Phrase · 💥 Mishaps
Perdón, se me hizo tarde; ¿ya empezó la reunión?
Sorry, I lost track of time; has the meeting already started?
B2mishapsAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Perdóninterjectionsorry,se1object pronoun(itself)3rd · direct objectme1object pronoun(on) meyo · 1st sing. · indirect objecthizo1verbgot (lit. made)hacer · past · 3rd sing.tarde1adverblate;¿ya2adverbalready, yetempezó2verbstartedempezar · past · 3rd sing.ladeterminertheel · fem. · sing. · definitereuniónnounmeetingfem. · sing.?
- hizo → me: iobj
- reunión → empezó: agree
- reunión → la: agree
Word for word: “Sorry, it got late on me; already started the meeting?”
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1se me hizo tarde = time got away from me. The se me pattern presents the delay as something that happened to you. Accidental se and the middle voice →
- 2¿Ya empezó? Latin America uses the preterite for something that has just happened (Spain: ¿Ya ha empezado?). Present perfect vs preterite (Spain vs Latin America) →
Variations
- Perdón, se me hizo tarde; ¿ya comenzó la reunión?
- Disculpen, se me hizo tarde; ¿ya empezó la reunión?