Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Reviso las notificaciones del correo antes de bajar al buzón. - I check my email notifications before going down to the mailbox.

revisar = to check / to go through something to make sure everything is okay or to see what’s there.
mirar = to look at.
ver = to see (more passive).

Reviso las notificaciones suggests a deliberate, systematic check of the notifications (like checking your phone or your inbox).

If you said Miro las notificaciones, it would sound more like “I look at the notifications” without stressing that you’re checking them carefully. Reviso is the most natural verb here for the idea of “checking my notifications”.

Why do we say las notificaciones and not mis notificaciones?

Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) instead of a possessive (mi, mis) when it’s clear whose thing it is from context.

Here, it’s clearly my notifications, because reviso is yo (I). So las notificaciones is understood as “my notifications”.

You could say Reviso mis notificaciones del correo, and it would be correct, but it’s not necessary. Using las is very natural and common.

What exactly does del correo mean here? Is it email or physical mail?

In Spain, correo can mean:

correo electrónico = email
correo (without anything) can also mean email in many contexts
correo can also mean “mail” in the traditional, physical sense

In las notificaciones del correo, most speakers would interpret it as “email notifications” (notifications from your email app/service).

The del is the contraction of de + el, so del correo = “of the mail/email”.

So the sentence is usually understood as:

I check the email notifications before going down to the mailbox.

where notificaciones del correo = notifications from/email-related notifications, and buzón refers to the physical mailbox.

Why del and not just de el or de correo?

Two points:

de + el = del
Spanish requires the contraction:
- ❌ de el correo
- ✅ del correo
de correo (without article) is also possible, but slightly different:
- notificaciones del correo = the notifications of the mail/email (more specific)
- notificaciones de correo = mail/email notifications in general (more generic)

In everyday speech, both notificaciones del correo and notificaciones de correo would be understood, but the sentence given uses the more specific del.

Could you also say del correo electrónico or del email?

Yes:

Reviso las notificaciones del correo electrónico…
Reviso las notificaciones del email…

All are correct in Spain. Nuances:

correo electrónico is a bit more formal/neutral.
email / e-mail is very common and informal.
Just correo for email is also completely normal; context clarifies it.

Why is it antes de bajar and not just antes bajar?

In Spanish, when antes is followed by a verb in the infinitive, you must use de:

✅ antes de bajar (before going down)
❌ antes bajar

So the structure is:

antes de + infinitive = before doing something
después de + infinitive = after doing something

Examples:

Antes de comer, me lavo las manos.
Después de trabajar, voy al gimnasio.

What’s the difference between antes de bajar al buzón and antes de que baje al buzón?

Both are grammatically correct but used slightly differently:

antes de bajar al buzón
- antes de + infinitive
- Same subject in both actions (I check / I go down).
- Meaning: “before going down to the mailbox.”
antes de que baje al buzón
- antes de que + subjunctive (baje)
- Usually used when the subject of the second action can be different, or when you want a more explicit subordinate clause.
- In this specific sentence, it still works with the same subject (“before I go down to the mailbox”), but it sounds more formal or more marked.

For everyday speech describing your own routine, antes de bajar al buzón is the most natural choice.

Why bajar al buzón? What does bajar mean here exactly?

In Spain, bajar very often means “to go downstairs / to go down (from a higher floor to a lower one).”

In many apartment buildings, mailboxes are on the ground floor. So:

bajar al buzón = to go down (stairs/with the lift) to the mailboxes.

It doesn’t mean “to take the mailbox down”; it means you go down to where the mailbox is.

English often uses “go” here, but Spanish uses bajar if the movement is downward.

Why al buzón and not a el buzón?

Like de + el = del, Spanish also requires the contraction:

a + el = al

So:

❌ a el buzón
✅ al buzón

al buzón literally means “to the mailbox”.

Does buzón always mean a physical mailbox? Could it mean “inbox”?

buzón by itself usually means a physical mailbox (on the street, in a building, at your house).

For email, people say:

buzón de entrada = inbox
buzón de salida = outbox
bandeja de entrada is also very common for “inbox”.

So in bajar al buzón, without more context, a Spaniard will think of a physical mailbox downstairs.

Why is there no subject pronoun yo? Could I say Yo reviso las notificaciones…?

Spanish is a pro-drop language: the subject pronoun is usually omitted because the verb ending already shows the subject.

reviso clearly indicates yo (I).

So:

Reviso las notificaciones del correo… is completely normal.
Yo reviso las notificaciones del correo… is grammatically correct but only used if you want to emphasize I (for contrast), e.g. Yo reviso las notificaciones, pero él no lo hace.

In neutral sentences, you normally leave yo out.

Why is the verb in the present tense (reviso, bajar) if this can be about a future action?

Spanish uses the present indicative for:

Habits/routines (most likely here):
- Reviso las notificaciones del correo antes de bajar al buzón.
  = I (usually / always) check them before I go down.
Near future, especially with time expressions:
- Mañana reviso las notificaciones antes de bajar al buzón.
  = Tomorrow I’ll check the notifications before going down.

In your sentence, without a time word like mañana, it’s most naturally read as a general habit.

Can I change the word order: Antes de bajar al buzón, reviso las notificaciones del correo?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct and very natural.

Both are fine:

Reviso las notificaciones del correo antes de bajar al buzón.
Antes de bajar al buzón, reviso las notificaciones del correo.

The meaning is the same; you just choose which part you want to highlight first.