About This Lesson
Use Shared hallway safety to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Han dejado algunas cajas en el pasillo compartido.
ahn deh-HAH-doh al-GOO-nahs KAH-hahs en el pah-SEE-yoh kom-par-TEE-doh Some boxes have been left in the shared hallway.
B
Eso podría bloquear el acceso, especialmente en una emergencia.
EH-soh poh-DREE-ah bloh-keh-AR el ahk-SEH-soh, es-peh-syal-MEN-teh en OO-nah eh-mehr-HEN-syah That could block access, especially in an emergency.
A
No tengo claro de quién son, así que no las he movido.
noh TEN-goh KLAH-roh deh KYEN sohn, ah-SEE keh noh lahs eh moh-BEE-doh I am not sure whose they are, so I have not moved them.
B
Deberíamos enviar un mensaje neutral a los residentes.
deh-beh-REE-ah-mohs en-BYAR oon men-SAH-heh neh-oo-TRAL ah lohs reh-see-DEN-tehs We should send a neutral message to the residents.
A
El mensaje debería centrarse en la seguridad y no en buscar culpables.
el men-SAH-heh deh-beh-REE-ah sen-TRAR-seh en lah seh-goo-ree-DAHD ee noh en boos-KAR kool-PAH-bles The message should focus on safety rather than blame.
B
Ese enfoque suele recibir una mejor respuesta.
EH-seh en-FOH-keh SWEH-leh reh-see-BEER OO-nah rehs-PWES-tah meh-HOR That framing usually gets a better response.
A
Si nadie las reclama, la administración puede decidir el siguiente paso.
see NAH-dyeh lahs reh-KLAH-mah, lah ahd-mee-nee-strah-SYOHN PWEH-deh deh-see-DEER el see-GYEN-teh PAH-soh If nobody claims them, management can decide the next step.
B
Eso mantiene el proceso justo y documentado.
EH-soh mahn-TYEH-neh el proh-SEH-soh HOOS-toh ee doh-koo-men-TAH-doh That keeps the process fair and documented.Word by Word
Han
In «Han dejado algunas cajas», «Han» means “have” and works as the auxiliary for the completed event. Its citation form is haber; here it combines with «dejado» to say that some boxes have already been left.
dejado
In «Han dejado algunas cajas», «dejado» means “left” and describes what happened to the boxes. Its citation form is dejar, and this past participle combines with «Han»; the same haber-plus-participle pattern can describe something already done.
algunas
In «algunas cajas», «algunas» means “some” and indicates an unspecified quantity. It is the plural feminine form used before «cajas», so it agrees with that noun.
cajas
In «algunas cajas», «cajas» means “boxes”, the items left in the hallway. It is the object of «dejado» and is also referred to later by «las».
en
In «en el pasillo compartido», «en» means “in” and places the boxes inside the shared hallway. It commonly comes before a location, as in this phrase.
el
In «el pasillo compartido», «el» means “the” and identifies one specific hallway. It is the singular article used before «pasillo».
pasillo
In «el pasillo compartido», «pasillo» means “hallway”, specifically the shared building passage in this scene. It is the noun that follows «el» and is modified by «compartido».
compartido
In «el pasillo compartido», «compartido» means “shared” and describes the hallway as used by multiple residents. It is an adjective placed after «pasillo» and agrees with that noun.
Eso
At the beginning of «Eso podría bloquear el acceso», «Eso» means “that” and points back to the boxes or the situation just mentioned. It can introduce a comment about a previously mentioned fact or situation.
podría
In «Eso podría bloquear el acceso», «podría» expresses possibility: the situation could block access, but this is not stated as certain. Its citation form is poder, and «podría» is followed by the infinitive «bloquear».
bloquear
In «podría bloquear el acceso», «bloquear» means “to block” and describes the possible effect of the boxes. It is an infinitive following «podría» and takes «el acceso» as its object.
acceso
In «bloquear el acceso», «acceso» means “access”, referring to the ability to pass through the hallway. It is the noun used after «bloquear» in the pattern of blocking access.
especialmente
In «especialmente en una emergencia», «especialmente» means “especially” and gives extra importance to emergency situations. It highlights one particularly important circumstance.
una
In «una emergencia», «una» means “an” and introduces one unspecified emergency situation. It is the singular feminine article used before «emergencia».
emergencia
In «una emergencia», «emergencia» means “emergency”, the situation in which blocked access could be especially dangerous. It follows the indefinite article «una».
No
At the beginning of «No tengo claro de quién son», «No» provides the negation: the speaker does not have the information clearly. It negates the expression «tengo claro», rather than describing the boxes itself.
tengo
In «No tengo claro de quién son», «tengo» is the speaker’s form of tener and contributes the idea of having something clear or understood. Together with «claro», it expresses that the speaker is not sure; this use commonly combines tener with an adjective describing a mental state.
claro
In «No tengo claro de quién son», «claro» contributes the idea of clarity or certainty. The whole expression «tener claro» means to be sure about information, and here that information is introduced by «de quién son».
de
In «de quién son», «de» introduces the question of ownership and can be understood as “of” in “whose”. This is a common use of «de» before «quién» when asking who something belongs to.
quién
In «de quién son», «quién» asks which person the boxes belong to, so the phrase means “whose they are”. The accent marks this interrogative use.
son
In «de quién son», «son» means “are” and identifies the boxes in relation to their owner. With «de quién», it forms the expression asking whose something is.
así
In «así que no las he movido», «así» is part of the connector «así que», which means “so” and links the uncertainty to its consequence. The connector introduces the reasoned result that the speaker has not moved the boxes.
que
In «así que no las he movido», «que» completes the connector «así que», meaning “so”. It helps link the preceding uncertainty with the decision not to move the boxes.
las
In «no las he movido», «las» means “them” and refers back to «algunas cajas». It is placed before «he movido» as the object pronoun for the boxes.
he
In «no las he movido», «he» means “have” and is the auxiliary used with «movido». Its citation form is haber; together, «he movido» says that the speaker has not moved the boxes.
movido
In «no las he movido», «movido» means “moved” and describes the action that has not taken place. Its citation form is mover, and it combines with «he» to form «he movido».
Deberíamos
At the beginning of «Deberíamos enviar un mensaje neutral», «Deberíamos» expresses a recommendation that the speakers should send a message. Its citation form is deber, and it is followed by the infinitive «enviar».
enviar
In «Deberíamos enviar un mensaje», «enviar» means “to send” and describes the recommended action. It is the infinitive after «Deberíamos» and takes «un mensaje neutral» as its object.
un
In «un mensaje neutral», «un» means “a” and introduces one message that has not yet been sent. It is the singular masculine article used before «mensaje».
mensaje
In «un mensaje neutral», «mensaje» means “message”, specifically the communication intended for the residents. It is the object of «enviar» and is described by «neutral».
neutral
In «un mensaje neutral», «neutral» describes the message as impartial rather than accusatory. In this dialogue, that neutral approach is connected with focusing on safety instead of blame.
a
In «a los residentes», «a» marks the recipients of the message and means “to”. It commonly appears before the people who receive something sent.
los
In «los residentes», «los» means “the” and identifies the residents of the building as a group. It is the plural article used before «residentes».
residentes
In «a los residentes», «residentes» means “residents”, the people who should receive the message. It follows «los» and is the recipient marked by «a».
debería
In «El mensaje debería centrarse en la seguridad», «debería» expresses what the message should do as a recommendation. Its citation form is deber, and it is followed by the infinitive «centrarse».
centrarse
In «debería centrarse en la seguridad», «centrarse» means “to focus” or “to be centered” on a topic. Its citation form is centrarse, and the reusable pattern here is «centrarse en» followed by the topic, «la seguridad».
la
In «la seguridad», «la» means “the” and identifies the specific safety issue being emphasized. It is the singular article used before «seguridad».
seguridad
In «centrarse en la seguridad», «seguridad» means “safety”, the topic the message should emphasize. It follows «en» as the focus of the message.
y
In «la seguridad y no en buscar culpables», «y» means “and” and connects the safety focus with the alternative that is rejected. Here it helps contrast what the message should focus on with what it should not focus on.
buscar
In «no en buscar culpables», «buscar» means “to look for” or “to seek”, referring to trying to identify people to blame. It is an infinitive after «en» and takes «culpables» as its object.
culpables
In «buscar culpables», «culpables» means “people to blame”. The phrase refers to assigning responsibility to residents, which the proposed message should avoid.
Ese
At the beginning of «Ese enfoque suele recibir una mejor respuesta», «Ese» means “that” and points to the neutral, safety-focused approach just discussed. It is the singular form used before «enfoque».
enfoque
In «Ese enfoque», «enfoque» means “approach” or “framing”, referring to how the message presents the issue. Here it is the subject of «suele recibir» and is evaluated by the response it gets.
suele
In «suele recibir una mejor respuesta», «suele» expresses a usual tendency: this approach generally gets a better response. Its citation form is soler, and it is followed by the infinitive «recibir».
recibir
In «suele recibir una mejor respuesta», «recibir» means “to receive” or “to get”. It follows «suele» and takes «una mejor respuesta» as what is received.
mejor
In «una mejor respuesta», «mejor» means “better” and describes the response as more favorable than another possible response. It is placed before «respuesta».
respuesta
In «una mejor respuesta», «respuesta» means “response”, referring to how residents react to the message. It is the object of «recibir».
Si
At the beginning of «Si nadie las reclama», «Si» means “if” and introduces a condition. It sets up the circumstance under which the administration can decide the next step.
nadie
In «Si nadie las reclama», «nadie» means “nobody” and refers to no person claiming the boxes. It functions as the subject of «reclama» in the condition.
reclama
In «nadie las reclama», «reclama» means “claims”, specifically claims ownership of the boxes. Its citation form is reclamar; here it is used with «nadie» as the subject and «las» as the object.
administración
In «la administración puede decidir», «administración» means “management” or “administration”, referring to the building management responsible for the next decision. It is the subject of «puede decidir».
puede
In «la administración puede decidir», «puede» means “can” and expresses that management has the ability or authority to decide. Its citation form is poder, and it is followed by the infinitive «decidir».
decidir
In «puede decidir el siguiente paso», «decidir» means “to decide”. It is the infinitive after «puede» and takes «el siguiente paso» as the decision.
siguiente
In «el siguiente paso», «siguiente» means “next” and identifies the action that comes after the current stage. It modifies «paso» and follows the article «el».
paso
In «el siguiente paso», «paso» means “step”, referring to the next action in the process. It is modified by «siguiente» to specify its position in sequence.
mantiene
In «Eso mantiene el proceso justo y documentado», «mantiene» means “keeps” or “maintains”. Its citation form is mantener; here it describes the effect of the agreed process on «el proceso».
proceso
In «mantiene el proceso justo y documentado», «proceso» means “process”, referring to the way the issue is handled. It is the object of «mantiene» and is described by «justo y documentado».
justo
In «el proceso justo», «justo» means “fair” and describes the process as treating the situation fairly. It follows «proceso» and forms part of the description after «mantiene».
documentado
In «el proceso justo y documentado», «documentado» means “documented” and indicates that the process is recorded. It describes «proceso» alongside «justo».
Grammar Points
haber + participio pasado
Han dejado cajas en el pasillo.
ahn deh-HAH-doh KAH-hahs en el pah-SEE-yohThey have left boxes in the hallway.
El pretérito perfecto combina una forma de haber con el participio para hablar de una acción pasada relacionada con el presente.
deberíamos + infinitivo
Deberíamos enviar un mensaje.
deh-beh-REE-ah-mohs en-BYAR oon men-SAH-hehWe should send a message.
Deberíamos expresa una recomendación o una obligación suave y va seguido de un verbo en infinitivo.
Spanish Vocabulary
acceso
noun
ahk-SEH-soh
access
bloquear
verb
bloh-keh-AR
to block
caja
noun
KAH-hah
box
cajas
claro
adj
KLAH-roh
clear
No tengo claro
compartido
adj
kom-par-TEE-doh
shared
de quién
phrase
deh KYEN
whose
deber
verb
deh-BEHR
should; ought to
deberíamos
dejar
verb
deh-HAR
to leave
han dejado
Han dejado algunas cajas
emergencia
noun
eh-mehr-HEN-syah
emergency
especialmente
adv
es-peh-syal-MEN-teh
especially
mover
verb
moh-BEHR
to move
he movido
pasillo
noun
pah-SEE-yoh
hallway
Quiz
Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
to block
Show Answer
bloquearemergency
Show Answer
emergenciaclear
Show Answer
claroaccess