Building employee buy-in for policy changes | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Las políticas suelen fracasar cuando los empleados sienten que se les imponen los cambios.

   Policies tend to fail when employees feel changes are being imposed on them.

   políticas

   policies

   suelen

   tend to

   fracasar

   fail

   cuando

   when

   empleados

   employees

   sienten

   feel

   se les imponen

   are imposed on them

   cambios

   changes

   More detail

   políticas means “policies” here. It is the plural of política; the plural ending -s shows that more than one policy is being discussed. Example: Las políticas cambian. — “Policies change.” suelen comes from soler, “to tend to” or “usually do.” Suelen is the present-tense third-person plural form, used here with las políticas. Soler is normally followed by an infinitive: suelen fracasar means “tend to fail,” not simply “usually fail” in every context; it presents failure as a recurring tendency. fracasar is the infinitive “to fail.” After soler, Spanish uses the infinitive: suele funcionar = “it tends to work.” The infinitive does not itself show the subject’s person or number; suelen supplies that agreement here. cuando introduces the time or condition under which something happens: “when.” It can introduce a clause with its own verb. Example: Mejoran cuando descansan. — “They improve when they rest.” empleados means “employees” and is the plural of empleado. In this sentence it is the subject of sienten, so the verb is plural. The word does not by itself specify the employees’ gender; the masculine-looking plural form can also be used for a mixed group in contexts where that convention applies. sienten comes from sentir, “to feel.” It is the present-tense third-person plural form, agreeing with los empleados. Sentir has a stem change in some present forms: siento, sientes, siente, but sentimos and sentís retain e; sienten is the form for “they feel.” se les imponen is a useful passive construction meaning “are imposed on them.” The underlying pattern is imponer algo a alguien — “to impose something on someone.” Here se forms a passive-style construction, les marks the people affected (“on them”), and imponen is plural because its grammatical subject is los cambios, not los empleados. Example: Se les imponen nuevas reglas. — “New rules are imposed on them.” cambios means “changes” and is the plural of cambio. In this construction, it is what is imposed. Its plural number is reflected in imponen; a singular version would be Se les impone el cambio — “The change is imposed on them.” Together, Las políticas suelen fracasar says “Policies tend to fail.” The clause cuando los empleados sienten que se les imponen los cambios specifies when: “when employees feel that changes are being imposed on them.” The full utterance therefore means: “Policies tend to fail when employees feel changes are being imposed on them.”

2. Es más probable que la gente se adapte cuando tiene una verdadera voz en el proceso.

   People are more likely to adjust when they have a real say in the process.

   más probable

   more likely

   gente

   people

   adapte

   adjusts; adapts

   tiene

   has

   verdadera

   real; genuine

   voz

   voice; say

   proceso

   process

   More detail

   más probable expresses a higher likelihood than a comparison point: probable is the base adjective, and más probable is its comparative form. In Es más probable que ..., Spanish uses es plus this adjective to frame the following event as likely. After this impersonal evaluation, que introduces the event being evaluated, and the verb in that clause is in the subjunctive. gente means “people” as a group. Although its meaning refers to multiple people, gente is grammatically feminine singular, so forms that agree with it are singular: la gente tiene, not la gente tienen. The English translation uses plural “people,” but the Spanish agreement remains singular. adapte is the third-person singular present subjunctive form of adaptarse, “to adapt” or “to adjust.” Here the subject is la gente, and the subjunctive is selected because this clause is presented as the event whose likelihood is being assessed after Es más probable que. The se belongs to the verb adaptarse; it is not a separate meaning of “people.” tiene is the third-person singular present indicative form of tener, “to have.” Its singular form agrees with la gente. A useful present-tense contrast is tengo “I have,” tienes “you have,” and tiene “he, she, or it has”; here the singular form is required by the noun gente. verdadera means “real” or “genuine” here. It is the feminine singular form of verdadero, agreeing with the feminine singular noun voz: una verdadera voz. The adjective follows the article and precedes the noun in this phrase; its feminine ending is carried by verdadera, not by voz. voz literally means “voice,” but in tener voz en it contributes the reusable idea of having a say or influence in something. This idiomatic use does not claim that the people literally possess a physical voice in the process. For example, Los estudiantes tienen voz en la decisión means “The students have a say in the decision.” proceso means “process.” In the fixed utterance it appears in el proceso, a masculine singular noun phrase. The preposition en connects voz with the area in which that say applies: tener voz en un proceso means “to have a say in a process.” Together, Es más probable que presents a likelihood, la gente se adapte identifies the event being judged likely, and cuando tiene una verdadera voz en el proceso gives the condition under which that event is more likely. The complete meaning is: “People are more likely to adjust when they have a real say in the process.”

3. Podríamos pedir sugerencias antes de finalizar el plan.

   We could invite suggestions before we finalize the plan.

   Podríamos

   we could

   pedir

   to ask for

   sugerencias

   suggestions

   antes de

   before

   finalizar

   to finalize

   plan

   plan

   More detail

   Podríamos is the first-person plural conditional of poder (podemos = we can; podríamos = we could). It presents the action as a possible or proposed option, not as a definite plan. The ending -íamos here marks “we” and the conditional form. Pedir is the infinitive “to ask for” or “to request.” It is useful after another conjugated verb such as podríamos: podríamos pedir = “we could ask for.” Example: Podemos pedir ayuda. — “We can ask for help.” Sugerencias is the plural noun “suggestions.” Its singular is sugerencia; the plural ending -s indicates more than one suggestion. In this utterance, it is what is being requested. Example: Necesitamos sugerencias. — “We need suggestions.” Antes de introduces an action that happens earlier than another action. When the following action has the same understood subject, Spanish commonly uses antes de + infinitive: antes de finalizar = “before finalizing.” This is a time relation, not a replacement of one action by the other. Finalizar is the infinitive “to finalize” or “to finish.” It is a regular -ar verb; the infinitive does not itself show who performs the action or when. Example: Debemos finalizar el informe. — “We must finalize the report.” Plan is the noun “plan.” In this sentence, el plan means the particular plan being finalized; the article el marks it as masculine singular, while plan itself remains unchanged here. Together, podríamos pedir sugerencias means “we could ask for suggestions,” and antes de finalizar el plan places that possible request earlier than the plan’s finalization. The whole utterance therefore means: “We could invite suggestions before we finalize the plan.”

4. Eso sacaría a la luz problemas prácticos que quizá no podamos detectar desde aquí.

   That would bring up practical issues we might not see from here.

   Eso

   that

   sacaría … a la luz

   would bring to light

   problemas

   problems

   prácticos

   practical

   quizá

   perhaps

   no podamos

   may not be able to

   detectar

   detect

   desde aquí

   from here

   More detail

   Eso is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” It points to something already identifiable from the surrounding context; its exact referent is not specified within this sentence. sacaría is the conditional form of sacar for third-person singular: sacar → sacaría. Here it presents the result as hypothetical: “would bring out.” The conditional is not the same as the future sacará (“will bring out”). a la luz forms the idiomatic expression sacar a la luz, literally “bring to the light,” meaning “bring to light” or “bring out.” Keep this prepositional part with sacar when reusing the expression: El informe sacó a la luz un error. — “The report brought an error to light.” problemas is the plural noun problema, “problem” → “problems.” The noun is masculine despite ending in -a; its plural article would be los, as in los problemas. prácticos is the masculine plural form of the adjective práctico, “practical.” It agrees with problemas in gender and number. Compare un problema práctico with unas soluciones prácticas. quizá means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It introduces uncertainty about the following possibility; it does not itself mean “not.” no podamos combines negation with the present subjunctive form podamos of poder: poder → podamos for first-person plural. In no podamos detectar, it means “we may not be able to detect.” The subjunctive is supported here by the uncertainty introduced by quizá; the exact form also identifies the subject as “we.” detectar is the infinitive “to detect.” After poder, Spanish uses an infinitive: podemos detectar = “we can detect,” and no podamos detectar = “we may not be able to detect.” desde aquí means “from here,” expressing the point or vantage point from which detection would take place. desde marks the starting point of a place, time, or perspective; for example, Lo vemos desde aquí. — “We can see it from here.” Together, Eso sacaría a la luz problemas prácticos means “That would bring practical problems to light.” The relative clause que quizá no podamos detectar desde aquí specifies the problems: they are problems that we may not be able to detect from here. Thus the whole utterance means, “That would bring up practical issues we might not see from here.”

5. También les da a las personas más motivos para que les importe el resultado.

   It also gives people more reason to care about the outcome.

   También

   also

   les da

   gives them

   personas

   people

   más

   more

   motivos

   reasons

   para que

   so that

   les importe

   matters to them

   resultado

   outcome

   More detail

   También adds this point to another one: “also” or “too.” It normally refers back to something already under discussion, as in También ayuda — “It also helps.” les da contains da, the third-person singular present form of dar (“to give”), and les, an indirect-object pronoun meaning “to them.” The singular form da agrees with the giver or grammatical subject, not with the plural recipients. A useful pattern is [subject] les da [something] — “[subject] gives them [something].” personas is the plural of persona, “person.” The phrase a las personas identifies the recipients more explicitly, while les already represents those recipients grammatically. Spanish often uses both an indirect-object pronoun and an a-phrase in this way: Les doy agua a las personas — “I give the people water.” más means “more” and marks a comparison with an unstated or previously understood amount. It does not change for number or gender: más tiempo, más razones — “more time,” “more reasons.” motivos is the plural of motivo, “reason” or “motive.” Here it means reasons that encourage a response. The singular is un motivo; the plural is motivos. For example, Tiene más motivos para continuar means “They have more reasons to continue.” para que introduces a subordinate clause expressing the purpose or intended result of the preceding phrase. Unlike simple para before an infinitive, para que is followed by a conjugated verb: Trabajo para que aprendan — “I work so that they learn.” les importe uses importe, the present subjunctive third-person singular form of importar. In this construction, the thing that matters is the grammatical subject: el resultado is singular, so importe is singular. les marks the people to whom it matters. Thus que les importe el resultado means “that the outcome matters to them.” The form importa would state this more directly, as in El resultado les importa — “The outcome matters to them”; para que makes the subjunctive appropriate here. resultado is the singular noun “outcome” or “result.” Its plural is resultados. In this sentence it is the result being cared about, not the people experiencing that concern. Putting the parts together: También les da a las personas más motivos means “It also gives people more reasons,” and para que les importe el resultado specifies the intended effect: “so that the outcome matters to them.” The complete utterance is therefore “It also gives people more reason to care about the outcome.”

6. Un plan viable aún necesita que la gente se sienta implicada.

   A workable plan still needs people to feel invested.

   plan

   plan

   viable

   workable; feasible

   aún

   still

   necesita

   needs

   la gente

   people

   se sienta

   feel

   implicada

   involved; invested

   More detail

   plan is a masculine noun meaning “plan.” Its plural is planes: un plan / dos planes. In this sentence, Un plan viable means “a workable plan”; the indefinite article introduces one plan without necessarily emphasizing a numerical count. viable means “workable” or “feasible” here. It is an adjective whose form is the same for masculine and feminine singular nouns: un plan viable, una propuesta viable. Its plural form is viables. aún means “still,” indicating that the need remains at this point. It is also commonly written aun without an accent in a different use meaning roughly “even,” so the accent matters here. necesita is the third-person singular present form of necesitar, “to need.” The singular subject here is un plan, so Spanish uses necesita; the first-person form would be necesito, and the plural third-person form would be necesitan. Example: El equipo necesita tiempo. — “The team needs time.” la gente means “people” as a collective noun. Although it refers to multiple people, gente is grammatically singular and feminine, so it takes singular agreement: la gente necesita, not la gente necesitan. Example: La gente está preparada. — “People are ready.” se sienta is the third-person singular present subjunctive form of the pronominal verb sentirse, “to feel.” The pattern necesitar que + clause commonly presents what is needed and therefore takes the subjunctive in the following clause: El plan necesita que la gente se sienta... The form is singular because its subject is la gente. Here se belongs to sentirse; it is not a separate translation for “themselves.” implicada is the feminine singular form of the adjective implicado, meaning “involved” or, in this context, “invested.” It agrees with la gente, which is grammatically feminine singular. The masculine singular form is implicado, and the plural forms are implicados and implicadas when agreement requires them. Example: La comunidad está implicada. — “The community is involved.” Together, necesita que introduces a needed situation rather than a simple noun: “needs [people to feel...].” la gente se sienta implicada means “people feel invested.” Thus Un plan viable aún necesita que la gente se sienta implicada. means “A workable plan still needs people to feel invested.”

7. La parte difícil es mantener la conversación constructiva y concreta.

   The hard part is keeping the discussion constructive and specific.

   La parte

   the part

   difícil

   difficult; hard

   mantener

   to keep; to maintain

   la conversación

   the conversation; discussion

   constructiva

   constructive

   concreta

   specific; concrete

   More detail

   La parte means “the part.” parte is a feminine noun; its plural is partes. The definite article la marks this noun phrase as a specific part in the sentence. Example: La parte importante means “the important part.” difícil means “hard” or “difficult” here. It is the adjective describing parte; the feminine singular form is the same in spelling as the masculine singular form. Its plural is difíciles. Example: un problema difícil means “a difficult problem.” mantener is the infinitive “to keep” or “to maintain.” After es, the infinitive names the activity being identified as the difficult part: es mantener... = “is keeping...” or, more literally, “is to keep...”. The infinitive does not mark a particular subject or time by itself. Example: Es importante mantener la calma. means “It is important to remain calm.” la conversación means “the conversation” or “the discussion.” conversación is a feminine noun; its plural is conversaciones. The definite article la agrees with the singular noun. Example: La conversación continúa. means “The conversation continues.” constructiva means “constructive.” It describes conversación, so it is feminine singular to agree with that noun. The masculine singular form is constructivo, and the plural forms are constructivos and constructivas according to the noun’s gender. Example: una crítica constructiva means “constructive criticism.” concreta means “specific” or “concrete” here. It also describes conversación, so it is feminine singular. The masculine singular form is concreto; the plural forms are concretos and concretas. In this sentence, the intended sense is focused and specific rather than vague. Example: Necesitamos una respuesta concreta. means “We need a specific answer.” Together, La parte difícil identifies what is hard, and es mantener introduces the activity that constitutes that difficult part. la conversación is the object of mantener, while constructiva y concreta gives two coordinated descriptions of the conversation. The whole utterance means: “The hard part is keeping the discussion constructive and specific.”

8. Entonces deberíamos hacer preguntas concretas en lugar de pedir opiniones de forma general.

   Then we should ask focused questions instead of making a broad feedback request.

   Entonces

   then

   deberíamos

   we should

   hacer

   ask or make

   preguntas

   questions

   concretas

   specific

   en lugar de

   instead of

   pedir

   ask for

   opiniones

   opinions or feedback

   forma

   form or way

   general

   general or broad

   More detail

   Entonces means “then” here, linking this suggestion to what has just been discussed. It can also introduce a conclusion or consequence: Entonces, empezamos. — “Then, we’ll start.” deberíamos is the first-person plural conditional of deber: deber → deberíamos. With the subject understood as nosotros, it expresses “we should” or “we ought to,” rather than a simple present obligation. Example: Deberíamos hablarlo. — “We should discuss it.” hacer normally means “to do” or “to make,” but in hacer preguntas it means “to ask questions.” The infinitive follows deberíamos, so only deberíamos carries the conditional form. Example: Quiero hacer una pregunta. — “I want to ask a question.” preguntas is the plural of pregunta, “question.” In this sentence it is the direct object of hacer: the proposed action is asking questions. concretas means “specific” or “focused” here. It is the feminine plural form of concreto, agreeing with preguntas (feminine plural). The masculine singular, feminine singular, and masculine plural forms are concreto, concreta, and concretos. en lugar de is a reusable construction meaning “instead of.” It is followed here by the infinitive pedir: en lugar de + infinitive. Unlike an expression that excludes the first option entirely, this construction presents the proposed alternative in contrast with it. pedir means “to ask for” or “to request.” Here it takes opiniones as what is requested: asking for opinions. Example: Podemos pedir ayuda. — “We can ask for help.” opiniones is the plural of opinión, “opinions.” In the fixed translation, the intended sense is feedback: the sentence contrasts asking focused questions with making a broad request for feedback. forma means “way” or “manner” here. The phrase de forma general describes how the request would be made: in a broad or general way. Forma is feminine, but this noun itself is not being used to identify a quantity or a person. general means “general” or “broad” here. It modifies singular feminine forma; general has the same written form for masculine and feminine singular, while the plural is generales. Together, deberíamos hacer preguntas concretas means “we should ask focused questions.” en lugar de pedir opiniones de forma general gives the alternative being replaced: “instead of asking for opinions broadly.” With Entonces, the complete utterance means: “Then we should ask focused questions instead of making a broad feedback request.”