Breakdown of Hubo un malentendido con mi abogada, pero lo aclaramos por teléfono.
Questions & Answers about Hubo un malentendido con mi abogada, pero lo aclaramos por teléfono.
Hubo is the preterite form of haber and presents the misunderstanding as a single, completed event in the past: Hubo un malentendido = “There was (at one point) a misunderstanding.”
Había (imperfect) would describe a background situation or ongoing state:
- Había un malentendido entre nosotros = “There was a misunderstanding between us (for some time / as a situation).”
In this sentence, the idea is “a misunderstanding happened” (a specific incident), so hubo is the natural choice.
You can say Había un malentendido con mi abogada, but it slightly changes the feel:
Hubo un malentendido…
Sounds like: “A misunderstanding occurred / popped up (at that moment).”
→ One event.Había un malentendido…
Sounds like: “There was an ongoing misunderstanding / We were in a state of misunderstanding.”
→ A more continuous situation or background.
In everyday conversation about a specific incident that later got resolved, hubo is more natural.
Lo is a direct object pronoun meaning “it”, and here it refers back to un malentendido (the misunderstanding).
- un malentendido = a masculine singular noun
- The matching pronoun is lo (him/it, masculine singular).
So lo aclaramos literally means “we clarified it,” where it = “the misunderstanding.”
Aclaramos (preterite) presents the clarification as a completed action:
- lo aclaramos por teléfono = “we cleared it up by phone” (finished action).
The imperfect aclarábamos would suggest a repeated or ongoing process, which doesn’t fit well here unless you mean you were in the habit of clarifying things by phone:
- Siempre aclarábamos los malentendidos por teléfono = “We always used to clear up misunderstandings by phone.”
For a one-time event that solved the problem, aclaramos (preterite) is correct.
In -ar verbs:
- yo aclaré = I clarified
- nosotros/nosotras aclaramos = we clarified
So in the preterite, the -amos ending is 1st person plural (we), not “I.”
Since Spanish usually drops subject pronouns when the verb ending makes it clear, (nosotros) is omitted:
- (Nosotros) aclaramos = We clarified
Contextually, “we” = you and your lawyer.
Spanish nouns referring to people often mark gender:
- abogado = male lawyer
- abogada = female lawyer
Using mi abogada clearly indicates that your lawyer is a woman. If your lawyer were a man, you’d say mi abogado.
This is purely grammatical gender agreement with the person’s real-life gender.
In this sentence, no. Malentendido is masculine, so the pronoun must be lo:
- un malentendido → lo aclaramos
You’d use la for a feminine direct object:
- una situación → la aclaramos (we clarified the situation)
- una duda → la aclaramos (we cleared the doubt)
Since malentendido is masculine, lo is the correct pronoun.
All are possible, but the focus shifts slightly:
Hubo un malentendido con mi abogada
“There was a misunderstanding with my lawyer.”
→ More impersonal, just states that a misunderstanding occurred.Tuve un malentendido con mi abogada
“I had a misunderstanding with my lawyer.”
→ Focuses on you personally.Tuvimos un malentendido
“We had a misunderstanding.”
→ Focuses on both of you as a group.
In many situations, they’re interchangeable in meaning; it’s mostly about emphasis and style.
Por teléfono is the standard, idiomatic way to say “by phone / over the phone” in Spanish:
- Lo aclaramos por teléfono = We cleared it up by phone.
Alternatives:
- en el teléfono would sound like “on the phone (physically)” or in some specific context with the device, not the usual way to express communication.
- al teléfono is used in contexts like “contestar al teléfono” (answer the phone), not for the means of communication.
So for “we clarified it over the phone,” por teléfono is the natural choice.
Yes, but it’s a bit different in style and specificity:
Lo aclaramos por teléfono
Neutral, very common: “We cleared it up over the phone.”Lo aclaramos en una llamada
“We cleared it up in a call.”
Slightly more explicit that it was one call, and a bit less typical than por teléfono, but still correct and natural.
In everyday speech, por teléfono is the most usual phrase.
You can say Fue un malentendido con mi abogada, but it usually implies:
- “It turned out it was just a misunderstanding with my lawyer.”
So:
- Hubo un malentendido = A misunderstanding happened / existed.
- Fue un malentendido = It was (just) a misunderstanding (often explaining or justifying something).
In your original sentence, the focus is on the existence of a misunderstanding that later got resolved, so hubo fits very well.
Both are possible but have slightly different feels:
Hubo un malentendido con mi abogada
Broadly: “There was a misunderstanding with my lawyer.”
→ Very natural, concise, and common.Hubo un malentendido entre mi abogada y yo
Literally: “There was a misunderstanding between my lawyer and me.”
→ More explicit that both of you misunderstood each other.
Most of the time in casual speech, con mi abogada is enough and sounds more fluent.
Approximate pronunciation (Latin American, standard):
Hubo → OO-boh
- h is silent, stress on HU: HU-bo
malentendido → mah-len-ten-DEE-doh
- Stress on di: ma-len-ten-DI-do
abogada → ah-bo-GAH-dah
- Stress on ga: a-bo-GA-da
- b between vowels is soft, like a light English “b/v.”
aclaramos → ah-kla-RAH-mohs
- Stress on ra: a-cla-RA-mos
teléfono → te-LE-fo-noh
- Stress on lé: te-LE-fo-no
Syllable stress is key in Spanish; getting it right helps your Spanish sound much more natural.