You've probably learned the Spanish word listo as an adjective that means "ready." But did you know that the Spanish word listo can have different meanings and function as a noun or interjection as well? Let's explore the many meanings of the word listo in Spanish. ¿​Estás listo/a (Are you ready)?

banner2 PLACEHOLDER

1. Ready

The word listo in Spanish can be used as an adjective with the verb estar to describe the state of being mentally or physically complete or prepared for some situation, activity, or action. When employed as an adjective, the Spanish word listo must match the noun it modifies in terms of number and gender, as follows:

Masculine singular: listo

Feminine singular: lista

Masculine/mixed plural: listos

Feminine plural: listas

Let's see some examples:

El nuevo estadio estará listo para el próximo año.

The new stadium will be ready by next year.

Caption 41, Carlos explica - Las preposiciones 'por' y 'para'

 Play Caption

Estoy lista para mi entrevista.

I am ready for my interview.

Caption 66, Maquillaje Con Cata y Cleer

 Play Caption

When describing readiness for an action, the formula estar listo/a para + infinitive is often utilized:

Estamos listos para comer.

We're ready to eat.

Caption 30, Ana Carolina - El comedor

 Play Caption

"Hello", ya estoy lista para triunfar ante las cámaras.

Hello, now I am ready to triumph in front of the cameras.

Caption 45, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso

 Play Caption

2. Smart/Clever

When used with the verb ser in lieu of estar, the Spanish adjective listo instead means "intelligent." Let's take a look:

un "lince" es un ser listo, muy inteligente.

a "lynx" is a smart, very intelligent being.

Caption 64, Beatriz - Palabras polisémicas

 Play Caption

Sam, eres listo. Hablas muy bien el español.

Sam, you're smart. You speak Spanish very well.

Caption 19, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 2: Sam va de compras

 Play Caption

banner PLACEHOLDER

3. Cunning/Crafty

As an extension of the "smart" meaning, the Spanish adjective listo can also be employed with ser to mean "cunning" or "sly," which sometimes has a negative connotation. The following caption describes un jornalero listo (a crafty day laborer) who is able to able to reap financial gain by tricking others:

Hay que ver qué listo era este jornalero. 

You've got to see how crafty this day laborer was.

Caption 54, Cleer - El cuento de las tres palabras

 Play Caption

4. Smarty Pants

As a noun, the Spanish word listo/a can refer to either a crafty person or a "smarty pants" (or the more vulgar English equivalent), in the sense of a person who thinks they know everything.

En cada clase, siempre hay un listo que cree saberlo todo. 

In every class, there's always a smarty pants who thinks they know everything. 

5. Done!/OK!/Great!/That's it!

Finally, you will often hear the Spanish word listo in its masculine singular form as an interjection to indicate agreement, acknowledgement, or completion. You might recognize this use from our lesson on Colombian slang, although it is used similarly in many Spanish-speaking countries. Let's see a few examples of the Spanish word listo as an interjection, with varying translations:

Entonces van: la tía Olga, el tío Juan, el tío Óscar y mi mamá.

So: Aunt Olga, Uncle Juan, Uncle Oscar, and my mom are going.

OK, listo.

OK, done.

Captions 17-18, Cleer y Carolina - Organizando la fiesta del abuelo

 Play Caption

Voy a ir a darle la buenas noches. -Bueno, listo.

I'm going to say good night to her. -OK, great.

Caption 48, X6 - 1 - La banda - Part 10

 Play Caption

Listo! Por hoy terminamos

That's it! We're done for the day.

Caption 23, Muñeca Brava - 48 - Soluciones

 Play Caption

And speaking of being done for the day, that's all for this lesson, which we hope has helped you to understand the many uses of the Spanish word listo. Don't forget to write us with your questions and comments.

banner4 PLACEHOLDER

The colloquial expression "Woulda, coulda, shoulda" is often used to express regret about something that, in retrospect, one "would have," "could have," or "should have" done differently. As learners of Spanish are often anxious to find manners of expressing these same ideas in Spanish, today, we'll provide some simple formulas for doing so. 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

1. "Would have": Conditional form of haber + past participle 

When conjugated in the conditional tense, the auxiliary verb haber means "would have." Let's take a look at this conjugation:

Yo habría (I would have)

Tú habrías (You would have)

Él/Ella/Usted habría (He/She/You would have)

Nosotros/Nosotras habríamos (We would have)

Vosotros/Vosotras habríais (You all would have)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes habrían (They/You all would have)

Then, to express what one "would have" done under other circumstances, we use the past participle. Although certain verbs have irregular past participle forms, in the majority of cases, the past participle is formed by replacing the -ar of infinitive -ar verbs with -ado or the -er or -ir of -er and -ir verbs with -ido as follows:

Infinitive: comenzar   /   Past participle: comenzado

Infinitive: comer        /    Past participle: comido

Infinitive: subir         /     Past participle: subido

2. "Could have": Conditional form of poder + haber + past participle

The formula for talking about things we "could have" done, but didn't, involves the conditional conjugation of the verb poder (to be able), plus the infinitive haber, plus the past participle. The conditional of the verb poder is as follows:

Yo podría (I could)

Tú podrías (You could)

Él/Ella/Usted podría (He/She/You could)

Nosotros/Nosotras podríamos (We could)

Vosotros/Vosotras podríais (You all could)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes podrían (They/You all could)

Note that while the translation of the verb poder in its conditional form is "could," the addition of the infinitive haber creates a structure meaning "could have." For example, while Yo podría ir al circo means "I could go to the circus," Yo podría haber ido al circo (I could have gone to the circus) conveys the idea of an unfulfilled possibility. Let's take a look at some examples of this construction: 

¡Pero qué bien! ¡Lo mismo me podría haber contestado un policía! 

But how great! A policeman could have answered me the same way.

Caption 4, Muñeca Brava - 43 La reunión

 Play Caption

Te podrías haber vestido un poco más de...

You could have dressed a little more like...

con... no sé, de señorita, digo.

with... I don't know, like a lady, I mean.

Captions 35-36, Muñeca Brava - 2 Venganza

 Play Caption

3. "Should have": Conditional form of deber + haber + past participle

As you can see, this formula is extremely similar to the previous one, except that it employs the conditional form of the verb deber. Although the verb deber frequently involves the idea of obligation, with such translations as "to have to" or the idea that one "must" do something, in its conditional form, it takes on the meaning "should." Let's take a look at its conditional conjugation:

Yo debería (I should)

Tú deberías (You should)

Él/Ella/Usted debería (He/She/You should)

Nosotros/Nosotras deberíamos (We should)

Vosotros/Vosotras deberíais (You all should)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes deberían (They/You all should)

As with our previous formula, the addition of the infinitive haber changes the meaning from "should" to "should have." Using the same example of the circus, while Yo  debería ir al circo means "I should go to the circus," Yo debería haber ido al circo (I should have gone to the circus) expresses regret about not having gone. Let's take a look at some additional examples: 

Le debería haber dado un trompazo en la boca nada más.

I should have punched her in the mouth and that's it.

Caption 16, Muñeca Brava - 30 Revelaciones

 Play Caption

Digo, debería haber confiado y...

I mean, I should have trusted and...

y se me ha escapado.

and it has escaped me.

Captions 46-47, Club de las ideas - Intuición

 Play Caption

Of course, just as one might have the feeling that he, she, or someone else should have done something differently in the past, we can also find fault with things that we or others shouldn't have done:

No deberías haber salido de casa.

You shouldn't have left the house.

Caption 45, Muñeca Brava - 46 Recuperación

 Play Caption

We hope that these simple formulas help you to speak about what you "would have," "could have," or "should have" done in Spanish, and don't forget to leave us your questions and comments.