Mi padre quiere arreglar esa bisagra antes de que se rompa del todo.

After querer when you say that someone wants to do something, Spanish uses an infinitive:

• quiere arreglar = wants to fix
• quiero comer = I want to eat
• queremos salir = we want to leave

So quiere is the conjugated verb, and arreglar stays in the infinitive.

Here arreglar means to fix or to repair.

Both arreglar and reparar can mean to repair, but there is a slight difference in feel:

• arreglar is very common in everyday speech and often sounds more natural in conversation
• reparar can sound a bit more technical or formal

So in this sentence, arreglar esa bisagra is a very normal way to say fix that hinge.

Also, arreglar has other meanings in Spanish, such as to arrange, to tidy up, or to sort out, so context matters.

Bisagra means hinge, like the metal part that lets a door, gate, lid, or window swing open and closed.

So esa bisagra means that hinge.

Spanish demonstratives show distance from the speaker:

• esta = this here, near me
• esa = that there, near you or not especially near me
• aquella = that over there, farther away

So esa bisagra means that hinge. It points to a specific hinge that is not being presented as especially close to the speaker.

In real life, the choice depends on context and physical or mental distance.

Because before in this structure is expressed as antes de que + verb.

Examples:

• antes de que se rompa
• antes de que llegues
• antes de que empiece

By contrast:

• antes de + infinitive when the subject is the same
  
  • antes de salir = before leaving
• antes de que + subjunctive when there is a new verb with its own subject
  
  • antes de que se rompa = before it breaks

So de is a fixed part of this expression.

Because antes de que normally triggers the subjunctive.

The idea is that the breaking has not happened yet. It is something anticipated or possible in the future, not a confirmed fact. Spanish typically uses the subjunctive after expressions like this.

So:

• antes de que se rompa = before it breaks

Other examples:

• antes de que llegue = before he/she arrives
• antes de que cierren = before they close

Using the indicative here would sound wrong in standard Spanish.

Because the verb here is romperse, which means to break in the sense of to become broken.

Compare:

• romper algo = to break something
  • Mi padre rompe la bisagra = My father breaks the hinge
• romperse = to break / get broken
  • La bisagra se rompe = The hinge breaks / gets broken

In the sentence, the hinge is the thing that might end up broken, so Spanish uses romperse:

• antes de que se rompa = before it breaks

That se is very common with verbs describing a change of state.

Because the subject is singular: esa bisagra.

• esa bisagra = singular
• therefore the verb is singular: se rompa

If it were plural, you would say:

• esas bisagras
• antes de que se rompan del todo

So the verb agrees with bisagra.

Del todo means completely, entirely, or all the way.

So:

• se rompa del todo = break completely
• no estoy del todo seguro = I’m not completely sure

In this sentence, del todo adds the idea that the hinge may already be in bad condition, and the father wants to fix it before it becomes fully broken.

Yes, but it changes the structure slightly.

• antes de que se rompa del todo
  = before it breaks completely
• antes de romperse del todo
  = literally before breaking completely

The version with antes de + infinitive is often used when the subject is understood from context. The version with antes de que + subjunctive is often clearer and more explicit, especially when talking about a specific thing like esa bisagra.

In your sentence, antes de que se rompa del todo is very natural and explicit.

Spanish usually uses a possessive with family members when you mean my father, your sister, etc.

So:

• mi padre = my father
• mi madre = my mother
• mi hermano = my brother

Just padre on its own usually would not mean my father unless the context already made it very clear, and even then it is less natural.

Also, padre is a bit more neutral than papá:

• mi padre = my father
• mi papá = my dad

The given order is the most neutral and natural:

• Mi padre quiere arreglar esa bisagra antes de que se rompa del todo.

But Spanish does allow some movement for emphasis. For example:

• Antes de que se rompa del todo, mi padre quiere arreglar esa bisagra.

This puts more focus on before it breaks completely.

Even so, the original version is probably the one a learner should use as the default.

Yes. Depending on context, arreglar can mean:

• to fix
• to sort out
• to put right
• to tidy
• to arrange

But with bisagra, the meaning is clearly to fix/repair.

So a learner should understand the full phrase arreglar esa bisagra as fix that hinge, even though arreglar is a broader verb in Spanish.

In this sentence, it is closest to break or get broken, not be broken.

• se rompa = break / get broken
• está rota = is broken

Compare:

• La bisagra se rompe = The hinge breaks / gets broken
• La bisagra está rota = The hinge is broken

So the sentence is about the moment or process of becoming broken, not simply the state of already being broken.