Breakdown of Quisiera entrar al sauna antes del masaje.
al
to the
del
from the / of the
entrar
to enter
querer
to want
antes
before / earlier
el masaje
the massage
el sauna
the sauna
Questions & Answers about Quisiera entrar al sauna antes del masaje.
Why use quisiera instead of quiero or me gustaría here?
Quisiera is the imperfect subjunctive form of querer (to want). In Spanish, using this past subjunctive form is a very common and polite way to soften a request, meaning I would like. While me gustaría also means I would like, quisiera is specifically favored when you are directly asking for a good or service, like at a spa, hotel, or restaurant.
Why is it entrar al sauna and not just entrar el sauna?
In Spanish, the verb entrar (to enter) requires the preposition a when you are naming the place you are going into. Since sauna is being treated as a masculine noun here (el sauna), the preposition a combines with the article el to form the mandatory contraction al.
Wait, isn't sauna feminine because it ends in an a?
It can be! In Spain, it is usually feminine (la sauna). However, in much of Latin America, it is treated as a masculine noun (el sauna). Since this sentence uses the contraction al (which is a plus el), we can tell it is using the Latin American masculine form.
Why is it del masaje? Is masaje masculine even though it ends in e?
Yes! A great rule of thumb is that almost all Spanish nouns ending in -aje (like el masaje, el viaje, and el equipaje) are masculine. Because it is masculine, the preposition de in the phrase antes de (before) combines with the masculine article el to make the mandatory contraction del.
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