Spanish Phrase
¿Apreté el botón de paro?
Meaning
The speaker is asking whether they pressed the emergency‑stop button. The preterite tense signals that the action is viewed as a single, completed event, often in a safety‑critical moment.
When to use
Use this question right after a machine has stopped unexpectedly, during a safety drill, or when you need to confirm who activated the emergency stop.
✦Grammar Breakdown
¿Apretéelbotóndeparo?
Apreté (preterite)
Apreté is the first‑person singular preterite of apretar, used for a completed action in the past.
el (definite article)
el is the masculine singular definite article that agrees with the noun botón.
botón (masc. noun)
botón means ‘button’; it is masculine, so it takes el and the singular form.
de (preposition)
de links the noun botón with the noun paro, indicating the type of button.
paro (noun)
paro refers to a stop or halt, commonly used in technical contexts for an emergency‑stop button.
🗨In Conversation
¿Apreté el botón de paro?
Did I press the stop button?
Sí, lo apretaste justo antes de que el motor se apagara.
Yes, you pressed it just before the motor shut down.
✕Common Mistakes
Aprete el botón de paro?
The accent is on the final e (apreté). Writing *aprete* without the accent changes the pronunciation and is incorrect.
¿Apreté el botón de parada?
Parada is a more general word for ‘stop’; in technical contexts the fixed term is botón de paro.
¿Presioné el botón de paro?
Presionar is acceptable, but many speakers find presioné less natural for a quick button press; pulsar or apretar are preferred.
↔Alternatives
¿Pulsé el botón de paro?
Did I press the stop button?
¿He pulsado el botón de paro?
Have I pressed the stop button?
¿Presioné el botón de paro?
Did I press the stop button?
¿Apreté el botón de parada?
Did I press the stop button?
Cultural Tip
In most Spanish‑speaking factories and labs, the term botón de paro (or simply paro) is the standard label for the red emergency‑stop button. While apretar is perfectly understood, many native speakers prefer pulsar or presionar when talking about buttons, especially in technical manuals.