We Didn’t Understand the Homework in Spanish | Fix It Today

Translate the action verbs, spot due dates, then rewrite the task as a short checklist you can finish with confidence.

You’re staring at a worksheet or a class post and thinking, “Okay… what am I meant to do?” You’re not alone. Spanish homework often fails at the same spot: the instructions. The lesson content may feel fine, but the directions come packed with verbs, school phrases, and tiny details like format and due time.

This article gives you a clear way to decode Spanish homework instructions without guessing. You’ll learn what to scan first, how to break a task into pieces, and how to ask a clean follow-up question when you’re stuck. No drama. Just a plan you can run each time.

Why We Didn’t Understand the Homework in Spanish In Class

Homework directions stack multiple ideas into one sentence. In Spanish, that sentence can hide the whole task inside a few short verbs. If you miss one verb, you miss the point. If you miss a noun, you turn in the wrong thing.

Another trap is school vocabulary that changes by region. Some teachers say tarea. Some say deberes. Both can mean homework, yet they don’t feel identical everywhere. Add slang, abbreviations, and platform posts that drop accents, and it’s easy to feel lost.

Last thing: class time moves fast. You might catch the topic but miss the “how” of the assignment. When the bell rings, you’re left with a line of Spanish that looks simple, but it isn’t.

Start With A Three-Pass Read

Before you translate word-by-word, do three quick passes. This keeps you from spending ten minutes translating a sentence that only says “bring it tomorrow.”

Pass One: Circle The Action Verbs

Spanish instructions love command forms and infinitives. Your job is to find the verbs that tell you what to do. Mark them. If there are three verbs, you likely have three actions.

Pass Two: Find The Deliverable

Ask: “What am I turning in?” A paragraph, a photo, a chart, a recording, a worksheet, a slide, a poster. Look for nouns tied to school tasks: párrafo, oración, resumen, presentación, audio, hoja, cuaderno.

Pass Three: Catch The Constraints

Now hunt for the details that make teachers mark things wrong: number of sentences, tense, font, page count, topics to include, and where to submit. These often show up as numbers, time words, or short phrases like mínimo, máximo, con, sin.

Turn The Instructions Into A Checklist You Can Trust

Once you’ve marked verbs, deliverable, and constraints, rewrite the task in your own words. Not fancy. Just clear. This step saves you from “I did it, but it wasn’t what you asked for.”

Use this simple template:

• Action: What you must do (verb)
• Output: What you must submit (noun)
• Rules: Length, tense, format, topic limits
• When/Where: Due date and submission spot

Here’s what that looks like in practice. If the instruction says something like “Escribe un párrafo sobre tu fin de semana y usa el pretérito,” your checklist becomes: write one paragraph, topic weekend, use past tense (pretérito), submit where your teacher said.

That rewrite is the moment confusion turns into something you can finish.

Common Instruction Words That Change Everything

Spanish homework directions repeat the same verbs all year. Learn them once and you gain speed every week. Watch for small pairs that feel similar in English but lead to different work in Spanish.

If you’re unsure what a word means, use a trusted dictionary entry and read the school-related sense, not the first meaning listed. The Real Academia Española dictionary entry for “tarea” includes a school-use definition tied to student assignments, which matches how many teachers write instructions.

Another word that trips people up is deber. In class, you might see it as a noun (duty) or as a verb (must/should). The RAE dictionary entry for “deber” helps you separate “owe/must” meanings from the school sense you’re trying to decode.

When the teacher writes a sentence like “Debes entregar…,” it’s not about debt. It’s the “must” that signals a requirement.

Spanish Instruction	What It Means In Class	What You Should Produce
Escribe	Write (usually full sentences)	Paragraph, sentences, or short response
Completa	Fill in missing parts	Finished worksheet or blanks filled
Subraya	Underline specific items	Marked text with underlines
Marca	Select the right option	Checked boxes, circled answers, chosen items
Responde	Answer questions	Responses in words or sentences
Describe	Give details, not just a label	Several sentences with adjectives and facts
Compara	Show similarities and differences	Two-part response or paired points
Explica	Show the “how/why”	Short explanation with connectors like “porque”
Elige	Choose from options	Selection plus a short justification if asked
Entrega / Envía / Sube	Turn in / send / upload	Submission to the named platform or place

Spot The Grammar Clues Teachers Hide In Plain Sight

Teachers often embed grammar targets inside the instructions. If you miss that line, you can do the assignment and still lose points.

Look For Tense And Mood Targets

Words like pretérito, imperfecto, futuro, subjuntivo, mandatos tell you what forms to use. If the instruction says “usa el pretérito,” treat it as a rule, not a suggestion.

Watch For “Deber” Meaning Requirement

When you see debes, deben, or deberás, the teacher is stating a requirement. Spanish also has a pattern that signals probability: deber de. If you mix them up, your sentence meaning changes.

The RAE explains the distinction between obligation and probability in its note on “deber” vs. “deber de”. You don’t need all the grammar detail to finish homework, but you do need to notice which one your teacher expects in a sentence exercise.

Don’t Ignore Tiny Words That Set Limits

Small words can change the entire output: mínimo and máximo set length. Al menos signals a floor. Solo can cap what you include. Antes de often points to a step you must do first.

Use One Reliable Place For Practice When You’re Stuck

If the instructions are unclear, practice the pattern before you start writing. A short drill can turn “I don’t get it” into “Oh, it’s this type of task.”

The Instituto Cervantes has a student resource hub with activities grouped by level. The CVC student resources page is a solid place to practice the same skills that show up in homework directions: reading, grammar, and short writing.

Use it in a targeted way. Pick one activity that matches your assignment type, do one set, then return to your homework with fresh eyes.

Ask A Clarifying Question Without Feeling Awkward

Sometimes the instructions are unclear, period. Or the post was rushed. When that happens, send one clean question that shows effort and gets you a usable answer.

Keep Your Message Short And Specific

Use this structure:

• Say what you think the task is
• Name the exact part that’s unclear
• Ask one question

That’s it. One question beats a long paragraph that the teacher has to decode.

Choose The Right Channel

If your class uses a platform, ask there so the answer is visible to everyone who’s confused. If it’s a private detail (extensions, grading, accommodations), message your teacher directly.

If you can ask a classmate, keep it concrete: “Are we turning in a paragraph or answers on the worksheet?” Avoid trading half-guesses.

Situation	Message You Can Send	What You’re Trying To Confirm
Output is unclear	“I see the topic, but I’m not sure what to submit. Is it a paragraph or a worksheet?”	Deliverable type
Length is unclear	“I wrote the response. How many sentences do you want per answer?”	Minimum length
Tense requirement is unclear	“Should we write in pretérito only, or can we mix pretérito and imperfecto?”	Grammar target
Submission spot is unclear	“Do you want this uploaded to the platform, or brought on paper?”	Where to turn it in
Due time is unclear	“Is this due at the start of class or by the end of the day?”	Deadline window
Part of the prompt is unclear	“I’m stuck on the instruction ‘subraya.’ What exactly should be underlined?”	Which items to mark

Build A Mini Glossary That Matches Your Teacher’s Style

One teacher might write “redacta,” another writes “escribe.” One says “en tu cuaderno,” another says “en la libreta.” Your fastest win is a tiny glossary built from your own assignments.

Make a note each time you see a new instruction verb or school phrase. Add what it meant in that assignment. Keep it short. Over time, your list becomes more useful than any generic word list because it mirrors your class.

Include These Categories

• Action verbs: escribe, completa, responde, describe
• School nouns: cuaderno, hoja, párrafo, presentación
• Format words: título, fecha, nombre, márgenes
• Submission words: entrega, sube, envía

Keep the glossary in your phone notes or the inside cover of your notebook so it’s there when you hit a confusing line.

Check Your Work Against The Instructions Before You Submit

This last step takes two minutes and saves you from the most common homework loss: doing the right topic in the wrong format.

Do A Fast Match

Re-read the Spanish instructions and point to each requirement in your work. If the instruction said “tres oraciones,” count three sentences. If it said “usa el pretérito,” scan your verbs. If it said “incluye dos detalles,” make sure you have two details.

Do A Format Sweep

Check name, date, title, and where to submit. These feel small, but they’re the first things teachers notice while grading stacks of work.

When Confusion Keeps Happening, Fix The Root Cause

If you keep running into “We Didn’t Understand the Homework in Spanish,” it usually means one of these is happening:

• You’re missing the instruction verbs
• You’re reading too slowly during class wrap-up
• You don’t yet recognize the school vocabulary your teacher uses
• You start the assignment without rewriting the task in plain words

Pick one fix for the next week. Keep it simple. Circle verbs. Rewrite the task. Check constraints. Ask one clean question when needed.

Spanish homework stops feeling mysterious once you treat instructions like a code you can crack. You don’t need perfect Spanish for that. You need a repeatable method and the habit of turning directions into a checklist.