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Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde.

Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde.
I only want to study Spanish this afternoon.
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Questions & Answers about Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde.

What exactly does solo mean here? Does it mean “alone” or “only”?

In this sentence, solo is an adverb meaning only (not “alone”).

  • Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde ≈ “I only want to study Spanish this afternoon.”
  • It’s saying that studying Spanish this afternoon is the only thing you want, not that you want to study Spanish by yourself.

If you wanted to say “I want to study Spanish alone this afternoon,” you’d normally move solo:

  • Quiero estudiar español solo esta tarde.
    (More clearly: Quiero estudiar español yo solo esta tarde.)
Can I use solamente instead of solo? Is there any difference?

Yes. Solo and solamente are interchangeable here, and both mean only.

  • Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde.
  • Solamente quiero estudiar español esta tarde.

Both are correct and natural in Spain.
Nuance: solamente can sound a bit more formal or emphatic in some contexts, but in everyday speech the difference is minimal.

What about sólo with an accent? Is that different from solo?

Historically:

  • sólo (with accent) = only (adverb)
  • solo (without accent) = alone (adjective/adverb)

Modern recommendation from the RAE (Royal Spanish Academy):

  • Use solo without an accent in almost all cases.
  • Only add the accent (sólo) if there is a real ambiguity and context doesn’t solve it.

In Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde, there’s no real confusion in context, so in current standard Spanish:

  • Solo (without accent) is the normal, recommended spelling.
    You will still see sólo in older texts or from people who prefer the older rule.
Can I change the position of solo? For example: Quiero solo estudiar español esta tarde or Quiero estudiar solo español esta tarde?

Yes, but the meaning/emphasis changes depending on where you place solo.

  1. Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde.

    • Usual reading: The only thing you want is to study Spanish this afternoon.
    • Focus on the verb “want” (what you want / don’t want).

  2. Quiero solo estudiar español esta tarde.

    • Focus is on the activity: you want to only study, not do other activities this afternoon.

  3. Quiero estudiar solo español esta tarde.

    • Now solo modifies español: you want to study only Spanish, not other subjects or languages.

  4. Quiero estudiar español solo esta tarde.

    • Ambiguous: could mean
      • only this afternoon (not tonight, not tomorrow), or
      • alone this afternoon (depending on context and intonation).

So the position of solo can change what exactly is being limited: the wanting, the action, the language, or the time.

Why is there no word like English “to” before estudiar? Why is it just quiero estudiar?

In Spanish, when one verb comes directly after another (like querer, poder, deber, saber, etc.), the second verb is used in the infinitive form without a separate word like “to”.

  • Quiero estudiar. = “I want to study.”
  • Puedo estudiar. = “I can study.”
  • Debo estudiar. = “I must study.”

The -ar / -er / -ir ending already corresponds to English “to”:

  • estudiar ≈ “to study”
    So quiero estudiar literally feels like “I want study-to” (in English word order). No extra particle is needed.
Can I say quiero a estudiar or quiero para estudiar?

No. Those are incorrect in this structure.

  • After querer
    • another verb, you go directly to the infinitive:
      • ✅ Quiero estudiar español.
      • ❌ Quiero a estudiar español.
      • ❌ Quiero para estudiar español.

You do use a with other verbs, such as ir a:

  • Voy a estudiar español. = “I’m going to study Spanish.”

But querer does not take a or para before another verb in this way.

Why is español not capitalized? In English “Spanish” is.

In Spanish, names of languages are written with lowercase letters:

  • español, inglés, francés, alemán, chino, etc.

So in your sentence:

  • Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde.

Using Español (capital E) is considered incorrect in standard Spanish.

Why is there no article before español? Why not el español?

After verbs like estudiar, hablar, aprender, enseñar, etc., you usually omit the article when you refer to a language in a general sense:

  • Estudio español. = “I study Spanish.”
  • Quiero aprender francés. = “I want to learn French.”

You do sometimes use the article when the language is treated more like a “school subject” or in more specific contexts:

  • El español de España es diferente del español de América.
  • El español es una lengua románica.
  • La clase de este año es de español.

In Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde, it’s about the activity “studying Spanish” in general, so no article is the natural choice.

What is the difference between español and castellano in Spain? Could I say estudiar castellano instead?

In Spain:

  • español is the most common general term for the language.
  • castellano is also used, especially to contrast it with other Spanish languages (Catalan, Basque, Galician, etc.) or in more formal/linguistic contexts.

In your sentence, both are grammatically fine:

  • Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde.
  • Solo quiero estudiar castellano esta tarde.

In everyday speech in most of Spain, español is more frequent, but castellano is well understood and also common in some regions and formal contexts.

Why do we say esta tarde and not something like la esta tarde? What does esta add?

Esta is a demonstrative adjective meaning this (near in time or context). It works like this in this afternoon:

  • tarde = afternoon
  • esta tarde = this afternoon

You don’t add another article (la):

  • ✅ esta tarde
  • ❌ la esta tarde

Using esta instead of just la tarde makes it clear you mean today’s afternoon (or a very specific one you both know about), not afternoons in general.

Could I say Solo quiero estudiar español hoy por la tarde instead of esta tarde?

Yes, that is also correct and common:

  • Solo quiero estudiar español hoy por la tarde.

Differences:

  • esta tarde is shorter and very commonly used in speech.
  • hoy por la tarde is a bit more explicit (“today in the afternoon”) but the meaning in daily conversation is practically the same.

In Spain, esta tarde is extremely frequent and perfectly natural.

How would I say “I only want you to study Spanish this afternoon” instead?

You need a different structure with que and the subjunctive, because the subject of estudiar changes from yo to tú (or someone else):

  • Solo quiero que estudies español esta tarde.

Breakdown:

  • Solo quiero = I only want
  • que = that
  • estudies = you study (subjunctive, tú form)
  • español esta tarde = Spanish this afternoon

Your original sentence Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde means I want to study; the new one means I want you to study.

Any tips on pronouncing Solo quiero estudiar español esta tarde with a Spain accent?

Key points for a standard peninsular (Spain) pronunciation:

  • Solo:
    • so like English “so” but shorter; lo like “lo” in “lot” but with clear o.
  • quiero:
    • qui- like “kee” but a bit shorter; -ero like “EH-roh”. Stress on -e-: QUIE-ro.
  • estudiar:
    • es-tu-di-AR (stress on the last syllable). The final r is tapped once.
  • español:
    • es-pa-ÑOL. The ñ is like “ny” in “canyon”. Stress on ñol.
  • esta tarde:
    • es-TA TAR-de.
    • The d in tarde is a soft “th-like” sound between vowels in many accents, similar to the th in “this” but softer.

Also:

  • In most of Spain, s, z, and soft c (before e/i) are distinguished, but in this sentence you only have s sounds, so no theta /th/ sound here.
  • Try to keep vowels short and pure: a, e, i, o, u always roughly the same sound, not sliding like English diphthongs.