Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Soñamos con viajar a una isla pequeña en medio del océano. - We dream of traveling to a small island in the middle of the ocean.

In Spanish, the verb soñar meaning “to dream (about/of)” is always followed by the preposition con when you mention the thing you’re dreaming of. The pattern is:
• soñar con + noun (soñar con aventuras)
• soñar con + infinitive (soñar con viajar)
You can’t say soñamos viajar without the con in this sense.

Can soñamos ever be preterite (“we dreamed”) instead of present (“we dream”)? How do you know which one it is?

Yes—soñamos is ambiguous because the first‐person plural form is identical in present and preterite. Context or time markers clear it up:
• Present: Soñamos con viajar (“We dream of traveling…”)
• Preterite: Soñamos con viajar el año pasado (“We dreamed of traveling last year…”)
Without extra clues, you decide based on the surrounding text or a time adverb like ayer, el año pasado, etc.

Why is viajar in the infinitive form and not conjugated?

After a preposition (here, con), Spanish uses the infinitive as a noun. So the infinitive viajar functions like “traveling” in English:
• soñar con viajar = “to dream about traveling”
You never conjugate viajar in that slot; it remains in its base form.

Why is the adjective pequeña placed after isla instead of before?

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives normally follow the noun. So una isla pequeña is the neutral order:
noun + adjective
Putting pequeña before (una pequeña isla) is also correct, but it adds emphasis or a poetic tone:
• una isla pequeña = “a small island” (plain statement)
• una pequeña isla = “a tiny little island” (a bit more emotive)

Could I drop the article una and just say isla pequeña?

No. In Spanish, countable singular nouns generally require an article. You need una:
• viajar a una isla pequeña (“to travel to a small island”)
Omitting it (viajar a isla pequeña) sounds ungrammatical.

What does en medio del océano literally mean, and why is del used?

Literally, en medio de means “in the middle of.” When de meets the masculine singular article el, they contract to del:
• de + el océano → del océano
So en medio del océano = “in the middle of the ocean.”

Could I say en el medio del océano instead?

Yes, en el medio del océano is grammatically correct and means the same thing, but en medio de is the more idiomatic, concise expression.

Why does océano carry an accent mark on the e?

Spanish rules say that words ending in a vowel, n, or s naturally stress the penultimate syllable. Without an accent, océano would be stressed on a (oceáno), but the correct stress is on cé (the third syllable), so you need ó:
• o-cé-a-no

How do I pronounce the ñ in soñamos?

The letter ñ is a separate Spanish consonant, pronounced like the “ny” in canyon. So soñamos sounds like so-nyah-mos (soɲaˈmos).

If I wanted to say “we have dreamed of traveling,” how would it change?

Use the present perfect:
• Hemos soñado con viajar a una isla pequeña en medio del océano.

Can I replace isla pequeña with pequeña isla without changing the meaning?

Yes, both mean “small island.” Putting pequeña before the noun gives it a slightly more emotional or poetic flavor, but the basic meaning stays the same.