Learn Spanish (Latin America): Tan pronto como prendas la estufa, voy a usar el microondas. - As soon as you turn on the stove, I am going to use the microwave.

Tan pronto como prendas la estufa, voy a usar el microondas.

As soon as you turn on the stove, I am going to use the microwave.

Breakdown of Tan pronto como prendas la estufa, voy a usar el microondas.

Questions & Answers about Tan pronto como prendas la estufa, voy a usar el microondas.

Why is prendas in the subjunctive instead of the indicative (prendes)?

The phrase tan pronto como (as soon as) refers to an action that hasn't happened yet. When time conjunctions like this introduce an anticipated future event, they trigger the subjunctive. If the sentence were about a habitual, recurring action ("Every day, as soon as you turn on the stove..."), you would use the indicative prendes.

Could I use en cuanto or apenas here instead of tan pronto como?

Yes! En cuanto prendas la estufa and Apenas prendas la estufa mean the exact same thing. These three expressions are completely interchangeable for "as soon as" and they all trigger the subjunctive when referring to a future event.

Is estufa the standard word for "stove" everywhere?

In Latin America, estufa is the everyday word for a kitchen stove where you cook. However, it is worth noting that in Spain, estufa generally means a space heater, and they call the kitchen stove la cocina.

Why is it el microondas? Shouldn't a word ending in "-as" be feminine and plural?