Choosing Which Task to Do First | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Tengo demasiadas tareas esta mañana.

   I have too many tasks this morning.

   Tengo

   I have

   demasiadas

   too many

   tareas

   tasks

   esta mañana

   this morning

   More detail

   Tengo is the first-person singular present form of tener (“to have”). It identifies the speaker as the person who has something. For example, Tengo tiempo means “I have time.” demasiadas means “too many” here: the amount is greater than is appropriate or manageable. It is the feminine plural form of demasiado, agreeing with tareas. Compare demasiado trabajo (“too much work”) with demasiadas tareas (“too many tasks”); the form agrees with the noun it describes. tareas is the plural of tarea, “task” or “piece of work.” The singular/plural contrast is tarea / tareas. For example, Tengo una tarea means “I have a task.” esta mañana is a time expression meaning “this morning.” Esta is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative este, agreeing with the feminine singular noun mañana. In this expression, mañana means “morning,” not “tomorrow.” For example, Trabajo esta mañana means “I am working this morning.” Together, Tengo demasiadas tareas esta mañana means “I have too many tasks this morning.” The speaker has an excessive number of tasks, and the time reference is this morning.

2. Primero, ordénalas por prioridad.

   List them by priority first.

   Primero

   first

   ordénalas

   sort them

   prioridad

   priority

   More detail

   Primero means “first” and sets the order in which to carry out the instruction. It can also introduce the first item in a sequence: Primero leo y después respondo means “First I read, and then I answer.” ordénalas is the affirmative command for tú of ordenar (“to organize/order”) with the direct-object clitic las attached. The accent mark preserves the stress pattern when the clitic is added. las is feminine plural here, matching the tasks identified by the context and by “them”; the form does not itself identify a different referent. Compare ordénalo for one masculine object and ordénala for one feminine object. Ordena las tareas and ordénalas express the same command, with the second form replacing las tareas by las. prioridad is a feminine noun meaning “priority.” The construction por prioridad means “by priority”: it gives the criterion used to organize something. A related phrase is dar prioridad a algo, “to give something priority.” Together, Primero + ordénalas gives the instruction “first, organize them,” and por prioridad specifies how: arrange the tasks according to their priority. The complete utterance therefore means “List them by priority first.”

3. Este correo electrónico es urgente.

   This email is urgent.

   Este

   this

   correo electrónico

   email

   es

   is

   urgente

   urgent

   More detail

   Este means “this” and is a masculine singular demonstrative. It agrees with correo, which is masculine singular; its feminine singular counterpart is esta, as in esta carta (“this letter”). correo electrónico means “email.” Correo is a masculine noun, and electrónico is an adjective that agrees with it in masculine singular. The phrase can be reused with other adjectives, for example un correo importante (“an important email”). Es is the third-person singular present form of ser (“to be”). Here it links the subject to the description urgente. A useful present-tense contrast is es for “he/she/it is” and son for “they are”: Estos correos son urgentes means “These emails are urgent.” Urgente means “urgent.” This adjective has the same singular form with masculine and feminine nouns: un informe urgente (“an urgent report”) and una solicitud urgente (“an urgent request”). Its plural form is urgentes. Together, Este correo electrónico identifies one email, and es urgente describes it as urgent. The whole utterance therefore means “This email is urgent.”`

4. El informe es importante.

   The report is important.

   informe

   report

   es

   is

   importante

   important

   More detail

   informe means “report” here. It is a masculine noun, shown with the masculine singular article el; its plural is informes. The noun names the document being described, not the deadline itself. es is the present-tense third-person singular form of ser, used with the singular subject el informe. Here ser links the report to a characteristic: “is important.” The related present form for a plural subject is son: Los informes son importantes. — “The reports are important.” importante describes the report as important. It has the same singular form with masculine and feminine nouns; in the plural it becomes importantes. Its comparative is más importante: Este informe es más importante. — “This report is more important.” Together, El informe supplies the subject, es links that subject to its description, and importante gives the description. The complete utterance means “The report is important.”

5. ¿Para cuándo hay que entregar el informe?

   When is the report deadline?

   Para cuándo

   by when

   hay que

   one must; it is necessary to

   entregar

   submit; hand in

   informe

   report

   More detail

   Para cuándo asks for the latest or expected time by which something must happen. Here it asks for the report’s deadline, not simply the time when an event happens. Compare ¿Para cuándo es? — “When is it due?” hay que is an impersonal Spanish construction meaning that something is necessary or must be done. It does not identify who has the obligation; the required action follows in the infinitive. Example: Hay que estudiar. — “It is necessary to study” or “One must study.” entregar is the infinitive “to submit” or “to hand in.” After hay que, the infinitive names the required action: Hay que entregar el formulario. — “The form must be submitted.” The form is the base form; a finite version such as entrego means “I submit/hand in,” while entregan means “they submit/hand in.” informe means “report.” In this sentence it is a masculine singular noun, shown with the article el: el informe. The noun itself does not change here to mark that singular masculine combination; the article carries the visible gender and number marking. Example: El informe está listo. — “The report is ready.” Together, ¿Para cuándo hay que entregar el informe? asks by what time it is necessary to submit the report: “When is the report deadline?” The surrounding context identifies the report as important and indicates that it is due tomorrow afternoon, but the question itself asks for the deadline rather than stating it.

6. Debe estar listo mañana por la tarde.

   It is due tomorrow afternoon.

   Debe

   must; is required to

   estar

   to be

   listo

   ready

   mañana

   tomorrow

   por la tarde

   in the afternoon

   More detail

   Debe: This is the third-person singular present form of deber. With an infinitive, the reusable pattern deber + infinitive expresses obligation or requirement: El informe debe llegar mañana means “The report must arrive tomorrow.” In this sentence, debe combines with estar, so the requirement is to be in the state expressed by listo. estar: This is the infinitive “to be.” Here it introduces a required state. The pattern debe estar + adjective can describe what something is required to be: La solicitud debe estar completa means “The application must be complete.” listo: Here this adjective means “ready.” It is masculine singular, agreeing with the understood singular subject. The target sentence does not state that noun explicitly; the preceding question about el informe supports understanding the subject as the report. With a feminine singular subject, the adjective is lista: La solicitud debe estar lista means “The application must be ready.” mañana: This adverb means “tomorrow,” the day after the day of speaking. It does not change for grammatical gender or number. Here it sets the day by which the required state applies. por la tarde: This time expression means “in the afternoon.” Together with mañana, it specifies tomorrow afternoon. Together, debe estar listo says that the understood report is required to be ready, while mañana por la tarde gives the required time. In the supplied deadline context, the whole utterance means: “It is due tomorrow afternoon.”

7. Entonces, responde primero al correo urgente.

   Then answer the urgent email first.

   Entonces

   Then

   responde

   answer; reply

   primero

   first

   correo

   email; mail

   urgente

   urgent

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here, linking this instruction to what came before. It can also introduce a conclusion in other contexts, but here it marks the next step in sequence. responde is the affirmative command for tú singular of responder (“to answer” or “to reply”). The form addresses one familiar or informal listener: responde. Do not confuse it with responda, which is the usted singular command, or respondan, the ustedes plural command. Example: Responde a la pregunta. — “Answer the question.” primero means “first” and indicates order: the answering should happen before the later task. It is commonly used with a following action, as in Primero lee y después escribe. — “First read and then write.” correo is a masculine noun meaning “email” in this context; it can also mean “mail” in other contexts. Its plural is correos. The form al in al correo combines a (“to”) with the masculine singular article el: a + el = al. urgente describes something that needs prompt attention. As a singular adjective, it has the same form with masculine and feminine nouns; its plural is urgentes. For example, una tarea urgente means “an urgent task.” Here it agrees in number with singular correo. Together, responde al correo urgente means “answer the urgent email”: al correo identifies what is answered, and urgente specifies which email. Entonces places this action after the earlier step, while primero makes answering it the first action in the current sequence. The complete utterance is: “Then answer the urgent email first.”

8. Después, trabajaré en el informe.

   After that I will work on the report.

   Después

   afterward

   trabajaré

   I will work

   informe

   report

   More detail

   Después means “afterward” here and places the action later than the preceding situation. It can also introduce a noun phrase: después del trabajo = “after work.” Do not confuse it with antes (“before”). trabajaré is the first-person singular future form of trabajar (“to work”): trabajaré = “I will work.” The ending -é marks “I” in this simple future form. For example, Mañana estudiaré means “Tomorrow I will study.” informe is a noun meaning “report” in this sentence. The phrase el informe uses the masculine singular article el; the article and noun together identify the report as the object of the work. For example, Leo el informe means “I am reading the report.” The pattern trabajaré en + noun means “I will work on/in + noun,” with en el informe specifying the work’s focus. Thus Después, trabajaré en el informe. assembles as “Afterward, I will work on the report.”

9. Eso debería ayudarte a sentirte menos estresado.

   That should help you feel less stressed.

   Eso

   That

   debería

   should

   ayudarte

   help you

   sentirte

   feel

   menos

   less

   estresado

   stressed

   More detail

   Eso means “that” here. It is a neuter demonstrative pronoun, used for an idea, situation, or event rather than for a noun marked as masculine or feminine. The fixed translation supports “that,” but the supplied context does not identify a more specific referent. debería is the conditional form of deber. Here it expresses an expectation: “should help,” rather than stating a guaranteed result. Example: Eso debería funcionar. — “That should work.” ayudarte combines the infinitive ayudar (“to help”) with the attached pronoun te (“you”): ayudar + te. The pattern ayudar a alguien a + infinitive means “to help someone do something.” sentirte combines sentir (“to feel”) with the reflexive pronoun te: sentir + te. Here it means “to feel” a state oneself. Together, ayudarte a sentirte means “help you feel.” menos means “less” and marks a lower degree. A reusable pattern is menos + adjective, as in menos cansado — “less tired.” estresado is the masculine singular form of the adjective meaning “stressed.” It agrees with the person who feels the state: estresada is feminine singular, and estresados / estresadas are plural forms. Along with singular te, the observed form presents the person being addressed as masculine singular in this sentence. Together, Eso debería gives “That should”; ayudarte a introduces the person helped and the action; and sentirte menos estresado describes the expected result. The whole utterance means: “That should help you feel less stressed.”