Revisamos el freno y la cadena.

Revisamos comes from revisar, which often means to check, to inspect, or to look over.

In this sentence, it means something like:

• we check
• we inspect
• we looked over
• we checked

The exact English translation depends on context.

Yes. That is one of the most important things to notice here.

For regular -ar verbs, the nosotros/nosotras form of the present and the preterite can look exactly the same.

So revisamos can mean either:

• we check / we are checking
• we checked

You usually know which one is intended from context.

For example:

• Cada mañana revisamos el freno y la cadena. = Every morning we check the brake and the chain.
• Ayer revisamos el freno y la cadena. = Yesterday we checked the brake and the chain.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

Here, revisamos already shows we.

So:

• Revisamos el freno y la cadena.
• Nosotros revisamos el freno y la cadena.

Both are correct, but the first one is more natural in many situations.

You would add nosotros only if you want emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

Spanish usually uses definite articles more often than English.

So instead of just saying:

• We checked brake and chain

Spanish normally says:

• Revisamos el freno y la cadena.

Here:

• el goes with freno
• la goes with cadena

They mean the, but they must match the gender of the noun.

Because Spanish nouns have grammatical gender.

• freno is masculine, so it takes el
• cadena is feminine, so it takes la

This does not necessarily mean the object itself is masculine or feminine in any real-world sense. It is just part of how Spanish grammar works.

A good habit is to learn nouns together with their article:

• el freno
• la cadena

Cadena literally means chain, but like many nouns, it can be used in different contexts.

Depending on the situation, it could refer to:

• a bicycle chain
• a metal chain
• a chain of stores
• a TV network

In this sentence, because it appears with el freno, many learners will understand it as a mechanical chain, often something like a bicycle or similar device.

Yes, very possibly.

El freno and la cadena are both things you would commonly check on a bicycle. So Revisamos el freno y la cadena could naturally mean:

• We checked the brake and the chain

That said, the sentence by itself does not force only one context. It just sounds very natural for something mechanical.

Because la cadena is a thing, not a person.

In Spanish, the personal a is used before a specific human direct object, and sometimes pets or personified beings.

Examples:

• Veo a María.
• Ayudamos a mi hermano.

But with things, you do not use that a:

• Revisamos el freno y la cadena.

So this sentence is completely normal without a.

Yes, if you mean the brakes in the plural.

That choice depends on what you are talking about:

• el freno = the brake
• los frenos = the brakes

For example, with a bicycle, someone might say either one depending on whether they are thinking of the braking system as one thing or multiple brakes. Both can be possible depending on context.

Yes, somewhat.

The original sentence:

• Revisamos el freno y la cadena.

is the most neutral and natural order.

You could also say:

• Revisamos la cadena y el freno.

That just changes the order of the items, not the basic meaning.

Spanish word order is often flexible, but the standard verb + object order is the safest choice for learners.

Here, y means and, and it is pronounced like ee.

So:

• el freno y la cadena

sounds roughly like:

• el FREH-no ee la kah-DEH-nah

A useful extra rule: y changes to e before words that begin with an i sound.

For example:

• padre e hijo = father and son

But here the next word is la, so it stays y.