Reporting a hotel heating problem | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Estoy llamando desde mi habitación porque la calefacción no funciona.

   I am calling from my room because the heating is not working.

   Estoy llamando

   I am calling

   desde

   from

   mi

   my

   habitación

   room

   porque

   because

   la calefacción

   the heating

   no funciona

   does not work

   More detail

   Estoy llamando means “I am calling” here. Estoy is the first-person singular present form of estar, and llamando is the gerund of llamar (“to call”). Together, estar + gerund presents an action as in progress: Estoy estudiando = “I am studying.” In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies llamar as making a call. desde marks the starting point of an action or location: “from.” desde mi habitación says that the call is being made from the speaker’s room. It can also mark a starting time, as in Trabajo desde las ocho = “I work from eight o’clock.” mi means “my” and modifies habitación. It is the singular possessive adjective; its plural form is mis, while mi itself does not change for masculine versus feminine nouns. For example, mi libro means “my book,” and mi casa means “my house.” habitación is a feminine noun meaning “room,” especially a room in a home or building. Its plural is habitaciones. The feminine singular article in la habitación agrees with this noun. porque introduces a cause and means “because.” Do not confuse it with the question sequence por qué, meaning “why.” Example: Me quedo porque llueve = “I am staying because it is raining.” la calefacción means “the heating” or “the heating system.” Calefacción is a feminine noun, so the definite article is la. It refers here to the heating system, not simply to the general idea of warmth. no funciona means “is not working.” Funciona is the third-person singular present form of funcionar, “to work” or “to function”; no negates it. The subject is la calefacción, so the singular form is used. Compare La calefacción funciona = “The heating works” with Las calefacciones funcionan = “The heating systems work.” The sentence assembles as Estoy llamando + desde mi habitación + porque + la calefacción no funciona: “I am calling from my room because the heating is not working.” It is a neutral, reusable way to explain both where a call is being made and the reason for it.

2. Lo siento. ¿La habitación ha estado fría desde que llegó?

   I am sorry about that. Has the room been cold since you arrived?

   Lo siento

   I’m sorry

   habitación

   room

   ha estado

   has been

   fría

   cold

   desde que

   since

   llegó

   arrived

   More detail

   Lo siento is the common Spanish formula for apologizing or expressing sympathy: it contains siento, the first-person singular present form of sentir. Here lo refers to the situation as a whole, so the phrase means “I’m sorry about that,” not “I feel” followed by a named object. habitación means “room.” Its plural is habitaciones. In this sentence it is the subject of ha estado, and the feminine singular adjective fría agrees with it. ha estado is the third-person singular present perfect of estar: ha + the participle estado. With a state such as temperature, estar describes the room’s condition. The present perfect connects that past-started condition with the present: “has been.” fría means “cold” here. It is the feminine singular form of frío, because it describes la habitación. The masculine singular form is frío; for example, El pasillo está frío means “The hallway is cold.” desde que introduces the point from which a situation has continued, meaning “since.” It is followed here by a clause, rather than by a simple noun or time expression. For example, Estoy aquí desde que llegué means “I have been here since I arrived.” llegó is the preterite form of llegar for third-person singular or for formal second-person singular (usted); the form itself does not distinguish those uses. In this fixed question, the translation identifies the addressee as “you,” so it means “you arrived.” The preterite presents the arrival as a completed event that marks the starting point. Together, ha estado fría describes the room’s continuing cold condition, and desde que llegó sets the beginning of that condition at the listener’s arrival. The complete utterance asks, “Has the room been cold since you arrived?” after the apology.

3. Ha estado fría desde que me registré esta tarde.

   It has been cold since I checked in this afternoon.

   Ha estado

   has been

   fría

   cold

   desde que

   since

   me registré

   I checked in

   esta tarde

   this afternoon

   More detail

   Ha estado: ha is the third-person singular present form of haber, used here as the auxiliary in the present perfect. estado is the past participle of estar. Together, ha estado presents a state that began or held before now: “has been.” The auxiliary agrees with the understood subject, the room, not with fría. fría: This is the feminine singular form of the adjective frío (“cold”). In this exchange it describes the room, which is feminine singular in Spanish: la habitación fría. The adjective changes for gender and number: frío, fría, fríos, frías. Example: La habitación está fría. — “The room is cold.” desde que: This is a time-linking expression meaning “since,” introducing the event that marks the starting point of the state. A reusable pattern is desde que + clause: Estoy aquí desde que llegaste. — “I have been here since you arrived.” me registré: registré is the first-person singular preterite of registrarse, “to check in” in this context. The pronoun me belongs to the reflexive verb and identifies the speaker as the person who checked in. The preterite presents the check-in as a completed event: Me registré esta tarde. — “I checked in this afternoon.” esta tarde: This time expression consists of the feminine singular demonstrative esta and the noun tarde, “afternoon.” Esta agrees with tarde; it does not mean that the afternoon is being counted. The expression refers to this afternoon, in the relevant day or time frame. Together, Ha estado fría says that the room has been cold. desde que me registré sets the speaker’s check-in as the point from which that condition has continued, and esta tarde places the check-in this afternoon. The complete meaning is: “It has been cold since I checked in this afternoon.”

4. Puedo enviar al personal de mantenimiento para que la revise ahora mismo.

   I can send maintenance to inspect it right away.

   Puedo

   I can

   enviar

   send

   personal

   staff; personnel

   mantenimiento

   maintenance

   para que

   so that

   la revise

   inspect it

   ahora mismo

   right away

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder, used here for ability or willingness: “I can.” The useful chain is poder → puedo (“I can”). For example, Puedo ayudar. means “I can help.” enviar is the infinitive “to send.” After a conjugated form such as puedo, Spanish uses the infinitive: Puedo enviar = “I can send.” The subject of enviar is understood from puedo here, so it is “I send,” not an independently stated person. personal means “staff” or “personnel” in this sentence. It is a noun referring collectively to people; it is not the adjective “personal” meaning “private” in this use. For example, El personal llegó. means “The staff arrived.” mantenimiento means “maintenance.” In personal de mantenimiento, de links the staff with the area or function they work in: “maintenance staff.” para que introduces a purpose clause, roughly “so that.” When the purpose clause has its own understood subject or a different subject from the main clause, Spanish commonly uses para que + subjunctive. Here it introduces what the maintenance staff will do. la revise means “inspect it” here. revise is the present subjunctive, third-person singular, of revisar (“to inspect” or “check”); para que triggers this form. la is a feminine singular direct-object clitic, matching the feminine singular thing being inspected. The fixed translation identifies that thing only as “it”; the form supplies its grammatical gender and number, not an independently named referent. For example, Quiero que la revise. means “I want them to inspect it,” when la refers to a feminine singular object. ahora mismo is an emphatic time expression meaning “right away” or “this very moment.” Ahora alone means “now”; mismo intensifies the immediacy here. Together, Puedo enviar expresses the speaker’s ability or readiness to send someone. al personal de mantenimiento identifies the people sent, and para que la revise gives their purpose: they are to inspect the feminine singular object referred to by la. Ahora mismo places the action immediately. The whole utterance therefore means: “I can send maintenance to inspect it right away.”

5. Si no se puede arreglar esta noche, ¿hay otra habitación disponible?

   If it cannot be fixed tonight, is another room available?

   Si

   if

   no se puede

   cannot; is not possible

   arreglar

   fix

   esta noche

   tonight

   hay

   there is; there are

   otra

   another

   habitación

   room

   disponible

   available

   More detail

   Si introduces a condition: “if.” It connects a possible condition to the question that follows. Example: Si hay tiempo, llamo. — “If there is time, I’ll call.” no se puede means that something is not possible. In this sentence, no negates puede, while se puede is an impersonal construction meaning “it is possible” or, with an infinitive, “something can be done.” The fixed context identifies the thing being discussed, so no se puede arreglar means that it cannot be repaired. puede is a form of poder (“to be able to,” “can”); with se, this construction does not identify a separate person doing the repair. Example: No se puede abrir. — “It cannot be opened.” arreglar is the infinitive “to fix” or “to repair.” After poder, Spanish uses the infinitive: puede arreglar means “can fix,” while se puede arreglar means “it can be fixed” or “it is possible to fix it.” esta noche means “tonight.” Esta is the feminine singular demonstrative agreeing with the feminine noun noche; together they refer to the current night. Example: Trabajo esta noche. — “I’m working tonight.” hay is the impersonal present form used to say that something exists or is available: “there is” or “there are.” It does not change to match a singular or plural noun. Example: Hay dos habitaciones. — “There are two rooms.” otra means “another” here: an additional or different one. It is feminine singular, agreeing with habitación. The masculine counterpart is otro, as in otro lugar (“another place”). habitación means “room.” It is a feminine singular noun, shown by the article or adjective that may accompany it: una habitación, otra habitación, la habitación. Example: La habitación está lista. — “The room is ready.” disponible means “available.” It is singular here because it describes habitación; the form is the same for masculine and feminine singular nouns, while the plural form is disponibles. Example: El formulario está disponible. — “The form is available.” Together, Si no se puede arreglar esta noche gives the condition “If it cannot be repaired tonight.” The question ¿hay otra habitación disponible? asks whether an additional room is available. The complete utterance therefore means: “If it cannot be fixed tonight, is another room available?”

6. Comprobaré la disponibilidad y dejaré apartada una habitación similar si tenemos alguna.

   I will check availability and hold a similar room if we have one.

   Comprobaré

   I will check

   la disponibilidad

   availability

   dejaré

   I will leave

   apartada

   set aside

   una habitación

   a room

   similar

   similar

   si tenemos alguna

   if we have one

   More detail

   Comprobaré is the first-person singular future of comprobar (“to check”). The ending -é shows that the speaker will do this later: comprobaré = “I will check.” For example: Comprobaré la reserva. — “I will check the reservation.” la disponibilidad means “availability,” here the availability of rooms. Disponibilidad is a feminine singular noun, so it appears with la. A useful related contrast is disponible (“available”), an adjective: La habitación está disponible. — “The room is available.” dejaré is the first-person singular future of dejar (“to leave” or “to let”). In this sentence, it introduces the result of leaving something in a particular state: “I will leave [it]…”. For example: Dejaré la puerta abierta. — “I will leave the door open.” apartada is the feminine singular form of apartado, meaning “set aside” or “held.” It agrees with the feminine singular noun habitación, not with dejaré. The phrase dejaré apartada una habitación therefore means “I will leave a room set aside,” naturally “I will hold a room.” For a masculine singular noun, the form would be apartado; for a plural feminine noun, apartadas. una habitación means “a room.” Habitación is a feminine singular noun, which is why the indefinite article is una and apartada is feminine singular. The article una introduces a room without asserting a numeric count as the main point. Example: Busco una habitación. — “I am looking for a room.” similar means “similar.” This adjective has the same form with a masculine or feminine singular noun: un cuarto similar and una habitación similar. Its plural form is similares: habitaciones similares — “similar rooms.” si tenemos alguna means “if we have one.” Si introduces a condition, and tenemos is the first-person plural present form of tener (“to have”): “we have.” Alguna is a feminine singular pronoun here, standing for a room, so it avoids repeating habitación; it is not the adjective similar. Compare: Si tenemos alguna, la reservaré. — “If we have one, I will reserve it.” Together, Comprobaré la disponibilidad means “I will check availability.” Then y dejaré apartada una habitación similar adds the coordinated action: “and I will hold a similar room.” The condition si tenemos alguna limits that second action to the case in which there is one available room of the relevant kind. The whole utterance is: “I will check availability and hold a similar room if we have one.”

7. No necesito una habitación de categoría superior, solo una habitación cálida para dormir.

   I do not need an upgrade, just a warm room for sleeping.

   necesito

   need

   habitación

   room

   categoría

   category

   superior

   higher; upgraded

   solo

   just; only

   cálida

   warm

   dormir

   sleep

   More detail

   necesito is the first-person singular present form of necesitar (“to need”): “I need.” With no before it, no necesito means “I do not need.” The subject “I” is expressed by the verb form, so a separate subject pronoun is optional. habitación means “room.” It is a feminine noun, shown here by una habitación; the adjective cálida also takes feminine singular form to agree with it. The plural is habitaciones. categoría means “category” or “class.” It is feminine: la categoría. In de categoría superior, de links the room to its category, and the phrase means “of a higher category.” superior describes categoría here as higher or upgraded. Unlike many Spanish adjectives, superior has the same singular form for masculine and feminine nouns; its plural is superiores. The phrase de categoría superior is a reusable way to describe a higher-level option. solo means “just” or “only” here. In solo una habitación cálida, it limits the request to the stated option: the speaker needs a warm room, not an upgrade. Here it does not exclude the warm room; it presents that room as the limited requirement. cálida means “warm” here. It is the feminine singular form of cálido, agreeing with habitación. The masculine singular form is cálido; plural forms include cálidos and cálidas, according to the noun being described. dormir is the infinitive “to sleep.” The pattern para + infinitive expresses purpose: para dormir means “for sleeping” or, naturally here, “to sleep.” The sentence first negates the need with No necesito, then names the option that is not needed: una habitación de categoría superior, “a room of a higher category.” solo introduces the actual limited requirement, una habitación cálida para dormir, “just a warm room to sleep in.” Together, the utterance means: “I do not need an upgrade, just a warm room for sleeping.”

8. Primero intentaremos repararla y dejaremos otra habitación preparada por si hace falta.

   We will try the repair first and keep another room ready if needed.

   Primero

   first

   intentaremos

   we will try

   repararla

   repair it

   dejaremos

   we will leave / keep

   habitación

   room

   preparada

   ready / prepared

   por si hace falta

   if needed

   More detail

   Primero means “first” and sets the order of the actions. It commonly appears at the beginning of a sentence, as here, but can also be placed elsewhere: Primero leo y después escribo. — “First I read and then I write.” intentaremos comes from intentar (“to try”). The ending -emos here marks the first-person plural future: intentaremos = “we will try.” The same verb can be used with an infinitive: Intentaremos resolverlo. — “We will try to solve it.” repararla combines the infinitive reparar (“to repair”) with the attached direct-object pronoun la (“it/her” in the feminine singular form). In this sentence, the translation supports the meaning “repair it”; the pronoun refers to the item being discussed, without needing to repeat it. Compare repararlo when the direct object is masculine singular, and repararlas for a feminine plural object. Spanish attaches these pronouns to an infinitive: reparar + la → repararla. dejaremos comes from dejar and is another first-person plural future form: “we will leave” or, in this context, “we will keep.” Its exact meaning comes from what follows: dejaremos otra habitación preparada describes keeping another room ready. A useful contrast is present dejamos (“we leave/keep” or “we are leaving/keeping”) versus future dejaremos (“we will leave/keep”). habitación means “room.” It is a feminine singular noun, so the adjective referring to it is feminine singular: otra habitación preparada. The noun can be modified by una, otra, or a descriptive adjective, for example una habitación tranquila — “a quiet room.” preparada means “ready” or “prepared.” It is the feminine singular form of preparado, agreeing with habitación; the adjective itself has the masculine/feminine and singular/plural forms preparado, preparada, preparados, preparadas. Here dejar takes the meaning “keep/leave [something] in a condition,” so dejaremos la habitación preparada means “we will keep the room ready.” por si hace falta is a compact expression meaning “if needed” or “in case it is needed.” hacer falta means “to be needed,” and hace falta is the singular form used in this impersonal expression. It does not specify who needs something; the context supplies the relevant need. Compare Si hace falta, llamo. — “If needed, I’ll call.” Together, Primero intentaremos repararla means “First we will try to repair it.” Then dejaremos otra habitación preparada adds the second planned action: “we will keep another room ready.” Finally, por si hace falta gives the condition for that backup arrangement: “if needed.” The complete meaning is: “We will try the repair first and keep another room ready if needed.”

9. Por favor, llámeme antes de que suba el personal de mantenimiento.

   Please call before maintenance comes up.

   Por favor

   please

   llámeme

   call me

   antes de que

   before ...

   suba

   comes up

   personal

   staff

   mantenimiento

   maintenance

   More detail

   Por favor is a polite request marker. It softens what follows, but it does not change the grammatical form of the request. llámeme means “call me” here. Its base verb is llamar “to call”; llame is the affirmative command form for usted singular, and me is the attached direct-object pronoun “me.” The accent in llámeme preserves the verb’s stressed syllable when the pronoun is attached. With a familiar singular addressee, Spanish uses llámame instead. Example: Llámeme mañana. — “Call me tomorrow.” antes de que introduces an event that is expected to occur later than the call: “before …”. Because that event is not presented as completed or certain, Spanish uses the subjunctive in the following clause. This expression is different from antes de plus an infinitive, used when the understood subject is the same: Antes de salir, llamaré. — “Before leaving, I will call.” suba comes from subir, “to go up” or “to come up.” In this sentence it is the third-person singular present subjunctive form, required in the clause after antes de que; it is not an imperative. The singular form agrees with el personal, a grammatically singular collective noun. Example: Esperaremos antes de que suba el ascensor. — “We will wait before the elevator comes up.” personal means “staff” or “personnel.” It is a collective noun and is grammatically singular in el personal, even when it refers to multiple people. Therefore, the verb here is singular: suba. This differs from the plural los empleados, which would take suban in the same pattern. mantenimiento means “maintenance.” In personal de mantenimiento, de links the staff to their function or department: “maintenance staff.” Example: El personal de mantenimiento llegará pronto. — “The maintenance staff will arrive soon.” Together, llámeme gives the request “call me,” and antes de que suba el personal de mantenimiento specifies the time: the call should happen before the maintenance staff comes up. With Por favor, the complete utterance means: “Please call before maintenance comes up.”

10. Le llamaré antes de que suban y otra vez cuando tenga novedades.

    I will call you before they come up and again when I have an update.

    Le

    you

    llamaré

    I will call

    antes de que

    before

    suban

    come up

    otra vez

    again

    cuando

    when

    tenga

    I have

    novedades

    updates

    More detail

    Le is the object pronoun for the person being called; here, the fixed translation identifies that person as “you.” Spanish le does not show the addressee’s gender. In this sentence it works with llamar as an indirect-object clitic: Le llamaré = “I will call you.” llamaré is the first-person singular future of llamar (“to call”): llamar → llamaré (“I will call”). The ending -é identifies “I” and the future time. For example, Te llamaré mañana means “I will call you tomorrow.” antes de que introduces an event that is expected to happen later than the call. After this expression, Spanish uses a subjunctive form here because the event is viewed as pending rather than asserted as an established fact. suban is the third-person plural present subjunctive of subir (“to go up” or “to come up” in this context): subir → suban. Its plural form matches the “they” identified by the fixed translation. Compare the singular form suba: antes de que suba una persona means “before one person comes up.” otra vez is a reusable adverbial construction meaning “again.” It says that the calling will happen one more time, without itself specifying the exact time. cuando introduces the time condition for the second call. With a future or pending event, it commonly takes the subjunctive in the subordinate clause: cuando tenga novedades = “when I have an update.” tenga is the first-person singular present subjunctive of tener (“to have”): tener → tenga. The subject is understood as “I,” matching the speaker in llamaré. For example, Te escribiré cuando tenga tiempo means “I will write to you when I have time.” novedades is the plural noun meaning “updates” here, specifically new information. Its singular is novedad, “an item of news” or “a new development.” The plural does not by itself state how many updates there will be. Together, Le llamaré antes de que suban means “I will call you before they come up.” y otra vez cuando tenga novedades adds a second call: “and again when I have an update.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I will call you before they come up and again when I have an update.”