Breakdown of No puedo salir. Lo que pasa es que la niñera acaba de enfermarse.
ser
to be
no
no, not
salir
to go out / to leave
poder
to be able to / can
que
that / than
acabar de
to have just
lo
the ... thing (neuter article)
pasar
to happen
la niñera
the babysitter
enfermarse
to get sick
Questions & Answers about No puedo salir. Lo que pasa es que la niñera acaba de enfermarse.
Why use lo que pasa es que instead of just porque?
Does lo que pasa es que always take the indicative mood like acaba here?
Yes, because you are declaring a fact or giving a real reason. Even though it is an excuse, the babysitter actually got sick, so you use the indicative mood. You would only use the subjunctive if you were denying a reason, such as saying no es que... (it's not that...).
How does acaba de mean "just"?
The formula acabar de + infinitive is a very common way to say someone "just" did something. While acabar alone means "to finish", when combined with de and an infinitive like enfermarse, it translates to "just got sick".
Why is enfermarse reflexive here?
Adding the reflexive pronoun se to certain verbs indicates a change of physical or emotional state, similar to "getting" or "becoming" in English. So enfermar means "to make sick", while enfermarse means "to get sick".
Can the se in enfermarse go anywhere else?
Yes! With a conjugated verb plus an infinitive structure, you can either attach the pronoun to the end of the infinitive (acaba de enfermarse) or put it right before the conjugated verb (se acaba de enfermar). Both are perfectly natural.
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