Mi abuelo quiere criar un perro para jugar en su granja.

My grandfather wants to raise a dog to play on his farm.

Breakdown of Mi abuelo quiere criar un perro para jugar en su granja.

• mi: my
• en: on
• el perro: the dog
• su: his
• para: for
• querer: to want
• el abuelo: the grandfather
• un: a
• jugar: to play
• criar: to raise
• la granja: the farm

Questions & Answers about Mi abuelo quiere criar un perro para jugar en su granja.

Why does the sentence use criar instead of other words like cuidar or tener?

In Spanish, criar emphasizes the idea of raising or bringing up an animal (or a child) from a younger stage, taking care of its growth and well-being. Cuidar simply means "to take care of," and tener just means "to have or own." Using criar suggests the grandfather wants to raise the dog in a more involved way.

Why is quiere used here instead of another tense?

Quiere is the present tense, third-person singular form of querer ("to want"). It shows that this is a current desire or intention, rather than a past action or a hypothetical situation.

Why do we say un perro rather than el perro?

In this context, un is an indefinite article, indicating that we’re talking about "a" dog in general, not a specific one. Using el would suggest there's already a particular dog in mind.

What does para express in para jugar?

Para is used to indicate a purpose or goal. Here, it shows that the purpose of raising the dog is for playing, so "to play" is the reason for wanting to raise the dog.

Why is jugar in the infinitive form instead of jugando?

After para, you usually use the infinitive to express the reason or purpose for doing something. Jugando would indicate an ongoing action (like "while playing"), which is not what’s intended here.

Does su granja always mean "his farm"?

Su can mean "his," "her," "your" (formal), or "their," depending on context. In this sentence, we interpret su as "his" because the speaker is talking about "mi abuelo" (my grandfather).