Choosing which task has the highest impact | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Tengo cuatro tareas y todas parecen importantes.

   I have four tasks, and they all feel important.

   Tengo

   I have

   cuatro

   four

   tareas

   tasks

   todas

   all of them

   parecen

   seem

   importantes

   important

   More detail

   Tengo is the first-person singular present form of tener (“to have”): yo tengo. Here it expresses possession of the tasks. Example: Tengo una pregunta. — “I have a question.” cuatro is the cardinal number “four.” It does not change for gender: cuatro tareas and cuatro libros. The noun after it is plural because the sentence states a count of four. tareas is the plural of the feminine noun tarea (“task”). The ending -s marks the plural here. Example: Tengo dos tareas. — “I have two tasks.” todas means “all of them” and is the feminine plural form of todo when it stands for a group of feminine nouns. In this sentence, it refers back to tareas; its form agrees with that noun in gender and number. Compare todos for a masculine or mixed plural group, but use todas for this feminine plural group. parecen is the third-person plural present form of parecer (“to seem” or “to appear”): parecer → parecen. Its plural form agrees with the plural subject todas. Here, parecer presents the speaker’s assessment that the tasks seem important, rather than asserting an objective measurement. Example: Las opciones parecen buenas. — “The options seem good.” importantes is the plural form of the adjective importante (“important”). Importante has the same singular form for masculine and feminine nouns; the plural is importantes. Example: Las decisiones son importantes. — “The decisions are important.” Together, Tengo cuatro tareas states that the speaker has four tasks. y links that statement to todas parecen importantes, where todas refers to the tasks and parecen importantes says that each one seems important. The complete meaning is: “I have four tasks, and they all feel important.”

2. Separa la urgencia del impacto antes de elegir el orden.

   Separate urgency from impact before you choose the order.

   Separa

   separate

   urgencia

   urgency

   impacto

   impact

   antes de

   before

   elegir

   choose

   orden

   order

   More detail

   Separa is the affirmative command form for tú singular of separar (“to separate”). It asks one person to keep two things distinct. The corresponding formal singular command is separe, while the plural command for ustedes is separen. urgencia means “urgency” here: the quality of requiring prompt attention. It is a feminine noun, as shown by la urgencia. Its adjective is urgente; for example, La tarea es urgente means “The task is urgent.” impacto means “impact” or “effect”: the consequence something has. In this sentence it is the effect of a task or event, not how quickly it must be handled. For example, El cambio tiene mucho impacto means “The change has a lot of impact.” antes de introduces an action that happens earlier than another action. Because it is followed by the infinitive elegir, the pattern is antes de + infinitive: Antes de salir, cierro la puerta means “Before leaving, I close the door.” elegir is the infinitive “to choose.” After antes de, Spanish uses this unconjugated form when the understood subject is the same person who performs the main action. Its present forms include elijo (“I choose”), eliges (“you choose”), and elige (“he, she, or you formal chooses”). orden means “order” here: the sequence or priority in which things are handled. It is a masculine noun, as shown by el orden. This word can also mean “command” in other contexts, so the surrounding meaning is important. Together, Separa la urgencia del impacto tells the listener to distinguish how quickly something needs attention from the effect it has. del is the contraction of de and el, linking impacto as the second element in the separation. antes de elegir el orden adds that this distinction must happen before choosing the sequence or priority. The whole utterance therefore means: “Separate urgency from impact before you choose the order.”

3. El correo es urgente, pero el informe afecta a la reunión con el cliente de mañana.

   The email is urgent, but the report affects tomorrow's client meeting.

   correo

   email

   urgente

   urgent

   informe

   report

   afecta

   affects

   reunión

   meeting

   cliente

   client

   mañana

   tomorrow

   More detail

   correo means “email” here. It is a masculine noun, so the singular definite article is el: el correo. A useful contrast is el correo “the email” versus los correos “the emails.” urgente describes the email as urgent. It is singular here, agreeing with correo; unlike many Spanish adjectives, it has the same form for masculine and feminine singular nouns: un mensaje urgente, una respuesta urgente. Its plural is urgentes. informe means “report” here. It is a masculine noun: el informe, plural los informes. The phrase el informe introduces the report as the subject of the second clause. afecta is the present-tense third-person singular form of afectar, “to affect.” The form agrees with the singular subject el informe. Spanish commonly uses afectar a for the thing affected, as in El ruido afecta a la concentración — “Noise affects concentration.” reunión means “meeting.” It is a feminine noun, so the phrase here is la reunión; its plural is las reuniones. The preposition a in afecta a la reunión connects afectar with what is affected; it is not part of the noun reunión. cliente means “client.” This noun can refer to a male or female client without changing its form; the article or another modifier can show the relevant grammatical gender: el cliente or la cliente. Here el cliente is singular, but the fixed translation specifically presents the larger phrase as “tomorrow’s client meeting.” mañana means “tomorrow” in this use. In de mañana, it contributes the time reference “of tomorrow” or “tomorrow’s.” The phrase la reunión con el cliente de mañana is therefore understood, according to the fixed translation, as “tomorrow’s meeting with the client.” The first clause, El correo es urgente, says “The email is urgent.” es, from ser, links the subject to the description urgente. The connector pero then creates a contrast: El correo es urgente, pero el informe afecta... — “The email is urgent, but the report affects...” The second clause, el informe afecta a la reunión con el cliente de mañana, says that the report affects the meeting with the client scheduled for tomorrow. Together, the utterance means: “The email is urgent, but the report affects tomorrow’s client meeting.”

4. El informe tiene un impacto mayor, sobre todo si otras personas dependen de él.

   The report has higher impact, especially if others depend on it.

   informe

   report

   tiene

   has

   impacto

   impact

   mayor

   higher; greater

   sobre todo

   especially

   otras

   other

   personas

   people

   dependen

   depend

   de él

   on it

   More detail

   informe means “report” here. It is a masculine singular noun: el informe. The same noun can be used with other determiners, for example, un informe = “a report.” tiene is the third-person singular present form of tener (“to have”). The subject here is El informe, so the form is singular. Example: La revisión tiene un impacto importante. = “The review has an important impact.” impacto means “impact.” It is a masculine noun, as shown by un impacto. A useful reusable pattern is tener impacto or tener un impacto = “to have an impact.” mayor means “higher” or “greater” here. It is the irregular comparative form of grande when referring to degree, size, importance, or a similar scale: grande → mayor. In this sentence, it describes a greater level of impact than an understood reference point; the sentence does not specify that point. Mayor can have other meanings in other contexts, including “older,” but that is not the intended meaning here. sobre todo is a fixed expression meaning “especially” or “above all.” It highlights the condition that follows. Example: Me gusta esta opción, sobre todo por su claridad. = “I like this option, especially because of its clarity.” otras means “other” in its feminine plural form. It agrees with personas, which is feminine plural. The singular forms are otra (feminine) and otro (masculine); for example, otro miembro = “another member.” personas means “people” or “persons.” In otras personas, it refers to people other than the already relevant people, without specifying how many. The noun is feminine plural grammatically, so the modifier is otras. dependen is the third-person plural present form of depender (“to depend”). Spanish normally uses depender de for “to depend on”: Las personas dependen de .... Because the subject is plural, the verb ends in -en. Example: Muchas decisiones dependen del tiempo. = “Many decisions depend on time.” de él means “on it” here because depender de is followed by the masculine singular pronoun él, referring here to el informe. The accent distinguishes pronoun él (“he/it”) from the article el (“the”). In another context, de él can mean “of/from him,” but that is not the intended reading here. Together, El informe tiene un impacto mayor says “The report has a higher impact.” sobre todo si adds “especially if,” and otras personas dependen de él means “other people depend on it,” with él referring to the report. The complete utterance is therefore: “The report has higher impact, especially if others depend on it.”

5. La revisión del diseño también bloquea a otro miembro del equipo.

   The design review also blocks another teammate.

   revisión

   review

   diseño

   design

   también

   also

   bloquea

   blocks

   otro

   another

   miembro

   member

   equipo

   team

   More detail

   revisión means a review or examination of something. It is a feminine noun, as shown by la revisión; its plural is las revisiones. Example: La revisión empieza hoy. — “The review starts today.” diseño means design. It is a masculine noun, so del diseño combines de (“of”) with el diseño (“the design”): de + el = del. Example: El diseño es claro. — “The design is clear.” también means “also” or “too.” It adds this statement to another relevant statement without replacing or excluding that other information. Example: El informe también ayuda. — “The report also helps.” bloquea is the present-tense third-person singular form of bloquear, “to block.” Here, the singular subject is la revisión, so bloquea agrees with it. The verb is transitive: La puerta bloquea el paso. — “The door blocks the passage.” With an animate direct object, Spanish commonly uses the personal a, as in bloquea a otro miembro. otro means “another” or “other.” In this sentence it is the masculine singular form modifying miembro; the feminine singular form is otra, and the plural forms are otros and otras. Example: Tengo otra pregunta. — “I have another question.” miembro means “member.” It is a masculine noun in this form, and its plural is miembros. In otro miembro del equipo, it identifies one additional member belonging to the team. Example: El miembro participa. — “The member participates.” equipo means “team.” In del equipo, it is the noun after de, expressing the group to which the member belongs. Example: El equipo termina el trabajo. — “The team finishes the work.” Together, La revisión del diseño means “the design review”: the review concerns the design. También adds this fact, and bloquea a otro miembro del equipo says that the review blocks another member of the team. The whole utterance is therefore: “The design review also blocks another teammate.”

6. Entonces, ocúpate primero de la revisión que está bloqueando a tu compañero si puedes terminarla rápido.

   Then handle the review that is blocking your teammate first if it will be quick.

   Entonces

   Then

   ocúpate

   handle it

   primero

   first

   revisión

   review

   está bloqueando

   is blocking

   compañero

   teammate

   puedes

   can

   terminarla

   finish it

   rápido

   quickly

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” and links this instruction to the preceding situation or step. It is a time or sequence connector, not part of the command itself. ocúpate is the affirmative command for tú of the pronominal verb ocuparse de, “to take care of” or “handle.” The pronoun te is attached to the command form: ocupa + te → ocúpate, with the written accent preserving the pronunciation. The construction is ocuparse de + noun: Ocúpate del informe. — “Take care of the report.” primero means “first” and sets the order of this task. It can also appear later in the clause: Hazlo primero. — “Do it first.” revisión is a feminine noun meaning “review.” Here it is the thing to be handled, and la in la revisión marks it as a specific review. The related plural is revisiones. está bloqueando is the present progressive of bloquear: está is the third-person singular present of estar, and bloqueando is the gerund. Together they mean “is blocking,” describing an action in progress. The relative clause que está bloqueando a tu compañero identifies which review is meant. The person being blocked is introduced by personal a: La revisión está bloqueando a tu compañero. — “The review is blocking your teammate.” compañero means “teammate” in this context. The possessive tu in tu compañero identifies the teammate as belonging to or associated with the addressee; tu has no accent here. The feminine counterpart is compañera, and the plural forms are compañeros and compañeras. puedes is the tú singular present form of poder, “can” or “be able to.” It introduces a condition here: si puedes terminarla means “if you can finish it.” Poder commonly combines with an infinitive: Puedes continuar. — “You can continue.” terminarla combines the infinitive terminar, “to finish,” with the direct-object pronoun la. In this sentence, la refers back to the feminine singular revisión, so terminarla means “finish it.” The same pronoun is placed before a conjugated verb instead: La puedes terminar. — “You can finish it.” rápido modifies terminar here and means “quickly,” describing the speed of finishing the review. In this adverbial use, it is not agreeing with revisión; the feminine adjective form rápida would be used when describing a feminine noun, as in una revisión rápida — “a quick review.” Taken together, ocúpate primero de la revisión gives the instruction to handle the review first. que está bloqueando a tu compañero specifies that this is the review currently blocking the addressee’s teammate, and si puedes terminarla rápido adds the condition that the review can be finished quickly. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then handle the review that is blocking your teammate first if you can finish it quickly.”

7. Después de eso, puedo concentrarme en el informe sin interrumpir a nadie.

   After that, I can focus on the report without interrupting anyone.

   Después de eso

   After that

   puedo

   can

   concentrarme

   focus

   informe

   report

   interrumpir

   interrupt

   nadie

   anyone

   More detail

   Después de eso is a reusable time expression meaning that one action happens after a previously mentioned event or step. Después means “after,” and eso is the neuter demonstrative pronoun “that”; here, the expression points back to the previously mentioned step without naming it again. Example: Después de eso, descansamos. — “After that, we rest.” puedo is the first-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to,” “can”). With an infinitive, puedo + infinitive expresses the speaker’s present ability or possibility. Example: Puedo terminarlo. — “I can finish it.” concentrarme means “to focus” here. It is the infinitive concentrar with the attached first-person singular reflexive clitic me; the clitic identifies the person who focuses. Spanish attaches this clitic when it follows an infinitive. Example: Necesito concentrarme. — “I need to focus.” informe is the noun “report.” In el informe, it has masculine grammatical gender and singular number, so it takes el; the noun itself does not show a separate gender or plural ending in this form. Example: Leo el informe. — “I read the report.” interrumpir is the infinitive “to interrupt.” After sin (“without”), Spanish uses an infinitive: sin + infinitive means “without doing something.” Here, the understood subject of interrumpir is the speaker. Example: Se fue sin despedirse. — “They left without saying goodbye.” nadie is an indefinite pronoun meaning “anyone” in sin interrumpir a nadie. With sin, the phrase means “without interrupting anyone,” and the personal a marks the person affected by interrumpir. Nadie refers to no person in a negative context; it does not change for the gender of the person involved. Together, puedo concentrarme en el informe means “I can focus on the report.” Adding sin interrumpir a nadie describes how this can happen: the speaker can focus without interrupting anyone. The complete utterance means: “After that, I can focus on the report without interrupting anyone.”

8. Las dependencias pueden cambiar qué tarea debe ir primero.

   Dependencies can change which task should come first.

   dependencias

   dependencies

   pueden

   can

   cambiar

   change

   qué

   which

   tarea

   task

   debe

   should

   ir primero

   come first

   More detail

   dependencias means “dependencies” here: the plural of the feminine noun dependencia. It refers to conditions or items whose relationships can affect the order of work. The plural ending -s marks more than one. Example: La dependencia bloquea el proceso. — “The dependency blocks the process.” pueden is the present-tense third-person plural form of poder (“to be able to; can”). With a following infinitive, poder + infinitive expresses ability or possibility: Las dependencias pueden cambiar... means “The dependencies can change...”. Because the subject is plural, pueden is used; puede is the corresponding singular form. Example: Los cambios pueden esperar. — “The changes can wait.” cambiar is the infinitive “to change.” After the conjugated form pueden, Spanish uses the infinitive: pueden cambiar = “can change.” The infinitive does not itself show the subject or tense here; pueden carries those features. Example: Pueden cambiar el orden. — “They can change the order.” qué is the accented interrogative word “which” in qué tarea. It introduces an embedded question and is distinct from unaccented que, which is commonly a conjunction or relative word. Here, qué tarea asks which task is the one that should go first. Example: No sé qué archivo falta. — “I do not know which file is missing.” tarea is the feminine noun “task.” In qué tarea, it names the item being selected by the embedded question. Its plural is tareas. Example: La tarea empieza mañana. — “The task starts tomorrow.” debe is the present-tense third-person singular form of deber. With an infinitive, deber + infinitive commonly expresses obligation or what is expected to happen. Here, the fixed translation uses “should,” describing the expected position of the task. The subject of debe ir is singular qué tarea, so debe is used rather than plural deben. Example: La tarea debe terminar hoy. — “The task should be finished today.” ir primero combines the infinitive ir (“to go”) with the adverb primero (“first”). In this context, it describes coming first in a sequence, not physical movement. Primero modifies the sequence expressed by ir. Example: Este paso debe ir primero. — “This step should come first.” Together, Las dependencias pueden cambiar says that the dependencies can affect the ordering. qué tarea asks which task, and debe ir primero says that this task should come first. The complete meaning is: “Dependencies can change which task should come first.”

9. El correo urgente puede esperar hasta después del borrador del informe.

   The urgent email can wait until after the report draft.

   correo

   email

   urgente

   urgent

   puede

   can

   esperar

   wait

   hasta después de

   until after

   borrador

   draft

   informe

   report

   More detail

   correo means “email” here. Its plural is correos. The noun is masculine, shown by the article el; urgente does not show masculine gender because this adjective has the same singular form with masculine and feminine nouns. Example: Los correos esperan respuesta. — “The emails are waiting for a reply.” urgente describes something requiring prompt attention. It is singular here because it describes singular correo, and its form is the same for masculine and feminine nouns: un mensaje urgente, una solicitud urgente. The plural is urgentes. puede is the present-tense third-person singular form of poder (“to be able to,” “can”). Here, the subject is el correo urgente, so puede expresses that this email can wait. The pattern poder + infinitive is reusable: El informe puede esperar. — “The report can wait.” With a plural subject such as los correos, use pueden. esperar is the infinitive “to wait.” After puede, Spanish uses the infinitive: puede esperar, not a separately conjugated verb. The same verb can also mean “to hope” in other contexts, but the time expression here gives it the meaning “to wait.” Example: Podemos esperar. — “We can wait.” hasta después de marks the endpoint of the waiting period: “until after.” It combines hasta (“until”) with después de (“after”). The pattern puede esperar hasta después de X means that the waiting can continue to a time later than X; it does not say that the email must be handled before X. Example: La reunión puede esperar hasta después del almuerzo. — “The meeting can wait until after lunch.” borrador means “draft,” a preliminary version of a text or document. Its plural is borradores. In del borrador, del is the contraction of de + el, meaning “of the” or, in this time expression, identifying the draft as the point after which something may happen. Example: Revisamos el borrador. — “We review the draft.” informe means “report.” It is masculine in this use: el informe; its plural is informes. The phrase del informe means “of the report,” because del combines de and el. In el borrador del informe, del informe specifies whose draft it is: the draft of the report. Example: El informe está listo. — “The report is ready.” Together, El correo urgente is the subject, puede esperar says that it can be postponed, and hasta después del borrador del informe sets the endpoint of that waiting. The complete meaning is: “The urgent email can wait until after the report draft.”

10. Priorizar consiste en tener en cuenta las consecuencias, no solo la presión.

    Prioritizing is about consequences, not just pressure.

    Priorizar

    to prioritize

    consiste en

    consists in; is about

    tener en cuenta

    to take into account

    las consecuencias

    the consequences

    no solo

    not just

    la presión

    the pressure

    More detail

    Priorizar is the infinitive “to prioritize.” It names the activity in general rather than marking a particular person or time. Example: Hay que priorizar means “One must prioritize” or “We need to prioritize.” Consiste en literally presents what something consists of and is a useful pattern for explaining its nature: consistir en + infinitive or noun. Here, consiste is the third-person singular present form of consistir, agreeing with the activity Priorizar. Tener en cuenta is the reusable expression “to take into account” or “to bear in mind.” The infinitive tener means “to have,” but together with en cuenta it expresses considering something. Example: Ten en cuenta el tiempo means “Take the time into account.” Las consecuencias means “the consequences.” Consecuencias is the plural of consecuencia; the feminine plural article las matches that noun. In this sentence, it identifies what should be taken into account. Example: Debemos pensar en las consecuencias means “We must think about the consequences.” No solo means “not only” or “not just.” It keeps the following basis included: the sentence says that consequences are considered, while pressure is not the only basis. When paired with another element, the pattern no solo X, sino también Y means “not only X, but also Y”; it does not exclude X. La presión means “the pressure.” Presión is feminine singular here, so it takes la. The noun can refer to pressure exerted by circumstances or people; in this utterance, the fixed translation supports the general sense of pressure as a factor in prioritizing. Together, Priorizar consiste en tener en cuenta las consecuencias says that prioritizing involves considering the consequences. No solo la presión adds that pressure is not the only basis. The complete meaning is: “Prioritizing is about consequences, not just pressure.”