Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren otra vez.

My friends do not want to miss the train again.

Breakdown of Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren otra vez.

• el amigo: the friend
• mis: my
• no: not
• el tren: the train
• otra vez: again
• perder: to miss
• querer: to love

Questions & Answers about Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren otra vez.

Why is it mis amigos and not los mis amigos?

In Spanish you do not use an article together with a possessive adjective.

• mi / mis = my
• tu / tus = your
• su / sus = his / her / their / your (formal)

So you say:

• mis amigos = my friends
• los amigos = the friends

But ✗ los mis amigos is incorrect; you must choose either the article (el / la / los / las) or the possessive (mi / tu / su / nuestro / vuestro), not both.

Also, mis is just the plural of mi, because amigos is plural:

• mi amigo – my (one) friend
• mis amigos – my friends

If they are all female friends, should it be mis amigas?

Yes.

• mis amigos can mean:

  • a group of only male friends, or
  • a mixed group of male and female friends (Spanish uses the masculine plural by default).

• mis amigas can only mean a group of female friends.

So:

• Mis amigos no quieren… – mixed or all male
• Mis amigas no quieren… – all female

Why is the verb quieren and not quiere?

The verb querer (to want / to love) must agree with the subject.

Subject: mis amigos → 3rd person plural → ellos
Conjugation of querer in the present:

• yo quiero
• tú quieres
• él / ella quiere
• nosotros queremos
• vosotros queréis
• ellos quieren

Since mis amigos = ellos, you need quieren:

• Mis amigos no quieren… = My friends don’t want…
• Mi amigo no quiere… = My friend doesn’t want…

Why is no placed before quieren and not after it?

In Spanish, the basic way to make a sentence negative is:

no + verb

So you say:

• No quieren… – They don’t want…
• No entiendo. – I don’t understand.
• No como carne. – I don’t eat meat.

Putting no after the verb (quieren no) is incorrect in this structure.
(You can have no in other positions in more complex sentences, but the main negation goes before the conjugated verb.)

Why is perder in the infinitive? Why not pierden?

After querer (to want), when you say want to do something, Spanish uses an infinitive:

• querer + infinitive

So:

• Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren.
  = My friends don’t want to miss the train.

Here:

• quieren is the conjugated verb (they want)
• perder is the action they want to (not) do (to miss)

If you said no quieren pierden el tren, it would be ungrammatical. After querer, you must use perder, not pierden.

Could I say no quieren que pierdan el tren instead of no quieren perder el tren?

That would be a different structure and meaning.

1. No quieren perder el tren.

   • Subject of both actions is the same: mis amigos.
   • They themselves don’t want to miss the train.

2. No quieren que pierdan el tren.

   • Now you need a second subject (explicit or understood) for pierdan.
   • For example: No quieren que ellos pierdan el tren.
   • This means: They don’t want them to miss the train (two different groups).

So for My friends don’t want to miss the train again, the natural Spanish is:

• Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren otra vez.

Why is perder used for to miss the train? Isn’t perder usually to lose?

Yes, perder mainly means to lose, but it is also used for missing a transport or an event.

Common uses:

• perder el tren / el autobús / el avión
  = to miss the train / bus / plane

• perder una oportunidad
  = to miss / lose an opportunity

• perder el partido
  = to lose the match

So perder el tren is the standard way to say miss the train in Spanish.
You do not normally use extrañar or echar de menos here; those are for missing someone emotionally.

Could I say perderse el tren instead of perder el tren?

You will hear perderse el tren in some varieties and contexts, but:

• The standard and most common expression is perder el tren.

• Perderse algo more often means to miss out on something (an event, a show, an opportunity), with a nuance of depriving oneself:

  • No quiero perderme este concierto.
    = I don’t want to miss this concert.

For a literal train you’re trying to catch, perder el tren is the clearest and most neutral:

• Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren otra vez. ✔
• Mis amigos no se quieren perder el tren otra vez. – understandable, but less typical here.

Why do we say el tren and not just tren without an article?

In Spanish, singular countable nouns almost always need an article (or another determiner).

• el tren = the train (a specific train)
• un tren = a train (any train)

You can’t just say ✗ perder tren; that sounds incomplete.
English sometimes allows bare nouns, but Spanish generally doesn’t in this kind of sentence.

Here, el tren suggests a particular train that everyone in the situation already knows about (for example, the 8:05 to Madrid).

Could we say un tren instead of el tren?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• perder el tren
  = miss the train (a specific one already known or just mentioned)

• perder un tren
  = miss a train (one of several possible trains, not previously specified)

In most real-life situations (you’re talking about the next train you actually want to catch), el tren is more natural:

• Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren otra vez.
  = They don’t want to miss that (same) train again.

Why is otra vez placed at the end? Could it go somewhere else?

The most natural position for otra vez (again) here is at the end:

• Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren otra vez.

You can move it, but the rhythm or emphasis changes slightly:

• Mis amigos no quieren otra vez perder el tren.
• Mis amigos otra vez no quieren perder el tren.

These are possible, but sound more marked or unusual in this simple sentence.
For everyday speech, putting time expressions like “otra vez” at the end is very common and neutral.

Is otra vez the same as de nuevo? Can I use de nuevo here?

Yes, otra vez and de nuevo both mean again, and here they are interchangeable:

• Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren otra vez.
• Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren de nuevo.

Differences:

• otra vez is more colloquial and very common in speech.
• de nuevo can sound a bit more formal or stylistic in some contexts, but is also common.

In this sentence, both are fine. For everyday talk in Spain, otra vez is probably slightly more frequent.

The Spanish is in the present tense (no quieren), but the English is often “don’t want to miss the train” referring to the future. Is that normal?

Yes. Spanish often uses the present tense to talk about the near future when context makes the time clear.

• Mañana salgo temprano.
  = I’m leaving early tomorrow.

In your sentence, it’s understood that the train is in the future (or at least not yet missed), so:

• Mis amigos no quieren perder el tren otra vez.

is naturally understood as:

• My friends don’t want to miss the train again (this time / later).

You could also make it more explicitly future:

• Mis amigos no quieren volver a perder el tren.
  (don’t want to miss the train again / don’t want to miss it again)

But the original present tense is perfectly normal.