El niño corre con su perro.

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Breakdown of El niño corre con su perro.

• el perro: the dog
• su: his
• correr: to run
• el niño: the boy

Questions & Answers about El niño corre con su perro.

What does the subject "El niño" signify in this sentence?

It means "the boy". Here, El is the masculine definite article and niño means boy. This combination clearly identifies who is performing the action.

Why is the verb "corre" used and what form is it?

"Corres" is not used here; the sentence uses "corre", which is the third-person singular form of the verb correr (to run) in the present indicative. It agrees with the singular subject El niño.

What role does the preposition "con" play in the sentence?

The preposition con translates to "with" in English. It indicates accompaniment, showing that the boy is running along with his dog.

How does the possessive adjective "su" work in this context?

The word su is a possessive adjective that means "his" in this context (though it can also mean "her" or "their" depending on the situation). It tells us that the dog belongs to the boy mentioned in the sentence.

Why isn’t there an article before the word "perro" in "con su perro"?

In Spanish, it is common to use the possessive adjective su directly before the noun perro without an additional article. The possessive already marks ownership, so there's no need for a separate definite article.

How does the sentence structure in Spanish compare to its English equivalent?

The structure is very similar to English. El niño corre con su perro follows a subject-verb-complement order, much like "The boy runs with his dog". Both sentences clearly indicate who the subject is, what action is performed, and who or what accompanies the subject.

If referring to a girl instead of a boy, how would the sentence change?

For a girl, you would change the article and noun to their feminine forms. The sentence would be "La niña corre con su perro." Notice that although la and niña change to indicate a female subject, the possessive su remains the same.