Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): De repente, el proyector falla y muestra colores raros, pero la ingeniera vuelve a encenderlo en minutos. - Suddenly, the projector fails and shows odd colors, but the engineer turns it back on in minutes.

It means “suddenly.” Common synonyms: de pronto, de golpe, de un momento a otro, repentinamente. Note: in parts of Colombia, de pronto can also mean “maybe/perhaps.” Also, derrepente (one word) is incorrect spelling.

What exactly is falla here—verb or noun?

Verb. It’s fallar in the 3rd person singular present: (él/ella) falla = “it malfunctions/breaks down.” There is also a noun una falla (“a fault/defect”), but in this sentence it’s the verb.

Is it natural to say el proyector falla for a machine?

Yes. Regional alternatives:

Mexico: se descompone, falla
Colombia/Caribbean: se daña
Peru/Bolivia: se malogra
Spain: se estropea All mean “it breaks down/malfunctions.”

Why is muestra used instead of enseña?

Mostrar = “to show/display (on a screen).” Enseñar = “to teach” or “to show someone how/where.” A projector muestra imágenes/colores. Using enseña here would sound odd. Grammar note: muestra is the 3rd person singular present of mostrar (o→ue stem change).

What does colores raros mean? Does raro mean “rare”?

Here raro means “weird/odd/strange,” not “rare.” Good paraphrases: colores extraños, colores poco normales. For “rare” as in “uncommon,” Spanish more often uses poco común or escaso.

Who is the subject of falla and muestra?

El proyector is the subject of both verbs. Spanish keeps the same subject across coordinated verbs with y unless it changes later—as it does to la ingeniera in the second clause.

Why is the present tense used here? Could I use the preterite instead?

It’s the narrative/historic present, common in storytelling. A straightforward past version would be: De repente, el proyector falló y mostró colores raros, pero la ingeniera volvió a encenderlo en minutos. Preterite is neutral past; present makes it more vivid.

Why is there a comma before pero, and could I use sino here?

A comma before pero is standard to contrast clauses. Sino is only used after a negation to replace what was denied. No negation here, so pero is correct. Examples:

No falló, sino que funcionó bien.
Falló, pero la ingeniera lo arregló.

Why la ingeniera and not la ingeniero?

Profession nouns mark gender: ingeniero (man), ingeniera (woman). La ingeniero is nonstandard; la ingeniera is the recommended form.

What does volver a + infinitive mean in vuelve a encenderlo?

It means “to do [the action] again.” Volver a encenderlo = “to turn it on again.” Near-synonyms: encenderlo otra vez, encenderlo de nuevo, encenderlo nuevamente. Volver a explicitly highlights repetition and is very idiomatic.

Where can the object pronoun go in vuelve a encenderlo?

Two correct spots:

Before the conjugated verb: lo vuelve a encender
Attached to the infinitive: vuelve a encenderlo (as written) Don’t use both. With negation: no lo vuelve a encender.

What does lo refer to here, and what if the noun were feminine?

Lo is the direct object for a masculine thing, referring to el proyector. If it were feminine (e.g., la lámpara), you’d say la vuelve a encender / vuelve a encenderla.

Why not say le vuelve a encender?

Because le is an indirect-object pronoun. The device being turned on is a direct object, so lo is correct. Some leísmo exists in Spain for masculine people, but not for things—and it’s not standard in Latin America.

What does en minutos really mean—“in minutes” or “within minutes”? Any alternatives?

“Within minutes” (very soon). Natural options:

en unos minutos = “in a few minutes”
a los pocos minutos / al cabo de unos minutos = “after a few minutes” For duration (“for minutes”), use durante unos minutos. Avoid por minutos in this sense; it’s regional.

Is encender the only way to say “turn on” in Latin America?

No. Prender is very common: lo vuelve a prender. Both encender and prender work for lights/devices. “Turn off” is apagar.

Any pronunciation tips for falla, muestra, vuelve?

ll in falla is usually like English “y” (in Argentina/Uruguay it’s often “sh/zh”).
v in vuelve sounds like a soft b; you’ll hear something like “bwel-be.”
muestra: MUES-tra; vuelve: VUEL-ve. The ue is a diphthong in both.

Is encenderlo written together or separately?

Together. Object pronouns attach to infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative commands: encenderlo, encendiéndolo, ¡enciéndelo! When placed before a conjugated verb, they are separate: lo enciende.

Can I move the time phrase earlier, like En minutos, la ingeniera lo vuelve a encender?

Yes. It’s grammatical and adds emphasis to the timeframe. The most neutral placement is at the end: ... lo vuelve a encender en minutos. Moving it forward is a bit more marked in tone.