Mantener el orden en mi cuarto es importante para concentrarse mejor.

Keeping the order in my room is important to concentrate better.

Breakdown of Mantener el orden en mi cuarto es importante para concentrarse mejor.

• ser: to be
• en: in
• importante: important
• mi: my
• para: to
• el cuarto: the room
• concentrarse: to concentrate
• mejor: better
• el orden: the order

Questions & Answers about Mantener el orden en mi cuarto es importante para concentrarse mejor.

Why is mantener used instead of other verbs like guardar or conservar?

In Spanish, mantener usually means to keep or to maintain a certain state or situation over time. Guardar can mean to put away or to store, while conservar often means to preserve something (like food or belongings) so it remains in good condition. In this context, mantener is the most natural verb to convey the idea of actively keeping your room in an orderly state.

Why is mantener in its infinitive form?

When a verb follows an idea like es importante (it is important), in Spanish you typically use the infinitive. The pattern is:
• Es importante + infinitivo
So you say es importante mantener, not es importante mantengo or any other conjugated form, to show that the action of keeping order is important in general.

What does concentrarse mean, and why does it use the reflexive pronoun se?

Concentrarse means to concentrate or to focus. It’s used with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) in Spanish to indicate that the subject is performing the action on themselves—essentially, focusing their own mind. In para concentrarse mejor, se refers to the person trying to concentrate.

Why do we say en mi cuarto instead of de mi cuarto?

In Spanish, en typically means in or on, describing a location. Saying mantener el orden en mi cuarto directly translates to keeping order in my room. Using de would be less common here because de mi cuarto could be interpreted as of my room, which doesn’t convey the location-based context in the same way.

Could I say mi habitación instead of mi cuarto?

Yes. While cuarto translates closely to room, habitación translates to room as well, but can sometimes sound a bit more formal or can refer to any room in a house or a hotel (like a bedroom). In everyday speech, mi cuarto is perfectly natural for referring to your bedroom or personal room at home.