Clarifying dependencies in a tense priority debate | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. La conversación se volvió tensa cuando la gente empezó a clasificar las prioridades de todos.

   The discussion got tense once people started ranking everyone's priorities.

   conversación

   conversation; discussion

   se volvió

   became; got

   tensa

   tense

   gente

   people

   empezó

   started; began

   clasificar

   to classify; to rank

   prioridades

   priorities

   de todos

   everyone’s; of everyone

   More detail

   conversación means a conversation or discussion. It is a feminine noun: la conversación. The plural is las conversaciones. In this sentence, it is the subject whose state changes. se volvió comes from volverse, “to become” or “to get” in the sense of entering a new state. The form is third-person singular past tense, matching la conversación. A useful contrast is se volvió tensa (“it got tense”) versus se mantuvo tranquila (“it stayed calm”). Example: La situación se volvió difícil. — “The situation became difficult.” tensa is the feminine singular form of tenso, “tense.” It agrees with conversación, not with the nearby verb. The masculine singular is tenso, the feminine plural is tensas, and the masculine plural is tensos. Example: La reunión está tensa. — “The meeting is tense.” gente means “people” as a collective noun. Although it refers to multiple people, Spanish treats gente as grammatically singular: la gente empezó, not la gente empezaron. A related plural noun is personas, which does take plural agreement. Example: La gente espera afuera. — “The people are waiting outside.” empezó is the third-person singular past form of empezar, “to start” or “to begin.” Here it agrees with singular la gente. A common reusable pattern is empezar a + infinitive, meaning “to start doing something”: Empezó a llover. — “It started to rain.” clasificar is an infinitive meaning “to classify” or, in this context, “to rank.” After empezó a, it names the action that began. The pattern is empezar a + infinitive; the infinitive does not show the subject’s person or number. Example: Empezaron a ordenar los archivos. — “They started organizing the files.” prioridades means “priorities.” It is the plural of the feminine noun prioridad: la prioridad, las prioridades. In this sentence, these are the things being ranked. Example: Necesitamos revisar las prioridades. — “We need to review the priorities.” de todos literally means “of everyone” or “everyone’s.” Here it marks whose priorities are being ranked: the priorities belonging to everyone referred to in the sentence. todos is the masculine plural form used for a mixed or unspecified group; the feminine plural form is todas when the group is entirely feminine. Example: Conocemos las opiniones de todos. — “We know everyone’s opinions.” Together, La conversación se volvió tensa says “The discussion got tense.” cuando introduces the time point or situation at which this happened: la gente empezó a clasificar las prioridades de todos, “people started ranking everyone’s priorities.” The complete utterance is therefore: “The discussion got tense once people started ranking everyone’s priorities.”

2. Parecía que algunos equipos sentían que se estaba dejando de lado su trabajo.

   It sounded like some teams felt their work was being pushed aside.

   Parecía

   it seemed

   algunos

   some

   equipos

   teams

   sentían

   felt

   dejando de lado

   setting aside

   su trabajo

   their work

   More detail

   Parecía is the imperfect form of parecer for third-person singular. Here it presents an impression as ongoing or not sharply bounded in the past: “it seemed” or “it appeared.” The following que introduces the content of that impression: Parecía que... = “It seemed that...” algunos means “some” and is masculine plural here because it agrees with equipos. The form changes for gender and number: algún/alguno can be masculine singular, alguna feminine singular, and algunos/algunas plural. In this sentence it identifies only part of the teams, without stating how many. equipos is the plural of equipo, “team.” The plural ending -s marks more than one team. Example: Algunos equipos colaboran. — “Some teams collaborate.” sentían is the third-person plural imperfect of sentir, “to feel.” The imperfect presents the teams’ feeling as ongoing or viewed from within the past situation. Algunos equipos sentían que... means “Some teams felt that...” The subject of sentían is algunos equipos; the plural form matches that subject. dejando de lado is the idiomatic expression dejar de lado, meaning “to set aside,” “to disregard,” or “to push aside.” In the observed form, dejando is the gerund of dejar, used with estaba in the surrounding text. The complete sequence se estaba dejando de lado describes an action in progress: something was being pushed aside. This expression does not mean physically leaving a place in this sentence. su trabajo means “their work” here. trabajo is a masculine singular noun; its plural is trabajos. The possessive su does not itself show whether the possessor is singular or plural, so the fixed translation supplies the intended plural possessor, the teams. Su trabajo therefore refers to the work belonging to those teams. The structure assembles as Parecía que + algunos equipos sentían que + se estaba dejando de lado su trabajo. The first clause presents an impression; inside it, some teams are the ones who felt something; and the inner clause presents their work as the thing being pushed aside. Together: “It sounded like some teams felt their work was being pushed aside.”

3. Eso puede dañar la confianza, aunque nadie tuviera esa intención.

   That can hurt trust, even if nobody meant it that way.

   Eso

   that

   puede

   can

   dañar

   to hurt

   la confianza

   trust

   aunque

   although / even if

   nadie

   nobody

   tuviera

   had

   esa

   that (feminine singular)

   intención

   intention

   More detail

   Eso is a neutral demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “that situation.” It does not identify a masculine or feminine noun; here, the translation supports a reference to the situation just discussed. Compare esto “this” and aquello “that over there/that more distant matter” when the context calls for a different distance or discourse perspective. puede is the third-person singular present form of poder “to be able to; can.” In this sentence it expresses possibility: “can hurt,” not a command. A useful pattern is poder + infinitive: puede cambiar = “it can change.” dañar is an infinitive meaning “to hurt” or “to damage.” After a modal such as puede, Spanish uses the infinitive: puede dañar, literally “can hurt.” The infinitive does not itself mark the subject here; puede carries the finite verb form. la confianza means “trust.” confianza is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the feminine singular article la. The word can refer to trust in a person, relationship, or process depending on context. Example: La confianza se construye con tiempo. — “Trust is built over time.” aunque introduces a concession, translated here as “even if.” It does not remove the first claim: the possible harm remains true despite the condition that follows. With a hypothetical or non-asserted condition, it commonly introduces the subjunctive, as in this sentence. nadie means “nobody” or “no one.” It is an indefinite negative pronoun referring to people. In this sentence it is the grammatical subject of the subordinate clause; the form itself does not specify a number of people beyond the negative meaning. tuviera is an imperfect subjunctive form of tener “to have.” In tuviera esa intención, it means “had that intention.” The fixed translation naturally renders the complete idea as “meant it that way.” Here the imperfect subjunctive marks the condition as hypothetical or non-asserted; it does not by itself require that the condition be located in the past. Compare tiene “has” in a present indicative statement with tuviera in a hypothetical or concessive clause. esa is the feminine singular demonstrative determiner “that,” agreeing with the following noun. Unlike the neutral pronoun eso, it modifies a feminine singular noun directly. Here it agrees with intención; its distance or discourse value is “that,” not “this.” intención means “intention.” It is a feminine singular noun, which is why the phrase is esa intención. In this context, “have that intention” describes whether the people involved intended the harmful effect, rather than asserting that they actually had it. Together, Eso puede dañar la confianza means “That can hurt trust.” aunque nadie tuviera esa intención adds the concession “even if nobody meant it that way,” with aunque introducing the hypothetical condition and tuviera esa intención expressing the absence of that intention. The whole utterance therefore says that the effect on trust is possible even without anyone intending to cause it.

4. Quizás deberíamos separar las dependencias de la importancia antes de la próxima reunión.

   Maybe we should separate dependencies from importance before the next meeting.

   Quizás

   maybe

   deberíamos

   we should; we ought to

   separar

   separate

   dependencias

   dependencies

   importancia

   importance

   antes de

   before

   próxima

   next; upcoming

   reunión

   meeting

   More detail

   Quizás means “maybe” and marks uncertainty about the proposal. Example: Quizás vienen mañana. — “Maybe they are coming tomorrow.” deberíamos is the first-person plural conditional of deber (“should; ought to”). Here it presents a recommendation for “we” and makes it less direct than a plain statement of obligation. Compare debemos (“we must/should,” present) with deberíamos (“we should,” conditional). separar is the infinitive “to separate.” After a conjugated form such as deberíamos, Spanish uses the infinitive: Deberíamos revisar el plan. — “We should review the plan.” The reusable pattern is deberíamos + infinitive. dependencias is the plural of the feminine noun dependencia, “dependency.” The plural ending -s marks more than one dependency here. importancia is the feminine noun “importance.” In la importancia, la is the feminine singular definite article matching this noun. With separar, de la importancia identifies what the dependencies are separated from: “from importance.” antes de is the reusable preposition pattern “before.” It can be followed by a noun phrase, as here, or by an infinitive: antes de salir — “before leaving.” próxima is the feminine singular form of the adjective próximo, meaning “next” or “upcoming.” It agrees with the feminine singular noun reunión in la próxima reunión. The masculine form is próximo, as in el próximo paso (“the next step”). reunión is the feminine noun “meeting.” Its plural is reuniones. In la próxima reunión, both la and próxima match its feminine singular form. Together, deberíamos separar X de Y means “we should separate X from Y.” Here X is las dependencias, Y is la importancia, and antes de la próxima reunión sets the time limit. Quizás makes the proposal tentative: “Maybe we should separate dependencies from importance before the next meeting.”

5. Algunas tareas tienen que hacerse primero.

   Some tasks need to happen first.

   Algunas

   some

   tareas

   tasks

   tienen que

   need to / have to

   hacerse

   be done

   primero

   first

   More detail

   Algunas means “some” and is the feminine plural form of alguno. It agrees with tareas in gender and number. Unlike cada, it refers to some members of a group, without saying exactly how many. tareas is the plural of tarea, “task.” The singular is una tarea; the plural is unas tareas or algunas tareas. In this sentence, it is the subject of tienen. tienen que is the third-person plural present form of tener que, a construction expressing necessity or obligation. Tienen agrees with the plural subject algunas tareas; the infinitive that follows does not change for person or number. Example: Tenemos que empezar. — “We have to start.” hacerse is hacer with se. Here, hacer means “do” or “carry out,” and the construction gives the meaning “be done”: the tasks are the things undergoing the action, while the person doing them is not stated. The infinitive form is used after tener que. Example: El trabajo tiene que hacerse hoy. — “The work has to be done today.” primero is an adverb meaning “first” in this sentence. It places doing the tasks before other actions or tasks in the relevant sequence. As an adjective, primero can also agree with a masculine singular noun, as in el primer paso (“the first step”); that adjective use is distinct from the adverbial use here. Together, Algunas tareas identifies some tasks, tienen que hacerse says that they need to be done, and primero says that they come first in the sequence. The whole utterance means: “Some tasks need to happen first.”

6. Pero eso no las hace más valiosas.

   But that does not make them more valuable.

   Pero

   but

   eso

   that

   las

   them

   hace

   makes

   más valiosas

   more valuable

   More detail

   Pero introduces a contrast with the preceding statement. Here it means “but,” linking this sentence to the idea that some tasks need to happen first. eso is the demonstrative pronoun “that.” Its neuter singular form commonly points to a situation, idea, or previously mentioned statement rather than naming a masculine or feminine noun. Example: Eso es importante. — “That is important.” las is a feminine plural direct-object pronoun meaning “them.” In this context, it refers to tareas from the preceding sentence: las tareas → las. Spanish object pronouns must match the noun they replace in gender and number. Compare lo for a masculine singular object and la for a feminine singular object. hace is the third-person singular present form of hacer (“to do” or “to make”). In the pattern hacer + object + adjective, it means “make [the object] [adjective]”: La experiencia los hace fuertes. — “The experience makes them strong.” The form is singular because the subject is eso, not because the object pronoun las is plural. más valiosas expresses “more valuable.” Valiosas is the feminine plural form of valioso (“valuable”), agreeing with las; más creates the comparative meaning. The useful pattern is más + adjective: Estas opciones son más valiosas. — “These options are more valuable.” The adjective changes for gender and number, while más does not. The separate no negates the verb phrase: eso no las hace means “that does not make them,” not “that makes them not.” Combining the parts, Pero eso no las hace más valiosas means: “But that does not make them more valuable.”

7. Puedo preparar un mapa de dependencias antes de que volvamos a reunirnos.

   I can put together a dependency map before we meet again.

   Puedo

   I can

   preparar

   to prepare

   mapa

   map

   dependencias

   dependencies

   antes de que

   before

   volvamos … a … reunirnos

   we meet again

   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. Poder is commonly followed by an infinitive: Puedo preparar = “I can prepare.” preparar is the infinitive “to prepare” or “to put together.” After poder, it remains in the infinitive rather than taking a personal ending. Example: Puedo revisar el informe. — “I can review the report.” mapa means “map.” It is a masculine singular noun, as shown by un mapa; despite ending in -a, it is masculine. Its plural is mapas. dependencias means “dependencies” in this context. It is the plural of dependencia. The phrase un mapa de dependencias is a noun phrase in which de links the map to what it represents: “a dependency map.” antes de que introduces an event that occurs earlier than another event. In Spanish, this conjunction normally takes the subjunctive because the later event is viewed as pending or not yet realized. Example: Saldré antes de que empiece la reunión. — “I will leave before the meeting starts.” volvamos is the first-person plural present subjunctive form of volver, “to return” or “to come back.” The subject is “we,” matching the English “we” in the fixed translation. In antes de que volvamos, the subjunctive is required by the time conjunction and presents the return meeting as a future or pending event. reunirnos means “to meet” or “to get together.” It is formed from the infinitive reunir plus the reflexive pronoun nos, written together after the infinitive. With volver a, volver a reunirnos means “to meet again”: volver a marks a repeated action, while nos identifies the participants as “us/we.” Example: Queremos reunirnos mañana. — “We want to meet tomorrow.” Together, Puedo preparar un mapa de dependencias means “I can put together a dependency map.” The sequence antes de que volvamos a reunirnos adds the time reference “before we meet again.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I can put together a dependency map before we meet again.”

8. Eso debería mantener la conversación concreta en lugar de personal.

   That should keep the discussion concrete instead of personal.

   Eso

   That

   debería

   should

   mantener

   to keep

   la conversación

   the discussion

   concreta

   concrete

   en lugar de

   instead of

   personal

   personal

   More detail

   Eso is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” It is neuter and singular, so it points to something already understood as an idea, situation, or matter; the supplied translation confirms the meaning “that,” but does not require naming a more specific referent. Compare esto “this” and eso “that.” Debería is a form of deber followed by an infinitive. Here it expresses what is expected or advisable: “should.” Its third-person singular form agrees with eso: eso debería... A useful pattern is debería + infinitive: La reunión debería empezar pronto. — “The meeting should start soon.” Mantener is the infinitive “to keep” or “to maintain.” After debería, Spanish uses the infinitive rather than a conjugated form: debería mantener. It can describe keeping something in a condition, as in mantener la puerta abierta — “to keep the door open.” La conversación means “the discussion” or “the conversation.” Conversación is a feminine singular noun, which is why it takes the article la. Its plural is las conversaciones — “the discussions/conversations.” Concreta means “concrete” here: focused on specific, practical information rather than personal matters. It is the feminine singular form of concreto, agreeing with la conversación; the adjective, not the noun, carries this agreement. Compare un plan concreto and una conversación concreta. En lugar de is a reusable expression meaning “instead of.” It introduces the alternative being contrasted with the main choice: en lugar de hablar de personas — “instead of talking about people.” Personal means “personal” in this sentence. It is the adjective contrasted with concreta after en lugar de; it characterizes the discussion as personal. Unlike concreta, personal has the same singular form with masculine and feminine nouns: un asunto personal and una conversación personal; its plural is personales. Together, debería mantener gives “should keep,” la conversación concreta gives “the discussion concrete,” and en lugar de personal sets “personal” as the alternative being avoided. The whole utterance therefore means: “That should keep the discussion concrete instead of personal.”

9. Entonces la gente puede basar la conversación en la misma información y no solo en sus frustraciones.

   Then people can base the discussion on the same information, not just their frustrations.

   Entonces

   then

   la gente

   people

   puede

   can

   basar

   base

   la conversación

   the discussion

   misma

   same

   información

   information

   no solo

   not just

   sus

   their

   frustraciones

   frustrations

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here and links this statement to what has just been established. It can also introduce a conclusion in other contexts, but here it marks the resulting point in the sequence. la gente means “people.” Although its meaning refers to multiple people, gente is grammatically feminine singular, so it takes singular forms: la gente puede, not a plural verb. A useful contrast is las personas pueden, where personas is plural and the verb is plural. puede is the third-person singular present form of poder (“to be able to,” “can”). poder is followed by an infinitive: puede basar means “can base.” The form agrees with singular la gente; plural las personas pueden basar uses pueden. basar is an infinitive meaning “to base.” In basar algo en algo, the first object is what is based and en introduces the basis: basar la decisión en los datos means “to base the decision on the data.” Here, puede supplies the ability or possibility, while basar names the action. la conversación means “the discussion” or “the conversation.” It is the direct object of basar: it is what people can base on something. The feminine singular article la agrees with conversación. misma means “same” in this sentence. It is the feminine singular form of mismo, agreeing with información: la misma información. The useful pattern is el mismo with a masculine singular noun, la misma with a feminine singular noun, and plural forms such as las mismas. información means “information.” It is the basis introduced by en: basar la conversación en la misma información means “to base the discussion on the same information.” Spanish treats información as a feminine noun, hence la misma información. no solo means “not just” or “not only.” It includes the element that follows: the frustrations are one basis, but not the only basis. The reusable contrast is no solo X, sino también Y — “not only X, but also Y.” Here, no solo en sus frustraciones contrasts the frustrations with en la misma información without excluding the latter. sus means “their” here. It is a third-person plural possessive, referring to the people expressed by la gente; it agrees in number with the possessed noun, not with the possessors. sus has the same form for masculine and feminine nouns, while singular possession uses su. frustraciones means “frustrations.” It is a feminine plural noun, which is why the possessive phrase is sus frustraciones; sus does not itself show gender, but the noun is plural. The preposition en applies again: people can base the discussion not only on the same information but also on their frustrations. Together, Entonces la gente puede basar la conversación en la misma información y no solo en sus frustraciones means: “Then people can base the discussion on the same information, not just their frustrations.” The structure is puede + infinitive for “can do,” basar X en Y for “base X on Y,” and no solo en A to say that A is not the only basis.