Learn Spanish (Latin America): ¿Puedo pasar al cuarto?

¿Puedo pasar al cuarto?

May I come into the room?

Breakdown of ¿Puedo pasar al cuarto?

to come in / to pass / to spend / have (time)

Questions & Answers about ¿Puedo pasar al cuarto?

How does puedo pasar translate to "May I come"? Doesn't puedo mean "I can"?

Yes, puedo literally means "I can". In Spanish, combining a form of poder (to be able to) with an unconjugated verb like pasar is the standard way to ask for permission. It works just like saying "May I..." or "Can I..." in English.

Why use pasar for "come into"? Doesn't it mean "to pass"?

Pasar does mean "to pass", but it is very commonly used in Spanish to mean "to come in", "to go in", or "to enter" a physical space. If you knock on a closed door, someone might simply say ¡Pasa! to mean "Come in!".

Why is it al cuarto instead of a el cuarto?

In Spanish, whenever the preposition a (to or into) is followed immediately by the masculine word for "the" (el), they must combine into the single word al. So, instead of saying a el cuarto, you say al cuarto.

I learned that cuarto means "fourth" or "a quarter". Why does it mean "room" here?

Cuarto is a word with multiple meanings. While it does mean "fourth" or "a quarter", it is also one of the most common words for a "room" (especially a bedroom) in a house. You will easily tell which one is meant based on the context of the sentence.