Breakdown of En el último examen de matemáticas yo estaba por reprobar, pero estudié una hora más y alcancé el promedio mínimo.
Questions & Answers about En el último examen de matemáticas yo estaba por reprobar, pero estudié una hora más y alcancé el promedio mínimo.
In Spanish, the preposition en covers several English uses, including in, on, and at.
With tests or exams, you normally say:
- en el examen = on the exam / in the exam
Examples:
- Saqué buena nota en el examen. = I got a good grade on the exam.
- Me fue mal en el examen. = I did badly on the exam.
Using a or para here (a/para el examen) would sound wrong or would change the meaning:
- para el examen usually means for the exam (for its purpose: I studied for the exam = Estudié para el examen).
In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives come after the noun, but some “limiting” adjectives usually come before the noun. These include:
- ordinal-like ideas: primer, último, segundo
- quantity: mucho, poco, tanto
- possessives: mi, tu, su, etc.
So:
- el último examen = the last exam (normal)
- el examen último would sound poetic, marked, or simply odd in everyday speech.
So the standard, natural order is el último examen, with último before the noun.
Examen is a masculine noun in Spanish:
- el examen (singular)
- los exámenes (plural)
Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun:
- el último examen (masculine singular)
- los últimos exámenes (masculine plural)
So you say:
- el último examen (not la última examen)
- But: la última prueba (because prueba is feminine).
Yes, you can omit yo:
- En el último examen de matemáticas estaba por reprobar…
Spanish is a pro‑drop language: the subject pronoun is often left out because the verb ending already shows who the subject is (estaba can be I was, he was, she was, you (formal) were, so context decides).
Adding yo usually:
- Emphasizes the subject: I was the one about to fail.
- Adds contrast: maybe others did fine, but I was about to fail.
- Can sound a bit more personal or emotional in storytelling.
So both forms are grammatically correct; the version with yo just adds a bit of focus on the speaker.
Estaba is the imperfect; estuve is the preterite.
Here, estaba is used because it describes a temporary situation in progress at that time:
- yo estaba por reprobar = I was (at that point) about to fail.
The imperfect is common for:
- background situations
- states or conditions at a given moment
- things that don’t have a clear, punctual start–end as a single event
You could see estuve a punto de reprobar (with a punto de) in some contexts, but estaba por reprobar with the imperfect fits the idea of being in that risky situation at that time.
Estar por + infinitive usually means:
- to be about to do something
- to be on the verge of doing something
So:
- estaba por reprobar ≈ I was about to fail / I was on the verge of failing.
Common alternatives with very similar meaning:
- estaba a punto de reprobar = I was about to fail.
- casi repruebo (or casi reprobé, depending on context) = I almost failed.
In this sentence, estaba por reprobar highlights how close the speaker was to failing right up to that moment.
Reprobar in Latin America typically means:
- to fail an exam / a course / a subject
Examples:
- Reprobé el examen. = I failed the exam.
- Si no estudias, vas a reprobar. = If you don’t study, you’re going to fail.
Notes:
- In Spain, people more often say suspender un examen for to fail an exam.
- Reprobar can be both transitive (reprobar un examen) and intransitive, as in your sentence (estaba por reprobar = I was about to fail).
Don’t confuse it with:
- fallar, which is usually to fail at something (a shot, an attempt), not normally for exams:
- Fallé el tiro, fallé en el intento.
Pero and sino are both “but,” but they’re used differently.
Use pero to add a contrast:
- First part: something is true.
- Second part: another thing is also true, and it partially contradicts or contrasts it.
Example:
- Estaba por reprobar, pero estudié una hora más.
= I was about to fail, but I studied one more hour.
Use sino when the first clause is negative and the second one replaces/corrects it:
- No estudié tres horas, sino una. = I didn’t study three hours, but rather one.
In your sentence, the first clause is not negative, so pero is the correct conjunction.
Estudié (preterite) presents the studying as a completed, specific action:
- estudié una hora más = I studied one more hour (finished that block of time).
The preterite is used for:
- finished actions
- events seen as complete units in the past
If you used estudiaba una hora más, it would sound like an ongoing background action, and in this specific sentence it would be odd or unclear; it would not match the idea of a discrete action that changed the outcome.
So estudié is correct and natural: it was a clear, one-time extra hour of studying.
Both are possible here, but they have slightly different nuances:
una hora más = one more hour / an extra hour
Emphasizes adding one hour to what you already had.otra hora = another hour
Very close in meaning here; it can sound a bit more like one more hour, again.
In this sentence:
- estudié una hora más is the most neutral and common way to say I studied one more hour / I studied an extra hour.
- estudié otra hora would also be understood as essentially the same thing.
Alcanzar literally means to reach. It can be:
- physical: alcanzar la meta = to reach the finish line
- figurative/abstract: alcanzar una meta / un nivel = to reach a goal / a level
So in your sentence:
- alcancé el promedio mínimo = I reached the minimum average (grade).
Other verbs you might also see:
- logré el promedio mínimo = I achieved the minimum average.
- saqué la nota mínima para aprobar = I got the minimum grade to pass.
But with promedio, alcanzar is very natural: it highlights reaching a required level.
Promedio = average (often average grade in a school context).
Mínimo = minimum.
So:
- el promedio mínimo ≈ the minimum passing average / the minimum required average.
Word order:
- In Spanish, most adjectives go after the noun:
- el promedio mínimo
- la nota final
- la calificación mínima
You could sometimes see el mínimo promedio, but in this meaning (minimum required average), the normal order is el promedio mínimo.
Also note that in some regions, people may talk more about:
- la nota mínima para aprobar
- la calificación mínima
But promedio mínimo is very clear in many Latin American contexts.
Several points:
matemáticas is usually plural
The school subject “Math” is normally las matemáticas in Spanish. So:- examen de matemáticas = math exam Some countries also use matemática (singular) as a subject name, so examen de matemática can appear regionally, but de matemáticas is very common.
The preposition de
de is used to show what the exam is about:- examen de matemáticas = exam of math / math exam
- examen de historia = history exam
You wouldn’t normally say examen en matemáticas in this meaning. en is for where or in what context (like en el examen = in/on the exam), while de expresses the subject matter of the exam.