Evito caminar por la calle cuando llueve.

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Breakdown of Evito caminar por la calle cuando llueve.

• la calle: the street
• caminar: to walk
• cuando: when
• llover: to rain
• evitar: to avoid

Questions & Answers about Evito caminar por la calle cuando llueve.

Why do we use evito instead of something like yo evito?

In Spanish, subject pronouns (like yo) are often omitted because the verb conjugation clarifies who is performing the action. Evito already indicates "I avoid," so saying "yo evito" isn’t necessary, although it’s not incorrect. It’s just more common and natural in Spanish to drop the pronoun unless you need to emphasize who is performing the action.

Why do we use caminar right after evito? Could we say evito de caminar or evito el caminar?

In Spanish, when one verb follows another directly (like evito + caminar), the second verb is usually left in the infinitive, without any extra prepositions. Forms like evito de caminar are not standard in this context, and evito el caminar sounds more formal or literary. The most straightforward, natural way is evito caminar.

What’s the difference between por la calle and en la calle?

Por la calle focuses on movement or traveling along the street, while en la calle can simply mean "on the street" or "in the street." Here, since you’re talking about walking along a path, por la calle is more appropriate. It conveys the idea of going through or using the street to walk.

Why do we say cuando llueve instead of cuando está lloviendo?

In Spanish, llueve (from llover, "to rain") is a simple statement meaning "it rains" or "it is raining," depending on context. You can say cuando está lloviendo, which means "when it is raining," but cuando llueve is shorter, more direct, and acceptable to express a general condition—"when it rains."

Is there a reason not to use the subjunctive in cuando llueve?

The subjunctive is generally used for uncertainty, wishes, or hypothetical situations. In this sentence, "cuando llueve" indicates a real, factual condition ("when it rains"), so it’s not subjunctive territory. Subjunctive might appear if there was an element of doubt or uncertainty—for instance, if you said "evito caminar por la calle en caso de que llueva" (in case it might rain). But here, it’s a straightforward statement describing what you do under the definite condition of rain.