Log inSign up

Guardo mi cartera en el cajón antes de salir de casa.

Guardo mi cartera en el cajón antes de salir de casa.
I put my wallet in the drawer before leaving home.
FromLesson 32inHardcore Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Guardo mi cartera en el cajón antes de salir de casa.

What’s the difference between guardar and poner?
Guardar implies storing or putting something away for safekeeping, as in “I’m putting it away where it’s safe.” Poner simply means “to put” or “to place” without that nuance of “keeping” or “storing.”
Why is mi cartera used instead of mi billetera?
Both cartera and billetera can mean “wallet,” but regional preference varies. In many Latin American countries, cartera is more common; billetera appears too, but less frequently in everyday speech.
What does cajón mean and how do I pronounce it?
Cajón means “drawer.” The accent on the ó indicates stress on the last syllable: ca-JÓN. In plural it becomes cajones (the accent is dropped because stress then falls on the penultimate syllable).
Why is the preposition en used before el cajón?
En means “in” or “inside.” You say en el cajón to express that the wallet goes inside the drawer. If you used sobre, it would mean “on top of” the drawer instead.
Why do we use the infinitive salir after antes de?
After prepositions like de, Spanish uses the infinitive. So antes de salir literally means “before leaving.” You wouldn’t conjugate the verb because the infinitive functions like a noun here.
Why is it salir de casa and not salir a casa?
Salir de indicates “to exit from” a place. Thus salir de casa means “leave home.” Using salir a would mean “go out to” a place, changing the meaning (e.g., salir a casa could imply going out toward home).
Why is there no article before casa in salir de casa?
In the fixed expression salir de casa (“leave home”), casa doesn’t take an article. It’s similar to English “leave home,” not “leave the home.”
Why do we say mi cartera but just casa without “my”?
You need mi to specify ownership of the wallet. Casa in salir de casa is part of a set phrase meaning “home,” and doesn’t require a possessive because it refers to one’s own home by default.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“How does verb conjugation work in Spanish?”
Spanish verbs change form based on the subject, tense, and mood. Regular verbs follow predictable patterns depending on whether they end in ‑ar, ‑er, or ‑ir. For example, "hablar" (to speak) becomes "hablo" (I speak), "hablas" (you speak), and "habla" (he/she speaks) in the present tense.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Spanish

Master Spanish — from Guardo mi cartera en el cajón antes de salir de casa to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning Spanish freeBrowse the full course