A veces tengo que prestar dinero a mi primo para que compre frutas.

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Breakdown of A veces tengo que prestar dinero a mi primo para que compre frutas.

• mi: my
• tener: to have
• comprar: to buy
• él: he
• a veces: sometimes
• a: to
• el primo: the cousin
• prestar: to lend
• el dinero: the money
• para que: so
• la fruta: the fruit

Questions & Answers about A veces tengo que prestar dinero a mi primo para que compre frutas.

Why is the sentence using para que compre frutas instead of para comprar frutas?

One reason is that para que signals that you want someone else to do something. In Spanish, para que is typically followed by the subjunctive (compre) because it expresses purpose or intention directed toward another person. If you said para comprar frutas, you would be talking about your own purpose in buying fruits, rather than prompting your cousin to do the buying.

What does tengo que literally mean, and how is it used?

Tengo que literally means I have to. It’s a very common expression to indicate obligation or necessity in Spanish. In this example, it shows that sometimes you’re obliged or required to lend money to your cousin.

Why do you say a mi primo in Spanish instead of just mi primo when lending money?

In Spanish, when you indicate the person receiving an action (the indirect object), you usually use the preposition a. So when saying you lend money to your cousin, it becomes prestar dinero a mi primo. This clarifies who is receiving the money.

Why is it compre (subjunctive) and not compra (indicative)?

The word compre is in the subjunctive because it follows para que, which expresses the idea of purpose or goal for another subject (your cousin) to achieve. After para que, Spanish grammar typically requires the subjunctive form.

What’s the difference between dar and prestar in this context?

Both can involve handing something over to someone, but dar means to give (often permanently, like a gift), while prestar involves lending something with the expectation that it will be returned. In this sentence, you expect your cousin to pay you back the money later, so prestar is more appropriate than dar.