Son las nueve, ordenen las herramientas en los contenedores.

Questions & Answers about Son las nueve, ordenen las herramientas en los contenedores.

Why does ordenen end in -en instead of -an if the verb is ordenar?
This is how you give a command to a group (ustedes). To tell multiple people to do something, regular -ar verbs like ordenar swap their usual vowel for -en. As a regular statement, 'you all organize' is ustedes ordenan, but as a direct instruction, it becomes ordenen.
Why do we say son las nueve instead of es las nueve for 'it is nine'?
When telling time in Spanish, the hour is treated as a plural feminine noun (referring to las horas, the hours). Because nine is more than one, you use the plural son las. You only use the singular es la for one o'clock (es la una).
Does ordenar mean 'to order' or 'to organize'?
It means both! Ordenar can mean to tidy up or arrange (like putting las herramientas into containers here) or to request something (like ordering food at a restaurant). The context usually makes it clear.
Why is the plural of the container word contenedores and not just contenedors?
Because the singular word, el contenedor, ends in a consonant. In Spanish, when a noun ends in a consonant rather than a vowel, you must add -es to make it plural.

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