Question 1

What exactly is nomás doing at the end of this sentence?

Accepted Answer

In much of Latin America, adding nomás after a command softens it and adds a tone of encouragement. Instead of a blunt order, it turns the phrase into a friendly "go ahead and rinse again" or "just rinse again." It helps the dentist or doctor sound reassuring rather than bossy.

Question 2

Why is enjuáguese reflexive here instead of just using enjuague?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, verbs involving personal hygiene or actions done to your own body, like rinsing your mouth, are typically reflexive, hence the use of enjuagarse. If the dentist just said enjuague, they would need to specify a direct object that isn't your own body, like rinsing a medical instrument.

Question 3

Why is there an accent mark on enjuáguese?

Accepted Answer

The formal command form of enjuagar is enjuague. The spoken stress naturally falls on the a. When you attach the pronoun se to the end, the word gets longer, but the spoken stress must stay on that exact same vowel. Because the stress now falls on the third-to-last syllable, Spanish spelling rules require a written accent.

Question 4

If the dentist is the one looking at the x-ray, why use antes de mirar (infinitive) instead of antes de que yo mire (subjunctive)?

Accepted Answer

While it is true that antes de que followed by the subjunctive is normally used when the subject explicitly changes (for example, "before I look"), using antes de followed by an infinitive is very common for general actions or shared processes. Here, "looking at the x-ray" is treated as a general next step in the appointment, so the infinitive works perfectly well.

Antes de mirar la radiografía, enjuáguese otra vez nomás.

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