No dobles la rama, que puede romperse.

Don't bend the branch, it could break.

Breakdown of No dobles la rama, que puede romperse.

• poder: can
• no: not
• romperse: to break
• que: because

Questions & Answers about No dobles la rama, que puede romperse.

Why is it no dobles and not no doblas?

Because this is a negative command addressed to tú.

In Spanish, negative commands for tú use the present subjunctive, not the normal present tense:

• doblas = you bend / you are bending
• no dobles = don’t bend

So:

• Dobla la rama. = Bend the branch.
• No dobles la rama. = Don’t bend the branch.

How do I know that dobles is talking to tú?

The ending -es here is the tú form of the present subjunctive of doblar.

Compare:

• yo: doble
• tú: dobles
• usted: doble
• nosotros: doblemos
• vosotros: dobléis
• ustedes: doblen

So no dobles means the speaker is telling one person informally: don’t bend it.

What does doblar mean here exactly?

Here doblar means to bend.

It can also mean other things depending on context, such as:

• to turn: doblar a la derecha = to turn right
• to fold: doblar la ropa = to fold clothes

In No dobles la rama, the meaning is clearly don’t bend the branch.