Nunca camino por la calle sin mi perro.

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Breakdown of Nunca camino por la calle sin mi perro.

• mi: my
• la calle: the street
• caminar: to walk
• el perro: the dog
• sin: without
• nunca: never

Questions & Answers about Nunca camino por la calle sin mi perro.

Why do we use por instead of en in this sentence?

In Spanish, por can imply movement through or along a place. Here, por la calle suggests walking along or through the street. If you said en la calle, it would mean simply being on the street, without emphasizing the idea of moving through it.

Why can we say Nunca camino por la calle sin mi perro instead of No camino por la calle nunca sin mi perro?

In Spanish, both word orders are generally acceptable. However, placing nunca at the beginning of the sentence emphasizes the negation right away. It’s a more direct way of saying you never do it. Saying No camino por la calle nunca is also grammatically correct, but slightly less common in everyday speech.

Is this an example of a "double negative" in Spanish?

Yes, Spanish often uses what might seem like a double negative to English speakers. For example, you can combine no with nunca in the same sentence (e.g., No camino nunca). In English, double negatives can change the meaning, but in Spanish they reinforce the negation.

Why is the verb camino in the first-person form instead of something like camina?

The verb form camino is the first-person singular present tense of caminar (meaning "I walk"). Camina would be a third-person singular (he/she/it walks) or the formal "usted" form. Here, camino makes it clear that it's I who is doing the walking.

Why don’t we need a personal a before mi perro?

The personal a is generally used when talking about people or beloved pets as direct objects. However, in this sentence, mi perro follows sin (meaning "without"), which doesn’t normally require the personal a. If you were talking about liking or seeing your dog, you would use a (e.g., Veo a mi perro), but sin doesn’t trigger that construction.