Spanish Phrases for Travelers - A Flat Tire!

Were you able to change the tire?
Did you change the tire?
Why didn't you change the tire?
I didn't change the tire because I couldn't find the jack.
Do you think that you will be able to find the jack?
I thought that I would be able to find the jack in the trunk.
Did you find the jack in the trunk?
Where was the jack?
Was it in the trunk?
I was hoping that you would find the jack in the trunk because we need it in order to change the tire.
What else do you need?
I am going to need a wrench to loosen the nuts.
Where is the wrench?
Have you found the wrench?
I can't loosen the nuts without the wrench.
I found this wrench in the trunk.
I can't get the wheel off because the nuts are rusted.
Do you have a little bit of oil that you can put (toss) on the nuts?
I can't loosen this nut because the thread (*) is very rusted.
I think that you will be able to loosen it if you put a drop of oil on it.
It doesn't come off.
Did you put a drop of oil on the nut?
Yes, I did (it) but it doesn't come off.
I was hoping that the nut would come off if I put a drop of oil on it.
Were you able to take off the other nuts?
Yes, I got them off without difficulty.
Where is the spare tire?
It is in the trunk.
I have found a bigger wrench.
I think that with it I can get the nut off.
You see, the nut is coming off.
I was hoping that you would be able to get the nut off with the big wrench.
John managed to get the nut off with the big wrench, so that now you can take the wheel off.
Have you brought the spare tire?
Yes, I have brought it.
Where do you want me to leave it?
Leave it here.
After installing the spare tire, we are going to need the wrench to tighten the nuts again.
I'll bring it to you, I left it in the trunk.
I wanted you to leave ithere because we still need it.
I'll bring it to you right away.
Thanks, now we can tighten the nuts.
The nuts are very tight. They are not going to come off.
Now we have to take the other tire to a workshop to fix it.
Is there a workshop near here?
Do you know if there is a workshop where they fix tires?
I think that there is a workshop just around the corner.
I haven't seen it. Sir, do you know if there is a workshop near here where they fix tires.
Yes sir, there is a workshop where they fix tires in the next block.
I hope that they don't charge too much because I haven't brought much money.

END

¿ Pudiste cambiar la llanta?

¿ Cambiaste la llanta?

¿ Por qué no cambiaste la llanta?

¿ Podrás cambiar la llanta?

No cambié la llanta porque no pude encontrar la gata.

Yo creía que podría encontrar la gata en la maletera.

¿ Encontraste la gata en la maletera?

¿ Dónde estaba la gata?

¿ Estaba en la maletera?

Yo esperaba que encontraras la gata en la maletera porque la necesitamos para cambiar la llanta.

¿ Qué más necesitas?

Yo voy a necesitar una llave para aflojar las tuercas.

&iqeust; Dónde está la llave?

¿ Has encontrado la llave?

Yo no puedo aflojar las tuercas sin la llave.

Yo encontré esta llave en la maletera.

Yo no puedo sacar la rueda porque las tuercas están oxidadas.

¿ Tienes un poquito de aceite que puedas echarles a las tuercas?

No puedo aflojar esta tuerca porque la rosca está muy oxidada.

Yo creo que tú podrás aflojarla si le echas una gota de aceite.

Yo creo que tú la podrás aflojar si le echas una gota de aceite.
Notice that there are two possibilities. You can put the direct object pronoun "la" ("it") after the infinitive (the R form-connected as one word) or in front of the verb phrase (before "will be able").

No sale.

¿ Le echaste una gota de aceite a la tuerca?

Sí, yo lo hice, pero no sale.

Yo esperaba que la tuerca saliera si yo le echara una gota de aceite.

¿ Pudiste sacar las otras tuercas?

Sí, las saqué sin dificultad.

¿ Dónde está la llanta de repuesto?

Está en la maletera.

He encontrado una llave más grande.

Yo creo que con ella yo puedo sacar la tuerca.

Ves, la tuerca sale.

Yo esperaba que tú pudieras sacar la tuerca con la llave grande.

Juan logró sacar la tuerca con la llave grande, así que ahora puedes sacar la rueda.

¿ Has traído la llanta de repuesto?

Sí, la he traído.

¿ Dónde quieres que yo la deje?

Déjala aquí.

Después de instalar la llanta de repuesto vamos a necesitar la llave para ajustar las tuercas otra vez.

Te la traigo, la dejé en la maletera.

Yo quería que tú la dejaras aquí porque la necesitamos todavía.

Te la traigo en seguida.

Gracias, ahora podemos ajustar las tuercas.

Las tuercas están muy ajustadas. No se van a salir.

No van a salirse.----No se salen.
Notice that there are several possible ways to express this idea, but in all three cases we make the verb "salir" reflexive. It's difficult to come up with an exact translation, but the idea in this case (and some others) is that the addition of the reflexive pronoun "s" indicates that the action is unexpected or accidental (usually, but not always with bad consequences). For this reason we often call this the "accidental" reflexive.

Think of the verb "fall". In Spanish it is "caer". If we talk about the snow falling, we would say, "La nieve cae". It is normal for snow to fall. But if we say that someone falls and is injured, we would say, "Juan se cae". It is an accident and there is a bad consequence.

Ahora nosotros tenemos que llevar la otra llanta a un taller para arreglarla.

¿ Hay un taller cerca de aquí?

¿ Sabes si hay un taller donde arreglen llantas?
Notice that we have the subjunctive form "arreglen" because it is in an adjective phrase which describes a noun that is not specific. We don't know if there is a workshop ("taller") that does this kind of work or have a particular one in mind.

Yo creo que hay un taller a la vuelta de la equina.

Yo no lo he visto. Señor, ¿ Sabe usted si hay un taller cerca de aquí donde arreglen llantas?
Again, "arreglen" is used because we have an adjective clause which describes an unknown and unspecified noun.

Yo espero que no cobren demasiado porque no he traído mucho dinero.