Planes y Decisiones - Plans, Advice, Polite Requests
Quedar con Amigos - Making, Confirming and Cancelling Plans
This is the social-glue lesson. Quedar is the verb every Spanish friendship runs on — the word for "let's meet up." Master the four moves in this lesson — proposing, confirming, rescheduling, cancelling — and you can hold up your end of a real Spanish friendship via WhatsApp. Everything you've learned from M1 to M12 comes together here: greetings, hours, days, polite requests, real conditionals, reactions. By the end of this lesson, you can plan a real Saturday evening from first message to confirmation.
The Verb Quedar
Quedar has several meanings in Spanish, but the one you need now is "to meet up" or "to arrange to meet."
- ¿Quedamos el sábado? – Shall we meet up on Saturday?
- Quedé con Marta a las ocho. – I met up with Marta at eight.
- Hemos quedado en la plaza. – We've agreed to meet at the square.
- Quedan en el bar de siempre. – They're meeting at the usual bar.
A useful structure to memorise:
Quedar + con + person + en + place + a + time
For example:
Quedo con Pablo en la plaza a las ocho.
I'm meeting Pablo at the square at eight.
Each piece is optional once context is established. After the first question, Spaniards drop pieces casually:
- ¿A qué hora? — implied subject and verb.
- ¿Dónde? — same.
- Vale, hecho. — confirmation.
The Four Moves
Every quedada thread has four moves. Master them and you're set.
Move 1: Proposing
Start with a question. The most common openers:
- ¿Quedamos el sábado? – Shall we meet on Saturday?
- ¿Hacemos algo este finde? – Shall we do something this weekend?
- ¿Te apetece tomar algo el viernes? – Do you feel like grabbing something Friday?
- ¿Te viene bien quedar el martes? – Does Tuesday work for you to meet up?
A close cousin: ¿qué tal si...? ("what if...?") for slightly more specific suggestions:
- ¿Qué tal si vamos al cine el sábado? – What if we go to the cinema on Saturday?
- ¿Qué tal si cenamos en mi casa? – What if we have dinner at my place?
Move 2: Confirming Time and Place
Once the day is agreed, lock in time and place:
- ¿A qué hora quedamos? – What time shall we meet?
- ¿Dónde quedamos? – Where shall we meet?
- ¿Te recojo o nos vemos allí? – Shall I pick you up or shall we meet there?
- Quedamos a las ocho en la plaza. – Let's meet at eight at the square.
- Te paso a buscar a las siete y media. – I'll come pick you up at seven thirty.
A few useful response phrases:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Me viene bien. | That works for me. |
| Me viene fenomenal. | That works really well. |
| Me viene fatal. | That doesn't work at all. |
| Me pilla lejos. | It's far for me. |
| Te recojo. | I'll pick you up. |
| Nos vemos allí. | We'll meet there. |
| Hecho. | Done. Deal. |
| Trato hecho. | Deal. |
| Perfecto. | Perfect. |
Move 3: Rescheduling
Sometimes the time doesn't work. The polite move is to push back gently with a reason and propose an alternative:
- El sábado me viene fatal. ¿El domingo te va bien? – Saturday doesn't work at all. Does Sunday work for you?
- Esa hora me pilla un poco mal. ¿A las nueve mejor? – That time doesn't quite work. Nine instead, maybe?
- ¿Lo dejamos para la semana que viene? – Shall we leave it for next week?
- ¿Y si quedamos un poco más tarde? – What if we meet a little later?
A small Spanish convention: when proposing an alternative, offer a specific time or day. Vague counter-proposals (otro día, ya veremos) are read as soft no's. If you actually want to reschedule, name the time.
Move 4: Cancelling
Sometimes you have to cancel. The Spanish convention is to apologise, give a reason, and offer to reschedule:
- Lo siento, al final no puedo. Estoy fatal. – Sorry, in the end I can't. I feel terrible.
- Me ha surgido algo del trabajo. ¿Lo dejamos para otro día? – Something work-related came up. Shall we leave it for another day?
- No voy a poder, perdona. Te aviso cuando esté libre. – I won't be able to, sorry. I'll let you know when I'm free.
- Me ha entrado algo de última hora. ¿Te va bien el jueves? – Something last-minute came up. Does Thursday work for you?
The unwritten rule: a cancellation without an alternative date often signals the friendship is fading. If you mean it, name a new day.
A Full WhatsApp Quedada
How a real Spanish quedada looks on WhatsApp:
Marta (jueves 18:14): Oye, ¿quedamos el sábado? 🍻
Pablo (jueves 18:21): Vale, ¿qué tal si tomamos algo en Lavapiés?
Marta (jueves 18:23): Mola. ¿A qué hora?
Pablo (jueves 18:24): ¿Sobre las ocho?
Marta (jueves 18:25): Perfecto. ¿Dónde?
Pablo (jueves 18:26): En la plaza de Lavapiés. Si llueve, nos metemos en el bar de siempre.
Marta (jueves 18:28): Hecho. Cualquier cambio te aviso.
Pablo (jueves 18:29): Igualmente. ¡Hasta el sábado!
Seven messages, full plan locked in, contingency for rain included. That's the pattern.
Practice
Words to Remember
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿quedamos? | shall we meet? |
| quedamos el sábado | we meet on Saturday |
| ¿a qué hora quedamos? | what time shall we meet? |
| ¿dónde quedamos? | where shall we meet? |
| te recojo | I'll pick you up |
| te paso a buscar | I'll come pick you up |
| nos vemos allí | we'll meet there |
| me viene bien | it works for me |
| me viene fenomenal | it works really well |
| me viene fatal | it doesn't work at all |
| me pilla lejos | it's far for me |
| ¿lo dejamos para...? | shall we leave it for...? |
| te aviso | I'll let you know |
| te escribo | I'll text you |
| hecho | done, deal |
| trato hecho | deal |
| perfecto | perfect |
| me ha surgido algo | something came up |
| de última hora | last-minute |
| cualquier cambio te aviso | any changes I'll let you know |
Conversation
Making the plan
Lucía: ¿Quedamos el sábado por la noche? Shall we meet up Saturday night?
Diego: Vale. ¿Qué tal si cenamos en El Tigre? OK. What if we have dinner at El Tigre?
Lucía: Mola. ¿A qué hora? Cool. What time?
Locking in the details
Diego: ¿Sobre las nueve te viene bien? Around nine work for you?
Lucía: Las nueve me viene fenomenal. ¿Dónde quedamos? Nine works really well. Where shall we meet?
Diego: En la boca del metro de Antón Martín. At the entrance of Antón Martín metro.
Cancelling and rescheduling
Diego: Tía, perdona, me ha surgido algo de última hora. Mate, sorry, something last-minute came up.
Lucía: Vaya, qué pena. ¿Lo dejamos para mañana? Oh, what a shame. Shall we leave it for tomorrow?
Diego: Sí, a la misma hora. Te paso a buscar. Yes, same time. I'll come pick you up.
Practice
Recall
Type the Spanish for each English meaning. Leave a row blank if you draw a blank — that counts as a miss.
Practice
Translation Exercise
Translate each English sentence into Spanish.
Cultural Note
Quedar is one of those everyday verbs that doesn't translate cleanly. English has to choose between "meet up," "make plans," "arrange to meet," "hang out" — all of which are slightly off. Quedar covers the whole arc of arranging to be in the same place at the same time. Hemos quedado means "we've made plans." Quedé con Pablo means "I met up with Pablo." Quedan en el bar means "they're meeting at the bar." Once you accept it as one verb that does many jobs, you'll use it constantly.
A note on Spanish punctuality: the convention varies wildly by region and group. In Madrid, a las ocho usually means "between eight and eight-fifteen." In Barcelona, it's a bit tighter. In Andalucía, a las ocho might be eight thirty. With work colleagues, Spaniards are punctual; with friends, there's a bit more flex. The rule of thumb: arrive on time, expect others to be a few minutes late, and don't take offence either way. Si me retraso te aviso is the magic phrase that keeps everyone in good standing.
The cancellation move deserves its own line. Spaniards cancel often, and the social rule is: never cancel without offering an alternative. Lo siento, no puedo is incomplete. Lo siento, no puedo, ¿lo dejamos para el jueves? is whole. The alternative shows the cancellation is logistical, not interpersonal. Without it, even a good friend will start to wonder. Spend two seconds proposing a new day and you preserve the relationship.
This is the last lesson of Module 12 and the end of the B1 grammar ramp. You can now describe the past, the present, the future, and the hypothetical. You can talk about how you feel, what you want, and what you'd politely like. You can plan a Saturday with a friend from first message to confirmation. The next module (M13 — Opiniones) opens the door to opinions, doubts, and wishes — the territory of subjunctive — but that's a story for another day. For now: ¡vamos a quedar!