Cleaning up a common room | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Usamos la sala común durante un rato.

   We used the common room for a while.

   Usamos

   we use; we used

   sala

   room

   común

   common; shared

   durante

   during; for

   rato

   while; short period

   More detail

   Usamos is the first-person plural form of usar, “to use.” In this sentence it is the simple past (preterite): “we used.” The same form can also be present tense, “we use”; the surrounding time meaning and the fixed translation select the past reading here. The ending -amos identifies “we” with this verb in both readings. Example: Usamos el tren ayer. — “We used the train yesterday.” sala is a feminine noun meaning “room.” Its plural is salas. The adjective that describes it must agree with it: la sala but las salas. común means “common” or “shared” here: the room is shared or available to everyone concerned. It is an adjective whose form is the same with singular masculine and feminine nouns: un espacio común and una sala común; in the plural, it becomes comunes: salas comunes. durante introduces the period in which something happens and commonly corresponds to “during” or “for” with a stated span of time. It is followed here by un rato, forming durante un rato, “for a while.” Example: Leí durante una hora. — “I read for an hour.” rato is a masculine noun for a relatively short period of time, often translated as “while” or “short time.” The indefinite article agrees with it: un rato; its plural is ratos. Un rato is an approximate duration, not a precise measurement. Example: Esperamos un rato. — “We waited for a while.” Together, Usamos la sala común means “We used the common room.” durante un rato adds the approximate duration, so the complete utterance means “We used the common room for a while.”

2. Vamos a recogerla antes de salir.

   Let's clean it up before we head out.

   Vamos a

   let’s

   recogerla

   tidy it up

   antes de

   before

   salir

   leave

   More detail

   Vamos a combines the present-tense form vamos of ir (“we go”) with a and an infinitive. In this pattern, ir a + infinitive expresses a planned or immediate action; with vamos, it commonly corresponds to “let’s …” when inviting the listener to act together. Example: Vamos a empezar. — “Let’s start.” recogerla contains the infinitive recoger plus the attached direct-object pronoun la. Here recoger is understood as tidying up or putting away, as reflected by the fixed translation. The pronoun la is feminine singular and refers to the thing being tidied; it is attached to the infinitive, so recogerla is written as one word. The form recoger can also mean “pick up” or “collect” in other contexts, but the supplied translation selects the tidying sense here. Example: Voy a recoger la mesa. — “I’m going to clear the table.” antes de introduces an action that happens later in time: “before …”. When another verb follows, that verb normally appears as an infinitive, as in antes de salir. Example: Lávate las manos antes de comer. — “Wash your hands before eating.” salir is the infinitive meaning “to leave” or “to head out.” In this sentence it follows antes de, so it names the later action without marking a separate subject. Example: Tenemos que salir. — “We have to leave.” Together, Vamos a recogerla expresses a joint plan or invitation to tidy the feminine singular object, and antes de salir places that tidying before heading out. The whole utterance therefore means: “Let’s clean it up before we head out.”

3. Volveré a poner las sillas en su sitio.

   I'll put the chairs back where they were.

   Volveré a poner

   I’ll put back

   sillas

   chairs

   sitio

   place

   More detail

   Volveré a poner combines volver in the first-person singular future with a poner in the infinitive. volveré means “I will return,” but in volver a + infinitive it means “will do something again”: Volveré a llamar. — “I’ll call again.” The infinitive poner means “to put” or “to place”; here it describes the action that will be repeated. Sillas is the plural of silla, “chair.” The feminine plural article las matches it: la silla → las sillas. Example: Hay dos sillas. — “There are two chairs.” Sitio means “place” or “spot.” In en su sitio, it refers to the place assigned to the chairs; the fixed translation gives the intended meaning as “where they were.” Su is a singular possessive form agreeing with sitio, not with sillas; its specific possessor is not otherwise identified here. En su sitio is a reusable location pattern: El libro está en su sitio. — “The book is in its place.” Together, Volveré a poner las sillas en su sitio means “I’ll put the chairs back where they were”: the speaker will again place the chairs in their designated or previous place.

4. Quitaré la basura de las mesas.

   I'll clear the trash from the tables.

   Quitaré

   I’ll clear

   basura

   trash

   mesas

   tables

   More detail

   Quitaré means “I’ll remove” or, with basura, “I’ll clear.” It is the first-person singular future of quitar: quitaré = “I will remove,” quitarás = “you will remove,” and quitará = “he, she, or you (formal) will remove.” The ending -é identifies the “I” future form. Example: Quitaré la caja. — “I’ll remove the box.” basura is a feminine singular noun meaning “trash” or “rubbish.” In this sentence, la basura is the direct object: the thing being removed. The article la agrees with this noun in feminine singular; it does not itself express a numerical count. Example: La basura está fuera. — “The trash is outside.” mesas means “tables.” It is the plural of mesa; the singular is mesa and the plural is mesas. Here, las mesas means “the tables,” and de introduces the source or place from which something is removed: de las mesas = “from the tables.” Example: Quitaré los vasos de las mesas. — “I’ll remove the glasses from the tables.” Together, Quitaré la basura expresses the speaker’s future action, and de las mesas specifies where the trash will be cleared from. The complete utterance means: “I’ll clear the trash from the tables.”

5. ¿Debemos apagar también las luces?

   Should we turn off the lights too?

   Debemos

   should we / must we

   apagar

   turn off

   también

   too; also

   luces

   lights

   More detail

   Debemos comes from deber and is the first-person plural present form: debemos = “we should” or “we must.” It expresses an obligation or advisable action for the speaker together with others. With an infinitive, it forms a reusable pattern: debemos + infinitive. Example: Debemos salir ahora. — “We should leave now.” Apagar is the infinitive “to turn off.” After deber, the infinitive names the action considered necessary or advisable: debemos apagar = “we should turn off.” The same verb can be used with other subjects, such as Apaga las luces. — “Turn off the lights.” Here, apaga is an affirmative command to one tú listener, while apagar is the unchanged infinitive in the question. También means “too” or “also.” It adds the action of turning off the lights to something already relevant; it does not replace or exclude another action. Its position after the infinitive and before the noun phrase gives the question the meaning “turn off the lights too?” Luces is the plural of the noun luz, “light.” The plural spelling changes z to c before -es: luz → luces. The plural refers to more than one light. In las luces, las agrees with this feminine plural noun, but the useful noun form here is luces. Together, ¿Debemos apagar también las luces? asks whether the speaker and the other person or people should also perform the action of turning off the lights. The structure is ¿debemos + infinitive + también + noun phrase?; the fixed translation is “Should we turn off the lights too?”

6. Apaga las luces.

   Turn off the lights.

   Apaga

   turn off

   luces

   lights

   More detail

   Apaga is the affirmative command form of apagar (“to turn off”). It addresses one person informally: tú. The command is singular; for example, Apaga la televisión. means “Turn off the television.” The verb apagar can also appear in other forms, such as apago (“I turn off”) and apagamos (“we turn off”). luces is the plural of luz (“light”). The plural form changes the noun ending and uses the feminine plural article in the complete phrase las luces. A singular example is Apaga la luz. — “Turn off the light.” Together, Apaga + las luces forms a direct instruction to one informal listener to turn off the lights. The sentence is affirmative and refers to the lights as a plural set: “Turn off the lights.”

7. Cierra las ventanas antes de cerrar la sala con llave.

   Close the windows before we lock up.

   Cierra

   Close

   las ventanas

   the windows

   antes de

   before

   cerrar

   to close

   la sala

   the room

   con llave

   with a key

   More detail

   Cierra is the affirmative command form of cerrar for tú singular: “you close.” It is not the usted form; that would be cierre. Example: Cierra la puerta. — “Close the door.” las ventanas means “the windows.” Ventana is feminine, and ventanas is its plural, so the feminine plural article is las. Example: Abre las ventanas. — “Open the windows.” antes de introduces something that happens earlier: “before.” With an action, it is followed by an infinitive: antes de salir — “before leaving.” cerrar is the infinitive “to close”; cierra is its tú command form. After antes de, the infinitive does not show its subject overtly. Here, the fixed translation identifies the later locking-up event as “we lock up.” la sala means “the room.” Sala is a feminine singular noun, so it takes la. Example: La sala está abierta. — “The room is open.” con llave literally means “with a key.” Together with cerrar la sala, it specifies securing the room using a key, giving the practical meaning “to lock up the room.” Llave is a feminine singular noun; this phrase uses the noun without an article as part of the expression describing the means used. Together, Cierra las ventanas gives the command “Close the windows.” antes de cerrar la sala con llave adds the time relation: this should happen before we lock up the room. The complete intended meaning is: “Close the windows before we lock up.”

8. La sala parece lista para el siguiente grupo.

   The room looks ready for the next group.

   sala

   room

   parece

   looks; seems

   lista

   ready

   para

   for

   siguiente

   next; following

   grupo

   group

   More detail

   sala Here, sala means “room.” It is a feminine noun, so related adjectives can take the feminine singular form: la sala está lista (“the room is ready”). The plural is salas. parece parece is the third-person singular present form of parecer (“to seem” or “to look”). With la sala as the subject, it means that the room gives the impression of being ready; it does not state this as an absolute fact. Parecer can also introduce an adjective directly: El plan parece sencillo (“The plan seems simple”). lista Here, lista is the feminine singular form of the adjective listo, meaning “ready.” It agrees with the feminine singular noun sala: la sala parece lista. The masculine form is listo, as in El equipo parece listo (“The team seems ready”). para para introduces the intended purpose, destination, or recipient. In this sentence, para el siguiente grupo means “for the next group.” A reusable pattern is estar listo/lista para + noun: La comida está lista para los invitados (“The food is ready for the guests”). siguiente siguiente means “next” or “following.” It appears before the masculine singular noun grupo and has the same form with feminine singular nouns: la siguiente sala (“the next room”). With plural nouns, it is siguientes: los siguientes grupos (“the next groups”). grupo grupo means “group,” a masculine noun. The phrase el siguiente grupo therefore uses masculine singular agreement in el and siguiente. Its plural is grupos: los siguientes grupos (“the next groups”). Whole sentence La sala is the subject, and parece lista says that it looks ready. para el siguiente grupo identifies who the room is ready for. Together, La sala parece lista para el siguiente grupo means “The room looks ready for the next group.”

9. Entonces podemos cerrar la puerta con llave y salir.

   Then we can lock the door and leave.

   Entonces

   Then

   podemos

   we can

   cerrar

   to close

   la puerta

   the door

   con llave

   with a key

   salir

   to leave

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here, linking this statement to what has just been established. It can also introduce a conclusion: Entonces, empezamos. — “Then, we’ll start.” podemos is the first-person plural present form of poder (“can” or “be able to”): puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden. Here it means “we can.” Poder is followed by an infinitive: podemos cerrar = “we can close/lock.” cerrar is the infinitive “to close.” In cerrar la puerta con llave, the complete expression means “to lock the door,” because closing the door with a key specifies the action. The same verb can simply mean “to close”: Voy a cerrar la ventana. — “I’m going to close the window.” la puerta means “the door.” Puerta is a feminine singular noun, so it appears with the feminine singular article la. Its plural is las puertas (“the doors”). con llave literally means “with a key.” In this sentence, it describes how the door is closed and therefore gives the natural meaning “locked.” Con is the preposition “with,” and llave means “key.” salir is the infinitive “to leave” or “to go out.” It is coordinated with cerrar after podemos, so the same “we can” applies to both actions. Example: Podemos salir ahora. — “We can leave now.” Together, podemos cerrar la puerta con llave means “we can lock the door,” and y salir adds the second action, “and leave.” The full utterance is: “Then we can lock the door and leave.”