Breakdown of ¿Quedaron en contactar al fotógrafo del evento?
de
from / of
en
in / on / at
el evento
the event
quedar en
to agree on
contactar
to contact
el fotógrafo
the photographer
a
personal 'a' (marks a human direct object)
Questions & Answers about ¿Quedaron en contactar al fotógrafo del evento?
I thought quedar meant 'to stay' or 'to be located'. Why does it mean 'agree' here?
When quedar is followed by the preposition en and an infinitive verb (like contactar), the meaning changes entirely. The phrase quedar en means 'to agree to' do something. So quedaron en contactar means 'they/you guys agreed to contact'.
The translation says 'Did you guys agree', but doesn't quedaron also mean 'they agreed'?
Yes, exactly! Because Spanish often drops the subject pronouns, quedaron can mean either 'they agreed' or 'you guys agreed' (ustedes). In a real conversation, the context makes it clear who you are talking to or about.
Since en usually means 'in' or 'on', should I think of this as 'agreed on contacting'?
That is a very helpful way to remember it! While we usually translate it as 'agreed to' in English, thinking of quedar en as 'to agree on' or 'to settle on' makes the Spanish preposition en feel much more logical.
Why is there an al before fotógrafo instead of just el fotógrafo?
This is the 'personal a' rule in action. When the direct object of a verb is a specific person (like the photographer), you must place an a before it. Because fotógrafo is masculine, the a merges with the article el to create the contraction al.
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