Breakdown of Nos quedamos en casa hasta que pase la tormenta.
Questions & Answers about Nos quedamos en casa hasta que pase la tormenta.
Why does Spanish use quedarse here instead of just quedar?
What does nos mean in Nos quedamos?
Is Nos quedamos present tense or past tense?
It’s preterite (simple past): Nos quedamos = We stayed / We ended up staying.
If you want We’re staying / We stay, you’d use present: Nos quedamos en casa hasta que pase la tormenta can also appear with present as a habit/plan depending on context, but nos quedamos by itself is formally the preterite form.
If the meaning is “We’ll stay…”, why might Spanish still use Nos quedamos?
Spanish often uses the present (or sometimes a form that looks identical to another tense) to talk about near-future plans in context, but in this exact form, nos quedamos is most straightforwardly preterite.
For an unambiguous future idea, common options are:
- Nos vamos a quedar en casa hasta que pase la tormenta. (going to stay)
- Nos quedaremos en casa hasta que pase la tormenta. (will stay)
Why is it hasta que pase and not hasta que pasa?
Because hasta que often triggers the subjunctive when the action after it is not completed yet / is uncertain / is in the future from the speaker’s viewpoint.
- hasta que pase la tormenta = until the storm passes (hasn’t happened yet) → subjunctive: pase
You use indicative (pasa) when you’re talking about something habitual or factual: - Siempre esperamos hasta que pasa la tormenta. = We always wait until the storm passes. (a repeated, “known” pattern)
What tense/mood is pase?
Pase is present subjunctive of pasar. With la tormenta as the subject, pasar means to pass / to go by / to be over: que pase la tormenta = for the storm to pass / until the storm passes.
Could you also say hasta que la tormenta pase? Does word order matter?
Why is it en casa and not a casa?
What does la mean in la tormenta? Is it required?
Is tormenta always feminine? How do I know?
Does quedarse here imply “being stuck” at home?
Often it simply means to stay with no drama. But quedarse can sometimes suggest ending up staying or remaining (instead of leaving) depending on context. If you want to stress “stuck,” Spanish might add something like tener que (have to) or a clarifier:
- Nos tenemos que quedar en casa… = We have to stay at home…
- Nos quedamos en casa porque no se puede salir. = We stayed home because you can’t go out.
Could you replace Nos quedamos with Nos quedaremos or Nos vamos a quedar? Any difference?
Yes:
- Nos quedaremos en casa… = more formal/neutral “will stay”
- Nos vamos a quedar en casa… = very common in Latin America for “going to stay” (planned/near future)
- Nos quedamos en casa… = can be past (“we stayed”) or present-in-context (“we’re staying”), but by form it’s the preterite and needs context to be future-like.
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