Recently we took an in-depth look at the verb quedar but kept quedarse aside for another day. That day is here!
Quedarse is what’s technically called a ‘pronominal verb’, a verb used with a reflexive pronoun that agrees with the subject.
- Quedarse is used to talk about someone or something not moving from a place – to stay:
Me quedo aquí.
I’ll stay or I’m staying here.
Me quedé en casa todo el tiempo.
I stayed at home the whole time.
Los dos se quedaron en el bar hasta la medianoche.
The two of them stayed in the bar till midnight.
¿Te quedas a cenar?
Are you staying to supper?
Le pide a Marta que se quede con Juanito hasta que llegue un médico.
She asks Marta to stay with Juanito till a doctor gets there.
- Followed by a word or phrase indicating a resulting state, quedarse is used to talk about how someone or something ended up, how they were left, or how they changed:
Me quedé estupefacto.
I was stunned.
En la parte oriental de la provincia, 60.000 personas se quedaron sin electricidad.
In the eastern part of the province, 60,000 people were left without electricity.
Nieves se quedó embarazada de su primer hijo.
Nieves became or fell pregnant with her first child.
“Nunca os quedéis dormidos sobre la hierba”, nos decían nuestros padres.
‘Never fall asleep on the grass,’ our parents would say to us.
Daniel se ha quedado mudo para siempre.
Daniel became permanently mute.
- Used with a following verb in the -ando/-iendo form, quedarse means that someone or something keeps doing or stays doing something:
Mientras Laura va en busca de Carlos, Tomás se queda bailando con Ana.
While Laura goes off in search of Carlos, Tomás goes on or carries on or stays dancing with Ana.
En 2009 fue a Málaga, donde se quedó viviendo varios años.
In 2009 she went to Malaga, where she continued or went on living for several years.
Se queda mirando el reflejo de sí mismo en el espejo.
He stares at his reflection in the mirror.
- Quedarse con algo is a useful expression meaning to gain possession of something in some way. It might be equivalent to to keep something, to be left with something or to take something, depending on the circumstances:
Luchan entre ellos para ver quién se queda con la mayor parte del dinero.
They’re fighting among themselves to see who will be left with or get most of the money.
Ana se había quedado con la custodia del hijo de ambos.
Ana had got custody of their son.
Se había quedado con el bolso de una mujer tras agredirla.
He had taken a woman’s handbag after mugging her.
A la muerte de su padre, su madre se quedó con las cuantiosas deudas de este.
When their father died, their mother was left with his substantial debts.
Tomé una decisión y me quedo con ella.
I took a decision and I’m sticking to it.
- Quedarse con can also be used to talk about what you retain or don’t in your memory – remember:
Me quedo con una frase que dijo un miembro del jurado…
I remember one phrase a member of the jury came out with…
- Meanwhile, quedarse sin algo means to find oneself without something – to run out of something, to be left without something:
Algunas familias se quedaron temporalmente sin teléfono.
Some families were temporarily left without a telephone.
La población se quedó sin agua, electricidad, comida y gas.
The population found themselves or were left without any water, electricity, food or gas.
Las tropas también se quedaron sin municiones.
The troops also ran out of munitions.
Quedarse is used with an indirect object (me/te/le/nos/os/les) to indicate that something remains with someone in some way:
Se me quedó grabado en la memoria Juan Tenorio.
Juan Tenorio remained engraved in my memory.
Yo lo escuché y se me quedó en la cabeza.
I listened to it and it stayed in my head.
El apodo se me quedó pegado.
The nickname stuck to me.
PRACTICE
See if you can complete the following sentences with the appropriate form of quedar or else the appropriate reflexive pronoun (or both) depending on what’s missing:
- ……………….. quedó en un bar tomando café.
He stayed in a bar drinking coffee. - No miré el indicador a tiempo y ……………….. quedé sin gasolina.
I didn’t look at the gauge in time and ran out of petrol orgas. - Los niños ……………….. quedaron con su padre.
The children remained orstayed with their father. - Nadie puede pensar que ……………….. quedaremos callados ante esto.
No one can imagine we will keep quiet in these circumstances. - ……………….. quedaba despierto por la noche para escuchar la radio.
I used to stay awake at night to listen to the radio. - Nos ……………….. sin agua al tercer día.
We ran out of water on the third day. - Lo gracioso es que pensaba quedarme diez días y, finalmente, ……………….. diez años.
The funny thing is that I was thinking of staying there for ten days but finally stayed for ten years. - Nos habíamos ……………….. sin dinero.
We had run out of money. - Me ……………….. estupefacto.
I was stunned. - ……………….. quedé solo durante dos días.
I remained alone for two days. - ……………….. quedaré en casa y cuidaré de las personas que me importan.
I’ll stay at home and look after the people who matter to me. - Lo teníamos todo y de pronto, en 1955, ……………….. sin nada.
We had everything and then suddenly, in 1955, we were left with nothing. - Ella tenía veintiún meses cuando yo ……………….. sola para criarla.
She was twenty-one months old when I was left on my own to bring her up.
ANSWERS
- Se quedó en un bar tomando café.
- No miré el indicador a tiempo y me quedé sin gasolina.
- Los niños se quedaron con su padre.
- Nadie puede pensar que nos quedaremos callados ante esto.
- Me quedaba despierto por la noche para escuchar la radio.
- Nos quedamos sin agua al tercer día.
- Lo gracioso es que pensaba quedarme diez días y, finalmente, me quedé diez años.
- Nos habíamos quedado sin dinero.
- Me quedé estupefacto.
- Me quedé solo durante dos días.
- Me quedaré en casa y cuidaré de las personas que me importan.
- Lo teníamos todo y de pronto, en 1955, nos quedamos sin nada.
- Ella tenía veintiún meses cuando yo me quedé sola para criarla.
To explore more indispensable Spanish words and senses, come back each week.
