Preparing a welcoming guest room | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Mi prima viene a quedarse con nosotros durante una visita breve.

   My cousin is coming to stay with us for a short visit.

   prima

   cousin

   viene

   is coming

   quedarse

   to stay

   con nosotros

   with us

   durante

   during

   visita

   visit

   breve

   short

   More detail

   prima means “cousin” here. It is the feminine singular form of primo/prima; the feminine form identifies the cousin as female, while mi means “my” and agrees in number, not gender. Example: Mi primo viene. — “My male cousin is coming.” viene is the third-person singular present form of venir (“to come”). Spanish present tense can describe movement happening now or an expected near-future movement; here the fixed translation supports “is coming.” Example: Ana viene mañana. — “Ana is coming tomorrow.” quedarse means “to stay.” It is the pronominal infinitive form of quedar; the se is part of this verb form, not a separate word meaning “stay.” In viene a quedarse, venir a is followed by an infinitive and expresses coming for the purpose of staying. Example: Vienen a quedarse dos días. — “They are coming to stay for two days.” con nosotros means “with us.” nosotros is the first-person plural pronoun used for the group including the speaker; its masculine form is also the standard form for a mixed-gender group. The preposition con means “with.” Example: La invitamos a comer con nosotros. — “We invite her to eat with us.” durante means “during” and introduces the period in which something happens. It does not itself indicate whether that period is past, present, or future. Example: Trabaja durante la visita. — “She works during the visit.” visita means “visit.” It is the feminine singular noun visita; the indefinite article una presents one unspecified visit, but does not by itself assert a numerical count as a teaching point here. Example: La visita fue breve. — “The visit was short.” breve means “short” or “brief” in this context. It is an adjective modifying visita, so it is feminine singular in agreement, although its written form is the same for masculine and feminine singular nouns. Its plural form is breves. Example: una reunión breve — “a brief meeting.” Together, Mi prima viene a quedarse con nosotros says that the speaker’s female cousin is coming in order to stay with the speaker’s group. durante una visita breve gives the duration or occasion: this stay is for a short visit. The complete meaning is: “My cousin is coming to stay with us for a short visit.”

2. Deberíamos hacer más cómoda la habitación de invitados antes de que llegue.

   We should make the spare room more comfortable before she arrives.

   Deberíamos

   we should

   hacer

   make; do

   más cómoda

   more comfortable

   habitación

   room

   de invitados

   for guests; spare

   antes de que

   before

   llegue

   arrives

   More detail

   Deberíamos is the first-person plural conditional form of deber, “should / ought to.” It presents the action as a recommendation for “we,” not as a command to someone else. The useful pattern is deberíamos + infinitive: Deberíamos descansar. — “We should rest.” hacer is the infinitive “to make” here. After deberíamos, the following verb remains in the infinitive: Deberíamos limpiar. — “We should clean.” In this sentence, hacer introduces the result that should be produced: making the room more comfortable. más cómoda means “more comfortable.” Cómoda is the feminine singular form of cómodo, agreeing with the feminine singular noun habitación; más forms the comparative. The basic comparison is cómoda “comfortable” → más cómoda “more comfortable.” Example: Esta silla es más cómoda. — “This chair is more comfortable.” habitación means “room.” It is a feminine noun, which is why the adjective is cómoda, not cómodo. The phrase la habitación identifies the room as a specific one in the situation. de invitados modifies habitación: habitación de invitados is the reusable expression “guest room” or “spare room.” Invitados is the plural form of invitado, “guest,” used here in this room-designation expression. Example: Tenemos una habitación de invitados. — “We have a guest room.” antes de que means “before” when it introduces a clause with its own verb. It is a time connector, not a replacement for the event that follows it. The pattern is antes de que + clause: Saldré antes de que anochezca. — “I will leave before it gets dark.” llegue is the third-person singular present subjunctive form of llegar, “to arrive.” The subjunctive is selected here because antes de que introduces a future or anticipated event relative to the recommended preparation. In the fixed translation and context, the subject is the female cousin: “before she arrives.” Together, Deberíamos hacer más cómoda la habitación de invitados means “We should make the spare room more comfortable.” The construction hacer + adjective describes causing something to acquire a quality; the object is la habitación de invitados, and más cómoda describes the resulting quality. antes de que llegue adds the time limit, producing the complete meaning: “We should make the spare room more comfortable before she arrives.”

3. Déjame despejar el escritorio para que tenga espacio para su portátil.

   Let me clear the desk so she has space for her laptop.

   Déjame

   let me

   despejar

   clear

   el escritorio

   the desk

   para que

   so that

   tenga

   has

   espacio

   space

   su

   her

   portátil

   laptop

   More detail

   Déjame means “let me.” It is the affirmative tú command of dejar (“to let/leave”) with the direct-object pronoun me attached: deja + me → déjame. The accent preserves the pronunciation required by the attached pronoun. This form addresses one person informally; it does not mean “let him/her.” despejar is an infinitive meaning “to clear.” After déjame, the infinitive states the action the speaker is asking permission to perform. A reusable pattern is Déjame + infinitive: Déjame revisar el documento. — “Let me check the document.” el escritorio means “the desk.” Escritorio is a masculine noun, so the definite article is el. The article marks a specific desk in this utterance; it does not itself identify who owns it. para que introduces the intended result or purpose, “so that.” It is followed here by a subjunctive clause because the clause expresses the result being aimed for rather than an independently asserted fact. tenga comes from tener (“to have”). It is the third-person singular present subjunctive form: tener → tenga. In this sentence, the understood subject is “she,” as specified by the fixed translation and supported by the surrounding context. Compare the indicative tiene (“she has”) with the subjunctive tenga after para que. espacio is a masculine noun meaning “space” or “room” in the sense of available room. In tener espacio, it forms the useful expression “to have space.” Example: Tenemos espacio para otra silla. — “We have space for another chair.” su is a possessive determiner meaning “her” here. Its exact possessor is identified by the fixed translation as the woman referred to in the context. Su does not itself show whether the possessor is masculine or feminine; the same form can mean “his,” formal “your,” or “their” in other contexts. The following noun is singular, so the determiner is singular; it does not change to mark the possessor’s gender. portátil is a noun meaning “laptop” here. It is masculine in this use, as shown by the possibility of el portátil. The accent is on the ó, and it is part of the spelling. The phrase su portátil means “her laptop.” Together, Déjame despejar el escritorio means “Let me clear the desk.” Para que tenga espacio para su portátil gives the purpose: “so that she has space for her laptop.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Let me clear the desk so she has space for her laptop.”

4. Deja las instrucciones de internet donde pueda encontrarlas fácilmente.

   Leave the internet instructions where she can find them easily.

   Deja

   leave; leave it

   instrucciones

   instructions

   internet

   internet

   donde

   where

   pueda

   can

   encontrarlas

   find them

   fácilmente

   easily

   More detail

   Deja is the affirmative command form of dejar for tú singular. Here it means “leave” or “put,” telling one person to leave something in a location. The command is not the formal usted form deje or the plural ustedes form dejen. las instrucciones means “the instructions.” instrucciones is a feminine plural noun, so it takes the feminine plural article las. The singular is la instrucción. Example: Lee las instrucciones. — “Read the instructions.” internet identifies the instructions as internet-related: “internet instructions” or “instructions from the internet.” It is used here as a noun modifying another noun; it is not the object of deja by itself. donde introduces a location clause meaning “where.” Because it is a relative adverb here, it has no accent; the question word is dónde, as in ¿Dónde están? — “Where are they?” pueda is the present subjunctive form of poder for a third-person singular subject: “can” or “is able to.” In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies that subject as “she.” The subjunctive appears in the subordinate location clause introduced by donde, describing a location intended to allow the finding rather than simply asserting an independently known fact. The indicative counterpart is puede, used when presenting the ability more directly as a fact. Example: Busca un lugar donde pueda descansar. — “She is looking for a place where she can rest.” encontrarlas combines the infinitive encontrar (“to find”) with the attached direct-object pronoun las. las refers to the feminine plural instrucciones, so the form means “find them.” With a masculine plural noun, the corresponding form would be encontrarlos; with a feminine singular noun, encontrarla. The pronoun is attached to the infinitive, rather than placed before the conjugated verb in this construction. fácilmente is an adverb meaning “easily.” It describes how she can find the instructions. The related adjective is fácil (“easy”); fácilmente is the adverbial form. Together, Deja las instrucciones gives the command “Leave the instructions,” and donde pueda encontrarlas fácilmente specifies the location: “where she can find them easily.” The complete meaning is: “Leave the internet instructions where she can find them easily.”

5. ¿Deberíamos poner toallas adicionales en la habitación o enseñarle el armario?

   Should we put extra towels in the room, or show her the cupboard?

   Deberíamos

   should we / we should

   poner

   put

   toallas

   towels

   adicionales

   extra

   habitación

   room

   enseñarle

   show her

   armario

   cupboard

   More detail

   Deberíamos is the first-person plural conditional of deber, used here in a question about what “we” ought to do: “Should we…?” The infinitive is deber; the conditional ending -íamos marks “we” in this form. Compare deberíamos hacerlo — “we should do it.” poner means “to put” and is an infinitive, so it follows deberíamos: deberíamos poner = “we should put.” Example: Deberíamos poner las llaves aquí. — “We should put the keys here.” toallas means “towels.” It is the plural of toalla, a feminine noun. adicionales means “extra” or “additional” and agrees with toallas in the plural; this adjective’s singular form is adicional. habitación means “room.” It is a feminine noun, and the phrase en la habitación means “in the room”: en marks the location and la agrees with this noun. The accent in habitación is part of the observed spelling. enseñarle means “to show her” here. It consists of the infinitive enseñar (“to show”) plus the indirect-object clitic le. In this fixed sentence, le refers to the female participant identified by the translation and supported by the preceding context. The clitic is attached to the infinitive: enseñarle. Example: Voy a enseñarle la habitación. — “I am going to show her the room.” armario means “cupboard” here. It is a masculine noun; the phrase el armario uses the masculine singular article el. The question has two alternatives joined by o: ¿Deberíamos poner toallas adicionales en la habitación o enseñarle el armario? The shared subject is “we,” expressed in deberíamos, and the two coordinated actions are poner… and enseñarle…. Altogether, it asks whether the speakers should put extra towels in the room or show her the cupboard.

6. Ponlas en la habitación. Así los huéspedes tienen más privacidad.

   Put them in the room. It gives guests more privacy.

   Ponlas

   put them

   habitación

   room

   Así

   this way; so

   huéspedes

   guests

   más

   more

   privacidad

   privacy

   More detail

   Ponlas combines the affirmative tú command pon with the direct-object clitic las. Pon is the irregular command form of poner for one person addressed as tú; the infinitive is poner (“to put”). Here las is feminine plural and refers to the extra towels mentioned in the preceding context: toallas is feminine plural. The clitic is attached to the command. Compare ponlo for one masculine object and ponla for one feminine object. Example: Pon la llave aquí. — “Put the key here.” habitación means “room.” The phrase en la habitación specifies the destination or location: “in the room.” The noun is feminine singular, as shown by la; its plural is habitaciones. Así means “this way” and, in this sentence, introduces the result or purpose of the suggested action: “so” or “that way.” Example: Así trabajamos mejor. — “That way we work better.” huéspedes means “guests.” It is the plural of huésped; the same noun form can refer to male or mixed-gender guests, while huéspeda and huéspedas can be used for female guests where that distinction is made. Here los marks the plural masculine or mixed-gender group. más means “more.” It marks a comparison or an increased degree. Its opposite in this use is menos (“less”). Example: Necesitamos más tiempo. — “We need more time.” privacidad means “privacy.” It is a feminine singular noun, as shown by más privacidad; it is normally used as an uncountable idea rather than counted individual units. Together, Ponlas en la habitación means “Put them in the room,” with las referring to the extra towels. Así los huéspedes tienen más privacidad means “That way, the guests have more privacy.” The first clause gives the tú-directed action, and Así connects it to the resulting benefit for the guests.

7. Quiero ser un anfitrión relajado, no alguien que explique cada detalle.

   I want to be a relaxed host, not someone who explains every detail.

   Quiero

   I want

   ser

   to be

   anfitrión

   host

   relajado

   relaxed

   alguien

   someone

   explique

   explains

   detalle

   detail

   More detail

   Quiero is the first-person singular present form of querer, “to want”: quiero = “I want.” It is followed by an infinitive when the person who wants and the person who performs the next action are the same. Example: Quiero descansar. — “I want to rest.” Ser is the infinitive “to be.” After quiero, it names the desired action or state without adding a second subject. Example: Quiero ser amable. — “I want to be kind.” Anfitrión means “host,” here referring to the speaker’s desired role. It is a masculine singular noun, as shown in un anfitrión; its feminine counterpart is anfitriona when that form is appropriate. Example: El anfitrión recibe a los huéspedes. — “The host welcomes the guests.” Relajado means “relaxed” here. This adjective is masculine singular because it agrees with anfitrión; the feminine singular form is relajada, and plural forms are relajados and relajadas according to the noun they describe. Example: Una anfitriona relajada sonríe. — “A relaxed female host smiles.” Alguien is an indefinite pronoun meaning “someone.” In no alguien que explique..., it introduces the alternative being rejected: the speaker does not want to be someone of that description. Alguien does not itself identify a particular person. Example: Alguien llamó. — “Someone called.” Explique is the present subjunctive form of explicar. This form can serve a first-person or third-person singular subject; here it is third-person singular because the relative clause describes alguien: “who explains.” The subjunctive is appropriate in alguien que explique because the person is presented as non-specific or as a type of person the speaker does not want to be; it is not an imperative here. In this form, c changes to qu before e in the spelling, preserving the pronunciation of explicar. Example: Busco a alguien que explique bien. — “I’m looking for someone who explains well.” Detalle means “detail.” In cada detalle, it is singular because cada distributes attention over individual items one by one. Cada means “each/every” and is not included in the phrase entry, but it makes the meaning “every detail,” not merely “detail.” Example: Revisa cada detalle. — “Check every detail.” The sentence begins with Quiero ser: “I want to be.” Un anfitrión relajado specifies the desired identity and describes that host as relaxed. The contrast marker no then rejects the alternative alguien que explique cada detalle: the speaker does not want to be someone who explains every detail. Together, the utterance means: “I want to be a relaxed host, not someone who explains every detail.”

8. Una nota breve es suficiente, especialmente para las llaves, las luces y el desayuno.

   A short note is enough, especially for keys, lights, and breakfast.

   nota

   note

   breve

   short

   es

   is

   suficiente

   enough; sufficient

   especialmente

   especially

   llaves

   keys

   luces

   lights

   desayuno

   breakfast

   More detail

   nota means “note” here. It is a feminine noun: la nota and, in the plural, las notas. In una nota, the indefinite article is feminine singular to agree with the noun and marks the noun phrase as indefinite; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. breve describes nota as short or brief. Its base form is breve; it has the same form for masculine and feminine singular nouns, while the plural is breves: un mensaje breve, unas notas breves. The adjective comes after the noun here, a common position for a descriptive adjective. es is the third-person singular present form of ser, “to be.” Here it links the singular subject una nota breve with the description suficiente: “a short note is enough.” suficiente means “enough” or “sufficient” in this sentence. It has the same form for masculine and feminine singular nouns; its plural is suficientes: tiempo suficiente, razones suficientes. It expresses adequacy, not a specific numerical amount. especialmente means “especially” and highlights the items that are particularly relevant. It is an adverb, so it does not change for gender or number. A reusable pattern is especialmente para + noun: “especially for + noun.” llaves means “keys.” The singular noun is llave, and the plural is llaves: una llave, dos llaves. The feminine plural article las agrees with this noun. In this sentence, the keys are one of the things the note can concern. luces means “lights.” Its singular form is luz; the plural changes the final z to c before -es: luz → luces. It is feminine plural here, so it appears with las. desayuno means “breakfast.” It is a masculine noun: el desayuno; the plural is los desayunos. The phrase para el desayuno means “for breakfast.” The whole structure is Una nota breve es suficiente, especialmente para ...: “A short note is enough, especially for ...” The singular subject una nota breve agrees with es, and suficiente states that this kind of note meets the need. Especialmente para then introduces the three items singled out: las llaves, las luces and el desayuno. Thus the utterance says that a brief note suffices, with particular relevance to keys, lights, and breakfast.

9. Preparar la habitación con antelación evitaría que nos apresuráramos después.

   Preparing it ahead of time would keep us from rushing later.

   Preparar

   to prepare

   habitación

   room

   con antelación

   in advance

   evitaría

   would avoid

   nos apresuráramos

   we hurried

   después

   later

   More detail

   Preparar is an infinitive, meaning “to prepare.” Here it acts as the subject of the sentence: Preparar la habitación = “preparing the room.” Spanish commonly uses an infinitive this way for an activity or action in general. Example: Leer ayuda. — “Reading helps.” habitación is a feminine singular noun meaning “room.” Its article is la; the plural is habitaciones, with las. con antelación is a reusable time expression meaning “in advance” or “ahead of time.” It says that the preparation happens before the later situation; con does not mean that the room is prepared together with something else here. evitaría is the conditional form of evitar (“to avoid”): evitaría = “would avoid” or, with the following clause, “would keep [someone] from.” The third-person singular form is appropriate because its subject is the preceding infinitive clause, Preparar la habitación, treated as one action. evitar can take an infinitive directly, as in evitaría apresurarnos (“it would avoid our rushing”), or evitar que followed by a subjunctive clause, as here. nos apresuráramos comes from the reflexive verb apresurarse (“to hurry”). nos marks the first-person plural participants, “we/us,” and apresuráramos is the first-person plural imperfect subjunctive form. After evitaría que, Spanish uses the subjunctive because the action of hurrying is presented as something to prevent, not as an independently asserted event. The imperfect subjunctive also fits the conditional frame: evitaría que nos apresuráramos = “would keep us from rushing.” Example: El plan evitaría que nos preocupáramos. — “The plan would keep us from worrying.” después is an adverb meaning “later” or “afterward.” Here it places the possible rushing after the preparation, without specifying an exact time. Together, Preparar la habitación con antelación names the proposed preventive action: preparing the room ahead of time. evitaría que nos apresuráramos después says that this action would prevent us from having to hurry later. The whole utterance therefore means: “Preparing the room ahead of time would keep us from rushing later.”

10. Eso hará que se sienta bienvenida sin que la visita sea demasiado formal.

    That will make her feel welcome without making the visit too formal.

    Eso

    that

    hará

    will make

    se sienta

    feels

    bienvenida

    welcome

    sin que

    without ...

    visita

    visit

    formal

    formal

    More detail

    Eso is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” Its exact referent is not uniquely identified here, so it is safest to learn it as a way to point back to an already understood situation or idea. Unlike a demonstrative adjective, it stands alone. hará is the third-person singular future of hacer (“to make/do”): hacer → hará. In hará que, Spanish uses a causative pattern meaning “will make [someone] ...”. The singular form matches the singular subject eso. se sienta is the third-person singular present subjunctive of sentirse, “to feel.” The se belongs to the reflexive verb sentirse; it is not the direct object of hacer. After hacer que, the caused action is expressed with the subjunctive: hará que se sienta = “will make her feel.” bienvenida is the feminine singular form of bienvenido, used here as an adjective meaning “welcome.” It agrees with the feminine person represented by “her” in the fixed translation. Example: Ella se siente bienvenida. — “She feels welcome.” sin que introduces an action or situation that does not occur: “without ...”. It is commonly followed by the subjunctive, as in sin que la visita sea ...; this means that the visit is not made too formal, rather than that the visit is excluded. visita is a feminine singular noun meaning “visit.” Its article and adjective can show that grammatical gender: la visita formal. Example: La visita fue breve. — “The visit was brief.” formal means “formal.” In this sentence it describes visita. The form formal is the same for masculine and feminine singular; the plural is formales. Together, Eso hará que se sienta bienvenida means “That will make her feel welcome.” The following sin que la visita sea demasiado formal adds the condition avoided: “without making the visit too formal.” Thus the whole utterance means: “That will make her feel welcome without making the visit too formal.”