Regresa enseguida después de nadar, para no perder la cena.

Come back right away after swimming, so you don’t miss dinner.

Breakdown of Regresa enseguida después de nadar, para no perder la cena.

• tú: you
• después de: after
• la cena: the dinner
• nadar: to swim
• regresar: to return
• enseguida: immediately

Questions & Answers about Regresa enseguida después de nadar, para no perder la cena.

Why is regresa used here instead of something like vuelve?

Both regresa and vuelve mean come back or return in Spanish. In Latin America, regresar is widely used to indicate returning to a place. Vuelve is also correct, but regresa might sound a bit more direct or common in many regions of Latin America.

Is regresa an imperative or just the present tense?

In this context, regresa is acting as the tú imperative form, meaning it’s a direct command telling someone to come back. Spanish imperatives for tú often look like the present indicative forms (e.g., habla, come, vive, regresa).

What does enseguida mean, and why is it used?

Enseguida translates to right away or immediately. It emphasizes that the action of returning should happen without delay after swimming. It implies there should be no long pause between finishing the swim and returning.

Why does the sentence say después de nadar rather than something like después nadar?

In Spanish, when you use después de (or antes de), you follow it with an infinitive if you’re referring to an action. So, después de nadar literally means after swimming. Simply saying después nadar would be incorrect; the de plus an infinitive structure is standard.

Why is para used before no perder la cena?

Para here shows the purpose or goal of doing something, translating roughly to so as not to or in order not to. In other words, the reason for returning right away is to avoid missing dinner. You often use para plus an infinitive to express this kind of purpose in Spanish.