Word
Acabo de darme cuenta de que el globo está goteando.
Meaning
I just realized that the balloon is leaking.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Acabo de darme cuenta de que el globo está goteando.
estar
to be (location/state)
que
that / than
acabar de
to have just
gotear
to drip
Questions & Answers about Acabo de darme cuenta de que el globo está goteando.
Wait, the current lesson is about using acabar to mean 'to end up doing something'. Why does this sentence mean 'I just realized'?
That is because of the little word de! While acabar + gerund means 'to end up doing something' (like acabo dándome cuenta - 'I end up realizing'), the phrase acabar de + infinitive is a set expression that means 'to have just done something'. So, acabo de darme cuenta means 'I have just realized'.
Why is there a me attached to the end of dar?
The phrase for 'to realize' is the reflexive verb darse cuenta (literally 'to give oneself account'). Since the subject is 'I', the reflexive pronoun has to be me. Because the verb follows a preposition (de), it stays in its infinitive form (dar), and we attach the pronoun directly to the end to make darme.
Why do we say de que here instead of just que for 'that'?
In Spanish, the phrase darse cuenta always requires the preposition de to connect it to what you are realizing. When you realize that something is happening, you still have to keep the de, resulting in darse cuenta de que. Translating 'that' as just que here is a very common trap for English speakers!
Does goteando literally mean 'leaking'?