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Lesson 193 of 238

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Free Spanish CourseLesson 193 of 238

The shower's broken in Spanish

The shower in Justin's new apartment stopped working, and this morning the landlord is at the door.

In this lesson you'll learn to say what broke, explain how long it's been like that, and push politely for a repair date.

By the end, you can handle the whole conversation: the problem, the timeline, and the thank-you.

By the end of this lesson

Tell the landlord what broke, since when, and ask when they can fix it.

  • Se descompuso ___The ___ broke
  • Lleva así desde ___It's been like this since ___
  • ¿Cuándo lo pueden arreglar?When can you fix it?
  • ¿Puede pasar hoy?Can you come by today?
  • Gracias por venirThanks for coming
  • Quedó bienIt's fine now

Scene — Peter at the door

Friday morning in Justin's apartment in colonia El Laurel. The doorbell rings and Peter, the landlord, stands in the doorway with a toolbox.

Yako is inside, sitting on his two chairs, watching with great interest.

Peter the landlord stands in the doorway of an apartment holding a toolbox while Justin greets him and Yako watches from two chairs.

Learn — what broke and since when

Six lines carry the whole conversation: what broke, since when, when they can fix it, can they come today, thanks for coming, and it's fine now.

Two of them have a blank you fill with your own details.

  1. Justin gestures toward a broken shower head while speaking, with the landlord listening.

    Se descompuso ___

    The ___ broke

    When to use it: Say this to report that a machine or appliance stopped working.

    Se descompuso is preterite: the breaking happened at one moment in the past.

    Say it: des-kom-PU-so: the stress lands on the penultimate syllable, the same as in compuso.

  2. Justin points back toward the bathroom with a thumb, indicating it's been broken for a while.

    Lleva así desde ___

    It's been like this since ___

    When to use it: Say this to explain how long a problem has been going on.

    Llevar plus a state is the everyday way to say how long something has been like that.

  3. Justin asks with a questioning gesture when it can be fixed.

    ¿Cuándo lo pueden arreglar?

    When can you fix it?

    When to use it: Ask this when you want a repair date from the people responsible.

    Pueden addresses several people or a company, like the landlord's maintenance crew.

  4. Justin leans forward hopefully asking if the landlord can come by today.

    ¿Puede pasar hoy?

    Can you come by today?

    When to use it: Ask this to push for a same-day visit without sounding rude.

    Here you use usted with Peter, so it's puede, not puedes.

  5. Justin shakes the landlord's hand thanking him for coming.

    Gracias por venir

    Thanks for coming

    When to use it: Say this when someone made the trip to help you.

    After por, venir stays in the infinitive: por venir, not por viniendo.

  6. Justin holds up a fixed shower head proudly while Michael inspects it and Yako wags nearby.

    Quedó bien

    It's fine now

    When to use it: Say this when a repair or a fix actually worked.

    Quedar is the go-to verb for how something ended up: it came out fine.

Story — a quick repair

Justin opens the door and has to explain everything: what broke, since when, and how soon it can be fixed.

Watch for the highlighted lines. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. Friday morning. The doorbell rings, and Justin finds Peter in the doorway with a toolbox.
  2. JustinBuenos días. Hay un problema con la regadera.Good morning. There's a problem with the shower.
  3. PeterBuenos días. ¿Qué pasó exactamente?Good morning. What exactly happened?
  4. JustinSe descompuso la regadera. No sale agua caliente.The shower broke. No hot water comes out.
  5. Peter¿Y desde cuándo está así?And how long has it been like this?
  6. JustinLleva así desde el martes. Ya ni modo de bañarme.It's been like this since Tuesday. I can barely shower anymore.
  7. Yako leans in from his two chairs, holding a wrench way too big for a shower.
  8. YakoYo solo pasaba.I was just passing by.
  9. PeterGracias, pero mejor lo reviso yo. Pásame, por favor.Thanks, but I'd better check it myself. Let me through, please.
  10. JustinClaro. ¿Cuándo lo pueden arreglar?Sure. When can you fix it?
  11. PeterMándale una llamada a mantenimiento. La próxima semana, tal vez.Give maintenance a call. Next week, maybe.
  12. Justin¿Puede pasar hoy? Es que necesito bañarme.Can you come by today? It's just that I need to shower.
  13. PeterDéjame ver la válvula primero. A veces es nada.Let me look at the valve first. Sometimes it's nothing.
  14. Peter tightens one valve with two turns. Hot water rushes out immediately.
  15. JustinQuedó bien. ¡Qué rápido!It's fine now. That was fast!
  16. JustinGracias por venir, Peter.Thanks for coming, Peter.
  17. PeterPara eso estoy. Y menos mal que era solo la válvula.That's what I'm here for. Good thing it was just the valve.

Practice — tell the landlord

Ten short exercises: listening, matching, filling gaps, and putting the chat in order.

They build the landlord conversation piece by piece, so the last ones feel like the real thing.

0 of 10 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    Spanish

    Se descompuso ___Drop the English here
    Lleva así desde ___Drop the English here
    Gracias por venirDrop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Spanish, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What do you say?

    Peter is at the door. The shower stopped working and you want to tell him what broke.

  4. Fill the gap

    Can you come by today?

    ¿Puede pasar ____?

  5. Pick the reply

    Peter says:

    Mándale una llamada a mantenimiento. La próxima semana, tal vez.

    Give maintenance a call. Next week, maybe.

    And you reply with:

  6. Put the chat in order

    1. JustinWhat comes first?
    2. Peter…
    3. Justin…
    4. Peter…

    Tap the line that comes next, or drag it into the chat.

  7. What does it mean?

    Gracias por ___

  8. What do you say?

    Peter knocks. You open the door and want to open the conversation by announcing there's a problem, without naming what broke yet.

  9. True or false?

    You say Quedó bien when the shower is still broken.

  10. Build the line

    Thanks for coming

    Tap the words in order.

Say it — you open the door

Now you're Justin, and Peter is at your door. When it's your turn, tap the microphone and say the line.

Tap ▶ first if you want to hear the model. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. PeterBuenos días. Vengo por lo de la regadera. ¿Qué pasó?Good morning. I came about the shower. What happened?
  2. Justin (you)Tell him the shower broke.

    Se descompuso ___

    The ___ broke

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

SpanishEnglish
Se descompuso ___The ___ broke
Lleva así desde ___It's been like this since ___
¿Cuándo lo pueden arreglar?When can you fix it?
¿Puede pasar hoy?Can you come by today?
Gracias por venirThanks for coming
Quedó bienIt's fine now
Next: lesson 194It stopped working

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want these landlord lines handy next time something breaks? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

One quick round with the Yak Cards a day keeps your repair vocabulary ready for the next emergency.

Open Yak Cards