How to Say ‘But actually, we've just run out of large cups.’ in Mexican Spanish
Pero fíjese que ahorita se nos acabaron los vasos grandes.
PEH-roh FEE-heh-seh keh ah-oh-REE-tah seh nohs ah-kah-BAH-rohn lohs BAH-sohs GRAHN-dehs
[PEH-roh FEE-heh-seh keh ah-oh-REE-tah seh nohs ah-kah-BAH-rohn lohs BAH-sohs GRAHN-dehs]
Phrase Breakdown
Pero fíjese
PEH-roh FEE-heh-seh
But you know what
'Fíjese' is a formal way to get someone's attention, like 'look' or 'you see'. It's very common in Mexico before bad news. Say 'PE-ro FI-he-se'.
Fíjese que no hay leche.
You see, there's no milk.
Words in this phrase
Pero
[PEH-roh]
but
A conjunction used to introduce contrast or additional information.
Trabajo en marketing, «Pero» busco un cambio.
I work in marketing, “but” I am looking for a change.
fíjese
[FEE-heh-seh]
look / you see
Formal command of 'fijarse'; used politely to introduce news, like 'well, actually'.
Fíjese que no hay leche.
Well, you see, there's no milk.
que ahorita
keh ah-oh-REE-tah
that right now
'Ahorita' is a very Mexican word for 'right now'. The 'h' is silent: 'ke a-o-RI-ta'.
Ahorita no puedo.
I can't right now.
Words in this phrase
que
[keh]
that
Used to introduce a defining clause which specifies a person/thing previously mentioned.
La casa que compramos es grande.
The house that we bought is big.
ahorita
[ah-oh-REE-tah]
right now
Mexican diminutive of 'ahora'; here it means at this moment.
Ahorita no tenemos pan.
Right now we don't have bread.
se nos acabaron
seh nohs ah-kah-BAH-rohn
we ran out of
Literally 'they finished on us'. This 'se' form presents running out as an accident. Say 'se nos a-ca-BA-ron'.
Se nos acabaron las tortillas.
We ran out of tortillas.
Words in this phrase
se
[seh]
(accidental 'se')
Used to show something happened unintentionally, not on purpose.
Se me olvidó.
I forgot.
nos
[nohs]
on us / for us
Shows who is affected by what happened.
Se nos cerró la puerta.
The door closed on us.
acabaron
[ah-kah-BAH-rohn]
ran out / finished
Past tense 'they' form of 'acabar'; with 'se', means ran out of.
Se acabaron las galletas.
The cookies ran out.
los vasos grandes.
lohs BAH-sohs GRAHN-dehs
the large cups.
'Vaso' means 'cup' or 'glass'. The adjective comes after the noun. Say 'los VA-sos GRAN-des'.
Lava los vasos, por favor.
Wash the glasses, please.
Words in this phrase
los
[lohs]
the
Definite article used to refer to a specific person or thing recognized by the speakers.
Los niños están en el parque.
The children are in the park.
vasos
[BAH-sohs]
cups
Plural of 'vaso', a cup or glass.
Necesito dos vasos.
I need two cups.
grandes
[GRAHN-dehs]
large
Plural of 'grande', big.
Los cafés grandes cuestan más.
Large coffees cost more.
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