Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Mañana quiero sembrar flores en el jardín. - Tomorrow I want to plant flowers in the garden.

Here mañana means tomorrow. Although mañana can also mean the morning, when you want “in the morning” you usually say por la mañana or esta mañana. With a verb like “quiero sembrar,” placing mañana at the front signals “tomorrow I want to….”

Why is there a tilde on the ñ in mañana?

The squiggly line over the n is called a tilde and it turns n into ñ, a separate letter pronounced like the “ny” in canyon. Without it, the pronunciation and meaning would change.

Why do we use the present tense quiero instead of a future tense like quereré?

Spanish speakers rarely say quereré + infinitive. To express a desire to do something, they use querer in the present tense + infinitive (quiero + sembrar = I want to plant). Using quereré would sound odd or overly formal.

Why is the present tense quiero sembrar used to talk about tomorrow instead of a true future tense like sembraré?

In Spanish, the simple present can express a planned or near future action. Saying Mañana quiero sembrar… sounds more natural and conversational than Mañana sembraré flores…, although the latter is also grammatically correct.

What’s the difference between sembrar and plantar?

Both can mean “to plant,” but sembrar typically refers to sowing seeds, whereas plantar often means placing seedlings or plants into the ground. If you’re scattering seeds, you siembras; if you’re putting young plants or bulbs into soil, you plantas.

Why is there an accent on the i in jardín?

Jardín is an aguda (word stressed on the last syllable) ending in n, so it needs a written accent to show that the stress falls on -dín rather than the default penultimate syllable.

Why do we say en el jardín instead of al jardín?

En indicates location (“in the garden”). Al is the contraction of a + el, which typically indicates motion toward a place (“to the garden”). Here the emphasis is on where you want to plant, not the act of going there.

Why is flores plural? Could I say flor?

You can sow one flower (sembrar una flor), but it’s more common to plant multiple bloomings. Flores is the plural of flor, so you’re saying “flowers” generally or several of them.

What is the gender and number of flores?

Flor is feminine singular; flores is feminine plural. Adjectives and articles would have to match that (e.g., las flores bonitas).

Could I drop the article and say en jardín?

No. In Spanish, you normally need the definite article before parts of the house or garden when talking about location: en el jardín. Saying en jardín would be ungrammatical.

Can I move mañana to the end or middle of the sentence? For example, Quiero sembrar flores en el jardín mañana?

Yes, you can say Quiero sembrar flores en el jardín mañana, but placing mañana at the front emphasizes the time (Tomorrow, I want to…). Putting it at the end is also correct and more neutral.