Deciding whether to keep waiting | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Disculpa, esta fila ha estado avanzando despacio.

   Excuse me, this line has been moving slowly.

   Disculpa

   Excuse me

   esta

   this

   fila

   line

   ha estado avanzando

   has been moving forward

   despacio

   slowly

   More detail

   Disculpa is the informal singular affirmative command form of disculpar (tú). In this utterance it is a brief request meaning “Excuse me.” Example: Disculpa, ¿dónde está la estación? — “Excuse me, where is the station?” esta means “this” and is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative. It agrees with the noun fila, not with the speaker or listener. The masculine singular counterpart is este, as in este tren — “this train.” fila is a feminine noun meaning “line” or “queue” here. Its plural is filas. Example: La fila es larga. — “The line is long.” ha estado avanzando combines ha, the third-person singular present form of haber, with estado, the past participle of estar, and avanzando, the gerund of avanzar. Together, this presents the line’s movement as continuing over a period up to the relevant present: “has been moving forward.” The third-person singular form matches esta fila; the form would change with a plural subject, for example las filas han estado avanzando — “the lines have been moving forward.” despacio is an adverb meaning “slowly.” It describes how the advancing happens and does not change for gender or number. Example: El autobús ha estado avanzando despacio. — “The bus has been moving slowly.” As a whole, Disculpa politely gets the listener’s attention in an informal singular form, and esta fila ha estado avanzando despacio says that this line has been moving forward slowly. The structure [subject] ha estado [gerund] [adverb] can be reused to describe an ongoing action and its manner.

2. ¿Estás tratando de decidir si vale la pena quedarte?

   Are you trying to decide whether it is worth staying?

   Estás tratando de

   are you trying to

   decidir

   decide

   si

   whether

   vale la pena

   is worth it

   quedarte

   stay

   More detail

   Estás tratando de combines estás, the second-person singular present form of estar, with tratando, the gerund of tratar, followed by de. The pattern estar + gerundio presents an action as ongoing, while tratar de + infinitive means “to try to do something.” Together here, estás tratando de means “you are trying to.” Example: Estoy tratando de entender. — “I am trying to understand.” The subject changes estoy to match first-person singular; the gerund tratando stays the same. Decidir is an infinitive meaning “to decide.” It can introduce the choice being considered: decidir qué hacer means “to decide what to do,” and decidir si venir means “to decide whether to come.” Si here introduces an indirect yes-or-no question: decidir si... means “to decide whether...” It is different from conditional si, “if,” which introduces a condition such as Si vienes, hablamos — “If you come, we’ll talk.” In this sentence, si introduces the question being decided, not a condition. Vale la pena is a fixed expression meaning “is worth it” or “is worthwhile.” The verb vale is the third-person singular present form of valer, “to be worth” or “to have value”; la pena is the noun phrase “the effort/cost or trouble involved.” The expression can be followed by an infinitive: Vale la pena esperar. — “It is worth waiting.” Quedarte is the infinitive quedar with the reflexive clitic te attached: quedar + te. In this context, quedarse means “to stay,” so quedarte means “to stay” with “you” as the person staying. The te form matches the second-person singular addressee used by estás; it is not a separate subject. Compare Quiero quedarme. — “I want to stay,” where the clitic changes to me for a first-person subject. Putting the parts together, ¿Estás tratando de decidir si vale la pena quedarte? asks whether the listener is currently trying to decide if staying is worthwhile: “Are you trying to decide whether it is worth staying?” The question uses the familiar second-person singular form estás; the infinitive quedarte keeps the same listener as the person who would stay.

3. Sí. ¿Sabes si el mostrador de atención va con retraso?

   I am. Do you know if the service desk is running behind?

   Sí

   Yes

   ¿Sabes

   Do you know

   mostrador

   desk or counter

   atención

   service or assistance

   va

   goes; is going

   retraso

   delay

   More detail

   Sí is the ordinary affirmative word “yes.” Here it confirms the preceding question; the fixed translation’s “I am” conveys that affirmative response in context, although sí itself means “yes,” not “I am.” ¿Sabes comes from saber, “to know.” The form is present tense, second-person singular (tú): tú sabes. It asks whether the listener has information. Compare conocer, which is generally used for knowing a person or being familiar with a place or thing. Example: ¿Sabes la respuesta? — “Do you know the answer?” mostrador is a masculine noun for a counter or service desk. Its plural is mostradores. In el mostrador de atención, el marks this noun as masculine singular; de atención specifies the desk’s service function. atención is a feminine noun meaning attention, care, or service. In this fixed phrase, it refers to customer service or assistance, not merely someone’s concentration. Example: Necesito atención en recepción. — “I need assistance at reception.” va is the third-person singular present form of ir (“to go”). Its subject here is el mostrador de atención, grammatically singular. Spanish uses ir con retraso as a reusable expression for being delayed or running behind: El tren va con retraso. — “The train is running late.” retraso is a masculine noun meaning delay. In con retraso, it forms part of the expression “with a delay” or “behind schedule.” A useful contrast is a tiempo, “on time”: El autobús va a tiempo. — “The bus is on time.” Together, ¿Sabes si ...? introduces an indirect yes-or-no question: “Do you know whether ...?” The embedded clause is el mostrador de atención va con retraso, literally “the service desk is going with a delay,” with va con retraso naturally understood as “is running behind.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Yes. Do you know if the service desk is running behind?”

4. Varias solicitudes necesitan atención adicional, así que la fila avanza despacio.

   Several requests need extra attention, so the line is moving slowly.

   Varias

   several

   solicitudes

   requests

   necesitan

   need

   atención

   attention

   adicional

   extra

   así que

   so

   fila

   line or queue

   avanza

   moves forward

   despacio

   slowly

   More detail

   Varias means “several” here and agrees with the feminine plural noun solicitudes. It indicates more than one without stating an exact number. Compare varias solicitudes (“several requests”) with una solicitud (“one request”). solicitudes is the plural of solicitud, a request or application. The ending -es marks plural here. Example: Presenté una solicitud. — “I submitted a request.” necesitan is the present-tense third-person plural form of necesitar, “to need.” Its subject here is varias solicitudes, so the verb is plural. The pattern necesitar + noun expresses what is needed: Necesitan ayuda. — “They need help.” atención means “attention” here, especially the attention or handling that something receives. It is a feminine noun; its plural is atenciones when more than one kind or instance of attention is meant. adicional means “additional” or “extra.” It describes atención, so it is feminine singular in agreement with that noun. The form adicional is the same for masculine and feminine singular; in the plural, it becomes adicionales: servicios adicionales — “additional services.” así que is a connector meaning “so” or “therefore.” It introduces the consequence of the preceding statement. It does not mean that the first situation is replaced; it links the reason and its result. fila means “line” or “queue.” It is a feminine noun. Example: La fila es larga. — “The line is long.” avanza is the present-tense third-person singular form of avanzar, “to move forward” or “to progress.” Its subject here is la fila, which is singular. The pattern la fila avanza describes the queue progressing; avanzan would be the plural form when the subject is plural. despacio is an adverb meaning “slowly.” It describes how avanza happens and does not change for gender or number. Example: El tren avanza despacio. — “The train moves slowly.” Together, Varias solicitudes necesitan atención adicional says that several requests require extra attention. Así que marks the consequence, and la fila avanza despacio says that the line is moving forward slowly. The whole utterance therefore means: “Several requests need extra attention, so the line is moving slowly.”

5. No puedo quedarme aquí mucho más tiempo.

   I cannot stay here much longer.

   No puedo

   I cannot

   quedarme

   to stay

   aquí

   here

   mucho más

   much more

   tiempo

   time

   More detail

   No puedo combines no with puedo, the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to”). It means “I cannot” here. Spanish places no before the conjugated verb: No puedo... = “I cannot...”. For comparison, puedes is the second-person singular informal present form of poder, meaning “you can,” as in the following sentence. quedarme means “to stay” or “to remain” here. It consists of the infinitive quedar with the attached first-person singular pronoun me: quedar + me → quedarme. Together, puedo quedarme means “I can stay,” while no puedo quedarme means “I cannot stay.” The pronoun marks the speaker as the person who stays. aquí means “here,” identifying the relevant place. It can follow the verb phrase: puedo quedarme aquí = “I can stay here.” mucho más means “much more” by itself. In mucho más tiempo, the combination refers to a substantially greater amount of time, which produces “much longer” in the fixed translation. Más expresses “more,” and mucho intensifies it. This does not by itself specify a separate comparison point; the sentence simply says that the speaker cannot remain for much more time. tiempo is the noun “time.” In más tiempo, it means “more time.” It is masculine singular, as shown by el tiempo in contexts where an article is used, but no article is needed in mucho más tiempo. Together, No puedo + quedarme gives “I cannot stay,” aquí specifies the place, and mucho más tiempo specifies an additional duration. The complete utterance means: “I cannot stay here much longer.”

6. Puedes seguir esperando o dejar tu solicitud en el mostrador.

   You can keep waiting, or leave your request at the desk.

   Puedes

   you can

   seguir esperando

   keep waiting

   dejar

   leave

   solicitud

   request

   mostrador

   desk

   More detail

   Puedes is the second-person singular present form of poder, “to be able to/can.” It addresses one person informally with tú: puedes. The same pattern has puede for usted or another singular subject and pueden for ustedes or a plural subject. Here, puedes is followed by infinitives, so it introduces the actions that the person can choose to do. seguir esperando means “keep waiting.” seguir can be followed by a gerund to express continuation: seguir + gerundio. Esperando is the gerund of esperar, “to wait” in this use. For example, Sigo esperando means “I am still waiting” or “I keep waiting”; the subject is understood from sigo. dejar is the infinitive “to leave” or “to put somewhere.” It is the second action coordinated with seguir esperando by o, “or.” Because puedes already supplies the modal verb, Spanish does not need to repeat it: Puedes seguir esperando o dejar... means “You can keep waiting or leave...,” not two unrelated clauses. solicitud is a feminine noun meaning “request” or, in some contexts, “application.” Here the fixed translation supports “request.” Its gender is grammatical; the noun itself does not show a special feminine ending that can be safely used to predict all nouns. A useful related form is the plural solicitudes, “requests/applications.” In tu solicitud, tu means “your” and agrees in number, not grammatical gender; tus solicitudes is the plural form. mostrador means “desk” or “counter,” especially a service counter. It is a masculine noun, and its plural is mostradores. The preposition en places something at or on a location, so en el mostrador means “at the desk/counter.” Together, Puedes seguir esperando o dejar tu solicitud en el mostrador presents two available actions for one person: continuing to wait, or leaving their request at the desk. The structure is Puedes + infinitive ... o + infinitive ...; the second infinitive is dejar, and its object and location are tu solicitud and en el mostrador.

7. Dejar la solicitud ayudaría si alguien puede revisarla más tarde.

   Leaving the request would help if someone can review it later.

   Dejar

   leaving; to leave

   solicitud

   request

   ayudaría

   would help

   si

   if

   alguien

   someone

   puede

   can

   revisarla

   review it

   más tarde

   later

   More detail

   Dejar is the infinitive “to leave.” Here it acts as the subject of the sentence: “Leaving … would help.” Spanish commonly uses an infinitive this way. In the preceding context, it refers to leaving the request at the desk, but the form itself is simply dejar; its present-tense first-person form is dejo, and its command forms are different. solicitud means “request” or “application.” It is a feminine noun, so a feminine singular direct-object pronoun can refer back to it: la solicitud → la. ayudaría is the third-person singular conditional form of ayudar, “to help”: ayudar → ayudaría (“would help”). The conditional presents the help as dependent on the condition introduced by si; it does not assert that the help is already happening. For example, Eso ayudaría means “That would help.” si introduces a condition and means “if” here. It connects the possible situation before it with the condition that follows it. alguien means “someone.” It is an indefinite pronoun referring to an unspecified person. It is grammatically singular, which is why the following verb is singular: alguien puede, not a plural form. puede is the third-person singular present form of poder, “can” or “be able to.” In this sentence it expresses the possibility or ability to carry out the review. The present form is used inside the si clause: si alguien puede… (“if someone can…”). revisarla combines revisar, “to review,” with the attached direct-object clitic la: revisar + la → revisarla. Here la refers to the feminine singular noun solicitud; the fixed translation’s “it” likewise identifies the object being reviewed, without marking its gender. The clitic is not a separate word in the Spanish spelling. Compare revisarlo when the object is masculine singular, such as el formulario. más tarde means “later.” más contributes the sense of “more,” and together with tarde this is the ordinary time expression for a later point. It modifies when the reviewing can happen. Together, Dejar la solicitud means “leaving the request,” and ayudaría makes that situation hypothetical: “leaving the request would help.” The condition si alguien puede revisarla más tarde means “if someone can review it later.” Thus the complete utterance is: “Leaving the request would help if someone can review it later.”

8. El personal del mostrador puede ponerse en contacto contigo cuando tenga novedades.

   The desk can contact you when they have an update.

   personal

   staff

   mostrador

   desk; counter

   puede

   can

   ponerse en contacto

   get in touch

   contigo

   with you

   tenga

   has

   novedades

   updates

   More detail

   personal means staff or personnel: a collective noun referring to the people who work in a service or organization. In this sentence, it is the grammatical subject of puede and the understood subject of the later forms. Example: El personal responde rápido. — “The staff responds quickly.” mostrador is a counter or service desk. del is the contraction of de + el, so del mostrador means “of/from the counter” and identifies which staff is meant. The translation’s “desk” conveys this service point; the Spanish noun itself refers to the counter. puede is the third-person singular present form of poder, “to be able to” or “can.” Its singular form agrees with personal, which is grammatically singular even though it refers to multiple people. poder is followed by an infinitive: puede + infinitive expresses ability or possibility. Example: El personal puede ayudarte. — “The staff can help you.” ponerse en contacto is a reusable expression meaning “to get in touch” or “to contact.” ponerse is the reflexive infinitive of poner; here, the whole expression is used rather than translating each word separately. After puede, the infinitive remains unchanged: puede ponerse. Example: Puedes ponerte en contacto con la oficina. — “You can contact the office.” contigo means “with you” when addressing one person. It is the fused form of con + ti; it does not by itself specify whether the address is familiar or formal. In ponerse en contacto contigo, it identifies the person whom the staff can contact. tenga is the present subjunctive, third-person singular form of tener, “to have.” In cuando tenga novedades, the subject is understood from the earlier personal. After cuando, Spanish commonly uses the subjunctive for a future or not-yet-realized time: “when it has...” rather than describing a completed or already established event. Example: Te llamaré cuando tenga tiempo. — “I’ll call you when I have time.” novedades is the plural of novedad, meaning new information, developments, or updates. Here, tener novedades is a natural expression for having new information to report. Example: Te avisamos cuando tengamos novedades. — “We’ll let you know when we have updates.” Together, El personal del mostrador identifies the staff at the service counter. puede ponerse en contacto contigo says that this staff can contact you, and cuando tenga novedades sets the condition in time: they can do so when they have new information. The complete meaning is: “The desk can contact you when they have an update.”

9. Eso me da una opción clara.

   That gives me a clear choice.

   Eso

   That

   me da

   gives me

   opción

   option; choice

   clara

   clear

   More detail

   Eso means “that” here: a demonstrative pronoun referring to something already identifiable in the situation, without naming that referent itself. It is neuter in form and does not agree with opción; it points to an idea, fact, or situation rather than functioning as an adjective before a noun. Compare esa opción = “that option,” where esa agrees with the feminine noun opción. me da combines the verb dar (“to give”) with me (“to me”). The observed form da is the present-tense third-person singular form of dar; eso is the thing that gives, while me identifies the recipient. A reusable pattern is X me da Y = “X gives me Y.” For example, Esta información me da tiempo means “This information gives me time.” opción is a feminine noun meaning “option” or “choice.” Its plural is opciones. The article una marks the noun as indefinite; in this sentence it does not by itself assert a numerical count, but presents a choice as not previously specified. For example, Tengo una opción means “I have an option.” clara describes opción and means “clear” in this context: the choice is understandable or distinct. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective claro, agreeing with the feminine singular noun opción; the masculine singular form is claro, and plural forms include claros and claras. For example, una respuesta clara means “a clear answer.” Together, Eso me da una opción clara means “That gives me a clear choice.” The demonstrative identifies the source as “that,” me da expresses what it provides to the speaker, and una opción clara names the resulting clear choice.

10. Entonces, quizá sea mejor dejarla si tu próximo compromiso no puede esperar.

    Then leaving it may be better if your next commitment cannot wait.

    Entonces

    then

    quizá

    perhaps

    sea

    be

    mejor

    better

    dejarla

    leave it

    próximo

    next

    compromiso

    commitment

    puede

    can

    esperar

    wait

    More detail

    Entonces means “then” here and links this sentence to what has just been established. It can also introduce a consequence: Entonces, lo hacemos. — “Then, we’ll do it.” quizá means “perhaps” and marks uncertainty. It can be followed by indicative or subjunctive forms; here, sea is the subjunctive form of ser, fitting the tentative evaluation. sea is the third-person singular present subjunctive of ser (“to be”). The subject of the evaluation is the singular infinitive phrase dejarla, understood as the option under discussion. Compare present indicative es (“is”) with subjunctive sea in a tentative or non-assertive setting. The combination quizá sea mejor... is a reusable way to say “perhaps it is better to...”. mejor is the comparative form related to bueno (“good”): bueno → mejor (“better”). In sea mejor, it evaluates one option as preferable, without stating that it is absolutely good. Example: Es mejor esperar. — “It is better to wait.” dejarla combines the infinitive dejar (“to leave” or “to let”) with the attached direct-object clitic la. The clitic marks a feminine singular object, but the supplied sentence and translation identify that object only as “it”; they do not specify what it is. With a masculine singular object, the corresponding form is dejarlo. The infinitive plus clitic is a reusable pattern: verla means “to see it/her,” while verlo means “to see it/him,” according to the intended referent. The connector si introduces the condition “if.” tu is the possessive determiner “your”; it does not change for the gender of the noun, and here it appears with singular compromiso. próximo means “next” here and is an adjective modifying compromiso. It is masculine singular because that noun is masculine singular: el próximo compromiso. Its feminine singular form is próxima, as in la próxima reunión (“the next meeting”); the adjective, not the noun, carries this gender and number contrast. compromiso is the masculine singular noun “commitment.” It can refer to an obligation or an engagement. Example: Tengo un compromiso mañana. — “I have a commitment tomorrow.” puede is the third-person singular present indicative of poder (“can / be able to”). Its subject here is singular compromiso, so the sentence says that the commitment cannot wait. The useful pattern poder + infinitive expresses ability or possibility: Puede esperar. — “It can wait.” esperar is the infinitive “to wait.” After puede, Spanish uses the infinitive rather than a conjugated second verb: puede esperar means “can wait.” To negate it, use no esperar (“not wait”); the opposite meaning is supplied by negation rather than by a special opposite form of this verb. Together, quizá sea mejor dejarla means “perhaps leaving it is better,” with la referring to an unspecified feminine singular object represented as “it” in the fixed translation. The conditional clause si tu próximo compromiso no puede esperar means “if your next commitment cannot wait.” Thus the whole utterance is: “Then leaving it may be better if your next commitment cannot wait.”