointment

   después de esto

   after this

   More detail

   Tengo is the first-person singular present form of tener: “I have.” Spanish commonly uses tener with cita to express having an appointment. Compare tengo “I have” with tienes “you have”; the form changes with the subject. Example: Tengo una cita mañana. — “I have an appointment tomorrow.” Here tengo carries the first-person singular meaning, while una cita names the appointment. otra means “another” here. It is the feminine singular form, agreeing with the feminine singular noun cita. The related forms are otro with a masculine singular noun, and otras with a feminine plural noun. Otra cita means another or an additional appointment. Example: Necesito otra hora. — “I need another hour.” The feminine singular noun hora takes otra. cita means “appointment” in this sentence. It is a feminine noun, so modifiers such as otra agree with it in feminine singular form. Depending on context, cita can also mean a date or a quotation, but “appointment” is the intended meaning here. Example: La cita empieza a las tres. — “The appointment starts at three.” después de esto means “after this.” después de introduces what comes later, and esto is a neuter demonstrative meaning “this” when the thing being referred to is not named as a specific masculine or feminine noun. Here it refers to the unspecified thing or situation indicated by “this.” Example: Hablamos después de esto. — “We’ll talk after this.” Together, Tengo otra cita says “I have another appointment,” and después de esto places that appointment later than the thing or situation indicated by “this”: “I have another appointment after this.”

4. Si eso es demasiado tarde, puedes volver después de comer.

   If that is too late, you can come back after lunch.

   Si

   if

   eso

   that

   es

   is

   demasiado tarde

   too late

   puedes

   you can

   volver

   come back; return

   después de

   after

   comer

   eat

   More detail

   Si introduces a condition: “if.” In a reusable pattern, si + a clause gives the condition, followed by the result: Si ... , .... It is different from sí with an accent, which means “yes.” eso means “that” and is a neuter demonstrative pronoun. It refers to an idea, situation, or thing already identifiable from context, rather than marking masculine or feminine agreement with a noun. The form contrasts with esto “this” and aquello “that over there,” according to distance or discourse reference. es is the third-person singular present form of ser, “to be”: ser → es. Here it links eso with the description demasiado tarde, so the condition is “if that is too late.” demasiado tarde means “too late.” Demasiado means “too” or “excessively” and modifies tarde; it is not an indefinite article or a statement of quantity. Tarde means “late” here. Compare temprano “early.” puedes is the second-person singular present form of poder, “to be able to” or “can”: poder → puedes for tú. It expresses the possibility or permission available to the person addressed. A useful pattern is puedes + infinitive, as in Puedes esperar — “You can wait.” volver is an infinitive meaning “to return” or “to come back.” With puedes, it stays in the infinitive: puedes volver means “you can come back.” The conjugated form for “you come back” would be vuelves, but that is a different construction and carries the subject and tense directly. después de means “after” and introduces what follows in time. It can be followed by a noun, as in después de la reunión — “after the meeting,” or by an infinitive, as here. comer is the infinitive “to eat.” After después de, the infinitive gives the activity that occurs first: después de comer literally means “after eating.” In this fixed translation and context, that eating period is understood as lunch, so the full time expression is translated “after lunch.” Together, Si eso es demasiado tarde means “If that is too late.” Puedes volver después de comer means “you can come back after eating,” naturally rendered here as “you can come back after lunch.” The complete utterance is therefore: “If that is too late, you can come back after lunch.”

5. ¿Mantendría mi lugar si volviera más tarde?

   Would I keep my place if I came back later?

   Mantendría

   would keep

   mi

   my

   lugar

   place; spot

   si

   if

   volviera

   came back

   más tarde

   later

   More detail

   Mantendría means “would keep” here. It is the conditional form of mantener (“to keep, maintain”). The stem is irregular: mantener → mantendr- → mantendría. This ending can correspond to first-person singular or third-person singular; the fixed translation identifies the subject here as “I.” mi is the singular possessive determiner “my.” It agrees with the possessed noun in number, not with the possessor: mi is used with a singular noun, while mis is used with a plural noun. It does not change for masculine versus feminine nouns. lugar is a masculine noun meaning “place” or “spot.” In this utterance, it refers to the speaker’s place in the relevant queue or arrangement. Its plural is lugares. si introduces a condition and means “if.” It is different from accented sí, which means “yes.” A reusable pattern is ¿[conditional clause] si [condition]?, meaning “Would ... if ...?” volviera means “came back” in this conditional context. It is an imperfect-subjunctive form of volver (“to return, come back”); volver has the stem change o → ue in many present-tense forms, but this form uses volv-: volviera. With si for a hypothetical condition, Spanish commonly uses the imperfect subjunctive, while the other clause uses the conditional: si volviera ..., mantendría ... — “if I came back ..., I would keep ... .” más tarde means “later” or “at a later time.” más carries the idea of “more,” and tarde means “late,” but together this is the normal time expression “later.” It contrasts with más temprano (“earlier”) when an earlier time is intended. Together, mi lugar is “my place,” and mantendría mi lugar is “I would keep my place.” The condition si volviera más tarde means “if I came back later.” The whole question asks whether the speaker would retain that place under that condition: “Would I keep my place if I came back later?” The conditional framing presents this as a hypothetical question, not as a statement that the place would definitely be retained.

6. Tendrías que sacar un número nuevo después de comer.

   You would need to take a new ticket after lunch.

   Tendrías que

   would need to

   sacar

   take/get

   número

   ticket/number

   nuevo

   new

   después de

   after

   comer

   eat

   More detail

   Tendrías que combines the conditional form tendrías of tener with que to express a requirement: “you would have to” or “you would need to.” Tendrías is second-person singular; the conditional presents the need as dependent on the situation rather than as a direct command. Compare tienes que (“you have to,” present obligation) with tendrías que (“you would have to,” conditional obligation). Example: Tendrías que esperar. — “You would have to wait.” sacar is the infinitive meaning “to take out” or, in this setting, “to get/take” a ticket or number. After tener que, Spanish uses an infinitive: tener que + infinitive. Example: Tengo que sacar otro número. — “I have to get another ticket.” número literally means “number.” In this utterance, the fixed translation identifies it as a numbered ticket or turn number used to keep one’s place. The masculine singular article un and adjective nuevo agree with número: un número nuevo. The word can also mean an ordinary numerical value in other contexts. nuevo means “new.” It is an adjective modifying número, and its masculine singular form agrees with that noun. Its feminine and plural forms are nueva, nuevos, and nuevas: una tarjeta nueva — “a new card”; números nuevos — “new numbers.” después de is the pattern “after,” followed here by an infinitive. It places the later action after the event expressed by that infinitive. Example: Después de trabajar, descanso. — “After working, I rest.” comer is the infinitive “to eat.” In después de comer, it refers to eating as an activity, without marking a separate subject or a particular tense. The fixed translation renders this event naturally as “lunch,” but the Spanish wording itself says “after eating.” Example: Después de comer, salgo. — “After eating, I go out.” Together, Tendrías que sacar un número nuevo means “you would need to get a new ticket,” and después de comer specifies that this would happen after eating. The complete utterance is therefore: “You would need to take a new ticket after lunch.”

7. Entonces esperaré por ahora porque ya estoy aquí.

   Then I'll wait for now since I'm already here.

   Entonces

   then

   esperaré

   I will wait

   por ahora

   for now

   porque

   because

   estoy aquí

   I am here

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here and links this decision to what has just been established. It can also introduce a consequence: Entonces esperamos. — “Then we wait.” esperaré is the first-person singular future of esperar, “to wait.” The ending -é marks “I” in the simple future: esperaré = “I will wait.” Compare esperar (infinitive, “to wait”) and esperaba (“I was waiting” or “I used to wait,” depending on context). Example: Esperaré aquí. — “I will wait here.” por ahora is a reusable time expression meaning “for now” or “at present.” por here helps frame a temporary period; it does not mean that the waiting lasts forever. Example: Por ahora, está bien. — “For now, it is fine.” porque introduces the reason for the preceding statement and means “because.” It is written as one word when it introduces a reason: Me quedo porque estoy cansado. — “I am staying because I am tired.” estoy aquí combines the first-person singular present form estoy of estar, “to be,” with aquí, “here.” Estar is used for a current state or location; estoy identifies the speaker as the subject. Example: Estoy aquí. — “I am here.” The location word aquí points to the place relevant in the situation, without specifying a more exact place. Together, Entonces esperaré gives the decision or consequence: “Then I will wait.” por ahora limits that decision to the present period, and porque ya estoy aquí gives its reason: the speaker is already in the relevant place. ya means “already” and emphasizes that this situation is true by now. The complete meaning is: “Then I’ll wait for now since I’m already here.”

8. Por favor, mira la pantalla.

   Please keep an eye on the screen.

   Por favor

   please

   mira

   look / keep an eye on

   pantalla

   screen

   More detail

   Por favor is a polite marker used to soften a request. It does not change who the command addresses. mira comes from mirar, “to look.” Here it is the affirmative imperative for tú singular: “look.” The corresponding formal singular command is mire, while the plural command for ustedes is miren. In this sentence, mira asks one person to pay attention to the screen; with the fixed translation, “keep an eye on” captures that intended request. pantalla means “screen.” It is a feminine noun, so the article before it is la: la pantalla. The noun remains singular because the sentence refers to one screen; the plural is pantallas. Together, Por favor, mira la pantalla. forms a polite request: “Please keep an eye on the screen.” The pattern Por favor, + tú imperative + noun can be reused for a courteous request to one person, for example: Por favor, cierra la puerta. — “Please close the door.”