Tropiezas

Tropiezas is a form of the Spanish verb tropezar. Specifically, tropiezas is the second-person singular present indicative, meaning “you stumble” or “you trip.” It is used to describe a physical act of stumbling as well as a figurative stumble, such as making a mistake or encountering a setback in a plan.

The noun most closely related to the idea of a stumble or obstacle is tropiezo; its plural is tropiezos. In standard Spanish, tropiezas is not used as a noun. Because of this, you will usually see tropiezas in sentences as a verb form (you stumble) rather than as a plural noun.

Usage notes and nuances:

- Literal sense: “Tú tropiezas con la piedra y te caes” (You stumble over the stone and fall).

- Figurative sense: “El tropiezo en la negociación fue un revés para el equipo” (The setback in the negotiation was a blow for the team).

- Common language mistakes: some speakers mistakenly treat tropiezas as a plural noun; the correct noun plural is tropiezos.

Related terms include tropezar (to stumble) and tropiezo (a stumble or obstacle). The verb is irregular in the present tense compared with regular -ar verbs, but tropiezas follows the standard conjugation pattern of tropezar in the tú form.

See also: tropezar, tropiezo, tropiezos.