Breakdown of El líder está a punto de empezar el discurso y el timbre suena.
de
from / of
y
and
estar
to be (location/state)
a
to
empezar
to start / to begin
el punto
the dot / the point
sonar
to ring / to sound
el líder
the leader
el discurso
the speech
el timbre
the doorbell
Questions & Answers about El líder está a punto de empezar el discurso y el timbre suena.
How do I use estar a punto de to say someone is about to do something?
You combine the conjugated verb estar (here, está for he is) with the fixed phrase a punto de and add the infinitive of the action verb (here, empezar). It literally translates to being at the point of doing something.
Discurso looks like the English word discourse. Are they the same thing?
They are related, but discurso is often a false friend. While it can mean discourse in formal settings, in everyday Spanish it is the standard word for a speech given to an audience.
Why is the verb for rings spelled suena? What is the infinitive?
The infinitive is sonar (to sound or to ring). It is an o-to-ue stem-changing verb in the present tense, which means the o in the stem changes to ue when conjugated for the third person.
Could I say el timbre está sonando instead of el timbre suena?
Yes, you could! However, Spanish often uses the simple present tense (suena) to describe actions happening in the immediate present, especially sudden events like a bell ringing. Both sound completely natural here.
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