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Esperamos cinco minutos en el andén.

Esperamos cinco minutos en el andén.
We wait five minutes on the platform.
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Questions & Answers about Esperamos cinco minutos en el andén.

Does bold esperamos bold mean “we wait” or “we waited”?

It’s ambiguous. For bold nosotros bold, the present and the preterite have the same form: bold esperamos bold.

  • Present: “we wait/are waiting” (now, habitual, instructions)
  • Preterite: “we waited” (a completed past action)

You disambiguate with context or markers:

  • Present now: bold Ahora esperamos… bold or bold Estamos esperando… bold
  • Past: bold Ayer esperamos… bold or bold Esperamos hace una hora… bold
Can I use the progressive bold Estamos esperando… bold instead?
Yes. bold Estamos esperando cinco minutos en el andén bold emphasizes an action in progress “right now.” Simple present bold Esperamos… bold can also describe a current action in Spanish, but with an explicit duration like bold cinco minutos bold, many speakers prefer either the progressive or the “have been -ing” pattern (see next question) in real-time contexts.
How do I say “We have been waiting for five minutes”?

Most natural options in Spain:

  • bold Llevamos cinco minutos esperando en el andén. bold
  • bold Hace cinco minutos que estamos esperando en el andén. bold
  • Also fine: bold Hace cinco minutos que esperamos en el andén. bold

These are more idiomatic than a simple present when you want the English “have been -ing” idea.

Do I need bold por bold or bold durante bold before bold cinco minutos bold?
  • No preposition is required: bold Esperamos cinco minutos… bold
  • You can add bold durante bold for emphasis: bold Esperamos durante cinco minutos… bold
  • bold Por cinco minutos bold to express duration is common in much of Latin America, but is less natural in Spain for this use. In Spain, prefer the bare time phrase or bold durante bold.
Why is it bold en el andén bold and not bold a/al andén bold or bold sobre el andén bold?
  • bold en bold = “in/on/at” for location: bold en el andén bold = “on/at the platform.”
  • bold a/al bold indicates movement toward: bold Vamos al andén. bold
  • bold sobre bold is “on top of,” physically on the surface—odd here for a place where people stand; bold en el andén bold is standard.
What exactly does bold andén bold refer to in Spain?

It’s the train/metro platform—the place where passengers stand to board. Related terms:

  • bold vía bold = the track/line number (you might hear bold vía 4 bold in announcements)
  • For buses: bold parada (de autobús) bold = street bus stop; in coach terminals you’ll also hear bold dársena bold for the bay/stand.
Can bold andén bold mean “sidewalk” in some places?
Yes. In several Latin American countries (e.g., Colombia, Ecuador), bold andén bold can mean “sidewalk/pavement.” In Spain, “sidewalk” is bold acera bold; bold andén bold is the rail/metro platform.
Is bold andén bold masculine or feminine?
Masculine: bold el andén, los andenes. bold That’s why the sentence has bold el bold, not bold la. bold
How do you pronounce bold andén bold, and why is there an accent mark?
  • Pronunciation: approximately “ahn-DEN.” The accent mark tells you the stress is on the last syllable.
  • bold Esperamos bold ≈ “ehs-peh-RAH-mohs,” with stress on “-ra-.”
What’s the plural of bold andén bold?
bold andenes bold (no accent in the plural): bold el andén → los andenes bold. The accent drops because the default Spanish stress rules already put the stress on “de” in bold andenes bold.
Can I change the word order?

Yes. All of these are correct, with slight differences in emphasis:

  • bold Esperamos cinco minutos en el andén. bold (neutral)
  • bold Esperamos en el andén cinco minutos. bold (focuses on “five minutes” at the end)
  • bold En el andén esperamos cinco minutos. bold (fronts the location)
Do I need bold a bold after bold esperar bold (as in “wait for”)?
  • With things, bold esperar bold is transitive: bold Esperamos el tren. bold (“We wait for the train.”) No bold a bold.
  • With people, use personal bold a bold: bold Esperamos a Marta. bold
  • With a clause: bold Esperamos a que llegue el tren. bold (subjunctive after bold a que bold)
If I mean a completed past action (“We waited five minutes…”), is bold esperamos bold the right past tense? What about bold esperábamos bold?
  • Completed, bounded action: bold Esperamos cinco minutos… bold (preterite)
  • Ongoing background or interrupted action: bold Esperábamos… bold
    • e.g., bold Esperábamos en el andén cuando llegó el tren. bold
  • If you want to specify duration of an ongoing past: bold Llevábamos cinco minutos esperando cuando… bold
How do I say “about five minutes”?

Common options:

  • bold unos cinco minutos bold
  • bold aproximadamente cinco minutos bold
  • bold alrededor de cinco minutos bold
  • bold como cinco minutos bold (informal)
Can I use bold plataforma bold instead of bold andén bold?
In Spain, for train/metro contexts, bold andén bold is the normal word. bold plataforma bold is used for other kinds of “platforms” (physical or figurative) and sounds unusual for a station platform in everyday speech.
How do I specify a particular platform or track?
  • Platform number: bold en el andén 3 bold
  • Track number: bold en la vía 3 bold You might hear both in stations. You stand bold en el andén bold; trains run on bold la vía bold.