No empieces a pegar las fotos hasta que tengas el pegamento y las tijeras.

Because this is a negative tú command: No empieces... = Don’t start...

In Spanish, negative informal commands use the present subjunctive, not the regular imperative form.

• Positive tú command: Empieza = Start
• Negative tú command: No empieces = Don’t start

So even though it is a command, the negative form takes the subjunctive.

This comes from a spelling rule.

The verb is empezar. In the subjunctive, it would normally have the stem change e → ie, giving empie-. But Spanish changes z to c before e so that the sound stays correct.

So:

• infinitive: empezar
• subjunctive stem: empiec-
• form: empieces

This is the same kind of change you see in verbs like:

• almorzar → almuerce
• rezar → rece

Because empezar is commonly followed by a + infinitive when it means to begin/start doing something.

So:

• empezar a pegar = to start sticking/gluing
• empezar a estudiar = to start studying
• empezar a hablar = to start speaking

You usually cannot leave out the a here.

Yes, pegar can mean to hit, but it also has another very common meaning: to stick, to glue, or to attach.

In this sentence, because it mentions las fotos, el pegamento, and las tijeras, the meaning is clearly about crafts or schoolwork:

• pegar las fotos = to glue/stick the photos

So pegar has multiple meanings, and context tells you which one is intended.

After hasta que, Spanish often uses the subjunctive when the action is in the future or has not happened yet.

Here, the idea is:

Don’t start gluing the photos until you have the glue and the scissors.

At the moment of speaking, the person does not yet have those things, so Spanish uses the subjunctive:

• hasta que tengas = until you have

Compare:

• Espera hasta que llegue. = Wait until he arrives.
• No salgas hasta que termine. = Don’t leave until it finishes / until he finishes.

If the action is already known or habitual in a past context, Spanish may use the indicative instead, but in instructions like this, the subjunctive is the normal choice.

Yes. Tener is irregular in the present subjunctive.

The subjunctive forms are:

• yo tenga
• tú tengas
• él/ella tenga
• nosotros tengamos
• vosotros tengáis
• ellos/ellas tengan

So hasta que tengas is the correct tú form.

Spanish uses definite articles (el, la, los, las) more often than English does.

Here they sound natural because the sentence refers to the specific items needed for the task:

• las fotos = the photos
• el pegamento = the glue
• las tijeras = the scissors

In English, we might sometimes say photos, glue, and scissors without articles, but Spanish often prefers the articles in this kind of context.

Because tijeras is normally a plural noun in Spanish, just like scissors in English.

So even if you mean one pair, you usually say:

• las tijeras = the scissors

This is very natural Spanish. You do not usually say a singular form for ordinary scissors.

Not always. It depends on whether the action is viewed as pending/future or real/completed.

Use subjunctive when the action has not happened yet:

• No empieces hasta que tengas todo.
• Wait until he arrives → Espera hasta que llegue.

Use indicative when talking about something that did happen or is seen as factual in the past:

• Esperé hasta que llegó. = I waited until he arrived.

So in your sentence, the person does not yet have the glue and scissors, which is why tengas is used.

The sentence is addressed to one person informally: tú.

That is why it uses:

• No empieces
• tengas

If you were speaking to more than one person in Spain, you would normally use vosotros:

• No empecéis a pegar las fotos hasta que tengáis el pegamento y las tijeras.

If you wanted a more formal singular command, you would use usted:

• No empiece a pegar las fotos hasta que tenga el pegamento y las tijeras.

Not if you want to give a command.

• No empieces... = Don’t start... → command
• No empiezas... = You don’t start... → statement/question depending on context

So No empiezas is not the normal way to tell someone don’t start. For a negative command, Spanish needs No + present subjunctive.

The base verb is empezar = to begin / to start.

In this sentence, empieces is the tú present subjunctive form, used because it is part of a negative command.

A useful pattern to remember is:

• infinitive: empezar
• present indicative tú: empiezas
• present subjunctive tú: empieces
• negative tú command: no empieces

Yes. Depending on context, pegar can be translated as:

• to glue
• to stick
• to attach

In this sentence, because el pegamento is mentioned, glue is probably the clearest translation. But stick the photos on or attach the photos could also work depending on the exact situation.

This is a very normal Spanish word order:

• No empieces = negative command
• a pegar las fotos = what not to start doing
• hasta que tengas... = the condition/time limit

So the sentence is built like this:

Don’t start + gluing the photos + until you have the glue and the scissors

Spanish often places the main command first, then the action, then the until-clause. It is straightforward and idiomatic.