Todos queremos sobrevivir al accidente.

We all want to survive the accident.

Breakdown of Todos queremos sobrevivir al accidente.

• querer: to want
• al: to the
• todos: we all
• el accidente: the accident
• sobrevivir: to survive

Questions & Answers about Todos queremos sobrevivir al accidente.

Why is todos used on its own? Shouldn’t it be todos nosotros?

In this sentence, todos by itself already means “all of us” because the verb queremos (we want) clearly shows the subject is “we”.

• Todos queremos… = We all want… / All of us want…
• Todos nosotros queremos… is also correct, just more explicit or emphatic: We all (we, not others) want…

So:

• todos = “all (of us)” here, understood from the verb.
• You usually only add nosotros for extra emphasis or contrast:
  
  • Todos nosotros queremos sobrevivir, pero ellos no.
    All of us want to survive, but they don’t.

Why is there no nosotros pronoun before queremos?

Spanish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

• queremos → 1st person plural → we want
  So:
• (Nosotros) queremos sobrevivir al accidente.
  Both versions are correct. In normal, neutral speech, you usually say just queremos.

You add nosotros mainly for emphasis, contrast, or clarity:

• Nosotros queremos sobrevivir, ellos no.
  We want to survive; they don’t.

What exactly does todos queremos mean? Is it closer to “we all want” or “all of us want”?

Todos queremos can be translated either way:

• We all want to survive the accident.
• All of us want to survive the accident.

The nuance:

• todos = “all (of us)”
• queremos = “we want”

So literally, it’s like saying “all (we) want”, which matches “we all want” very well in English. In most contexts, “we all want…” is the most natural translation.

Is queremos only “we want”, or can it also mean “we would like / we hope to” here?

The core meaning is “we want”, but in context it often softens a bit:

• queremos sobrevivir al accidente is literally we want to survive the accident,
  but in English we might naturally say:
  
  • We want to survive the accident.
  • We really hope to survive the accident.
  • We all want to make it through the accident.

In Spanish, querer + infinitive = to want to do something, and depending on context it can feel as strong as “to want” or softer like “to hope / to wish” in English. The grammar, though, is firmly “want to”.

Why is it sobrevivir a instead of just sobrevivir el accidente?

In Spanish, sobrevivir typically takes the preposition a when it means to survive something:

• sobrevivir a un accidente – to survive an accident
• sobrevivir a la guerra – to survive the war
• sobrevivir a un ataque – to survive an attack

So the structure is:

• sobrevivir a + [thing you survive]

Using it directly without a (sobrevivir el accidente) is not standard and sounds wrong to native speakers.

What does al mean in sobrevivir al accidente?

Al is a contraction of a + el:

• a = to / at / (here, “to” in “survive to something”)
• el = the (masculine singular)

So:

• a + el accidente → al accidente

You must use this contraction every time you have a + el before a noun:

• Voy al médico. (a + el médico)
• Llamé al profesor. (a + el profesor)
• sobrevivir al accidente. (a + el accidente)

But you don’t contract with other articles:

• a la casa (not ala)
• a los niños (not alos)
• a las personas (not alas)

Why is it accidente and not accidento? Is accidente masculine or feminine?

Accidente is a masculine noun ending in -e:

• el accidente – the accident
• un accidente – an accident
• los accidentes – the accidents

Many Spanish nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine; you just have to learn their gender:

• el coche (masc.) – the car
• la noche (fem.) – the night

Here, el accidente is masculine, which is why we have:

• al accidente (a + el accidente) not a la accidente.

Could I say “queremos sobrevivirlo” for “we want to survive it”, instead of sobrevivir al accidente?

Normally, no. With sobrevivir, Spanish does not usually use a direct object pronoun (lo, la, los, las) for the thing you survive.

Correct:

• Queremos sobrevivir al accidente.
  We want to survive the accident.

Sounds wrong or very odd:

• ❌ Queremos sobrevivirlo.

The typical pattern is:

• sobrevivir a algo / a alguien
  not sobrevivir algo / a alguien + lo/la as a pronoun.

If you don’t mention the specific thing, you just say:

• Queremos sobrevivir. – We want to survive.

Is there a difference between sobrevivir and salvarse in this context?

Yes, there’s a nuance:

• sobrevivir (a algo) = to survive something
  Focuses on continuing to live after a dangerous event.

  • Sobrevivimos al accidente. – We survived the accident.

• salvarse (de algo) = to save oneself / to get saved from something
  Focuses on being saved / spared / escaping harm.

  • Nos salvamos del accidente. – literally We saved ourselves from the accident, meaning We got out unharmed / We were spared.

In your sentence:

• Todos queremos sobrevivir al accidente.
  Emphasises being alive after the accident.

You could also say:

• Todos queremos salvarnos del accidente.
  Slightly more like We all want to make it out / be spared from the accident.

Why don’t we use the subjunctive after querer here?

You only use “querer que + subjunctive” when what you want is someone else to do something:

• Queremos que ellos sobrevivan al accidente.
  We want them to survive the accident.
  (queremos
  • que
    • sobrevivan, subjunctive)

In your sentence, the same subject wants and acts:

• Todos queremos sobrevivir al accidente.
  – the same we both want and survive.

When it’s the same subject:

• querer + infinitive (no subjunctive)
  
  • Quiero comer. – I want to eat.
  • Queremos sobrevivir. – We want to survive.

Can the word order change? For example: Todos queremos al accidente sobrevivir?

The grammatically natural order is:

• Todos queremos sobrevivir al accidente.

Spanish word order is somewhat flexible, but your example:

• ❌ Todos queremos al accidente sobrevivir

sounds unnatural and strongly marked, almost poetic or very old-fashioned.

Natural variations with slightly different emphasis:

• Todos queremos sobrevivir al accidente. (neutral, standard)
• Queremos todos sobrevivir al accidente. (emphasis on all of us)
• Queremos sobrevivir todos al accidente. (also possible, emphasis on all of us surviving)

For everyday speech, stick with the original:
Todos queremos sobrevivir al accidente.

Could I say “Todo el mundo quiere sobrevivir al accidente” instead? How is that different from “Todos queremos…”?

Yes, you can, and there is a small difference in focus:

• Todos queremos sobrevivir al accidente.
  We all want to survive the accident.
  → Explicitly includes the speaker in the group (we).

• Todo el mundo quiere sobrevivir al accidente.
  Literally: Everyone wants to survive the accident.
  → General statement about everyone (often broader or more generic). You might or might not be personally included.

In many contexts, todo el mundo is used like English “everyone / everybody” in a general or hyperbolic way:

• Todo el mundo quiere sobrevivir. – Everyone wants to survive.