En verano bajamos el toldo de la terraza para tener sombra.

Here, bajamos means we lower / we pull down.

With un toldo (an awning), Spanish often uses bajar because you physically lower it to create shade.

So:

• bajar el toldo = to lower the awning
• subir el toldo = to raise the awning

Even though bajar often means to go down or to lower, in this sentence it specifically means to pull the awning down.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

• Bajamos el toldo...
• Nosotros bajamos el toldo...

Both are correct, but the version without nosotros is more natural in most contexts because the verb ending -amos already tells you the subject is we.

Spanish uses subject pronouns mainly for:

• emphasis
• contrast
• clarity

So if you wanted emphasis, you could say:

• Nosotros bajamos el toldo, no los vecinos.
  We lower the awning, not the neighbours.

Good question: bajamos can be either:

• present: we lower / we pull down
• preterite: we lowered

The form is identical for -ar verbs in nosotros.

In this sentence, it is understood as present habitual because of the context:

• En verano = In summer
• para tener sombra = to have shade

So the sentence means something like:

• In summer, we lower the terrace awning to have shade.

That sounds like a regular or typical action, not a one-time completed past action.

A toldo is usually an awning: a covering made of fabric or similar material that extends over a window, balcony, terrace, or outdoor space to give shade.

In Spain, toldo is a very common word for the kind of sunshade used on terraces and balconies.

Depending on context, English translations might include:

• awning
• sunshade
• sometimes canopy or shade cover

In this sentence, awning is usually the best fit.

Because the action being described is specifically lowering the awning into position.

Spanish often focuses on the physical movement:

• bajar el toldo = lower/pull down the awning
• subir el toldo = raise the awning

Poner el toldo would sound more like put up/install the awning, or in some contexts set it in place, which is not the most natural choice if the awning is already there and you are just extending it.

So if the awning is part of the terrace and you use it daily, bajar is the natural verb.

De la terraza means of the terrace or more naturally in English, the terrace awning.

Spanish often uses de where English prefers a noun-noun structure:

• el toldo de la terraza = the terrace awning
• literally: the awning of the terrace

This tells you which awning it is: the one belonging to or associated with the terrace.

Not with the same meaning.

• el toldo de la terraza = the terrace awning / the awning that belongs to the terrace
• el toldo en la terraza = the awning on the terrace

The second version focuses more on location, while de la terraza identifies which awning it is.

In this sentence, de la terraza is the natural choice because the speaker is talking about a specific awning associated with the terrace.

Because para is commonly used to express purpose: in order to, so as to, so that.

When the subject stays the same, Spanish normally uses:

• para + infinitive

So:

• bajamos el toldo para tener sombra
  = we lower the awning to have shade

The people who lower the awning are also the ones who want the shade, so the infinitive tener is used.

If the subject changed, Spanish would usually use para que + subjunctive instead.

For example:

• Bajamos el toldo para que los niños tengan sombra.
  We lower the awning so that the children have shade.

Because Spanish often omits the article when talking about something in a general, non-specific way.

• tener sombra = to have shade
• buscar sombra = to look for shade

This is similar to English, where we usually say have shade, not have the shade.

If you said tener la sombra, it would usually sound more specific, as if you meant a particular shade or shadow already identified in context.

So here sombra is general and uncountable, which is why no article is needed.

In Spanish, seasons are often used without the definite article after en when speaking generally:

• en verano = in summer
• en invierno = in winter

This is very common and natural.

You may also hear en el verano, but it is usually more specific, depending on region or context, for example referring to that summer or a more clearly defined period.

In a general statement like this one, En verano is the most natural choice.

Yes. The present tense here is being used for a habitual action or something people normally do.

• En verano bajamos el toldo...
  = In summer, we lower the awning...

This does not necessarily mean they are doing it right now. It means this is their usual practice in summer.

Spanish uses the simple present a lot for:

• habits
• routines
• general truths
• typical actions

Both are possible in Spanish, but they mean slightly different things.

• tener sombra = to have shade available
• estar a la sombra = to be in the shade

In this sentence, the point is that lowering the awning creates shade for the space, so tener sombra fits well.

Compare:

• Bajamos el toldo para tener sombra.
  We lower the awning to have shade.

• Nos sentamos a la sombra.
  We sit in the shade.

So tener sombra is about obtaining shade, while estar a la sombra is about being positioned in it.

Not exactly.

• terraza = terrace, often an outdoor space attached to a home or apartment
• balcón = balcony, usually smaller and projecting from a building
• patio = courtyard or patio, often at ground level

In Spain, terraza often refers to a larger outdoor area where you might place furniture, plants, or an awning.

So el toldo de la terraza suggests an awning covering that terrace area.

The original sentence already sounds natural, but if you want to make the movement feel more explicit in English, bajar el toldo can be understood as:

• we pull the awning down
• we lower the awning
• we roll the awning down (depending on the type)

In Spanish, though, bajar el toldo is the normal everyday phrasing, and you do not usually need a more complicated verb.