Using Example Sentences to Learn New Words | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Recuerdo las palabras nuevas mientras estudio.

   I remember new words during study time.

   Recuerdo

   I remember

   las

   the

   palabras

   words

   nuevas

   new

   mientras

   while

   estudio

   I study

   More detail

   Recuerdo means “I remember” here. It is the first-person singular present form of recordar (“to remember”): yo recuerdo. Recordar has an o→ue stem change in several present-tense forms, such as recuerdo and recuerdas, but the nosotros form is recordamos. Example: Recuerdo tu nombre. — “I remember your name.” Las is the feminine plural definite article, “the.” It agrees with the feminine plural noun palabras; it does not itself express a numerical count. Compare la palabra (“the word”) and las palabras (“the words”). Palabras means “words.” Its singular base form is palabra, and the plural is formed with -s: palabra → palabras. It is feminine, which is why the article and adjective here also appear in feminine plural forms. Nuevas means “new” here and describes palabras. The adjective’s base form is nuevo; nuevas is feminine plural, agreeing with palabras. The basic agreement set is nuevo (masculine singular), nueva (feminine singular), nuevos (masculine plural), and nuevas (feminine plural). Example: una idea nueva — “a new idea.” Mientras means “while” and introduces an action occurring at the same time as another action. It does not change for person or number. Example: Leo mientras desayuno. — “I read while I have breakfast.” Estudio is the first-person singular present form of estudiar, “to study”: yo estudio. In this sentence it is a verb, not the noun estudio (“study” or “a study” in other contexts). Spanish often omits the subject pronoun when the verb ending already identifies it. Together, Recuerdo las palabras nuevas means “I remember the new words,” and mientras estudio adds the simultaneous activity “while I study.” The complete utterance is: “I remember new words during study time.”

2. Pero las olvido cuando intento hablar.

   But I forget them when I try to speak.

   Pero

   but

   las

   them

   olvido

   I forget

   cuando

   when

   intento

   I try

   hablar

   to speak

   More detail

   Pero links this sentence to a preceding idea with contrast: “but.” It does not erase the earlier idea; it introduces the contrasting result. las is a feminine plural direct-object pronoun. Here it means “them,” referring to the words identified in the supplied context. Spanish direct-object pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they replace: lo/la for singular and los/las for plural. The pronoun appears before the conjugated verb in las olvido. olvido is the first-person singular present form of olvidar, “to forget.” The ending shows “I” in the present: olvidar → olvido. With a different subject, the form changes; for example, olvida can mean “he,” “she,” or “you formal” forgets, depending on context. Here las olvido means “I forget them,” with las as the direct object. cuando introduces a time clause: “when.” It connects the forgetting with the situation described in the following clause. Example: Cuando estudio, recuerdo las palabras means “When I study, I remember the words.” intento is the first-person singular present form of intentar, “to try” or “to attempt.” Its base form is intentar; intento means “I try.” Here it introduces an infinitive: intento hablar, “I try to speak.” hablar is the infinitive “to speak.” After intentar, Spanish commonly uses an infinitive for the action someone tries to perform: intento hablar = “I try to speak.” The infinitive does not itself mark the speaker; intento identifies the subject as “I.” Together, las olvido gives “I forget them,” and cuando intento hablar gives “when I try to speak.” With Pero at the beginning, the complete utterance means: “But I forget them when I try to speak.”

3. Puede que esas palabras no estén relacionadas con situaciones en las que realmente las usarías.

   The words may not be connected to situations where you would actually use them.

   Puede que

   it may be that

   esas

   those

   palabras

   words

   no estén relacionadas

   are not connected

   situaciones

   situations

   en las que

   in which

   realmente

   actually

   las

   them

   usarías

   you would use

   More detail

   Puede que introduces a possibility: “it may be that …”. In Spanish, it is commonly followed by the subjunctive because the situation is presented as uncertain. Example: Puede que llegue tarde. — “I may arrive late.” esas is the feminine plural demonstrative meaning “those”; it agrees with palabras. Demonstratives vary by gender and number: esa palabra means “that word”, while esas palabras means “those words”. palabras is the plural of palabra, “word”. Here it is the subject of the clause: the words are the things that may or may not be related. palabra is feminine, and palabras is feminine plural because this sentence refers to more than one word. The feminine gender supplies the gender agreement; the plural number comes from the plural noun form. no estén relacionadas means “are not connected”. estén is the third-person plural present subjunctive of estar; estar is the base form. relacionadas agrees in feminine plural with palabras. The negation no applies to the connection. Example: Puede que las ideas no estén relacionadas. — “The ideas may not be connected.” con means “with” here, and situaciones is the plural of situación, “situation”. relacionado con is a reusable pattern for saying that something is related to something else: La palabra está relacionada con el tema. — “The word is related to the topic.” en las que means “in which” and refers back to situaciones. It is the preposition en plus the feminine plural relative form las que, because situaciones is feminine plural. This las is part of the relative expression, not the later object pronoun. Example: Son situaciones en las que aprendemos mucho. — “They are situations in which we learn a lot.” realmente means “actually” or “really”. It emphasizes that the use is genuine or practical, rather than merely theoretical. Example: Quiero aprender palabras que realmente necesito. — “I want to learn words that I really need.” las means “them” here: it is the feminine plural direct-object pronoun referring to palabras. Spanish object pronouns must match the noun they replace: la for one feminine noun and las for feminine plural nouns. Example: Las conozco y las uso. — “I know them and use them.” usarías means “you would use”. It comes from the infinitive usar, “to use”, and is the second-person singular conditional form. The conditional presents the use as hypothetical or dependent on the situations. Example: ¿Usarías esta expresión? — “Would you use this expression?” Together, Puede que makes the statement uncertain; esas palabras identifies the words as the subject; no estén relacionadas con situaciones says that they may not be connected with situations; and en las que realmente las usarías specifies situations in which you would genuinely use those words. The complete meaning is: “The words may not be connected to situations where you would actually use them.”

4. Normalmente escribo la traducción y repaso la misma lista más tarde.

   I usually write the translation and review the same list later.

   Normalmente

   usually

   escribo

   I write

   traducción

   translation

   repaso

   I review

   misma

   same

   lista

   list

   más tarde

   later

   More detail

   Normalmente means “usually” here and marks a repeated habit. It commonly appears at the beginning or near the verb: Normalmente estudio por la mañana means “I usually study in the morning.” escribo is the first-person singular present form of escribir, “to write”: yo escribo, “I write.” The present can describe a current action or a regular practice; Normalmente makes the habitual reading clear. The corresponding infinitive is escribir, while escrito is its past participle, not the form used here. la traducción means “the translation.” Traducción is a feminine singular noun, so it takes la; its plural is las traducciones. The article and noun together refer to an identifiable translation in this utterance, without stating who produced it. repaso is the first-person singular present form of repasar, “to review” or “to go over again.” As with escribo, the subject is understood as yo: Repaso mis notas means “I review my notes.” It is a separate lexical verb, not an auxiliary for the following words. la misma means “the same” in the feminine singular form. Misma agrees with the feminine singular noun it describes, lista; its base form is mismo. The masculine singular form is mismo, and plural forms include mismos and mismas: el mismo libro means “the same book,” while las mismas listas means “the same lists.” lista means “list,” and here it is a feminine singular noun, as shown by la misma lista. Its plural is listas. In this sentence, it is the object of repaso. más tarde means “later,” placing the review at a later time, after the writing in this utterance. Más carries the accent in this time expression; it is not the same as the conjunction mas, a formal “but.” A reusable example is Nos vemos más tarde, “See you later.” Together, Normalmente escribo la traducción says “I usually write the translation.” The subject yo is expressed by the first-person forms escribo and repaso, so it does not need to appear as a separate pronoun. y repaso la misma lista más tarde adds “and review the same list later”: y joins the two actions, la misma lista identifies the list as the same one, and más tarde places the review later in time. The complete meaning is: “I usually write the translation and review the same list later.”

5. Intenta añadir una frase de ejemplo sencilla para cada palabra útil.

   Try adding one simple example sentence for each useful word.

   Intenta

   Try

   añadir

   to add

   frase

   sentence; phrase

   de ejemplo

   example

   sencilla

   simple

   cada

   each; every

   palabra

   word

   útil

   useful

   More detail

   Intenta means “try” here and is the affirmative command form for tú (singular informal “you”) of intentar. It can also be the present-tense form “he/she/you formal tries,” but in this sentence the following infinitive makes the command reading clear. A reusable pattern is Intenta + infinitive: “Try to …” añadir is the infinitive “to add.” After intentar, Spanish normally uses an infinitive: intenta añadir = “try to add.” Example: Intento aprender una palabra nueva. — “I try to learn a new word.” frase is a feminine singular noun meaning “sentence” or “phrase.” Here it means a sentence. Its gender is reflected by una and sencilla in the surrounding phrase. Example: Escribo una frase corta. — “I write a short sentence.” de ejemplo means “example” and specifies the kind of sentence: una frase de ejemplo = “an example sentence.” This is a prepositional phrase, not a single compound word. Example: Lee una frase de ejemplo. — “Read an example sentence.” sencilla means “simple” here. It is the feminine singular form of sencillo, agreeing with the feminine singular noun frase. The masculine singular form is sencillo; plural forms are sencillos and sencillas. Example: Es una explicación sencilla. — “It is a simple explanation.” cada means “each” or “every.” It normally comes before a singular noun: cada palabra = “each word.” Unlike an adjective, cada does not change for grammatical gender, and this use does not assert a particular numeric count. Example: Leo cada página. — “I read each page.” palabra is a feminine singular noun meaning “word.” In this sentence, it is the noun governed by cada. Example: Esta palabra es nueva. — “This word is new.” útil means “useful” here and describes palabra: palabra útil = “useful word.” The form útil is the same for masculine and feminine singular nouns; its plural is útiles. Example: Busco un consejo útil. — “I am looking for a useful piece of advice.” Together, Intenta añadir gives the command “Try to add.” The object is una frase de ejemplo sencilla, “one simple example sentence,” and para cada palabra útil means “for each useful word.” The complete utterance is: “Try adding one simple example sentence for each useful word.” In the surrounding learning context, the request concerns adding examples to the useful vocabulary items.

6. Puedo escribir frases sobre el trabajo, las compras o los mensajes a mis amigos.

   I can write sentences about work, shopping, or messages to friends.

   Puedo

   I can

   escribir

   to write

   frases

   sentences

   sobre

   about

   trabajo

   work

   compras

   shopping

   mensajes

   messages

   amigos

   friends

   More detail

   Puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to; can”). It expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility here: “I can.” A useful pattern is puedo + infinitive: Puedo leer. — “I can read.” escribir is the infinitive “to write.” After puedo, Spanish uses the infinitive rather than a conjugated second verb: Puedo escribir — “I can write.” The same verb can be used with other subjects, such as escribo (“I write”) and escribe (“he/she writes” or the formal singular command, depending on context). frases is the plural of the feminine noun frase, “sentence” or “phrase.” The plural ending -s shows more than one sentence or phrase. For a single one, use una frase — “a sentence.” sobre is a preposition meaning “about” here. It introduces the topic of the sentences: frases sobre el trabajo — “sentences about work.” In other contexts, sobre can also refer to something being physically on or over something, but “about” is the intended meaning in this utterance. trabajo is the noun “work” here, in the singular expression el trabajo. It can also mean “job” in other contexts; the surrounding phrase determines the intended sense. Trabajo is also the first-person present form of trabajar (“I work”), but in this sentence it is a noun because it follows el. compras is the plural of compra, “purchase” or “shopping.” In las compras, the plural expression refers to shopping as a topic or activity. The noun compra is feminine, so it takes las in the plural. mensajes is the plural of mensaje, “message.” The singular is un mensaje; the plural adds -s: mensajes. Here it refers to messages as a topic for writing sentences. amigos is the plural of the masculine noun amigo, “friends” here. The phrase mis amigos means “my friends”: mis is the possessive form used with a plural noun. The masculine plural form amigos can refer to a group of male friends or a mixed-gender group; the sentence itself does not specify which. The chunks combine as Puedo escribir (“I can write”) + frases (“sentences”) + sobre (“about”) + three topic choices: el trabajo (“work”), las compras (“shopping”), or los mensajes a mis amigos (“messages to my friends”). The preposition a marks the recipients or people addressed by the messages, so the whole utterance means: “I can write sentences about work, shopping, or messages to friends.”

7. Esas situaciones harán que sea más fácil recordar el significado durante una conversación.

   Those situations will make the meaning easier to recall during conversation.

   Esas

   those

   situaciones

   situations

   harán que

   will make …

   sea

   be

   más fácil

   easier

   recordar

   to recall

   significado

   meaning

   durante

   during

   conversación

   conversation

   More detail

   Esas is a feminine plural demonstrative meaning “those.” Its form agrees with situaciones, but the sentence does not identify which situations they are. Compare esa for a feminine singular noun and esos for a masculine plural noun. Situaciones is the feminine plural noun situación, “situation.” The plural form refers to more than one situation; its feminine gender is shown by forms such as esas and las situaciones. Harán que comes from hacer and means “will make …” here. Harán is the third-person plural future form, matching esas situaciones: “those situations will make.” A useful pattern is hacer que + subjunctive, used when one situation causes or brings about what follows: La práctica hará que sea más fácil means “Practice will make it easier.” Sea is the third-person singular present subjunctive form of ser, “to be.” In hacer que sea, the subjunctive appears in the clause caused by harán que. The singular form belongs to the impersonal expression sea más fácil recordar..., where the infinitive phrase “to recall...” is evaluated as one activity; it is not agreeing with situaciones. Más fácil means “easier.” Fácil is the base adjective, and más fácil is its comparative form. Spanish commonly forms this comparison with más + adjective; the sentence does not state an explicit “than” comparison, but presents recalling as becoming easier. Recordar is the infinitive “to recall” or “to remember.” The infinitive names the activity whose difficulty is being evaluated. For example, Es fácil recordar esta palabra means “It is easy to remember this word.” Significado is the masculine singular noun significado, “meaning.” In the full phrase el significado, the article el marks this noun as masculine singular. The sentence refers to the meaning as the thing being recalled. Durante is a preposition meaning “during.” It introduces the time period in which something happens. For example, durante la clase means “during the class.” Conversación is the feminine singular noun conversación, “conversation.” In the full phrase una conversación, the indefinite article agrees with this noun; it presents a conversation without asserting a specific numeric count beyond the singular grammatical form. Together, Esas situaciones is the subject, and harán que says that they will cause a result. The result is sea más fácil recordar el significado: “it be easier to recall the meaning,” with durante una conversación specifying that this recalling occurs during a conversation. Thus the whole utterance means: “Those situations will make the meaning easier to recall during conversation.”

8. Probablemente debería estudiar menos palabras y usarlas más a menudo.

   I should probably study fewer words and use them more often.

   Probablemente

   probably

   debería

   should

   estudiar

   study

   menos

   fewer

   palabras

   words

   usarlas

   use them

   más a menudo

   more often

   More detail

   Probablemente means “probably” and signals that the speaker considers the recommendation likely or appropriate, without presenting it as certain. It commonly appears at the beginning of a sentence, as here. debería is the conditional form of deber for the first- and third-person singular; here the fixed translation identifies the subject as “I.” Debería + infinitive is a useful way to express “I should …” or a considered recommendation: Debería descansar = “I should rest.” The conditional makes this less direct than an imperative. estudiar is the infinitive “to study.” After debería, Spanish uses the infinitive: debería estudiar, “I should study.” The infinitive does not itself show the subject; the subject is understood from debería and the fixed translation. menos means “fewer” here because it compares the quantity of countable items. The reusable pattern is menos + noun: menos libros = “fewer books.” With an uncountable quantity, the same form can mean “less,” as in menos tiempo = “less time.” palabras is the plural noun “words,” from singular palabra. It is feminine in grammatical gender, but the plural form here mainly shows that more than one word is meant. In menos palabras, the noun is the item being studied and is quantified by menos. usarlas combines the infinitive usar (“to use”) with the direct-object pronoun las: usar + las. Las is feminine plural and refers here to palabras, as confirmed by the fixed translation “use them.” This fused form is common with an infinitive: leerlas = “to read them,” where las must agree with the plural feminine noun replaced. The two words are written together in usarlas. más a menudo is the comparative adverbial expression “more often.” It compares frequency: a menudo means “often,” while más a menudo means “more often.” The phrase modifies usarlas, so it says that the words should be used with greater frequency, not that more words should be used. Together, Probablemente debería estudiar menos palabras means “I should probably study fewer words,” and y usarlas más a menudo adds the coordinated action “and use them more often.” The complete utterance recommends studying a smaller number of words and repeatedly using those same words more frequently.

9. Usarlas repetidamente ayudará a que esas palabras formen parte de tu vocabulario activo.

   Repeated use will help the words become part of your active vocabulary.

   Usarlas

   use them

   repetidamente

   repeatedly

   ayudará

   will help

   esas

   those

   palabras

   words

   formen parte de

   become part of

   tu

   your

   vocabulario

   vocabulary

   activo

   active

   More detail

   Usarlas combines the infinitive usar (“to use”) with the attached direct-object pronoun las (“them”). Here las refers to the words identified in the sentence and in the fixed translation. Spanish can attach an object pronoun to an infinitive: usar → usarlas. Compare the separate placement with a conjugated verb: Las usaré (“I will use them”). Repetidamente means “repeatedly” and describes how the using happens. It is an adverb, formed from the adjective repetido (“repeated”) with -mente; it does not change for number or gender. Ayudará is the third-person singular future of ayudar (“to help”): ayudaré = “I will help,” ayudará = “he/she/it will help” or “will help” with a nonhuman singular subject. Here the subject is the preceding action usarlas repetidamente, so the meaning is “repeated use will help.” The construction ayudar a que introduces an outcome clause, and the following verb is in the subjunctive. Esas is the feminine plural demonstrative “those.” It agrees with the feminine plural noun palabras; it marks those words as the intended group without independently stating who possesses them or exactly where they are. Palabras is the plural of palabra (“word”). Spanish uses the plural here because the sentence refers to more than one word. A useful contrast is una palabra (“one word”) versus varias palabras (“several words”). Formen parte de is the third-person plural present subjunctive form of formar (“to form”) in the expression formar parte de (“to form/become part of”). The subjunctive form formen appears because it follows ayudar a que and expresses the desired or resulting outcome. The construction formar parte de + noun means to belong to or be included in something: Estos ejemplos forman parte del curso = “These examples are part of the course.” Tu is the possessive determiner “your,” used with a singular possessor and agreeing in number with the following noun: tu vocabulario. It has no written accent here. This differs from tú, the subject pronoun “you”; the accent distinguishes the two forms. Vocabulario means “vocabulary,” the set of words a person knows or uses. It is a singular masculine noun, so the following adjective is masculine singular. Activo means “active” here: vocabulary that the learner can readily use, not merely recognize. It is the masculine singular form of activo, agreeing with vocabulario; feminine singular is activa, as in una habilidad activa when that meaning is appropriate. Together, Usarlas repetidamente means “using them repeatedly.” That action ayudará (“will help”) a que esas palabras formen parte de tu vocabulario activo (“those words become part of your active vocabulary”). The complete meaning is: “Repeated use will help the words become part of your active vocabulary.”

10. Elegiré un grupo pequeño y escribiré ejemplos personales después de clase.

    I will choose a small set and write personal examples after class.

    Elegiré

    I will choose

    grupo

    group; set

    pequeño

    small

    escribiré

    I will write

    ejemplos

    examples

    personales

    personal

    después de clase

    after class

    More detail

    Elegiré comes from elegir, “to choose”. Its ending -é marks the first-person singular simple future: elegiré = “I will choose”; the subject yo is understood from the verb. A useful contrast is elegirás = “you will choose”. grupo means “group” and can also mean a set or collection. It is a masculine singular noun here, shown by un grupo and by the matching adjective pequeño. pequeño means “small”. It is the masculine singular form agreeing with grupo; the base adjective is pequeño. Compare grupos pequeños, where both the noun and adjective are plural. escribiré comes from escribir, “to write”. Its -é ending again marks the first-person singular simple future: escribiré = “I will write”. The two future forms elegiré and escribiré give the same understood subject, yo, without needing an explicit pronoun. ejemplos is the plural of ejemplo, “example”. The plural ending -s shows that more than one example is meant. Example: Escribiré dos ejemplos. — “I will write two examples.” personales means “personal”. It is the plural form agreeing with ejemplos; the singular form is personal, as in un ejemplo personal. después de clase means “after class”. después de introduces what happens later than a reference point; here, clase supplies that reference point. Example: Leeré después de clase. — “I will read after class.” Together, Elegiré un grupo pequeño means “I will choose a small set,” and escribiré ejemplos personales después de clase means “I will write personal examples after class.” The whole utterance therefore means: “I will choose a small set and write personal examples after class.”

11. Esa rutina debería hacer más práctica tu forma de estudiar vocabulario.

    That routine should make your vocabulary practice more practical.

    Esa

    that

    rutina

    routine

    debería

    should

    hacer

    make

    más

    more

    práctica

    practical

    tu

    your

    forma

    way

    estudiar

    study

    vocabulario

    vocabulary

    More detail

    Esa is the feminine singular demonstrative “that.” Here it refers to rutina, which is explicitly feminine singular. Demonstratives agree with the noun they point to: esa rutina, ese método, esas rutinas. rutina is a feminine noun meaning “routine.” Its plural is rutinas. Example: Mi rutina cambia cada semana. — “My routine changes every week.” debería is the third-person singular conditional form of deber. In this sentence, debería + infinitive expresses what the routine is expected or advisable to do: “should make.” The subject is esa rutina, so the singular form is used. Example: El plan debería funcionar. — “The plan should work.” hacer is an infinitive meaning “to make” here. The pattern hacer + adjective describes the result caused in something: hacer la tarea más fácil — “to make the task easier.” más means “more” and forms a comparison. It comes before the adjective in más práctica, meaning “more practical.” It can also compare other qualities, as in más claro — “clearer.” práctica is the feminine singular form of the adjective práctico/práctica, “practical.” It agrees with forma, not with vocabulario: una forma práctica, un método práctico. The phrase más práctica is the comparative “more practical.” tu is the possessive determiner “your.” It identifies one possessor and does not change for the gender of the thing possessed: tu forma and tu método, but tus formas and tus métodos for plural nouns. forma is a feminine noun meaning “way” or “manner” here. forma de + infinitive is a reusable pattern for “way of doing something”: una forma de aprender — “a way of learning.” estudiar is the infinitive “to study.” In forma de estudiar, the infinitive names the activity whose manner is being described. Example: Busco una forma de practicar. — “I am looking for a way to practise.” vocabulario is a masculine noun meaning “vocabulary.” In estudiar vocabulario, it is the direct object of estudiar: the vocabulary is what is studied. Example: Necesito repasar vocabulario. — “I need to review vocabulary.” Together, tu forma de estudiar vocabulario means “your way of studying vocabulary.” The adjective phrase más práctica describes that whole way, and hacer presents esa rutina as causing that result. Thus Esa rutina debería hacer más práctica tu forma de estudiar vocabulario. means “That routine should make your vocabulary practice more practical.”