A2 · ElementaryAdapted from El Mundo

Robles: Sánchez's No. 2 for 2026

Robles, número dos de Sánchez

Oct 15, 20261 min readGraded Spanish · word-by-word audio

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Pedro Sánchez es el líder del PSOE. En las elecciones del 29 de noviembre, Margarita Robles es la número dos en la lista por Madrid. Robles es la ministra de Defensa desde 2018. Es la primera vez que Sánchez no elige a una vicepresidenta como número dos.

Robles va delante de Fernando Grande-Marlaska, que es el número cinco. Esto apoya su gestión en la crisis de Ceuta. En julio, más de 70.000 personas llegaron desde Marruecos. Robles dijo que el CNI avisó del riesgo, pero Marlaska lo negó.

Muchos compañeros no se entienden con Robles. Pero es una de las ministras más conocidas. Según el CIS, solo Yolanda Díaz y Marlaska son más conocidos. Robles es una de las que aprueban en la encuesta.

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Watch out, English speaker

Spanish uses ser + past participle for true passive voice, while English often prefers active or gets passive with 'by'. English speakers may wrongly use estar + participle, which describes a resulting state, not an action. Remember: the participle must agree in gender and number with the subject, unlike English. Spanish ni...ni means 'neither...nor' and requires a negative sentence; English also uses 'neither...nor' but often allows 'not...or' in casual speech. A common mistake is adding no before ni when it's already negative, or using ni in a positive sentence. Keep the double negative in Spanish, unlike English where double negatives are often avoided. Spanish often omits the subject pronoun because verb endings show who acts, but English requires it. Learners may overuse él/ella or forget that object pronouns like lo/la come before the verb. Also, Spanish uses 'conectar con' where English says 'connect with', so don't translate 'con' as 'to'.

Key vocabulary

eleccionesf.
elections
“En las elecciones del 29 de noviembre, Margarita Robles es la número dos.”— In the elections on November 29, Margarita Robles is the number two.
Pattern elecciones generales general election
Compare comicios election
Plural noun, singular elección
💡 From Latin eligere (to choose), cognate with English election.
ministraf.
female minister
“Robles es la ministra de Defensa desde 2018.”— Robles has been the Defense Minister since 2018.
Pattern ministra de Defensa Minister of Defense
Compare titular officeholder
Plural ministras, masculine ministro
💡 In the Spanish government, ministra is commonly used for a female minister.
vicepresidentaf.
female vice president
“Es la primera vez que Sánchez no elige a una vicepresidenta como número dos.”— It is the first time Sánchez has not chosen a female vice president as number two.
Pattern vicepresidenta del Gobierno Deputy Prime Minister
Compare número dos number two
Plural vicepresidentas, masculine vicepresidente
💡 The prefix vice- means 'deputy', as in vicepresidente.
conectarv.
to connect, to engage
“Sánchez quiere conectar con votantes de centro y de derecha.”— Sánchez wants to connect with center and right-wing voters.
Pattern conectar con to connect with
Compare vincular to link
Regular -ar verb, yo conecto
💡 From English connect, but spelled conectar in Spanish.
contrapesom.
counterbalance
“También es un contrapeso a su discurso más a la izquierda.”— It is also a counterbalance to his more left-wing rhetoric.
Pattern servir de contrapeso to serve as a counterbalance
Compare equilibrio balance
Plural contrapesos
💡 contra- (against) + peso (weight), originally referring to a counterweight.
gestiónf.
management, handling
“Esto apoya su gestión en la crisis de Ceuta.”— This supports her handling of the Ceuta crisis.
Pattern gestión de crisis crisis management
Compare administración management
Plural gestiones
💡 From gestionar (to manage), common in political contexts.
riesgom.
risk
“Robles dijo que el CNI avisó del riesgo.”— Robles said that the CNI warned of the risk.
Pattern correr riesgo to run a risk
Compare peligro danger
Plural riesgos
💡 Cognate with English risk, but spelled differently.
encuestaf.
poll, survey
“Robles es una de las que aprueban en la encuesta.”— Robles is one of those who pass in the poll.
Pattern encuesta del CIS CIS survey
Compare sondeo poll
Plural encuestas
💡 CIS is the Center for Sociological Research in Spain.

Grammar spotlight

ser + past participle for the passive voice

In Spanish, ser + past participle forms the passive voice. The past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.

“Robles es conocida y respetada.”— Robles is known and respected.

⚠️ Don't forget that the past participle must agree with the subject in gender and number; for example, conocida cannot be written as conocido.

ni...ni structure

The ni...ni structure is used in negative sentences to mean 'neither...nor...', connecting two parallel elements.

“Muchos no se identifican con él ni con sus ministros.”— Many people do not identify with him or with his ministers.

⚠️ Do not use ni...ni in affirmative sentences; use o...o instead.

Sentence patterns to steal

Con Robles, Sánchez quiere conectar con votantes de centro y de derecha.
Through Robles, Sánchez wants to connect with centrist and right-wing voters.
Con + person's name, + subject + querer + infinitive + con + group of peopleYou can replace the person's name, the group of people, and the verb.
Robles es conocida y respetada.
Robles is known and respected.
subject + ser + past participle + y + past participleYou can replace the subject and the past participles.
Muchos no se identifican con él ni con sus ministros.
Many people do not identify with him or with his ministers.
subject + no + verb + ni con + nounYou can replace the verb and the noun.

Spanish General Elections and the Party-List System

Spanish general elections are held every four years, and voters cast their ballots for party lists. The lists are closed, so voters cannot change the order of the candidates. The number two on a list usually holds an important position and is often the deputy prime minister.

Source: Wikipedia: Spanish general election

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