Today we’re looking at quedar, an everyday Spanish verb with a wide range of practical uses. We’ll focus on the most common ones, starting with how it describes the result or outcome of an event or the passage of time. In this context, it is often translated as to be left:
- quedar is used to tell you what is or isn’t left of something or what still exists or doesn’t:
No queda leche en la nevera.
There’s no milk left in the fridge.
Generalmente quedan asientos en primera clase.
There are usually seats left in first class.
Aún quedan cuestiones por resolver.
There are still issues to be resolved or Issues still remain to be resolved.
Los soldados fueron cayendo uno tras otro, hasta que solo quedaron García y Hernández.
The soldiers kept falling one by one till the only ones left were García and Hernández.
Aún quedaba café en el termo.
There was still some coffee left in the flask.
As you can see from the examples above, the subject of quedar is whatever is or isn’t left.
- quedar isn’t just used of objects, beings and substances left as you can use it to talk about time too:
Queda un minuto.
There’s one minute left or to go.
¿Queda mucho para que termine la película?
Will it be long till the film or movie ends?
Aún quedaban tres horas más de luz del día para recoger la hierba.
There were still three more hours of daylight left to harvest the grass.
Again, the subject of quedar is whatever is or isn’t left (which in the above cases happens to be time). This stays the same even if you mention the people affected, as you’ll see next:
- quedar is used to say what someone has left:
No me queda dinero.
I have no money left. (Literally: No money is remaining to me)
Te quedan dos deseos.
You have two wishes left.
Aún le quedaban provisiones para cinco meses.
He still had enough provisions left for five months.
As you can see from the above, if you want to say what someone has left rather than what is left, you add an indirect object – here quedar is following the pattern of gustar, faltar, sobrar and so on. So, in the present, you’d use the following construction:
Me/Te/Le/Nos/Os/Les queda + [whatever is left (singular)]
Me/Te/Le/Nos/Os/Les quedan + [whatever items or people are left (plural)].
Below are some more examples of this construction in a variety of tenses:
Voy a dedicar los años que me quedan a ese fin.
I shall devote the years I have left or my remaining years to this end.
A mí me quedaba una sola copia.
I had only one copy left.
No te queda nada en la nevera.
You have nothing left in the refrigerator.
Ana lo hace porque no le queda otra opción.
Ana is doing it because she has no other option left.
La última esperanza que le quedaba a Jaime era que su hijo le sucediera.
Jaime’s last remaining hope was that his son would succeed him.
Todavía le quedaban seis semanas de tratamiento.
He still had six weeks’ treatment left.
También compuso cinco comedias, de las que solo nos quedan fragmentos.
He also wrote five comedies, of which we only have fragments left.
Os quedan menos de 24 horas
You have less than 24 hours left.
- quedar is used as an ordinary verb in combination with an adjective, a past participle or another kind of descriptorto describe how something or someone has been left or how they ended up:
Antonio quedó ciego después de contraer viruela.
Antonio went blind or was left blind after contracting smallpox.
En las zonas más afectadas, algunas casas quedaron completamente destruidas.
In the worst affected areas, some houses were completely destroyed.
Aproximadamente 250 000 personas quedaron sin alimento ni techo.
Approximately 250,000 people were left without food or shelter.
Quedó en libertad el 12 de enero.
He was freed on 12th January.
- quedar is used to talk about the position a contestant or competitor ends in – to come or to finish:
Torres quedó en el puesto 27.
Torres came (in) or finished 27th.
Quedó en quinta posición en los 400 metros, logrando un nuevo récord nacional.
He came (in) or finished fifth in the 400 metres, achieving a new national record.
- quedar is used to talk about the impression someone creates or leaves in their wake, whether deservedly or not. Here the translation varies:
Para los hombres, Alejandro quedó como un cobarde y su jefe como un inepto.
To the men, Alejandro looked or was left looking like a coward and his boss like someone incompetent.
Tienes que quedar bien con nuestras amistades.
You must make a good impression on our friends.
No nos hagas quedar mal.
Don’t let us down, Don’t make us look bad.
Moving on to very different uses, quedar serves to talk about where something is situated or located:
El pueblo queda a 65 kilómetros de Barcelona.
The town is 65 kilometres from Barcelona.
No queda lejos del centro de la ciudad.
It isn’t far from the city centre.
Me llevaron al hospital que quedaba cerca de su casa.
They took me to the hospital that was near their house.
Quedar can also be used when talking about how something looks or is on someone:
Te quedan muy bien las gafas.
The glasses really look good on you, The glasses really suit you.
¿Me queda bien?
Does it look OK on me?
¿Qué tal me queda?
How does it look on me?
Quedar can be used to talk about arrangements (whether to meet or to do something else).
- Especially in combination with en, quedar might be equivalent to to agree or arrange:
Hemos quedado en vernos esta semana.
We’ve agreed or arranged to meet this week.
Quedamos en que iríamos juntas a la peluquería.
We agreed we would go or We arranged to go to the hairdresser together.
- Quedar can also mean to arrange to meet or just to meet:
¿A qué hora quedamos?
What time shall we meet?
¿Quedamos mañana a las cuatro?
Shall we meet tomorrow at four o’clock?
Belén había quedado con unas amigas para tomar café.
Belén had arranged to meet some friends for coffee or to go out for coffee with some friends.
PRACTICE
See if you can complete the following sentences using quedar and any necessary pronouns:
- Solo ……………………. tres molinos aquí.
There are only three mills left here. - No …………………… pan.
There was no bread left. - A la chica no …………………… más remedio que aceptar.
The girl was left with no alternative or had no alternative but to accept. - Solo …………………… dos semanas para mejorar la situación.
He only has two weeks left to improve the situation. - ¿Qué …………………… por hacer?
What do we still have left to do? - un club que …………………… muy cerca
a club which is very near us - El pantalón …………………… un poco largo.
His trousers were a little too long. - …………………… en vernos en Buenos Aires.
We agreed orarranged to meet up in Buenos Aires. - Si hay poco almidón, el arroz …………………… más suelto y seco.
If there isn’t much starch, the rice ends up looser and dryer. - …………………… en segundo lugar a pesar de su mínimo entrenamiento.
They came second despite their minimal training.
ANSWER
- Solo quedan tres molinos aquí.
- No quedaba pan.
- A la chica no le quedaba más remedio que aceptar.
- Solo le quedan dos semanas para mejorar la situación.
- ¿Qué nos queda por hacer?
- un club que nos queda muy cerca
- El pantalón le quedaba un poco largo.
- Quedamos en vernos en Buenos Aires.
- Si hay poco almidón, el arroz queda más suelto y seco.
- Quedaron en segundo lugar a pesar de su mínimo entrenamiento.
You may have noticed that we have not looked at quedarse in this post – that’s for another day!
To explore more indispensable Spanish words and senses, come back next week.
