No quiero tocar el timbre por la noche.

I do not want to ring the doorbell at night.

Breakdown of No quiero tocar el timbre por la noche.

• yo: I
• querer: to want
• la noche: the night
• no: not
• el timbre: the doorbell
• por: at
• tocar: to press

Questions & Answers about No quiero tocar el timbre por la noche.

Why does no come before quiero and not before tocar?

In Spanish, the basic rule is that no goes directly before the conjugated verb in the sentence.

• Conjugated verb: quiero (from querer)
• Infinitive: tocar

So the correct order is:

• No quiero tocar el timbre por la noche.
  (I don’t want to ring the doorbell at night.)

If you move things around (for emphasis or to use pronouns), no still stays before the conjugated verb:

• No lo quiero tocar por la noche. – I don’t want to ring it at night.
• No quiero tocarlo por la noche. – I don’t want to ring it at night.

In all cases, no + quiero stay together.

Why is tocar in the infinitive after quiero?

In Spanish, when you use verbs like querer, poder, necesitar, saber (know how to), etc., followed by another verb, that second verb almost always stays in the infinitive.

Pattern:

• conjugated verb
  • infinitive

So:

• No quiero tocar … = I don’t want to ring …
  
  • quiero is conjugated (1st person singular, present).
  • tocar stays as the infinitive, just like English “to ring” or “to touch”.

You would only conjugate tocar if it is the main verb of the sentence:

• No toco el timbre por la noche. – I don’t ring the doorbell at night (as a habit).

Why does tocar mean “to ring” the doorbell? I thought it meant “to touch” or “to play (an instrument).”

Tocar literally means to touch, and by extension, to play (an instrument) or to knock / ring (in some fixed expressions).

For doorbells, in Spain and much of the Spanish-speaking world:

• tocar el timbre = to ring the doorbell
• Literally: to touch the bell, but idiomatically, it means to press/ring it.

Other related expressions:

• tocar el timbre de la puerta – ring the doorbell (more explicit)
• llamar al timbre – also used in some regions, roughly to ring the bell
• tocar el portero (Spain, in apartment buildings) – to buzz / ring the intercom

You could say sonar el timbre (for the doorbell to ring), but that usually means the bell rings by itself or as a result:

• El timbre suena. – The bell rings / is ringing.

So for “I don’t want to ring the doorbell,” tocar el timbre is the natural choice.

Why do we say el timbre and not just tocar timbre?

In standard European Spanish, common countable nouns usually need an article (el, la, los, las) unless there’s a special reason to omit it.

El timbre is “the doorbell”:

• No quiero tocar el timbre. – I don’t want to ring the doorbell.

Saying tocar timbre (without el) is not usual in Spain for this meaning; it may sound foreign or incomplete. Some varieties of Latin American Spanish sometimes drop the article in set phrases, but in Spain:

• tocar el timbre is the normal, idiomatic form.

What gender is timbre, and how can I tell?

Timbre is masculine, so it takes el:

• el timbre – the doorbell / bell / ringtone

Nouns ending in -e are often unpredictable in gender and must be memorized (like el coche, la noche, el puente, la calle). The article tells you:

• el timbre → masculine
• la noche → feminine

Once you know el timbre, you also know how to use adjectives:

• el timbre fuerte – the loud doorbell
• los timbres nuevos – the new doorbells

Why is it por la noche and not en la noche or de la noche?

All three prepositions can appear with noche, but they are not used in the same way, and there are regional preferences.

In Spain, for “at night / during the night” in a general sense, people usually say:

• por la noche – at night / in the evenings / during the night
  
  • No quiero tocar el timbre por la noche. – I don’t want to ring the doorbell at night.

Other options:

• de noche – also very common, slightly shorter and more general:
  
  • No quiero tocar el timbre de noche. – I don’t want to ring the doorbell at night.
• en la noche – more frequent in parts of Latin America; in Spain it often sounds more literary or less natural in everyday speech.

de la noche is used in time expressions, not here:

• a las diez de la noche – at ten at night / 10 p.m.

So in Spain, por la noche or de noche are the most natural translations of “at night” in this context.

What is the difference between por la noche and de noche in this sentence?

Both are possible in Spain, and both can translate “at night,” but there is a small nuance:

• por la noche

  • Focuses more on the period of time, roughly “during the night / in the evenings.”
  • Slightly more specific in feel, and very common in everyday speech.

• de noche

  • More general: “at night / when it’s dark.”
  • Often used to contrast with de día (in the daytime).

In your sentence:

• No quiero tocar el timbre por la noche.
• No quiero tocar el timbre de noche.

Both are fine. Por la noche is perhaps the more neutral “default” in Spain here.

Can I change the word order to say Por la noche no quiero tocar el timbre?

Yes. Por la noche no quiero tocar el timbre. is grammatically correct and natural.

Word order in Spanish is flexible, especially with adverbial phrases of time. The meaning is essentially the same:

• No quiero tocar el timbre por la noche.
• Por la noche no quiero tocar el timbre.

The difference is emphasis:

• Starting with por la noche highlights the time frame:
  “At night, that’s when I don’t want to ring the doorbell (maybe other times are OK).”
• Starting with no quiero is more neutral and simply states what you don’t want to do.

Both would be understood the same way in most contexts.

How would I say “I don’t want you to ring the doorbell at night” instead?

You need to change the structure and use the subjunctive, because now there are two different subjects: I (don’t want) and you (ring).

Pattern:

• No quiero que
  • subjunctive

So:

• No quiero que toques el timbre por la noche. – I don’t want you to ring the doorbell at night.

Breakdown:

• No quiero – I don’t want
• que – that (introduces a new clause)
• toques – subjunctive of tocar (2nd person singular, tú)
• el timbre por la noche – the same as before.

If “you” is usted, you would say:

• No quiero que toque el timbre por la noche. (with context making it clear it’s usted).

What is the difference between No quiero tocar el timbre por la noche and No toco el timbre por la noche?

They are close but not identical; the nuance is different:

• No quiero tocar el timbre por la noche.

  • Focus on desire / willingness right now or in general.
  • I don’t want to ring the doorbell at night (I’m unwilling to do it).

• No toco el timbre por la noche.

  • Focus on habit / repeated action.
  • I don’t ring the doorbell at night (as a rule; that’s not something I do).

In many situations either could work, but:

• If you are deciding what to do right now, no quiero tocar… fits better.
• If you are describing your general habits, no toco… is more literal.

How would I make this sound more polite or softer, like “I’d rather not ring the doorbell at night”?

To soften no quiero, you can:

1. Use the conditional:

   • No querría tocar el timbre por la noche. – I wouldn’t want to ring the doorbell at night.
   • No me gustaría tocar el timbre por la noche. – I wouldn’t like to ring the doorbell at night.

2. Use verbs that express preference rather than direct refusal:

   • Preferiría no tocar el timbre por la noche. – I’d prefer not to ring the doorbell at night.
   • Preferiría llamar por teléfono y no tocar el timbre por la noche. – I’d rather call than ring the doorbell at night.

3. Use mejor (“better”) in a spoken, informal way:

   • Mejor no toco el timbre por la noche. – I’d better not ring the doorbell at night.

All of these sound less blunt than no quiero.

How should I pronounce quiero, tocar, timbre, and noche?

Key points for each word:

• quiero

  • quie is like “kyeh” (similar to “kyeh-ro”).
  • Stress on the first syllable: QUIE-ro.

• tocar

  • to-CAR (like “toh-KAR”).
  • r at the end is a tapped sound, not fully like English “r”.
  • Stress on the last syllable, because it ends in a consonant other than n or s.

• timbre

  • TIM-bre, with stress on TIM.
  • bre is like “breh,” with a soft b between vowels.

• noche

  • NO-che, stress on NO.
  • ch is a single sound like English “ch” in “church.”
  • h is always silent in Spanish; you don’t hear it.

Overall sentence rhythm:

• NO quie-ro to-CAR el TIM-bre por la NO-che.