No quiero alargar la videollamada porque estoy cansado.

I don't want to prolong the video call because I am tired.

Breakdown of No quiero alargar la videollamada porque estoy cansado.

• yo: I
• querer: to want
• estar: to be
• porque: because
• cansado: tired
• no: not
• la videollamada: the video call
• alargar: to prolong

Questions & Answers about No quiero alargar la videollamada porque estoy cansado.

Why is there no yo at the start? In English we say “I don’t want to…”.

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él…) are often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Quiero = I want
• Quieres = you (singular) want
• Quiere = he/she/you (formal) want

So No quiero alargar la videollamada… already clearly means “I don’t want to prolong the video call…”.
Adding yo is possible but usually adds emphasis:

• Yo no quiero alargar la videollamada… = I don’t want to prolong the video call (maybe someone else does).

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Could I say “No quiero que la videollamada se alargue” instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, and it’s very natural Spanish. The difference is structure, not meaning:

1. No quiero alargar la videollamada…

   • Literally: I don’t want to lengthen the video call.
   • You are the one actively doing the “lengthening”.

2. No quiero que la videollamada se alargue…

   • Literally: I don’t want the video call to get/become longer.
   • The call “lengthens itself” (reflexive se alargue).

Both are fine in Spain. The first sounds a bit more direct/action-focused; the second a bit more natural in casual speech for some speakers. You can use either.

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What exactly does alargar mean here? Is it the same as “prolong” or “make longer”?

Alargar literally means “to lengthen / to make longer” (in time or space).

In this context:

• No quiero alargar la videollamada ≈ I don’t want to prolong / drag out the video call / make it last longer.

Near-synonyms:

• prolongar la videollamada – more formal
• hacer más larga la videollamada – longer phrase, less idiomatic
• Informal alternatives:
  
  • No quiero alargar esto. (I don’t want to drag this out.)
  • No quiero hacer esto más largo.

In everyday European Spanish, alargar is completely normal when talking about meetings, calls, conversations, events, etc.

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Why is it la videollamada and not el videollamada? How do I know the gender?

The gender comes from the head noun in the compound:

• videollamada = video
  • llamada (“call”)
• llamada is feminine (la llamada)
• So videollamada inherits that feminine gender → la videollamada

Other examples:

• la videoconsola (consola = feminine)
• el videojuego (juego = masculine)

There isn’t always a visible rule in the word itself; you usually have to learn the gender with the noun:

• la videollamada
• las videollamadas

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Is videollamada normally written as one word? Could it be video llamada or vídeo-llamada?

Standard modern Spanish writes it as one word: videollamada.

• videollamada – most common and recommended
• video llamada, video-llamada – you might see these, but they’re less standard
• In Spain you may also see vídeo with an accent: videollamada / video-llamada / llamada de vídeo

All native speakers will understand all of them, but if you’re writing Spanish (Spain) and want to be safe and modern, use:

• la videollamada
• hacer una videollamada (to make a video call)

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Why do we need the article la? Couldn’t we just say No quiero alargar videollamada?

You must use an article (or another determiner) with a singular, countable noun like videollamada in this kind of sentence.

Spanish usually doesn’t allow bare singular count nouns the way English sometimes does. Compare:

• English: I don’t want to prolong *the video call*
• Spanish: No quiero alargar la videollamada ✅
• No quiero alargar videollamada ❌ (unnatural/incorrect)

You’d only drop the article if it’s part of a kind of “noun phrase” that doesn’t usually take it, like:

• hacer videollamadas – to make video calls (plural, generic)

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Why is porque written as one word? What’s the difference between porque, por qué, por que, and porqué?

They’re four different items:

1. porque (one word, no accent)

   • Means “because”.
   • Used to give a reason:
     
     • No quiero alargar la videollamada porque estoy cansado.

2. por qué (two words, with accent)

   • Used in questions: “why”
   • ¿Por qué estás cansado? – Why are you tired?

3. porqué (one word, with accent)

   • A noun meaning “reason/cause”:
   • No entiendo el porqué. – I don’t understand the reason.

4. por que (two words, no accent)

   • Occurs in more complex structures (after prepositions or verbs + que) and is rarer for beginners.
   • Example: Es responsable por que todo salga bien.

In your sentence, you’re giving a reason → you must use porque (one word, no accent).

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Why is it estoy cansado and not soy cansado?

Spanish uses ser and estar differently:

• estar + adjective is usually for temporary states / conditions:

  • Estoy cansado. – I’m (feeling) tired right now.
  • Estoy enfermo. – I’m ill (at the moment).
  • Estoy contento. – I’m happy (now).

• ser + adjective is more for permanent qualities / identity:

  • Soy alto. – I’m tall.
  • Soy simpático. – I’m friendly.

So:

• Estoy cansado. = natural, means “I’m tired (now/today).”
• Soy cansado. = almost never used, and if used, it suggests “I’m the kind of person who makes others tired / I’m exhausting,” not what you want here.

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Does cansado change if a woman is speaking?

Yes. Cansado is an adjective and must agree with the gender and number of the subject:

• Man: Estoy cansado.
• Woman: Estoy cansada.
• Group of men / mixed group: Estamos cansados.
• Group of only women: Estamos cansadas.

So if you (a woman) are saying the original sentence, you’d say:

• No quiero alargar la videollamada porque estoy cansada.

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Could I say “quiero no alargar la videollamada” instead of “no quiero alargar…”?

Grammatically it’s not impossible, but it’s very unnatural in everyday Spanish.

The normal and almost always preferred structure for negating a verb is:

• no + [conjugated verb]
  
  • No quiero alargar la videollamada.

Using “quiero no + infinitive” is rare and would only sound natural in some very specific emphatic or literary contexts. For your meaning, always say:

• No quiero + infinitivo
  
  • No quiero alargar la videollamada. ✅

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Could this sentence mean “I don’t want to prolong the video call because he/she is tired”?

By default, estoy cansado refers to the same subject as quiero:

• (Yo) no quiero alargar la videollamada porque (yo) estoy cansado.

To make it clearly refer to someone else, you’d normally add a pronoun or specify the person:

• No quiero alargar la videollamada porque él/ella está cansado/a.
  – I don’t want to prolong the video call because he/she is tired.

Without that, a native speaker will naturally understand that you are the one who is tired.

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Is this sentence polite enough in Spain, or would people say it differently to sound softer?

It’s polite and normal, especially if said with a friendly tone.

To sound softer or more indirect, Spanish (Spain) speakers might use:

• No quiero alargar la videollamada, que estoy un poco cansado.
  (using que in a soft, explanatory way)
• No quiero alargar la videollamada, estoy ya un poco cansado.
• Using conditional for extra politeness:
  
  • No querría alargar la videollamada porque estoy cansado.
  • No quisiera alargar la videollamada porque estoy cansado.

All of these can sound slightly more tactful, but your original sentence is perfectly acceptable.

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Is this way of speaking specific to Spain, or is it used in Latin America too?

The sentence is completely understandable everywhere in the Spanish‑speaking world.

Small regional notes:

• In Spain, videollamada is very common and feels standard.
• In many Latin American countries, you’ll also hear llamada de video:
  • No quiero alargar la llamada de video porque estoy cansado.

The verb alargar and the structure no quiero + infinitive porque estoy cansado are standard and natural in both Spain and Latin America.