Verifying an Unexpected Maintenance Visitor | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Antes llamó alguien a la puerta y dijo que venía a inspeccionar la ventilación.

   Someone knocked earlier and said they were here to inspect the ventilation.

   Antes

   earlier; beforehand

   llamó … a la puerta

   knocked at the door

   alguien

   someone

   dijo que

   said that

   venía

   was coming

   inspeccionar

   to inspect

   la ventilación

   the ventilation

   More detail

   Antes means “earlier” here and places the knocking before the reference time. It can also mean “beforehand” when something is done before another action. llamó a la puerta expresses knocking on the door. The verb is llamar; llamó is its third-person singular preterite form, presenting one completed action. In this expression, llamar a la puerta means “to knock on the door,” not simply to call a person. Example: Alguien llamó a la puerta. — “Someone knocked at the door.” alguien means “someone” or “somebody.” It is an indefinite pronoun: the sentence says that there was a person but does not identify who. Its form is singular even when the person’s gender is unknown, and it does not itself specify the person’s gender. dijo que introduces what the person said. Dijo is the third-person singular preterite of decir (“to say”): decir → dijo. After que, the sentence gives the content of the statement. Example: Dijo que venía. — “They said they were coming.” venía is the third-person singular imperfect of venir (“to come”): venir → venía. The imperfect presents the coming as ongoing or as part of the situation being described. With a inspeccionar, the fixed translation gives the intended meaning “were here to inspect.” The singular form agrees with alguien; Spanish does not show the person’s gender in this form. The pattern venir a + infinitive can express purpose: Vengo a ayudar. — “I’m coming to help.” inspeccionar is an infinitive meaning “to inspect.” It remains in the infinitive after a in venía a inspeccionar; venía carries the tense and person. Example: Van a inspeccionar el sistema. — “They are going to inspect the system.” la ventilación means “the ventilation.” Ventilación is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine singular definite article la. Together, Antes llamó a la puerta says that someone knocked earlier. y dijo que links that completed action to the person’s reported words. venía a inspeccionar la ventilación states the purpose: the person was here to inspect the ventilation. The whole utterance is therefore: “Someone knocked earlier and said they were here to inspect the ventilation.”

2. Las visitas de mantenimiento suelen anunciarse a través del sistema del edificio.

   Maintenance visits are usually announced through the building system.

   visitas

   visits

   mantenimiento

   maintenance

   suelen

   usually tend to

   anunciarse

   be announced

   a través de

   through

   sistema

   system

   edificio

   building

   More detail

   visitas means “visits” here, specifically the maintenance visits mentioned in the sentence. It is the plural of visita; the ending -as marks this noun as feminine plural. Singular: visita; plural: visitas. Example: La visita es mañana. — “The visit is tomorrow.” mantenimiento means “maintenance.” It is a noun referring to upkeep or servicing. In visitas de mantenimiento, de links the visits with their purpose or type: “maintenance visits.” Example: El mantenimiento es importante. — “Maintenance is important.” suelen comes from soler, “to usually do” or “to tend to do.” Suelen is the present indicative form for ellos, ellas, or ustedes; the plural subject here is las visitas. Soler is normally followed by an infinitive: suelen anunciarse, “they are usually announced.” Compare suele with a singular subject: La visita suele llegar temprano. — “The visit usually arrives early.” anunciarse combines the infinitive anunciar, “to announce,” with se. In this sentence, se gives a passive-like reading: the visits are the things announced, so suelen anunciarse means “are usually announced.” The infinitive is used after suelen. Example: Las reuniones suelen anunciarse por correo. — “Meetings are usually announced by email.” a través de is a fixed prepositional construction meaning “through” or “by means of.” It introduces the channel used for the announcement. Example: Lo enviaron a través de la aplicación. — “They sent it through the app.” sistema means “system.” Here it is the channel or medium through which the announcements are made. Example: El sistema funciona bien. — “The system works well.” edificio means “building.” In del edificio, del is the contraction of de + el, meaning “of the building” or “the building’s.” Thus el sistema del edificio means “the building system.” Example: La entrada del edificio está cerrada. — “The building entrance is closed.” Putting the parts together: Las visitas de mantenimiento identifies the visits; suelen anunciarse says that announcing them is the usual practice; and a través del sistema del edificio gives the channel. The whole utterance means: “Maintenance visits are usually announced through the building system.”

3. Eso me hizo ser prudente, así que no dejé entrar a esa persona.

   That made me cautious, so I did not let them in.

   Eso

   That

   me hizo

   made me

   ser

   be

   prudente

   cautious

   así que

   so

   no dejé

   did not let / did not allow

   entrar

   enter

   esa

   that

   persona

   person

   More detail

   Eso is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” Here it points to the situation just referred to and functions as the subject of hizo; its specific grammatical form does not identify a person or gender. me hizo combines hacer (“to make/cause”) with the unstressed pronoun me (“me”). hizo is the third-person singular preterite of hacer, so the subject is eso, not the speaker. A useful pattern is algo me hizo + infinitive: “something made me …” Example: La noticia me hizo pensar. — “The news made me think.” Ser is the infinitive “to be.” After hacer in this causative pattern, the infinitive states the resulting condition or behavior: me hizo ser prudente means “made me be cautious.” Prudente means “cautious” or “prudent.” It is a singular adjective, and this form is the same for masculine and feminine nouns: un conductor prudente / una conductora prudente. The related opposite is imprudente (“reckless” or “imprudent”). Así que introduces a consequence: “so” or “therefore.” It links the caution-producing situation with the action that follows. No dejé contains no, the negator, and dejé, the first-person singular preterite of dejar (“to let,” “to leave,” or “to allow”). In this sentence, no dejé entrar means “I did not let [someone] enter.” The pattern dejar + infinitive expresses allowing an action: Dejé pasar al visitante. — “I let the visitor pass.” Entrar is the infinitive “to enter” or “to go in.” With dejar, it names the action that was not allowed. The person being allowed or refused entry is introduced with a in dejar entrar a alguien. Esa is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative determiner “that.” It agrees with the noun it modifies, persona; it does not itself identify who the person is. Other forms include ese for a masculine singular noun and esas for a feminine plural noun. Persona means “person.” It is a feminine grammatical noun even when it refers to someone of another gender, so the feminine determiner esa is used: esa persona. This grammatical gender does not by itself specify the person’s gender. Together, eso me hizo ser prudente means “that made me cautious.” Así que marks the result, and no dejé entrar a esa persona means “I did not let that person enter.” The whole utterance is therefore: “That made me cautious, so I did not let them in.”

4. Fue una buena decisión. Primero habría que verificar su autorización para entrar.

   That was the right call. Their authorization to enter should be verified first.

   Fue

   was

   buena

   good

   decisión

   decision

   Primero

   first

   habría que

   it would be necessary to

   verificar

   verify; check

   autorización

   authorization

   entrar

   enter

   More detail

   Fue is the third-person singular preterite of ser, whose base form is ser. Here it means “was,” describing a completed assessment of the decision. The present form is es (“is”): Es una buena decisión means “It is a good decision.” buena means “good” here and is the feminine singular form of bueno. It agrees with the feminine singular noun decisión; the adjective, not the noun, carries this form. Compare un buen resultado, where bueno becomes buen before a singular masculine noun, with una buena decisión. decisión is a feminine singular noun meaning “decision.” Its plural is decisiones. The combination una buena decisión describes the decision as a sound or right choice in this context. Primero is an adverb meaning “first” or “as a first step.” It sets the order of the proposed action. For example, Primero revisa el documento means “First, check the document.” habría que is an impersonal conditional construction meaning that something would need to be done or should be done. It does not identify a particular person who must do it. Its present-tense counterpart is hay que: Hay que revisar el documento means “The document needs to be checked.” verificar is an infinitive meaning “to verify” or “to check.” After habría que, the infinitive names the action that would be necessary: habría que verificar means “it would be necessary to verify” or, naturally here, “should be verified.” su means “their” in the fixed translation. It is a possessive determiner before the singular noun autorización. The form su agrees with the singular thing possessed, not with the possessor; the possessor’s identity is supplied by context or translation. The plural possessed form is sus, as in sus autorizaciones (“their authorizations”). autorización is a feminine singular noun meaning “authorization” or “permission.” Its plural is autorizaciones. In this utterance, it is the authorization connected with entering. entrar is an infinitive meaning “to enter.” In autorización para entrar, para introduces the purpose or action allowed: “authorization to enter.” For example, Necesita permiso para entrar means “They need permission to enter.” Together, Fue una buena decisión means “That was the right call,” with buena decisión evaluating the completed decision. Primero habría que verificar su autorización para entrar then proposes the first step: checking their authorization to enter. The full utterance therefore means: “That was the right call. Their authorization to enter should be verified first.”

5. ¿Podrías comprobar si realmente hay una inspección programada?

   Could you check whether an inspection is actually scheduled?

   Podrías

   Could you

   comprobar

   check

   si

   whether

   realmente

   actually

   hay

   there is / there are

   inspección

   inspection

   programada

   scheduled

   More detail

   Podrías is the second-person singular conditional form of poder: podrías = “you could.” In this question, the conditional makes the request less direct. The form itself addresses one tú; it does not mean usted or ustedes. Compare puedes (“you can”) with podrías (“you could”). comprobar is an infinitive meaning “to check” or “to verify.” It follows podrías because the modal verb is followed by the action in the infinitive. Example: Podrías comprobar los datos. — “Could you check the data?” si introduces an indirect yes/no question here: “whether.” It does not mean the conditional “if” in this sentence. The pattern comprobar si + clause means “check whether + clause.” realmente is an adverb meaning “actually” or “really.” It emphasizes that the speaker wants the factual situation checked, rather than merely assumed. hay is the present-tense impersonal form of haber, used to say that something exists or is present: “there is” or “there are.” It does not change to agree with the noun that follows: hay una inspección and hay varias inspecciones. The past form in a different example would be había (“there was/were”). inspección is a feminine singular noun meaning “inspection.” Its plural is inspecciones. The indefinite article una marks this as an unspecified inspection; it does not by itself state a numerical count as the main point. programada means “scheduled” here. It is the feminine singular form of the participle/adjective programado, related to the verb programar, and it agrees with feminine singular inspección. Compare un evento programado (“a scheduled event”) and inspecciones programadas (“scheduled inspections”). Together, hay una inspección programada means “there is a scheduled inspection.” Adding si makes si realmente hay una inspección programada mean “whether there is actually a scheduled inspection.” The complete request, ¿Podrías comprobar si realmente hay una inspección programada?, means “Could you check whether an inspection is actually scheduled?”

6. Comprobaré los registros y te enviaré un mensaje a través del portal.

   I will check the records and send you a message through the portal.

   Comprobaré

   I will check

   registros

   records

   te

   you

   enviaré

   I will send

   mensaje

   message

   a través de

   through / via

   portal

   portal

   More detail

   Comprobaré means “I will check” here. It is the first-person singular future of comprobar (“to check”): comprobaré = “I will check,” comprobarás = “you will check.” The ending -é marks the first-person singular future form, so the speaker is the actor. registros means “records” here. It is the plural of registro (“record” or “register”); the preceding los makes the noun phrase definite: “the records.” Example: Reviso los registros. — “I review the records.” te marks the person who will receive the message: “to you.” In te enviaré un mensaje, it is an unstressed second-person singular indirect-object pronoun. Example: Te enviaré la información. — “I will send you the information.” enviaré means “I will send.” It is the first-person singular future of enviar (“to send”), so the same speaker who will check the records will also send the message. Example: Enviaré el informe mañana. — “I will send the report tomorrow.” mensaje means “message.” It is a singular masculine noun, and un agrees with it in the singular masculine form. Here, un mensaje presents a message without identifying it as an already established specific message. Example: Recibí un mensaje. — “I received a message.” a través de is a reusable prepositional expression meaning “through” or “via.” It introduces the channel or means used for an action: a través de una aplicación — “through an application.” portal means “portal” here. With a través del portal, it names the portal used as the channel through which the message will be sent; del is the contraction of de + el. Example: Lo envié a través del portal. — “I sent it through the portal.” Together, Comprobaré los registros means “I will check the records.” y joins that future action to te enviaré un mensaje, “I will send you a message,” and a través del portal specifies the means: “through the portal.” The complete utterance is: “I will check the records and send you a message through the portal.”

7. Preferiría saberlo antes de que vuelva alguien.

   I would rather know before anyone comes back.

   Preferiría

   I would prefer

   saberlo

   to know it

   antes de que

   before

   vuelva

   comes back

   alguien

   anyone

   More detail

   Preferiría is the first-person singular conditional of preferir (“to prefer”): preferiría means “I would prefer.” The conditional presents this as a preference or wish rather than a direct command. Example: Preferiría esperar. — “I would prefer to wait.” saberlo combines the infinitive saber (“to know”) with the object pronoun lo (“it”). In this sentence, lo refers to the information the speaker wants to know; the exact information is not specified. Spanish attaches this pronoun to an infinitive: saberlo, “to know it.” Example: Quiero saberlo. — “I want to know it.” antes de que means “before” when what follows is a clause with its own verb. It introduces the event that must not yet have happened at the relevant time. Example: Llámame antes de que salgas. — “Call me before you leave.” vuelva is the third-person singular present subjunctive of volver, “to return” or “to come back.” The subjunctive appears here because antes de que introduces a future or pending event viewed in relation to the speaker’s preference. The form agrees with the singular subject alguien; it is not an imperative. alguien is an indefinite pronoun meaning “someone” or, in this context, “anyone.” It refers to an unspecified person, without identifying who that person is. Its meaning here is not a claim that a particular person will return. Together, Preferiría saberlo means “I would prefer to know it,” and antes de que vuelva alguien adds “before anyone comes back.” The complete utterance means: “I would rather know before anyone comes back.”

8. Hasta que esté confirmado, no dejes entrar a nadie a menos que supieras que iba a venir.

   Until it is confirmed, do not let anyone in unless you were expecting them.

   Hasta que

   until

   esté confirmado

   is confirmed

   no dejes entrar

   do not let in

   a nadie

   anyone

   a menos que

   unless

   supieras que

   you knew that

   iba a venir

   was going to come

   More detail

   Hasta que introduces a time boundary: the instruction applies up to the point when the following event happens. With a future or not-yet-established event, Spanish commonly uses the subjunctive after hasta que. esté confirmado means that something is in a confirmed state. esté is the third-person singular present subjunctive of estar; confirmado is the masculine singular form of the participle/adjective from confirmar. The sentence does not identify what is confirmed; the fixed translation represents it with “it.” Compare: Espera hasta que esté listo. — “Wait until it is ready.” no dejes entrar is a negative command addressed to one tú. dejes is the second-person singular present subjunctive form of dejar, used here because negative commands use this form; entrar is its infinitive complement. The pattern is no dejes + infinitive, “do not let [someone] [verb].” Example: No dejes salir al perro. — “Don’t let the dog out.” a nadie is the object meaning “anyone” in this negative context. The a is the personal marker used with an animate direct object; nadie is the indefinite pronoun “nobody/anyone.” Together with no, it gives the meaning “do not let anyone in,” not “let nobody” as a separate positive instruction. a menos que introduces an exception: “unless.” It is followed here by a subjunctive clause because the exception is hypothetical or conditional. Example: No abras la puerta a menos que te llamen. — “Do not open the door unless they call you.” supieras que means “you knew that.” supieras is the second-person singular imperfect subjunctive of saber, whose base form is saber; que introduces the information known. In this sentence, the imperfect subjunctive presents the knowledge as the condition for the exception. Example: Iría contigo a menos que supieras otra cosa. — “I would go with you unless you knew otherwise.” iba a venir expresses a past viewpoint on a later event: “was going to come.” iba is the third-person singular imperfect indicative of ir, and venir remains in the infinitive after ir a. The pattern iba a + infinitive commonly describes an intended, expected, or scheduled future relative to a past reference point. The third-person subject is not identified by the sentence; the translation uses singular “them” without specifying that person’s gender. Example: Dijo que iba a venir. — “They said they were going to come.” Putting the parts together, Hasta que esté confirmado sets the time limit, no dejes entrar a nadie gives the negative instruction, and a menos que supieras que iba a venir states the exception. The whole utterance means: “Until it is confirmed, do not let anyone in unless you were expecting them.”