Mi amigo quiere coger su abrigo antes de salir.

the friend

Breakdown of Mi amigo quiere coger su abrigo antes de salir.

• querer: to want
• mi: my
• su: his
• antes de: before
• salir: to leave
• coger: to take
• el abrigo: the coat

Questions & Answers about Mi amigo quiere coger su abrigo antes de salir.

Why is coger used here instead of another verb like tomar?

In Spain, coger commonly means to take or to pick up, and it doesn’t carry any offensive meaning. In many Latin American countries, however, coger can have an inappropriate connotation, so people there often use tomar or another verb for to take.

Why do we say quiere instead of quiero?

Quiere matches the third-person singular form of the verb querer, which is used because the subject is mi amigo. If you were talking about yourself (I want), you would use quiero, and if it were we want, you would use queremos.

Why is su abrigo used and not el abrigo?

Su abrigo indicates that the coat belongs to the person mentioned (the friend). Using the definite article el abrigo would mean the coat in a general sense, not specifically his own coat.

What does antes de salir mean literally and why is it used like that?

Antes de salir literally means before leaving. Spanish commonly uses antes de followed by an infinitive to express before doing something. It’s a fixed structure: antes de + infinitive.

Why is it Mi amigo quiere coger su abrigo antes de salir and not Mi amigo se quiere coger su abrigo antes de salir?

Unlike some Spanish verbs that need a reflexive pronoun (like ponerse for to put on), coger doesn’t require a reflexive form when you’re simply taking or picking something up. Therefore, se is not needed in this sentence.