poca antelación
/poka antelaθjon/from spelling rules
The English phrase "short notice" is translated into Spanish as poca antelación.
This phrase is used to describe a small amount of time between an announcement and when an event actually occurs.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of poca, meaning "little" and antelación, meaning "advance" or "prior notice".
Which one should you use?
While poca antelación is a standard way to express the concept, you may also encounter aviso con poco tiempo, which literally means "notice with little time".
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the idea of doing something "at short notice" within a sentence, Spanish speakers often use the prepositional phrase con poca antelación or con tan poca antelación to mean "at such short notice".
Did you know?
- When a situation is at short notice because it was completely unplanned, speakers often use de imprevisto. This shifts the meaning from the 'amount of notice' to the 'feeling of being surprised'.
- The phrase poca antelación is purely descriptive and does not carry an apologetic tone. To express regret for a last-minute request, speakers must add a phrase like perdona las molestias.
- The word antelación is a linguistic cousin to the English word 'antecedent', as both stem from a root meaning 'to go before'.
Examples in context
- Será imposible conseguir una visa con tan poca antelación.It'll be impossible to get a visa at short notice.This sentence shows how to use poca antelación to describe the difficulty of obtaining a visa with very little advanced notice.Tatoeba #2255928 by darinmex, translation #34790 by milamber
- Nos vemos mañana, ¿te parece bien así, de un día para otro?See you tomorrow, is it okay to meet up on such short notice?
- ¡Qué emoción! Mi hermano decidió venir de visita en el último momento.How exciting! My brother decided to visit on short notice.
- No puedo aceptar la invitación con tan poca antelación.I cannot accept the invitation on such short notice.
- Lo siento, pero avisaste con muy poca antelación.I'm sorry, but you gave very short notice.
Example conversation
Sofía asks Daniel to help her with a project today.
- SofíaHola Daniel, ¿puedes ayudarme hoy con el proyecto?Hi Daniel, can you help me with the project today?
- DanielLo siento, Sofía, es con muy poca antelación.I'm sorry, Sofía, it's on very short notice.
- SofíaEntiendo, ¿podrías entonces mañana por la mañana?I understand, could you then do tomorrow morning?
- DanielSí, mañana tengo tiempo para ayudarte.Yes, tomorrow I have time to help you.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries antelación, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
